"Stab the body and it heals, but injure the heart and the wound lasts a lifetime."
––Mineko Iwasaki
Riley POV
After I asked mom and dad where Nick was buried, I started to have a weird felling. I mean, I understand that they don't know where he is, but grandma Mary is his mom. She has to know something. But if she doesn’t....it may be possible for the man to.... No! Gosh! What the heck mom and dad would never lie to me like that!
I tried to push all those thoughts away when we got at Stacy's, but I somehow couldn't ignore them.
,,My favorites! Ami, how is school? Riley, how is high school? Tell me everything!" Stacy said excited as I entered her room with Ami and Nate.
,,It's cool. I like it." Ami said with a smile.
,,You are gonna change your mind at some point, sweetie, but until then good for you." Stacy said and laughed lightly.
,,Where is Chase?" Ami asked.
,,In his room." Stacy said to Ami.
,,Okay. Come on Nate." Ami said, took Nate's hand in hers and pulled him out of Stacy's room to go in Chase's.
,,Now tell me how your first day was." Stacy said excited.
,,It was fucked up." I simply said and jumped on her bed hiding my face in her pillow.
,,What!? Why?" She asked confused and pulled on my arm to turn me around.
,,Well, first of all Amber pissed me off together with her annoying 'friends' and then I got dress coded for wearing ripped jeans. Mom freaked out hearing that and yelled at the teacher who dress coded me. Great right?" I asked and Stacy started laughing.
,,Bro, why is all this bad. I bet you already have such a cool reputation." Stacy said and I looked with an 'are you kidding me!?' look at her.
,,Correction: Mom has a cool reputation."
,,Yeah.... Well, Mila is cool." Stacy said and pulled on my arm to make me sit up in the bed.
,,So is Adi."
,,Yeah true. I wanna be like our moms when we are going to be older." Stacy said and we both laughed lightly.
,,A little topic change 'cause I need your opinion on something." I said.
,,Okay..." Stacy said and focused her whole attention on me.
,,Today after school a man approached me right when I wanted to enter the house. He told me he was my father and some shit like that."
,,What the fuck....!?" Stacy said completely confused.
,,Yeah, I know. I don't know why 'cause it's not like I believe a stranger, but I asked mom and dad where Nick is buried and they said they don't know. They said grandma Mary doesn't know even if she is his mother! It's just a little weird. You know?" I said and I looked at Stacy who seemed a little overwhelmed.
,,You never went at your father's grave!? But you always go to Nina's " Stacy said confused.
,,I know. Well mom and dad said Nick wasn't the best person." I said and Stacy looked a little critical.
,,Whats your father’s full name?" Stacy asked me.
,,Nick Geller." I said and Stacy immediately reached for her phone.
,,What are you doing?" I asked her.
,,If your father is alive he probably has a Facebook account like every single men in his 40's." Stacy said.
,,Our parents don't have Facebook."
,,Yeah, 'cause they are all cool and are not 40 yet." Stacy said and she was right. She continued looking on her phone, so I just waited for her to be ready.
,,I found your dad's account, but it didn't post anything for 16 years." Stacy said and that meant he is dead and that man was just a fucking weirdo.
,,So he's dead and no one from my whole family knows anything about where he's been buried." I said and there was literally no new information in my sentence. All this has been clear for me my whole life, but there was a little part in me that wished one of my birth parents were alive.
,,I could text one of his Facebook friends. There has to be at least a person on this earth that knows something about his death." Stacy said.
,,Could we do that?"
,,Yeah. I'll just send a text to all of them." Stacy said and that's what she did. ,,Now we wait." She said and that's what we did.
We were both waiting impatiently for at least an answer and were just walking through the room like our mom's would do when they are on the phone. We both jumped on the bed when we heard that Stacy got a notification and she took her phone immediately in her hands.
,,It's one of his friends!" Stacy said excited and we both looked at the screen as she went on Facebook to see what the person wrote back.
"I'm sorry I can't help you"
We both groaned in disappointment and Stacy hit her phone against the bed.
,,Stupid old people." I said.
,,I'm just gonna insist." Stacy said.
"His daughter would really want to know more about her father. Could you please tell us anything about how he died or where he is buried. Please, that would help a lot." Stacy texted, but the person only left us on seen.
,,Great! Mean and stupid old people." I said and rolled my eyes, but right then Stacy got another notification from one of the other friends.
"Who are you and what do you have to do with Nick Geller?" The massage said.
,,What should I say?" Stacy asked.
,,Tell him you are his daughter." I said and Stacy nodded.
"I'm his daughter and I would like to know more about how my father died. I thought I could find out more about him through his friends." Stacy texted and the other person started to type immediately.
"Are you talking about Nick Geller?" The person wrote back.
"Yes." Stacy typed rapidly.
"Well then you got the wrong Nick Geller 'cause he is the opposite of dead. Sadly. And his is also the opposite of my friend." The person texted and both mine and Stacy's eyes grew wide.
What should that mean!?
,,W-What should that mean?" Stacy said just what I was thinking.
,,I have no fucking idea." I said.
,,What do I text now?" She asked and I took the phone from her.
"What do you mean with 'he is the opposite of dead'?" I texted from Stacy's phone.
"You know what, kid? I hope for you that you aren't Nick Gellers's daughter because that man is fucked up." The person texted without answering my question.
"Is? Why 'is'? He isn't alive right?" I texted and Stacy and I waited for the answer impatiently once again, but he didn't answer anymore.
,,What the fuck!?" I said in total confusion.
,,I think you should talk to your parents about this." Stacy said.
,,That for sure! If he is alive and they lied to me all this time, then I'm gonna be so fucking mad."
,,But what if they don't know either. I mean if your dad is alive maybe they were lied to too. I just don't think that Shawn and Mila would ever lie to you and for sure not about your parents. Mila lost her parents too and she knows how you feel so I don't think she would ever lie to you about something like that." Stacy said and she had a point. Mom and dad would never lie to me about something like that.
Hours later it was time for us to go back home. We said our goodbyes and then walked back home.
I decided to talk to my parents the next day about Nick because I didn't want to think about it today anymore.
I walked hand in hand with Ami and Nate while mom and dad where right behind us walking with Tarzan and Thunder.
,,I'm tired...." Ami complained.
,,We'll be home in a few minutes, princess." Dad said to Ami.
,,Can you carry me home....? Pretty please." Ami said giving dad her puppy eyes.
,,You all learned to manipulate from your mom. It's not fair to me, you all." Dad said and then picked up Ami. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his middle part.
I took Thunder's lash from dad so he didn't have to struggle with him and Ami too.
,,You can be pretty manipulative as well, so don't complain." Mom said to dad making me and Nate laugh lightly.
Nate and I kept talking on the way home, but just when we got on our street I saw the man from earlier today standing right in front of our front door. I turned around to look at mom and dad and they didn't notice the man yet 'cause they were talking.
,,Mom.." I said and pointed at the man.
She turned her attention on our house and when she noticed the man there her happy facial expressions disappeared.
I looked at dad who suddenly became serious too and I started to worry. Who was this man!? And what the fuck was he doing there again.
When we got closer to our home, Tarzan and Thunder started barking noticing the man there. I tried to keep Thunder in place, but he was too strong.
Right when the lash escaped my hands, dad took it in his hand and held Thunder back.
,,Kids, go inside with Thunder and Tarzan. We'll come right after you." Dad said, but I couldn't concentrate on what he said because now that I was looking closer at the man I couldn't believe my eyes.
Even in the darkness, I could see the similarities between the photos Mary showed me of Nick and the photos I saw with Stacy on Nick's Facebook account.
,,Riley. Go in with you siblings." Mom said and made me snap out of my thoughts.
Nate pulled on my hand and made me enter the house with him, the sleepy Ami, Tarzan and Thunder.
I wanted to protest, but didn't. I closed the door after us and couldn't help, but wonder what was happening outside. I needed to know. Everything was so confusing and I just needed answers.
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Y'all take a deep breath and get ready for the worst👍🏻