Jay's P.O.V.
I didn't want to think, I knew he was coming back to London. He was still technically an English citizen, after he was arrested they refused to allow him a New Zealand citizenship, I had done my research on the laws in New Zealand. I had been in touch with my dad's lawyer, when I was living with my grandma and he said that he would be deported back to England once he was released.
But that would have been years away, 30 years at least. He wasn't ment to be eligible for parole until at least 20 years into his sentence, but after 5 they had released him. The only way he would have been released was if someone paid his bail, which I knew had been set unimaginably high. Over 3 million dollars I think.
I knew why he had been arrested, I was at his trial. I had to give evidence against him, even though it wasn't much. I don't think Officer Briny knew the fact that I'd been at his trial, he would have mentioned it long before now if he had. I knew about the abuse, I could still remember it to that day, but the sexual assault I didn't remember.
All I remembered was waking up in the hospital and being told about it, but I couldn't remember anything about that night, nothing to give as evidence anyway. I just took their word for it and I believed it, knowing he was capable of much, much worse.
I knew why Phil had got the others to leave the room to talk, they thought I didn't know about it. But I knew. I'd always known.
They walked back into the room in a single line, Phil looked grim, Dan relatively upset and Louise shocked, her eyes wide and they purposely avoided me, and I knew exactly why.
"I know, you know that right?"
"You know what?" Phil's voice was steely, trying to remain calm even though I could sense he really wasn't.
"I know what my dad did. I don't remember it, but I was at his trial. The hospital staff weren't going to keep it a secret, not if I had to find out about it for the first time at trial." I let out a deep sigh.
"I know you didn't think I knew, I know I don't actually remember it but I know what happened. I know why I was sent to live with my grandmother, because of the request my dad made. He knew he would be out of jail before I moved out of the house and he wanted to make sure he could come back. Because my grandma died, there's that plan foiled."
"But he can't get you back can he? Not with all of the charges against him?"
"Different country, different rules. Are far as he's concerned, he doesn't have a criminal record because it was recorded in New Zealand and not here. I could very well have to go back, but there's no way in hell I'm gonna go quietly." I could hear the bitterness in my own voice and I knew it was true. He was going to try and get me back.
Different country, different rules.
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Phil had gone to call Officer Briny, who grimly reassured me that there was no way I was going anywhere with my dad, not if he could help it.
"I don't care what the rules say at this point, your dad has no right to take you anywhere, he is no longer a legal guardian and will never again be a legal guardian. If he wants you, he has to go through me first." I knew there was nothing to do but wait until something happened, but when it did, I was going to fight for my rights with everything I had.
Louise hung around, she didn't seem to want to go home and with dinner long forgotten about by the three of us, she went to go and make something quickly. Dan didn't want to sit still so he went to go and help her.
I wasn't sure how long it would take until he tracked me down, maybe the time I would spend in America would throw him off our trail for a while. Officer Briny had also said there would be no way he would give up my adoption details to anyone and had also warned Mrs Harrow, who would be a potential target because of her connection with me.
My dad, I really had to think of something else to call him, had known Mrs Harrow and probably knew she had been part of the team that moved me to London, so she was probably the first person he would go to.
"Mrs Harrow is going to be staying with me for a while until we're sure he doesn't know where she is, but we might have to face him eventually to get him arrested again. He still has to serve the rest of that time for the crimes he committed, even if it's here instead of New Zealand." Honestly, Officer Briny was a far better father than my own one, so technically I had four now, Dan, Phil, Officer Briny and my own one.
I couldn't stop thinking about him, I knew I would have to face him one day, but I had hoped that that day would be a long, long way in the future. I still hadn't moved from the couch, which I had been on basically all day and I didn't actually want to move, I couldn't.
Dinner was chicken schnitzel and a salad, which I just picked at, not feeling hungry. My appetite had been vanquished by the fact that he was out, on the move and trying to find me.
"Not hungry Jay?" Shaking my head, I placed the plate on the arm of the couch and stared aimlessly at the television, my eyes gliding over the room.
Dan and Phil were talking about the next video, the one where they explained their relationship, and were already discussing where they would do it and what they would talk about.
"We should probably do it in your room, it's a little more cheerful."
"Yeah, sounds good but what would we talk about?"
"When we got together, family stuff, 2012... ugh. Jay?" I looked up at the sound of my name.
"Yeah?"
"Oh I was talking to Phil. Should we talk about you in the new video or leave it to a separate one?" I thought for a second.
"Put it on this one, there's not much to talk about is there?" Dan grinned.
"Not much to talk about? Are you kidding, there'll want to know every single detail!"
"Still, there's not much detail is there? Name, age, what else?" Phil tilted his head to the side like a curious puppy, and I laughed.
"I dunno, what you like, where you come from, that sort of thing."
"I don't want to say anything about my background. That's not for them to know." Dan's voice was quiet.
"I know. We won't tell anyone about it unless you want too."