Riley
We slowly made our way back up the beach. We took the Jeep to the address we had for the girls. They were so excited to see me. They hugged and kissed me. We sat down with the foster family who had taken them in. The couple was very nice. The wife was a nurse and the husband a contractor. They had been trying for about 5 years to get pregnant. The girls seemed happy and comfortable. I could read that these people were genuine. They were happy to have the girls and hopeful that they could keep them. I started to relax while they spoke. They asked lots of questions about the girls. They genuinely seemed to care about their welfare. They told us they were hoping to eventually adopt. That gave me hope. Maybe my sisters would be okay. I filled them in on some of the abuse, and also things that the girls liked. How they only slept together. They promised to keep in touch with me. I felt so much better after seeing them with these good people. We made our way back to Grayson's place. It was a beautiful Recreational Vehicle. Must have cost as much as a house. He had really good taste. When we arrived, I saw a man outside in a car. I recognized him! That was a change. This was Grayson's Dad.
We hopped out of the Jeep and I was immediately embraced by Jack. He was so happy to see me. That filled me with joy. It had been so long. "Jack, I remember." I told him. He pulled away and took a long look. "Oh, Amber I am so relieved. We thought you were gone honey." He had tears in his eyes. "Let's go inside Dad." Grayson suggested.
We updated him on all the events of the last few days. He was overwhelmed and relieved at the same time. He told Grayson everything going on back in Colorado. The others were very excited about me being found. They wanted me to return right away. I really hadn't given much thought to when I would go back. I needed to testify against Hank, and maybe even Gwen, if they decided to charge her with child endangerment. I hoped they would. The thought of leaving this horrible life was thrilling. Jack said he brought my birth certificate and other identifying paperwork. He wanted to go to Child Protective Services and get me released into his care. I reminded him that I turned 18 today.
We needed to decide if I would keep my identity as Riley Grayson or not. It could come in handy to have a separate identity. I wasn't really sure what to do. Our people always maintained multiple passports and I.D.'s because we didn't appear to grow older. It would get suspicious if our license showed that we were over 100 years old and still looked 30. After much discussion, we decided to leave the Riley Grayson identity alone. She could just disappear. No one would really notice. Except my friend Maya. I hadn't been keeping her updated at all. I needed to tell her that I found my family and got my memory back. But the truth of my heritage was another story. She would never know any of that.
The evening was filled with reminiscing about happy times. Jack told me a lot about my parents from when they were younger. Things I had never known. As we spoke, my memories were all falling into place. I began feeling a great loss over my parent's death. When I lost my memory, I could only imagine that I missed them. Now I knew the real meaning of loss. I remembered what wonderful people they were. How much I loved them, and they loved me. I was going to have to deal with this at some point. I know that the others had already accepted their deaths three years ago, but to me, it was fresh.
It was nice to be treated like family by Jack. I always had felt like he was my second Dad. I was happy that I would at least have him and Grayson's Mom as well. I couldn't wait to see her again. Thoughts of our old life and all the people I hadn't seen for three years were invading my mind. I had really been blessed with a wonderful life back then. I didn't appreciate it enough at the time. But now I knew what it was like to not feel loved. To be a burden to the people around you. I was starting to really want to go back to Colorado sooner than later.
Jack slept on another pull out bed in the RV with us. I felt so safe with them both near me. Safer than I had felt in the last three years. All the stress of worrying about Hank and the girls was melting away. I fell asleep with no fear. It was wonderful. The next morning, I awoke to Jack cooking breakfast. It was early, and I realized it was Monday. Back to school. Grayson gave me a chaste kiss good morning and we ate together like a real family. He could touch me now without worrying about my head exploding. That was certainly a bonus since I wanted to touch him as often as possible. Just maybe not too much in front of his Dad.
We walked into the school holding hands. My head was held high and I wasn't trying to cover up with a bulky sweat shirt anymore. How things had changed. "You look like a totally different girl." He told me as we got to my locker. "I hope that's a compliment." "You were beautiful before, but now you are stunning. Your skin in glowing, your eyes are shinning. I see the amazing girl that I lost again. And I love it."
Maya met us at my locker. "So, you two together now or what?" she asked with no hesitation. "Yes", we said simultaneously. I blushed, and she smiled wide. "That's awesome! I knew there was a guy out there for you. I didn't expect this hottie." She said pointing at him. "But I knew you would get a good one." Grayson squeezed my hand tighter as the other students gawked at us. I tried to pull away out of embarrassment. "Don't go getting embarrassed of me." He chided in my head. "I could never be embarrassed of you." I sent back. He smiled wide and led us to our seats in first period.
Grayson communicated with me telepathically all through class. I don't think I would ever be able to concentrate again when he kept telling me how hot I looked today. My face was on fire. I imagined everyone in class could hear what he was saying. The rest of the day went about the same. Even when we weren't in class together, he continued a constant narration of everything he was thinking and feeling. I loved it. I couldn't get enough of hearing his soothing voice in my head. The tingles I experienced when he was close were a soothing sensation now. I couldn't imagine how he must have felt to lose this connection when I was injured. It had to have been awful for him. By lunchtime, I was ready to throw myself in his arms when he met me at the locker. He didn't hesitate to embrace me in a warm bear hug in front of everyone. "Easy on the PDA." I admonished. He simply smiled and kissed me on my neck. Oh God, that wasn't helping the situation at all.
We decided to eat with Maya since I knew her and I wouldn't have much time left together. I wanted to talk to her. I explained what happened with Hank and that the girls were safe. She was so relieved. She thanked Grayson for calling the police. She really was a good friend. I told her then that I got my memory back. She was shocked. I disclosed that I remembered my parents and where I lived. I didn't explain that Grayson was my soul mate or that he came here looking for me. That was a little over the top for even her to handle. I explained that I had family in Colorado and had already been in touch with them. She didn't ask a lot of questions which I was very relieved about. I didn't want to have to lie to her. She was sad I would be leaving, but she completely understood why I would. She seemed to only have positive emotions about it, except for a sense of loss. I hoped she was going to be okay. Thankfully, she had a pretty good foster family.
At the end of the school day, I went to the office and spoke to the secretary. I told her that I had regained my memory and was going to be leaving the state. She said she needed confirmation from an adult guardian in order to put in my school records that I was relocating and not just dropping out. I knew Jack could take care of it. And maybe a little bit of computer hacking wouldn't hurt in this case. They needed to confirm that I would be enrolled in another school. It all went rather smoothly. I could officially go back to being Amber now. Riley was just another identity. I was feeling better about leaving Pacifica. Maya would be fine. And so would my sisters as long as they stayed with their new Foster Family.