Lost and Found (A Novel) (13 page)

As if on cue, the door banged opened and there stood Mrs. Price with a wild look on her face, taking in the sight before her. Both Hayley and Mr. Price stopped struggling and looked up at the woman before them, Hayley with relief written all over her face while Mr. Price’s face was drained white.

“WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?” Mrs. Price roared, her voice almost tripling it’s normal decibel that the room seemed to vibrate from the impact. It also jolted both Hayley and Mr. Price to start moving.

Hayley scrambled to untangle herself from the comforter with much difficulty since Mr. Price was doing the same at his end. Finally freed, Hayley crawled towards Mrs. Price. For once she was happy to see her mother. “Mo...mother...” Hayley gasped. She tried to speak but each word was like a physical drain on her breathless state. She looked up into her mother’s icy blue eyes, hoping that her own crystal ones would show what she was unable to say.

“Hey honey, what are you doing here? Did you forget something?” Mr. Price walked towards them, holding his arms out in an attempt to hug his wife.

Mrs. Price tore her eyes away from Hayley and bore into Mr. Price. “Yes, I did. I forgot to keep you on a leash before I go.” Her voice was calm, yet eerie in every sense. Hayley could almost hear her father gulped, his eyes darting back and forth in nervousness.

“What...what do you mean?” He stammered.

“Oh please, you can drop your act. You think I didn’t know what’s going on behind my back?” Mrs. Price started advancing towards him in small steps, her hands clenching in a tight fist. “I always suspected you have another woman on the side.” She stopped a few feet away from Mr. Price and cocked her head as if studying him, arms akimbo. “It was the perfect ruse and you played right into my hands.” She tutted. “I wanted to catch who this bitch was, the one you dared to betray me with.” She shook her head, her eyes slanting into small slits. “BUT HER?!” She roared, pointing an accusing finger towards Hayley.

Mr. Price grew paler, if that was even possible. He put his hands up in a pacifying manner. “No wait, listen to me. It’s not my fault honey.”

“Don’t patronize me!”

“It’s true. I would never betray you. It was her all along. Look at that backpack. She was trying to run away and when I caught her, she threw herself at me, hoping I would let her off. I tried to fight her, that’s why we ended up on the floor.”

Mrs. Price took in the sight of the backpack and whipped her head towards Hayley so fast that her neck cricked. Hayley’s eyes grew wide in horror at the way her father was quick to turn the situation around, conveniently putting the blame on her. She shook her head quickly, her mouth moving but no words would come out of it. In two strides, Mrs. Price was by Hayley’s side, pulling her up by her hair. Hayley screamed out in pain, closing her eyes tight.

“Look at me!” Mrs. Price shouted. Hayley opened her eyes slowly, sobbing and gasping at the same time. Tears streaming down her already wet face. “You little bitch!” She slapped Hayley and threw her down.

Hayley clutched her chest as she felt herself hyperventilate. Her mother could not have believed her father, could she? She turned towards her mother and cowered at the hatred that flashed across her face. “Mother...” She whimpered.

Mrs. Price responded with a kick to her stomach. “I’m no mother of yours! My daughter will not be so shameless as to throw herself at men, WHAT MORE HER FATHER!”

Her words cut throw Hayley’s heart like a sharp knife. Hayley winced in pain. Mrs. Price moved away to the side then and her father came into Hayley’s line of view. He stood leaning against the bedpost with a smug look on his face, smiling evilly at the state she was in. A moment later, Mrs. Price came back, this time with a baseball bat in her hand.

“I will teach you how to behave.” With that, the first swing hit Hayley, cracking the bone in her arm.

“Mother...” Hayley reached out at her mother’s legs only to be stomped on.

“I should never have let you been born.” Another slap hit Hayley again, knocking her head on the wall. Hayley could feel a trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth. “They told me you are a jinx. You’ll bring nothing but bad luck, but did I listen? No, I still carried you for the full nine months. NINE MONTHS! And what do I get in return? A slut who bites the hand that feeds her.” Mrs. Price hissed, spitting on Hayley’s face in disgust.

Hayley was shocked beyond believe at the words thrown by her mother. She knew then that no matter what she said it would not be taken rationally by her mother. Mrs. Price was so blinded with rage that she failed to notice Hayley’s silence was not because she admitted to the act. Rather it was due to the panic attack that she was having. Hayley felt the need to defend her dignity amidst the beating and despite her breathlessness, if that was the last thing she would do. “I...” She coughed out, blood sputtering from her mouth. “didn’t...” a swing of the bat hit her on her thigh, “do it...” another swing hit her at the back of her head and she slumped down to the floor.

“I’ve never wanted any children. I hate you, you hear me? I HATE YOU!!” Mrs. Price screeched.

Hayley’s eyes flickered as she lay still on the floor. She watched her mother walked away towards her father through blurred vision. She could hear them arguing but she could no longer make out what they were saying. There was a sickening thud then and her father slumped down on the floor just like she had. Then, shouting from different voices could be heard, and the sight of many feet rushing into the room was the last thing Hayley saw before her eyes fell shut.

“Hey Judd, pass the ball over here.” Judd snapped out of his daze and looked to his left at his teammates who were waving their hands impatiently at him. He threw the ball at them distractedly and ran off to the side. He had been feeling uneasy since they started the game. He could not focused and his mind kept wandering to that phone call from Hayley. No matter what he did, he could not slow down the fast beating of his heart and queasy feeling in his stomach. In the end his restlessness won over and he called out to his friends to tell them that he was going home.

The walk home was even worse for Judd. The feeling of dread seemed to be growing bigger with each step. He wondered if something had happened to his mother. That thought seemed to spur him on and he broke into a run. As his house came into view, he sighed in a slight relief that nothing was out of the ordinary. Yet, the uneasy feeling was still there, bothering him. Slowing back to a walk, he dragged his feet through the door. The first sight he saw was that of his stepsister pacing across the hall with a phone in her hand and worry etched on her face. “Elise?” He asked, dreading the response to come.

Elise turned and hurried towards Judd when she saw him. “Oh Judd, where have you been?”

“What’s wrong?” Judd was really panicking now.

“We need to get to Hayley’s house fast. She’s in trouble.”

“H...Hayley?” Judd stuttered, finally realizing the uneasiness that he had been feeling. “H...How do you know?”

“We don’t have time to waste. I’ll explain it to you in the car.”

Before Elise had even finished talking, Judd was already out of the house, running as though for dear life. He mentally cursed himself as he ran. He should have known something was wrong when Hayley called to meet him. She had never called him before, that should be signal enough that something was going on. Yet, he was dumb to have shrugged off her lateness as her standing him up. How could he be so foolish? Why did he not wait for her? Then with horror, he remembered her last words before she hanged up the phone, “please wait for me.”

“Judd, get in.” Given a choice, Judd would rather not stop running but he knew that it would be faster to take the ride from Elise. Climbing in, he kept his eyes focused on the road ahead, willing for the car to go as fast as it could.

“What happened to Hayley?” Judd finally asked.

Elise gave him a sideways glance. “I’m not really sure. I had hired a private investigator to check Hayley’s family out and he just called to say that her mother was going berserk.” She could see Judd’s jaw muscle twitching.

“It’s my fault Elise. I should never have left the park. I told her to trust me yet I betrayed her trust.” His voice was a whisper, full of remorse.

“You didn’t know this was going to happen Judd.” Elise said softly but Judd knew better. After all he had been suspecting it all along and at the crucial moment, he let his guard down.

As soon as Elise stopped the car by the sidewalk, Judd ran out and up to Hayley’s apartment. His dread grew when he saw the group of paramedics and policemen in the building. There was already a large group of onlookers crowding around. Fighting his way through them, Judd ran as far as he could before he was stopped by a policeman who was guarding the barricaded area. The first thing he saw was Hayley’s mother being led out by an officer. Her hands were handcuffed behind her back but she was thrashing about, screaming about how they deserved what they got for being immoral. Judd clenched his fist, shaking with fury. If he could, he would punched the woman for whatever she did to Hayley. Next was Hayley’s father. He was out cold and put on a stretcher. His head seemed to have been bashed in. If Hayley’s mother could cause a grown man to look like this, Judd could not imagined what Hayley would look like.

Then, after what seemed like eternity, there she was laying still on the canvas that carried her. Her face was bruised beyond recognition. Dried blood covered her face and body. Her arms looked bent out of shape. As the paramedic carrying her passed near where Judd stood, Hayley stirred and opened her eyes. She saw a dazed Judd and whispered something to the paramedic who nodded, then brought her closer to Judd. With a heavy heart, Judd looked down into her eyes which were so swollen that they were almost shut but he could still see her crystal eyes. Initially they looked vacant and lifeless before disappointment and sorrow filled it.

“I thought you said I could trust you.” Her voice came out in a hoarse whisper, full of pain and sadness. Judd shook his head, trying to say something but his brain was numbed. He was too consumed by guilt that he could only stared at Hayley in horror. “You never waited for me Judd, you left me.” Just as the paramedic started to pull Hayley away, she unclenched her small fist and a piece of paper drifted out of her hands to the floor. There, proudly written in black was his phone number. Just like the paper, Judd dropped to his knees, covering his face as tears flowed out of his eyes. He could hear Elise calling out his name and felt her arms going around his shoulders but he ignored her. His body heaving with his growing anguish. Wynne Judd Grant, what have you done? The last image of Hayley and the words that came out of her mouth would etched itself into his memory and would haunt him for eternity.

CHAPTER 10: PRESENT YEAR

The smooth sheet was still in its crisp state. The frame, though darkened, was in a good shape, holding up the sheet perfectly. This kite was all that he had left of her. Wynne laid the kite carefully in its black box and covered the lid. His grey eyes were clouded slightly as images of his past flitted through his troubled mind. Hugging the box to his chest, Wynne rested his forehead against the top lid and closed his eyes, a drop of tear rolling down his cheek. “Oh Hayley...I’m so sorry...” He whispered softly, his voice thick with the ache in his heart.

Elise stood in the doorway, her own heart breaking as she watched Wynne letting himself be consumed by his guilt again. Not being able to just sit back and let him wallow in depression, Elise took purposeful strides across the room, stopping in front of Wynne. Gently prying the box away from him, Elise set it down on the bed and took a seat on the sofa beside Wynne. “You have to stop blaming yourself, Wynne.” She took in the sight of a disheveled Wynne and shook her head sadly. Wynne might seemed like a tough person on the outside but deep down, Elise was the only one who knew how broken he was.

Wynne’s head turned towards Elise with a faraway look on his face, his eyes still glazed over. “It is my fault. You know that. Hayley knows that...” Elise reached out then and shook Wynne roughly by his shoulders to wake him up from his stupor.

“What are you doing?” Wynne hissed, causing Elise to break into a huge grin.

“Snap out of it Wynne.”

“I’m still sane if that’s what you are worried about.” He huffed and stood up, walking towards the balcony of his room. “How can I ever forget...”

“I’m not asking you to forget what happened. I just don’t think it’s healthy for you to keep going into a depression about it and blaming yourself all over again. What’s done is done Wynne, you need to move on.”

Wynne laughed bitterly. “Oh I did move on, or haven’t you noticed? I stopped dying my hair black, cut it short and neat...” Wynne leaned over the railing, his eyes traveling far over the horizon. The vast green field down the street reminded him so much of the special place in the park that he shared with Hayley. “Hayley had always pestered me to come out from hiding behind my hair. And I finally did, after she’s gone.” Wynne sensed Elise coming up beside him and he took a deep breath. He knew that Elise would never leave him alone if she thought that he was dwelling into his past again.