More Than One: A Novel (8 page)

“Gee, I don't know. We haven't been to any of those events since you left for college. I'll check around and see and let you know,” he said.

“Thanks dad. You think you and mom would be up for it this weekend?”

“Of course. Hopefully the Pumpkin Patch Festival is going on tomorrow. We always had fun going to that.”

“Oh yeah that was fun. It's going to be great, I can't wait. Come on. Mom is probably done with lunch. Let’s go eat!” I said.

I grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the chair and he followed me to the living room. Rach was already eating. We sat down and my mom brought out the rest of the food. We sat around and watched television while enjoying each others company for the rest of the evening. We didn’t have to go anywhere to have a good time. All the reminiscing and laughter made me really feel at home.

              It was around one in the morning and I couldn’t sleep. Everyone else went to bed hours ago. I sat up in my bed and wondered what I should do with myself.

I left my room and went downstairs to raid the refrigerator. I looked in and didn’t see anything I wanted to eat.

I thought about how my dad used to keep a stash of snacks in his office. My mom didn’t allow him to eat certain things, so he hid them in his office because my mom rarely went in there. I knew about it because I caught him one day and since then, it’s been our little secret.

I walked in quietly and cut on the light. Hoping it was in the same place, I went to his file cabinet.

I pulled the middle drawer all the way out and stuck my hand in to feel around in the back. There was nothing there. Before I closed the drawer, a particular file caught my eye; it had my name on it.

I pulled it out and went to my dad’s desk. When I opened it, I knew I wouldn’t be able to understand most of it. It was all medical terminology. I didn’t pay enough attention in that class to grasp what I was reading right now.

I scan through the pages of records. When I got to the fifth page, I saw words I could actually understand, but altogether, it still didn’t make any sense. There were summaries about duplications and the cloning process. I wondered why it would be in a folder with my things. I read on.

By the time I got to the ninth page, I really started freaking out. There were charts with columns, my name was in one and what appeared to be a serial number was in the other. There were check marks next to a set of goals, such as growth, heart rate, and temperature.

I read even further and waited for the mystery to unfold.

I went back to the file cabinet to see if there was another folder with the same serial number on it and there was. I pulled it out and went back to the desk.

The file contained pages similar to the one in my file. The last page was a certificate that said the cloning experiment had failed.

CLONES. My mind was swimming. Had my parents cloned me? Was I apart of some weird experiment? Was I a clone?

My mind was racing ten miles a minute. I would have never thought any of this was possible. I might be looking at this all wrong. Even though I couldn’t imagine such a theory, my gut feeling told me different.

Chapter Eight

Ashton

I’ve been sitting at this airport forever it seems. I hate when the flights are delayed. Rome was already a ten-hour flight, then they go and delay it even further for something stupid. This was definitely a waste of my time. That was one of the reasons I dreaded going back home.

I sat and watched all the people file in the waiting area and wondered what Jamie was doing. I didn’t get a chance to see or talk to her before I left and it was getting to me.

I knew when I got back I was going to have to tell her everything. I couldn’t hold it in any longer. She had a right to know. I was tired of holding on to this secret, the secret that protected my very existence. It was a secret that could ultimately destroy my parents.

I really didn’t care much about the consequences. I knew I had to spill my guts about it all, but I was still afraid. Afraid that if she knew the truth, she wouldn’t like me anymore. The thought made me cringe.

The flight finally started to board. I got on the plane, relaxed and closed my eyes to go to sleep. I decided to go over everything again when I woke up.

The flight went by in a blur. Once the plane landed, I grabbed my luggage and went to the front. I knew my parents wouldn’t be there to pick me up, so I looked for a driver who had a sign with my name on it.

Through the whirl of people, I finally found my driver. He grabbed my bags, greeted me, and showed me to the car. I got in the car while the driver put my bags in the trunk. I slouched down in the seat and leaned on the door. Doesn’t matter how many times I come home, I’m never prepared to be here. I’ve become accustomed to my life in Georgia and being home just reminded me of hard times.

When I lived here before going to college, I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere without supervision. Even then, it was only to select places; none of which I had any interest in. I could have gone to college here, but that would have been too close for comfort. I finally got a chance to get away and I never wanted to return. Especially when I met Jamie and Rachel at school. Most of our classes were together the first year and after that, we were inseparable. The only reason I’m here now is because I had to come twice a year for examinations.

We pulled up in the drive way and I looked across the lawn, dreading to go in. I pulled it together and got out of the car. I walked up the steps and rang the doorbell. I was never given a key. My father said the only way I would get one is if I paid a bill in the house. It wasn’t that important for me, so I blew that conversation off, like so many others. I laughed to myself when the butler finally answered the door. Abracadabra, I thought. My father was such an idiot.

“Mr. Dean, how was your flight?” He greeted me.

“How many times have I asked you to call me Ash? I hate it when you call me Mr. Dean. You’ve known me all my life.”

“Sorry sir.”

I sighed and rolled my eyes.

“The flight was okay, I guess,” I said stretching, “Where are the white coats?”

“Your father is around back in the lab.”

“Thanks,” I said turning away from him.

I walked to the kitchen and grabbed some bottled water then headed to the back.

The corridor always seemed creepy to me. It was a long white hall that was very narrow. The hall led to the lab and only had sensor lights on the floor. You really couldn’t see anything until you walked close to the sensor for the light to come on. It was always pitch black.

When I made it to the end of the hallway, I stood at the door and knocked. I heard someone walking to the door on the other side. Finally the door opened.

“Ashton, it’s so good to see you,” my father said.

“Hey father,” I replied.

He hugged me and I still wasn’t all that happy to see him. His face seemed weary, but
he
did seem happy to see me.

“So where’s mom?” I said pulling away from the hug.

“She had to step out to run some errands, but she should be back shortly.”

I nodded and walked further into the lab. It looked like a lot of things had changed since I was here last. There was obviously more equipment added.

The lab was actually huge. It was sectioned off to accommodate the procedures that took place, as well as an area for my father’s office.

My father was a doctor and a scientist and like all scientists, in my opinion, he was insane. I figure that’s the reason they discover so many things, because they are crazy enough to try.

He and his partner, Dr. Lewis, had experimented on so many things, it’s a wonder they haven’t found a way to live on Saturn or how to teach pigs to fly. His knowledge of the things unknown to me was a bore. I never took an interest in any of his work, and I think that upsets him.

I wasn’t one to take things as seriously as he did. My philosophy was, you only live once, so have as much fun as you can before you go.

While I walked around the lab, I could feel my father staring at me. I know he wanted to flood me with questions like he always did. For some reason, I felt like being a jerk today. I wanted him to wait until I was done looking at all the changes made to the place where I spent most of my childhood.

There was a door in the back of the lab that led to an extra room. I never asked what it was for and I’ve never been in there. I could care less what it contained.

I walked around the operating table that was in the far corner and looked up to notice my dad still staring.

“So, how do you feel son?” he asked.

Once again, I rolled my eyes. I noticed I was doing that too often. Note to self: stop hanging around Jamie and Rach so much.    

“I’m okay. I feel fine.”

“Have there been any changes since your last visit?”

“No, not really. I’ve been tired more lately, but other than that, I’m okay,” I said.

“Tired? Are you sleeping more or are you just feeling worn out?” he said grabbing a pad and pen.

He knew exactly how to push my buttons and make me mad. He was starting in on me already and I just walked through the door. I wasn’t in the mood for any of his endless questioning and the dissection of my answers.

“Do we have to do this right now? I just walked through the door and you can’t wait to put me on the operating table,” I said.

He frowned and then put the pen and pad down.

“You’re right, it can wait,” he said walking towards me. “Let’s go to the main house and catch up.”

I was reluctant at first, but I followed him out of the lab.

My dad walked in front of me, but that wasn’t anything new. We never walked side by side. I was always bothered by it, but I never said anything.

Another thing that bothered me was the fact he was being so nice and patient with me. Normally he would talk
at
me and not
with
me. It made me feel like he was hiding something important; something he was too afraid to tell me.

He was very loquacious today. I stared at the back of his head while he walked through the kitchen to the living room, listening to him ramble on.

“Hey doc,” I yelled.

He stopped short while spinning around on his heels.

“Yes son,” he said, startled.

“What’s going on? There’s something you’re not telling me,” I asked.

He started laughing nervously. “What do you mean?”

“You’re rambling. Did something happen?”

I knew something was going on about me because if it were about someone else, he would have told me by now.

“No son, everything is going to be fine.”

“Going to be? What…” I said.

“Ashton,” my mom said coming through the door cutting me off.

She ran up to me and gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. My dad and I were still staring at each other.

“I’ve missed you. How have you been?” my mom said, examining me. “Look at you, did you get taller?”

“No, I don’t believe I did,” I said.

After she looked me up and down, she made an uneasy face and then glanced at my father. Something was seriously going on here. My mom grabbed my arm and pulled me to the couch.

“Come talk to me. How are things? How do you feel honey?” she asked.

My father gave my mom a skittish look, but she ignored it. For some reason I wasn’t upset with my mom.

“I’m okay, everything is great,” I said.

“He’s been lethargic lately,” my father added.

“I didn’t say lethargic, I said tired. In my opinion, they are two different things,” I yelled.

“Sorry son.”

My mom looked back and forth between my father and me. Apparently, she felt she needed to defuse the situation.

“Are you hungry? Have you eaten yet?” she said looking at me. “Let’s go out and have a nice family dinner.”

“Sure mom, let me go get cleaned up and I’ll be down in a minute.”

I got up and headed for the winding staircase. I was still uneasy about the conversation that just took place. I was going to let it go for now, but I was dead set on getting some answers.

After I changed, I went downstairs and my parents were already at the door waiting on me. I stopped halfway down the stairs because they were huddled together whispering. To no avail, I strained to hear what was going on.

I was starting to get worried. This was scaring me, because my parents have never been this tense before.

I quietly walked down the rest of the way to see if I could get closer and hear what they were saying. I still didn’t get anything and now I was too close for them to not notice me.

“Are you ready Ashton?” my mom asked.

“Yep,” I replied, walking passed them to the door.

We made our way to the car and got inside. The ride to the restaurant was silent. There was no music played or any delightful conversation, just awkward glances exchanged between my parents. I was glad when we finally pulled up to the valet. I opened the door quickly so I could hear some chatter from somewhere, anywhere. The muted ride almost drove me insane.

Dinner was just as dreadful. There wasn’t much chatter there, as well. No one wanted to start up a conversation and so we ate in silence then hurried the waiter up with the check. I wasn’t the only one that wanted this evening to be over.

Once we made it back home, I walked in the house waiting for someone to tell me something. My mom came through the door, put up her coat and immediately stood next to the stairs.

Finally, my mom kissed me on the cheek, with a worried look in her eyes, before she ascended up the stairs to her room. My father paced back and forth while we watched my mom until she disappeared around the corner. My father stopped pacing and turned to me.

“Okay, seriously, what is going on?” I asked.

He had a grimaced look on his face. I knew right then he wasn’t going to tell me anything.

“Son, maybe you should get some rest, and I’ll explain everything in the morning,” he said.

“How do you expect me to sleep when I know something is going on? And I know it’s about me because if it wasn’t, you would’ve told me by now.” I was fuming.

“I know son, please calm down. I promise it will all make sense in the morning. Please just trust me.”

This conversation was going nowhere fast. I was too angry to speak, so I turned and headed up to my room.

When I got to my room, I slammed the door so hard, the walls shook. I was so mad, I just started picking up random things and throwing them against the wall. I use to feel safe whenever I came in here, but now, it didn’t help shield me from the feeling I had gnawing at me. My father was avoiding my questions and my mom was being insanely nice to me. It was eating me up.

I continued to throw whatever I could get my hands on, but I still felt like crap. I gave up and sat down on my bed and looked around at the mess I made. My mom would be pissed if she saw how I trashed my room.

I remember arguing with my father so many times about the fact that I felt like I was in a prison. In exchange for my good behavior, I got to revamp my room. Since I didn’t go anywhere, I brought some of the outside world into my room. My mom helped me find all the things I needed. It would kill her to see that I broke some of the things she found for me.

              I laid back on my bed and looked at my phone. I wanted to call Jamie, but I figured she was asleep by now. I put the phone down. I started to get sleepy. I let go of my quest to find something to do and made myself go to sleep.

              The next morning I arose to the aroma of breakfast. It couldn't have been my mom because I have never seen her in the kitchen cooking ever. She claimed she never learned how to cook properly, but I think she just says that so she won't be asked.

              I jumped out of bed and threw on a t-shirt and some pajama pants. I went in the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. After I was done, I headed downstairs.