Overture (Rain Dance, Book 1) (Rain Dance Series) (71 page)

     
"I hate
this fucking song," I spat with contempt.

     
He laughed.
"I remember. So…are you ever going to ask about them?"

     
I took a sip of
my milkshake. I hadn't heard anything about
them
since the day I had
walked out of that house. "What are they doing now?"

     
"Same
old," he replied with a shrug. "Aubrey's in school. Courtney is
looking after the new house."

     
Courtney
.
One thing I had always noticed was that Noel had never called her anything
else, not even as a child. The same was true for me in regards to his father.
When I had explained everything to Ethan, I'd had difficulty referring to
Truman as my
stepfather
.

     
"What
happened to the old house?"

     
"She had
to sell it. After the old man's sentence, things were kind of rough for them.
They aren't like you, you know. They were accustomed to their comfortable
lifestyle."

     
"You're
taking care of them now," I surmised.

     
"I'm
keeping them out of my hair. New house and a monthly allowance. With any luck,
they'll both find some mogul who's willing to take them off my hands." He
stole one of my onion rings, earning a death glare from me to which he just
grinned. "Looks like you have them beat at that, too."

     
I sighed. What
would happen now? Would I really have to leave? That had always been the plan.
But things had changed. It wasn't just me anymore. How long did I have until
she
found me? And where would I go from here?

     
"What are
you going to do?" It was as though Noel could read my thoughts.

     
"I don't
know," I admitted. "I won't leave until I finish the project I'm
working on. I'll just have to figure something out in the meantime. Obviously,
I won't be able to live with Dale for much longer if it's like you said."
After a pause, I looked up at Noel. "…She wouldn't hurt him, right?"

     
"Unless
she knew that it was a sure way of getting to you, then probably not. But
there's no way of knowing for sure. You should be gone before she even knows
that he exists."

     
A thought hit
me, then. One that had come to me plenty of times before, but that I'd never
really considered. At least, not seriously. "What if I let her find me? If
I managed to kill her first...it would all be over, wouldn't it?"

     
He leaned back
and looked at me carefully. "I'm hoping she'll do something that'll give
Wilhelm a reason to take her out first. But if that doesn't happen and Desmond
isn't able to find her before she finds you - which is extremely unlikely now,
by the way…Do you think you even
could
kill her?"

     
Kill.

     
It was a big
word, and it wasn't something one could really think about - not realistically.
Leaning forward, I rested my chin in my hands. "I don't know, but I'd
certainly try. At least I'd be a little better prepared than I was the first
time."

     
He grabbed
another one of my onion rings, gently running his thumb over the batter.
"You never did use the list I gave you last year…" he said, glancing up
at me. "Did you manage to find a place on your own?"

     
"...Yes."

     
He nodded and
took a bite. "I won't ask where. But you should start getting ready to
leave, just in case. I can give you enough to lie low without having to worry
about anything."

     
"I told
you already, I'm done taking your-"

     
"It's your
money, not mine," he interjected.

     
I looked at him
skeptically.

     
"Your
inheritance."

     
I felt my face
tense up. "I don't have one."

     
"Not
officially. Your father kept it hidden. Safe. Courtney knew about it though,
and where to find some of it."

     
"I think I
would know if my own father-"

     
"Would you
really?" he interrupted again, watching me carefully. "Of course.
Because we all know that Courtney was an honest and loving mother to you. And
unlike her thieving husband, she would have certainly handed over what was
rightfully yours. Right?"

     
…
Holy shit.

     
"Wait…The
money you gave me when I left the house…?"

     
He nodded in
confirmation.

     
Was he fucking
serious? So all this time I had felt guilty for accepting that money when in
reality… "Are you lying?
Why?
Why did you let me think it was from
you!?"

     
"At the
time it seemed irrelevant to bother explaining where it had come from. All that
mattered was gaining your trust. There's a lot more hidden away than what I've
gathered so far. As of right now, there's no way for me to access it. But what
I
do
have is more than enough to keep you off the map for years to
come." Leaning forward, he lowered his voice slightly and spoke slowly.
"I told you…You don't
ever
have to go back to the way things were
when I last found you."

     
"…But…It
must be a joke. You're saying that I have money?
My own
money?"

     
"Vincent
Myers was a fairly wealthy man, to say the least." At my stunned silence,
he exhaled and scratched his head. "I guess you wouldn't have realized,
being a kid and all."

     
I thought back,
trying to pin together any indication. I remembered that I was ridiculously
spoiled. But I also remember that our house was small. As was the town we lived
in.

     
Think,
Daphne. What else do you remember?

     
My father drove
a brown car. It was old, I think. He grew baby tomatoes and was creative in the
kitchen. Aside from his camera, he collected other fancy gadgets. He worked
from home while I was off at school, though I don't know what he did. But he
could afford to take me on a trip to Disneyland every so often. So I guess that
must've made him sort of well off?

     
"Your
mother," Noel stated, interrupting me from my thoughts.

     
"…What
about her?"

     
"She's not
the kind of woman who would sleep around with the average Joe. You know that.
She's an opportunist set on making the most out of others. It's always been my
belief that she meant to use you as a sort of golden ticket. I mean…it's
obvious that she didn't have you out of love."

     
"Your
belief
?"
I scoffed.

     
"Adults
don't realize that kids are usually listening when they talk. I heard a lot of
interesting things growing up," he said thoughtfully.

     
"And you
just kept quiet about it the whole time?" I could hear the disbelief in my
voice.

     
He gave me half
a smile. "Why do you think I'm so good at my job? Anyway, all I know for
sure is that it was your father who took you away. The rest is speculation
based mostly on her reaction to getting a hold of his will."

     
"…What was
in it?"

     
He chuckled.
"It's what
wasn't
in it. But to answer your question, he put down
the addresses of where to find the little bits of cash he left for you."

     
"I don't
understand. That's what she wanted, right?"

     
"Hardly.
Properties
,
Doll - all filled with hidden treasures. That's what she and my father were
after."

     
"…What?"

     
"It's a
fascinating story, isn't it?" He sat back in his seat and grinned.
"It's what I've heard, anyway. I haven't been able to confirm whether they
actually exist or not. Our parents swear they do, but there's no actual proof
or record. At least, not under the name of Vincent Myers."

     
Groaning, I
leaned my forehead against the table. "…Holy fuck." It was all way
too much information to process. Or was it? If I simply accepted it for what it
was, it wouldn't be an issue, would it? And since there was no way of knowing
for sure whether it was true or not, there was no use in thinking about it.
"Anyway, I guess I'll start getting ready tomorrow - just in case."

     
"…Did you
tell him where it is?" Noel asked with an arched brow.

     
Lifting my
head, I gave him another blank stare.

     
"Fine.
Expect a gift at your doorstep tomorrow at noon."

     
"I still
don't think that's necessary. I have quite a bit left over from the last
time."

     
"It's
yours. Do whatever you want with it, but get it off my hands."

     
"Okay,
okay, whatever. Hey, can I use your phone to call a cab?" I asked, sipping
the last bits of my milkshake. "I don't have mine on me."

     
He frowned.
"You should always have it on you. You know that."

     
"I didn't
want him to track me," I said simply.

     
His frown
turned into a small smile.

     
When I returned
to the apartment, Dale was standing in the living room with the phone to his
ear, still dressed from his night out with Samantha. As I walked in, he looked
at me with a slightly confused expression. "Um…She's back," he spoke
into the phone.

     
Shit. It must
be Ethan.

     
Dale handed the
phone to me and asked, "Everything okay?"

     
I nodded and
put my hand over the receiver. "Did he just call?"

     
"Yeah. You
weren't answering your cell and he wanted to make sure you were alright. If you
weren't with him, where were you at this time?" He glanced over at the
clock.

     
I followed his
eyes. It was almost midnight now. "Hungry."

     
"…Hungry?" he repeated.

     
"Onion
rings."

     
"Ah,
gotcha." He nodded and ruffled my wet hair. Apparently, that was all he
needed to know.
Good old Dale.

     
"Did you
have a good night?" I asked.

     
His answering
grin spoke volumes.

     
Reaching up onto
my tiptoes, I patted his head. "Sleep tight, Coops."

     
When he left
for his room, I quickly made my way into the kitchen to grab the food I had
left in there earlier before heading into my own bedroom.

     
"Hey,
you," I spoke into the phone.

     
There were a
few seconds of silence before Ethan answered. "You're alright?"

     
"Yes."

     
"Where
were you?"

     
"A
diner."

     
"Douglas
got you food."

     
I bit into a
cold curly fry. Luckily, the flavor was still there. "Did Karina
leave?"

  
   
"Yes, not long after you did. Why didn't you
take your phone or the necklace with you?"

     
"I didn't
want you to know where I was going," I answered honestly. "I needed
time to myself. After what happened tonight, it's only fair."