Okay, let’s keep this short. The second chapter of the day is Chapter 19, Not Safe, and I don’t want to tie you up too long, especially after that last chapter. I bet you’re glad you don’t have to wait a whole week for this one.
Not Safe
“Let me tell you a story, Adam. There was a woman who was the nicest person you could ever hope to meet. She worked at an animal shelter, caring for sick and injured animals before they found a forever home. One day, she met a man. He was handsome and mysterious, and she was intrigued by him. He asked her out and she agreed, even though he was a complete stranger. This was her first mistake. It turned out the man was not who she thought. He held her captive for five months, raping and beating her the whole time. She was finally able to escape and get to the police. Two months later she found out that she was pregnant. This woman was your mother.” Adam stared at Dr. Burma, disbelief and horror on his face.
“Wait? My father raped my mother? I’m the product of the worst months of her life? No wonder she got rid of me.” Dr. Burma shook his head.
“Oh my dear boy, you have got it all wrong. Your mother gave birth to you and loved you. She used to say that you were her light in the darkest days of her life.” Adam stared at the ground.
“You’re about to tell me she didn’t give me up.” The older man turned a sad gaze out to the yard.
“You’re right. She tried to run and hide from him. She knew that it was not safe to stay in one area too long. However, he caught up to her when you were six months old. Well, I should say his people caught up with her. Those people were Daniel and Nancy Ness!”
*
Adam stood up, walking away from the doctor to stand at the edge of the porch. He didn’t want to know the answer to his next question.
“What happened to my mother?” When he didn’t answer, Adam turned to face him, about to demand one. He stopped when he saw the tears in Dr. Burma eyes and felt his heart sink. “Dr. Burma?” Mick exited the house, placing a hand on his elder’s shoulder before turning to Adam.
“I’m sorry to tell you this Adam. One of them killed her.” Adam felt weak and was about to collapse when Mick suddenly appeared at his side, supporting him. He led Adam back to the bench, nodding his understanding as Dr. Burma excused himself and went back inside. “We are not sure what happened because we didn’t get there in time. She called us and said she was not safe and needed help. We rushed over, but they got there first. Her dying words to me were, save my son. And for nearly sixteen years I have been trying. I’m so sorry Adam.” Hot tears streaked down his face as the reality hit him. He had been living with the people who murdered his mother.
*
Adam stared into his cup of tea. Mick had answered a lot of his questions before they had come back inside. His eyes were red and his throat was raw from crying.
“How are you doing now?” Adam looked up to see Mick joining him at the kitchen table. He had a picture in his hand. Seeing Adam’s eyes on the photo, he slid it over to him. “This is a picture of you with your mom. It was taken a month before she died.” The picture showed a young woman, long blonde hair and blue eyes, a beautiful smile on her face. She was holding a baby wrapped in a blue blanket and Adam immediately knew it was him. His chest tightened and his vision blurred as fresh tears formed.
“What was her name?” Mick smiled sadly.
“Her name was Sarah. Sarah Burma.” Adam’s gaze ripped from the photo to Mick. “Now you know why it is so hard for the Burmas to talk about it. And why they insisted that you know that the Ness couple are not your parents. It destroyed them. We knew you were not to be blamed, and that the truth would be hard. We did everything possible to get to you because we knew you were not safe with them.” Adam looked back down at the photo. He felt sick now that he knew the truth. However, there was one thing that still bothered him.
“If Elijah is my father, and my par- I mean Daniel and Nancy, were supposed to get me for him, why have I never met him?” Mick shrugged.
“We are as much in the dark about that as you are. From what we can tell, they really did care about you. I have heard that Elijah trains his kids to be assassins, starting at an early age, but we have never found any proof of this.” Drew burst into the room, a woman at his side.
“We have to move. It’s not safe here anymore. Elijah is in town and he just killed Nancy Ness!”
Not Safe for Anyone
Woa. That is a lot to unpack, don’t you think? Poor Adam has just had his world turned upside down. Can you imagine finding out your parents not only abducted you, but killed your mom in the process? Well, that is it for this week. I’ll see you all on Monday.
