Dirty Little Secrets
"There are no secrets that time does not reveal."
- Jean Racine
People have come from all over the world to attend her father's funeral, people she has never even heard of or seen before, some who don't even speak English. Seeing the kind of impact her father had on the world, knowing the secret that he had kept hidden, she can't help but wonder just what it took to make his life possible. What did he have to do, what deals must he have had to make, in order to lead the life that he lead? All her life, she wondered what kind of man her father must be, now she wonders what kind of monster he must have been to do what he has done to her.
"You must be the youngest." a woman of upper class posture comments as she holds out a hand to Elizabeth. "Your father spoke of you often. Most especially at the end. I'm truly sorry for the loss you have endured."
"Thank you." she replies, unsure of what she could really say to that.
"I was most saddened by the distance that had resided between the two of you." the woman continues on, the look in her eye almost inquisitive. "One can only hope you were able to make amends before his unfortunate passing."
"We didn't." she replies plainly. "Unfortunately, my father and I will never be able to resolve the problems that laid between us."
"I'm so sorry to hear that."
"If you'll excuse me, I should check on my sister." Elizabeth says as respectfully as she could manage. "Thank you for coming. I'm sure my mother appreciates your presence."
Leaving the strange woman to her own accord, she makes her way through those gathered, stopping to speak to family members she hasn't seen since she was a young child back in Boulder, Colorado. Finally getting to her sister, she finds her snuggled into her boyfriend's embrace, barely holding herself together.
Taking in a deep breath, she puts on an understanding smile before approaching them, accepting the hug that her sister turns to her for. A part of her wonders what it must be like to have had the connection that Sarah was able to have with her father. Every part of her wondering if she'll ever get that chance with her own father, whoever he may be.
Steven has refused to attend the funeral and it pained her that she couldn't be by his side. Even though she knows he's not really her brother, they have been through way too much together to believe him to be anything else. She can only hope that he will see it the same way when she tells him the truth that his father had burdened her with. Because as much as she wants to be by her brother's side, she needs to get through this funeral and make her way to Boulder. She needs the truth and that's something Steven can't neither give her nor help her find.
Quickly checking in with her sister and mother, Elizabeth makes her way into the house, away from the crowd, desperate for a moment of peace. With all the thoughts clouding her mind, she just needed a moment to catch her breath away from the mourners and their fond memories of the dearly departed. Sitting down with a cup of tea, she starts to mentally plan what she'll be doing once she gets to Boulder. Her flight is already booked for the day after tomorrow, giving her one day to sell her trip to mother dearest.
"Elizabeth?" a voice calls to her, forcing her to put on her polite yet sad smile.
"Yes?" she replies, rising to her feet.
"Your mother's looking for you." the woman replies. "Don't you think you should be by her side at a time like this?"
"Sure." she replies shortly before walking past the woman and making her way out to her mother's side. "Mother."
"There you are. Where did you run off to?"
"Just inside for a cup of tea." Elizabeth says simply. "Everything okay?"
"Everything's fine." she assures with a slight smile. "Have you heard from your brother?"
"No. I haven't." she replies honestly, not having heard from him since he called that morning to tell her he wouldn't be at the funeral. "Why?"
"Oh, nothing, really. I had just hoped he'd change his mind and show up, that's all."
"I can call him..."
"No, no, that's okay." Carolyn waves away her offer. "I'm sure he's mourning in his own way. Come, come. I want you to meet some of the people me and your father had worked with in Africa. They've been truly anxious to finally meet you."
For the rest of the day, her mother parades her around to different groups of people, making her feel beyond awkward with every introduction she makes. A few of the people she was introduced to had given her a strange feeling deep inside, the kind of feeling that makes you activate your fight or flight response.
Their questions about her relationship with her father had put her on edge, uncertain of why they would care about such things. They even asked her the context of her last conversation with her father, if it had been like the ones of the movies, deathbed declarations and whatnot. She had been more than thankful when it came to an end and people started to leave.
"Yeah?" she answers her cellphone, watching as her mother shows the last of the guests out of the house.
"Hey." her brother replies, causing her to let out a breath of relief. "How you doing?"
"I'm fine." she assures. "And you?"
"Not sure." he admits. "I'll live though."
"I'm sure." she says with a shake of her head. "Mother dearest was asking about you."
"She's just upset that my absence tarnished her perfect image." Steven scoffs. "I'm heading out of town for a while. I just have to get away for a while."
"Sure. Okay." she says after a moment of thought, surprised that he'd just up and leave like this, but accepting what he has to do. "I'm heading out of town soon, anyway."
"Really?" Steven questions curiously. "Where you headed?"
"Boulder." Elizabeth admits. "I'm heading back home."
"You're going to Boulder?" mother dearest's voice cuts into the conversation. "Why?"
"I'll call you later." Elizabeth says to her brother. "Take care of yourself, huh?"
"I love you, sis."
"Love you back." she replies wholeheartedly before ending the call. "Didn't you always say that eavesdropping is a sin?"
"Don't play smart with me." Carolyn counters. "Why on Earth would you want to go back to Boulder? You always hated that place."
"Its been a long time since I've gone back to the old house." Elizabeth voices carefully. "Life wasn't always bad there. I guess...I don't know...I guess I just want to go back and remember the good memories."
"Memories don't live in a place." Carolyn challenges. "I just don't see why you have to go back to the old house."
"Its not just the house I want to see again, mom." she admits, doing her best not to choke out the last word. "Its Boulder in general. I just want to go back and see everything. Is that okay?"
"Fine." Carolyn says after a long moment. "Its your time to waste. I just don't see the appeal of going back there."
"If you don't need me for anything else, I'm gonna head home." Elizabeth voices, no longer willing to argue the point with her mother. "I have to get my stuff together for my trip."
"Sure, that's fine." Carolyn waves her away. "I have things to do anyway."
Hugging her mother, she makes her way out of the house and back to her apartment, thankful that it hadn't been more of an inquisition than that. Her mother could b e quite interrogative when she gets in the mood to be. If only she had known the true reason why her mother hadn't asked too many questions, she probably wouldn't have left the house too eagerly. As she was making her way to her apartment, three men came up from behind her, one of them snatching her clear off her feet and dragging her away from the entrance to her apartment.
Slowly the world around her began to turn darker as they dragged her into a back alley where she could make out the shape of some kind of van. Clearly this was some kind of kidnapping, though she couldn't fathom why anyone would want to kidnap her, her search into her father's confessions has yet to begin. With no real lead in finding out the truth, why would anyone want to kidnap her now? They were about to shove her into the van when someone started approaching them, clearly the person posed some kind of threat because the other two men shot off a couple warning shots.
As the world began to slip from her grasp, she heard a few more popping sounds that she believes were even more gunshots before finally she found herself in the arms of another man, his voice barely breaking through the fog as it slipped past his lips. She had no idea if this man had protected her from the others or simply arrived too late to grab her himself to begin with. All she knew was that she would be unconscious soon and her entire life is now in the hands of stranger.