Jay and Bradin hit the beach in silence, both running over the events that could take place within the next few moments. The afternoon sun was beginning to fade, changing the color of the sky. There was no one at this end of the beach now; the only sound was the crashing waves. Jay glanced over at Bradin, who's head was down, swirling in thoughts his hands shoved in his pockets.
"You alright there, Bradin?"
"Do I look like I'm alright, Jay?"
He didn't answer; instead he frowned, realizing he had walked right into that.
"Can they take her away?"
Jay looked at Bradin, somewhat in surprise, but with expectance. "I'm not going to lie to you Bradin, they could take her away."
"Why? Johnny's her family! She's got a home here!"
"I know, I know that. It's the law though. They have every right to take her away. I know it's not fair, but we're playing by their rules now."
Bradin grimaced and suddenly took off, running as fast as he could down the beach, leaving Jay behind in a trail of sand. He didn't know where he was going, or if any conscious thought was forming in his mind, nor did he care. The only thing he cared about at the moment was stuck, cornered in a room by the police. He wanted to be there with her, and if they were going to take her away, then he wanted to go with her. After all, he had promised.
Finally, he had again reached Spanish Cove, stopping himself against the cool rocks. Beating his fist on them, he swore, hit the sand on his knees and for the first time since his parents had died, he began to pray.
Audri had sat down beside Johnny, who had immediately taken her hand. She was trying to get the rapid beating of her heart down, and keep herself calm. So far, it wasn't working.
"Miss Durant, just relax, all I want to do is ask you a couple questions. Since you're underage, it has to be in the presence of a legal guardian."
The last two words got her attention. "Wait a minute!" the officer looked up. "Did you just say, legal guardian?"
Johnny smiled at the officer and nodded.
"I guess your uncle neglected to tell you."
"Tell me what?"
"As of this morning, he is your legal guardian. He contacted us this morning, told us where we could find you, and worked everything out."
She turned to Johnny, "You adopted me?"
"It's still mainly in the process, but yes, I did."
Audri let out a scream of excitement, jumping up and hugging Johnny fiercely. Tears of joy streamed down her face as she took in the news. Her dream had finally come true, she had a family.
"Okay then!" she exclaimed, her uneasiness now gone. "Ask away chief! I'll answer anything you want me to."
The officers smiled, one of them nodding, and the other one pulling out a small notepad and pen from his pocket.
"Okay then, Miss Durant. Were you with your parents the night of their death?"
Maybe its gruesome, maybe its wrong, but Audri no longer felt any guilt or remorse for what happened to her parents. After living in a world version of hell for most of her life, she was finally free of it, and its demons.
"Yes, sir, I was."
"And you left?"
"Yes sir."
"Did you automatically set out for this location?"
"Yes sir. Well, I had to stop once for gas."
"I see. And were your parents always violent towards you?"
"Most of the time. When I was younger, things were better."
"When would you say that the violence started?"
"Around when I was nine."
"Are you an only child?"
"Yes, sir."
"Did you witness anything strange, anything out of the usual going on with either of them?"
"No, nothing out of the ordinary."
"How did you get here?"
"By car."
"Who's car?"
"My dad's."
"Now, Miss Durant you do know that we're going to have to take that with us don't you?"
"I figured."
"All right. Well, that's about all I have. We may have to contact you later for more information, but its not likely. Thank you for your time, and congratulations. I hope you like it here in Playa Linda, it's a beautiful place, and your uncle is a good man."
"Well, I could have told you that, sir."
They laughed, tipped their hats, and Johnny showed them out, giving them the keys to the car. After shutting the door, he sat back down in the living room, this time across from Audri, her face wearing a thousand rainbows.
"You will never know how much this means to me, Uncle Johnny. I have been praying for this ever since I was ten years old. I never thought this day would come, when there would be a future ahead of me."
"Your welcome, Audri. I wanted you to have something besides misery in your life. You are too young to have gone through what you did, and that goes for everyone in the world. All teenagers and children should have a loving home and good people to go home to. Trust me, that's all I prayed for when I was younger. My father was an alcoholic, and I could never find the words to express to you how happy I was the day I got out of there. I wanted the same kind of relief for you."
"Thank you so much. I'm so glad I came here."
"Me too, babe." He stood up as she did.
"I have to go tell Bradin."
He smiled. "Audri, I have a small suggestion for you. Now you don't have to do it if you don't want to, but umm—"
"What?"
"Another thing I firmly believe is that every girl should have a father. I know you have one but—"
"Had," she corrected.
"Okay, you had one. I was wondering if you would consider calling me your dad."
"Really?" Audri said, her face lighting up like the morning sun.
"Only when your ready."
She nodded, "I'll be back…Dad."
She didn't stay to see his face, mostly because the only face she could see in front of her eyes, was Bradin's.