Inseparable Strangers (19 page)

Aaron
held me as I cried, raged, then cried some more. While I had my meltdown, not
once did he act indifferent. He only showed me the utmost love and support.

 After
the tears could no longer flow, I told him I wanted to lie down. I was too
drained, emotionally and physically, to even keep my eyes open. He carried me
with ease up to my bedroom and laid me down on my bed. He pulled a quilt from
the hall closet, curled up on the bed beside me, and covered us both up.

As
mad as I’d been at him, I was too hurt to focus on my anger. My chest was so
heavy with sorrow. Every time I learned something new, it was like another blow
to my heart. I wasn’t sure how much more my open wound could take.

Before
falling asleep, the last thing I’d thought about was if Aaron would try to
visit me in my dreams.

When
I awoke, I knew he’d left me alone.

“Hi,”
he said smiling.

I
wanted to smile back but I would be lying to Aaron if I did. My father had
betrayed me my whole life. The one person who I always considered to be the
rock to my foundation had abandoned me.

“It’s
going to be okay,” he said, interrupting me from my thoughts. He was listening
in again, and I was too weak to care. “We’re going to get through this.
Together.”

My
anger toward him was forgotten as soon as my eyes met his. I knew I couldn’t
remain angry with him, but the hurt was still there on the surface. It wasn’t
completely gone, and in time, it would hopefully become a thing of the past.
The phrase ‘action speaks louder than words’ kept coming to mind. When he told
me about what he’d done to me in the beginning, I was crushed. It wasn’t so
much because of what he did, it was because I was falling in love with him, and
I thought he shared the same feelings too. He could’ve kept that information to
himself, but he took a chance and told me anyway. For me, that spoke volumes.
And now, after how mad I was at him and wanted him to leave, he didn’t. He
stayed and he had fought for me and my love. Again, that said something. It
told me he really did love me. He cared enough for me to lay in bed, never
sleeping, with his arms around me until he knew I was okay.

Leaning
over an inch, I kissed him gently on the lips. “I’m falling madly in love with
you. I’m still upset over what you’ve done, but I’m willing to forgive you,” I
said, giving him a crooked grin. “Please just give me time.”

“Thank
you,” he said, closing his eyes. His eyelashes fluttered, and a single tear
fell from the corner of his eye. “You’re the only woman I’ve ever loved, or
ever want to love.”

The
adoration was so strong, my eyes welled up with water. When I didn’t think it
was possible to cry anymore, I did. This time, though, it was tears of joy.

“Aaron,
you’re crying. How is this possible?” I asked through my own tears.

He
smiled sadly at me. “I told you, you’re changing me. The harder I fall for you,
the stronger my feelings grow. Reading your thoughts, entering your dreams,
vanishing…all those things are becoming more difficult for me. It’s as if I’m
going through a transition period.”

“Has
that ever happened before?”

“I—I
don’t know. I’ve never heard of it happening to anyone.”

“Hold
on.” I hopped off the bed, turned my laptop on and waited for it come alive so
I could research on Google.

“What
are you doing?” He sat up on the bed and rested back against the headboard. The
sheets gathered around at his waist, and I stopped what I was doing long enough
to drink in his bare chest. Forcing the carnal thoughts from my mind, I focused
back on the task at hand.

“I’m
googling to see if there is such a thing,” I answered, scanning each topic
listed.

“Well…are
you having any luck?”

“I
don’t know, I’m going down the list. So far, all I see are scenes from
different shows and movies. Nothing realistic.”

Aaron
climbed out of the bed and came over to sit with me. He lifted me up
effortlessly, sat down in the chair, and settled me on his lap. It was the best
feeling in the world.

We
sat in front of the laptop for hours before I finally gave up hope. I tried
wording my search every different way possible, but I came up empty-handed
every time. “I’m sorry, Aaron. I really wanted to give you answers.”

He
rubbed his palms up and down my arms then wrapped them around me. Pulling me
back against him, he spoke softly in my ear. “Thank you for caring enough to
try.”

I
leaned my head back against his neck and kissed his cheek.

“Lennox,
I know you don’t want to hear this, but we still need to discuss your father.
You need closure, and the only way you’re going to get it is by confronting
him.”

As
much as I didn’t want to do it, he was right. But he couldn’t expect me to do
it alone. “I’ll do it, but first, please find my mom. We still have a lot to
discuss plus, I need her there with me. I need you both with me.”

It
didn’t take Aaron long to find my mom. Before the night ended he was back home
safe in my arms. It took Aaron and I a little while to convince Mom to show
herself to me. She was so ashamed because of the way she left me the night
before, she was afraid I would never forgive her.

“Hello,
baby girl,” I heard a familiar voice say behind me. Quickly, I spun around and
started to lunge toward her for a hug. Before I reached her, I remembered she
wasn’t as well-trained on keeping her human form. I dropped my arms by my side,
and cried at the beauty of her in front of me again.

My
bottom lip quivered as I tried to smile while holding back my tears. “I thought
I would never see you again,” I said, choking between my words.

“Oh
honey, I never left you. I’ve been here all this time. Just because you can’t
see me, it doesn’t mean I’m not here. You’re stuck with me.” She took a couple
of steps toward me and hugged me with all her might. “I love you, Lennox. I
will never leave you again,” she said softly.

“Thank
you, Mom. As long as I have you and Aaron with me, all will be right in the
world.” For just a few moments, I allowed myself to go back to a time when I
was a child and I needed my mother to hold me and tell me everything would be
alright. Knowing I would always have her for now and forever brought a veil of
peace over me.

“Yes,
it is, but from my understanding, we have some unfinished business regarding
your father. If we all want to move forward, then you’re going to have to
listen to what Aaron has to say.” Nodding, I agreed to listen.

“You
both may want to have a seat,” Aaron encouraged, waving his hand over to the
couch, indicating for us to sit there. We both obliged, and I cuddled up next
to mom with my legs curled up underneath me.

Aaron
sat down on the ottoman across from us and rested his forearms on his thighs. He
leaned over slightly with his hands clasped together. He pulled his lips in
between his teeth, creating a thin line, and then began to tell his story. “I
was out alone heading for the alley to find something to eat behind some of the
restaurants. When I saw Sharon arguing with your father, I didn’t pay too much
attention to their little spat. When you live on the streets, you learn to mind
your own business, so that’s what I did. What caught my attention though, was I
saw a scuffle from the corner of my eye. I didn’t want to look, but I have a
hard time watching men abuse women, and in this case, I thought that’s what
your father was doing. I debated on whether or not to intervene, and right when
I decided to walk away and not make it my business, I saw Sharon fall. From the
moment she lost her balance, I knew it wasn’t going to end well. Her head made
contact before any other part of her body did.” His body cringed and his face
was drawn up tight as if he were experiencing the pain himself.

“Not
wanting to be caught as a witness, I took off running between buildings. Your
mother falling wasn’t purposely done by your father, but what he did afterwards
was enough to charge him for murder.” He inhaled deeply, then blew and
exasperated breath through pursed lips.

“Oh,
God,” I groaned, scared. “I don’t know if I can hear any more of this.”

He
held his hand up to stop me from whatever thoughts I was having. “Please,
don’t. Just hear me out.”

“Hidden
behind a dumpster, I watched your father pick your mother up, run down the
steps, and carry her to his car. I wasn’t sure if she was alive, so I followed
him. What I saw from that point on was appalling. When he placed her in the
trunk of his car, there was no doubt in my mind, I knew she was dead.”

He
stood up and walked over by the fireplace. “The sight of him putting her body
in the trunk in a hurry made me sick to my stomach. When I turned around to run
as far away as I could, I was met with a beautiful woman with long flowing
black hair. She was dressed in a party dress somewhat like your mom’s, but her
perfectly faux face had murder written all over it. If I stayed, I felt like I
had a slight better chance since I didn’t see your father carrying any type of
weapon. Not leaving ended up being the biggest mistake of my life.” Aaron sat
down on the brick hearth of the fireplace and rested his elbows on his knees.

“Your
father never spoke a word to me, but he watched me cautiously while he got into
his car and drove off. I was so frightened, the thought to look at his license
plates never occurred to me. I guess your father thought differently because he
hired a few drug dealing thugs from the streets to kill me. I was in the park
one day, enjoying the warm sunshine, and hoping to catch a few scraps as
families left after a day of picnics. I knew the guys who’d jumped me, they
were well known in the homeless community; worked for the biggest drug dealer
in town. When they jumped me and beat me to death, I heard them as they
mentioned your father’s name. At that time I didn’t put a face to the name, but
days after I’d died, I was on a mission to find out who Martin Collins was. I
haunted him. It was my duty to make his life miserable, just as he’d done mine
and your mother’s. After weeks of lurking around his house and scaring the life
out of him, I eventually got bored and moved on.” He smiled to himself, and
chuckled lightly. “The funny thing about it all… he knew. He knew he was being
haunted. He just couldn’t ever figure out if it was me or your mother.” He came
back over and sat down back on the ottoman. “And that’s pretty much it.”

My
mouth hung open in shock. There was no way my father was capable of committing
a crime as inhumane as the one Aaron just told me. He took care of people for
God’s sake. Pam on the other hand would’ve been more believable, and I was
enraged to know she was there during my mom’s demise. To know she’d known what
happened all these years was like sticking a knife to my gut then slowly
twisting it.

I
looked to mom and then him. “So, what did my father do with your body?” I
asked, darting my eyes to both of them.

“Your
father dumped me in the Beckford River,” mom answered.

“Your
father must be fond of that river because that’s where my body was dumped as
well,” he chimed in, shaking his head with revulsion.

“So,
how did he cover his tracks? How was he able to explain your disappearance?”

Aaron
spoke up first. “My disappearance didn’t need to be explained. In the homeless
community, people come and go, but my parents did put a search out for me when
they found out I hadn’t been working for the company for months. It became so
painful to watch them suffer, I eventually stopped following them.”

“I’m
so sorry, Aaron. You don’t deserve this.” My heart broke after I’d learned the
life he’d lived before dying, and now caught between worlds after.

“What
about you, Mom?”

“Your
father claimed to have not seen me after I unexpectedly left the night of the
party. He told the police he wasn’t even aware I’d left until an hour after the
time he’d last spoke with me. You can google all the articles in the paper. It
was a mess shortly after. The police spent months investigating my death, but
they never found anything. They never really had anything to go on.”

I
was stunned. In total shock. The father I knew, the father who’d raised me,
loved me, spoiled me, and stood in as a mother when I needed one was a
murderer. The story he’d told me about my mother’s death was all lies. It was
unbelievable for me to comprehend he’d covered up the murder of two people. He
was a monster. He wasn’t my father at all. I jumped from the couch and made a
bee-line to the garage. “I have to confront him. He has to know his secret
isn’t so much a secret anymore.”

Aaron
stood in the doorway, blocking me from the garage. “No, you don’t. Lennox,
listen, you need to think this through before you take action. Going to your
dad’s the way you are now will only make things worse.” He hooked his hand
around my waist and guided me back toward the living room.

“He
can’t get away with this, Aaron. No matter how hard you might try, you can’t
stop me from talking to him about this.”

He
stopped and turned me to face him. “I’m not asking you to. I just don’t want
you going over there while all the open wounds are so fresh. He’s still your
father, and you still love him. Nothing will ever change that.”

Nodding,
I agreed. “Okay.”

Mom
was sitting on the couch where I had left her moments ago. “Why didn’t you ever
show yourself to me?” This had been weighing on my mind for a while, and now
was better time than any to finally ask her.

“I
didn’t know how. The only places I ever visited was your father’s house to here
and the river. The spirits frightened me. Many of them aren’t friendly, so I
kept to myself. When I first crossed over I was confused. I didn’t realize
immediately that I was dead. I tried talking to your father, but he was oblivious
I was even there. After a few days of being unable to have any human contact
with anyone, I knew I was dead.” She smiled nervously. She was worried. “Are
you angry with me?”

I
waltzed over to her and hugged her. “No, Mom. Of course not. You’ve never done
anything to cause me to be mad.”

“I’m
really sorry I wasn’t here for you, Lennox.”

“Mom,
stop apologizing.” I gave her an evil stare then smiled. “Woman, I love you
more than you could ever imagine.” I kissed her on the cheek and she kissed me
back.

“It’s
been an exhausting day and night. You should really get some rest if you plan
on visiting your father tomorrow,” she suggested. “I have a feeling it’s going
to be another long day.”

I
agreed. “You’re probably right. Goodnight and thank you for coming back,” I
said, giving her one more hug.

“There’s
no other place I’d rather be, Lennox,” she said smiling.

Aaron
took my hand and walked with me up to my bedroom. Once we got in the room I
shut the door behind us. He quickly turned back around and opened it. “I’m not
staying. You have a lot to process and you don’t need me here to distract you.”

Going
behind him, I closed the door again. “I wasn’t planning on seducing you and
having sex till all hours of the night. I just want your company.” He hesitated
for a second. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking about. “Will you lay with me
until I at least fall asleep?”

He
nodded. “Yes. I’ll stay however long you need me to.”

Stretching
up on my tiptoes, I kissed him quickly on the lips. “Thank you.”

With
his arms wrapped around me, I fell asleep faster than I had in weeks.