Silver Tides (Silver Tides Series) (11 page)

mystery

I lay in bed the next morning wondering why Daniel’s parents were lying. There was no denying how much they loved their son; it was utterly illogical that they would deliberately hurt him. Perhaps they weren’t lying at all and Daniel was confusing his dreams for memories. Oprah did a show about the unreliable nature of memories.

My phone sang the ring tone I’d assigned Daniel.

“Hey,” I greeted, “any progress with the memory retrieval?”

He exhaled heavily, creating white noise. “Nope, but I know that they’re hiding what they did.”

“Maybe, your mind is playing tricks on you,” I broached tentatively. “Like when I was little and every shadow looked like a monster...”

“George threw me into the sea to drown!” Daniel said, without a hint of doubt.

His voice was filled with such certainty that I chose to believe him. It seemed unlikely that two socialites would cast their only progeny into the sea, but my love for Daniel trumped my disbelief.

“Should you really be living with them, if they tried to kill you?” I asked seriously.

“How else will I ever find out what they did to me?” he argued, sounding caged. “I don’t remember being sick, they could have made the whole thing up. I googled myself...”

“And you’re admitting it,” I teased, trying to lighten the tension.

He sighed, with a sliver of a chuckle. “Good call... So I googled myself and found out that I wasn’t really the model son. I got into a lot of trouble…”

“What kind of trouble?” I asked, surprised to think of Daniel as anything except the wholesome guy, who was my bestfriend.

“Like rich kid trouble,” he replied evasively.

“I’ve never been a rich kid.” I shook my head, despite him being unable to see me. “What does that mean?”

“Your Mum would call it, the problem of Wine, Women and Song,” Daniel said, imitating Mum.

“So Sex, Drugs and, Rock and Roll.” I exhaled, trying to reconcile the Daniel I knew with the one who fell overboard two years ago.

“And street car racing while under the influence and without a license … and a number of other crimes … that are most likely court sealed due to the influence of my father.” Daniel elaborated, remorsefully. “But that’s not who I am anymore.”

“I know,” I replied. “It’s just so weird to think that you were ever like that.”

“It blows my mind too,” he replied, the rustle of his fingers combing through his hair reverberated through the receiver. “I keep wondering if that’s why they did it?”

“Did what?” I asked, lost.

“Threw me into the sea,” Daniel conjectured. “Maybe I was too embarrassing. I just can’t work out if they were trying to kill me or if they had someone waiting who took me somewhere and brainwashed me and maybe I escaped...”

The desperation in his voice caused a lump to rise in my throat. The unknown was creating a vacuum, which Daniel was filling with outrageous theories. It hurt to hear him so confused and frustrated.

“We’ll work it out,” I assured him calmly. “We navigated Miranda’s crazy together, and we will get through this. First things first, I don’t think you should let your parents know that we are onto them. We need to move slowly and deliberately. There’s no need to put yourself in unnecessary danger. The amnesia is a great cover, and you need to keep playing happy families till we get to the bottom of this.”

“I knew you’d know what to do.” He smiled. “I just wish that we were under the same roof again … I miss having you down the hall and being able to talk to you anytime.”

“I miss you too.” I blushed; glad that he couldn’t see how much I wished that we could be together. What I felt for Daniel was so much bigger than what our new relationship was ready for; I didn’t want to scare him off.

“So are you ready for a big day of ‘furniture shopping’?” Daniel asked sardonically.

“I think trying out lots of beds and sofas together could be fun,” I replied suggestively.

Daniel chuckled, his melodic laugh filling my ears and sending warm shivers through my chest. “You’re pretty amazing at making the most mundane things awesome,” he said tenderly.

“What can I say?” I bragged with mock pride. “I’m just amazing.”

“You really are,” he replied sincerely, causing me to blush again.

“So I guess I’ll see you at your new house soon?” I rushed, noticing that it was well past the time I should have gotten out of bed to beautify myself.

“Yep.” Daniel chuckled, “I’ll see you soon...”

I’d been looking forward to going shopping with Sophia, until I saw the mansion. It was huge, a beachfront architectural masterpiece. It was the type of house I loved, with different rectangular levels, reminiscent of the cardboard box houses Mum would construct for me as a child. It glinted like a white castle in the sunlight. The short shopping trip I’d envisioned, stretched into hours, days and weeks, before me.

"Wow," I said involuntarily.

"That's what I thought," Sophia replied, enthusiastically. "It was so cheap, less then a quarter of what I'd pay in Sydney." She led us down the chessboard style driveway and through the double doors, which opened into a huge welcoming area.

Inside the walls were eggshell colored with caramel hardwood floors in the living areas and soft plush cream carpet in the bedrooms. The kitchen was palatial with its speckled marble island and shiny new appliances. Despite its beauty, all I kept thinking was what a nightmare it would be to clean. I realized that was my middle-class reasoning, because people as rich as the Esso’s would have a cleaner.

"This is going to be easy." Mum smiled, undaunted by the project. "It would help if you choose a feature piece for each room. It can be a family portrait, a vase, or a piece of furniture ..."

"We could get it from our old house," Daniel pitched in, the glimmer of a plan growing in his eyes. "Maybe seeing the old place will help jog my memory."

"Sure," Sophia tentatively agreed. "We'll have the house cleaned first. You should come too, April."

"We could take the jet and take everyone," Daniel suggested, casually draping his arm around me. “It’ll be nice for the Belan’s to see our house.”

"That sounds perfect." Sophia nodded, looking apprehensive.

I didn’t need Daniel to tell me his plan; I knew that he wanted to search his old house for clues. The unfettered shopping spree that spanned Geelong and Melbourne, didn’t afford us any alone time to discuss the details of his plan.

The rest of the day disappeared as we sat on countless couches and lay on different mattresses. Daniel and I rushed around like wild children, tickling each other and wrestling on the beds. Sophia was relishing having so many people to help her choose the furniture for her new home. Sophia hovered too much, not wanting to be away from Daniel. The sad longing in her eyes prevented me from begrudging her, because she had lost so much time with him already.

That night we had dinner in the Esso’s hotel room, our two families watching the yachts bobbing in Corio Bay. The gleeful sunset lit the moody sea, two opposing elements, like my family and the Esso’s bringing out the best in each other.

It was surreal watching my family being so close to one of the richest families in Australia, even more surreal to think that Daniel had chosen me. I felt cocooned in a cloud of happiness, as I watched everyone laughing and talking.

We laughed about Dad’s first day of golfing. George recounted how at the end of the match, Dad had looked at the score sheet and whooped, "One hundred and ninety-eight! You only have fifty-two, I win my first day!"

George had laughed and agreed it was a good first day.

After dinner we gathered around the coffee table, on the comfortable lounges. The adults drank coffee while, Daniel flicked through the photos again, examining each one closely.

"How come there aren't any of me sick?" he asked, casually.

"We didn't bring any," Sophia replied with a guilty expression. "It was a difficult time, and we wanted to remind you of the happy memories we shared."

"What was the illness called again?" Daniel badgered.

His parents exchanged a glance that spoke a thousand words; they had hoped Daniel would never ask about the illness.

"It was a skin disorder..." George replied. "The exact name eludes me."

"You thought I was dying from a skin disorder?" Daniel asked, dubious.

"It affected your cellular membranes," Sophia added. "You were even in a wheelchair for a time."

"Sounds terrible," Mum empathized.

"There was only one doctor who had any experience with it, Dr. Conneely," Sophia replied, pained by the memory. "There was no cure...”

"Things are better now." George swept the conversation away like autumn leaves in the wind. "I hear we're all headed to Sydney for the weekend."

secrets

The inside of the Esso’s jet was bigger than half my house. It came complete with a luxury theatre, bedroom, living room, and dining area. The furniture was all coordinated and leather or suede, which I thought might be the same thing—expensive. Daniel and I reclined in the luxury chairs in the theatre, watching a movie on the big screen.

The parents played cards, while stewardess Barbie buzzed around keeping us fed and watered during the hour-long flight to Sydney.

Daniel was more contained then usual, he hardly spoke. His masculine jaw was set in a tense line, despite the hilarious movie.

“Are you ok?” I asked, trying to gauge his feelings.

“Yeah,” he replied tightly, “there’s just a lot going on.”

“I know,” I empathized, squeezing his hand, “but we’ll be together.”

Daniel’s eyes were filled with apprehension, his leg bounced involuntarily from the stress.

“Yeah,” he exhaled, reaching out and stroking my face. “Let’s just hope we get some answers.”

Daniel’s apprehension was contagious. While Daniel worried about the past, I worried about our future. What if Daniel remembered his old life and decided to stay in Sydney? Or if he just fell in love with his old home again? My insides were churning as the flight landed almost bump free.

At Sydney airport we were ushered out a back exit by very official looking airport employees. The Sydney suburbs whizzed by, foreign and familiar in their suburban layout. When the mansions began to whiz by outside the limousine,
George told us we were in Burraneer. Each house we passed made me feel more out of my element; like a stranger in someone else’s life. I didn’t recognize myself in the limousine with the billionaire boyfriend. It was too surreal.

“My Father grew up in the Eastern suburbs.” George smiled nostalgically, his eyes lighting on each mansion with fondness. “Dad couldn’t leave Sutherland and neither could I.”

“I grew up on the North shore,” Sophia added, trying to alleviate the tension that had settled on our party. “It was a difficult transition, but now I can see the charm of Burraneer.”

“You’re such a snob.” George chuckled, his posh duke voice in full force, I giggled at the exchange. Seeing Daniel’s parents relax eased some of the anxiety.

The limousine pulled up outside an unassuming white concrete fence, with a tall curved black iron gate. It looked like a fancy prison entrance, rather than the entrance to a home, but all the houses seemed to be gated with similar security measures. My house had a brick fence that Dad had constructed, but it didn’t do much to keep people out.

At the Esso’s gate a gaggle of reporters with cameras and microphones waited for Daniel’s return. My stomach flip-flopped at the realization that I would be featured on the news again; it was a very unpleasant feeling. I wasn’t looking forward to the staring and whispering that being on television seemed to produce.

The flashing and yelling began before we got out of the limousine, which was too low to navigate the steep driveway. Daniel put his arm around me, cradling me against his chest, as he used his other hand to push through the reporters. Mum and Sophia pushed us forward, surprisingly regal under the harsh lights and screaming. Dad meandered through the fray waving and smiling awkwardly, while George took up the rear.

“Daniel, are you happy to be home?”

“Do you remember the last two years?”

“Were you kidnapped?”

George stopped to address the reporters as Sophia ushered us down the driveway and into the house. I heard George say something about being happy to have their son home, and taking time out to be with his family and something about respecting their privacy.

I rushed into the foyer, unprepared for the grandeur of the Esso's Sydney house.

A glance at the plain wooden double-doors gave the impression of an average family home, but inside it was the definition of opulence. It had high ceilings, and marble floors. The yard ran straight into Burraneer Bay. It even had a boathouse.

Daniel showed me around the house, my cheap shoes clacking on the expensive marble floors. There were ten rooms, six entertaining areas, an indoor and outdoor pool and mini state-of-the-art cinema.
We walked around the manicured backyard, watching the vivid colours of the setting sun paint the water gold.

"That's The Pomegranate." Daniel shivered as he pointed to a resplendent white yacht moored in the bay. "My Dad picked me up and dropped me into the open sea in that thing."

I hugged him, sensing his anguish from the tension in his body. "Did you fight him?"

"No, I was in a wheelchair," Daniel remembered. "I was sick... I remember, I couldn't move!"

I swallowed the hard feelings welling up inside me, sickened by the new revelation. "There has to be a reason why..."

Daniel turned, anguished
. "A good reason to throw your crippled child into the sea?"

"So, what do you suggest?" I asked, seeing that Daniel was convinced by his memories, regardless of their accuracy.

"I'll fake feeling sick tonight and search the house for clues," Daniel schemed. "You need to text me when you're coming home so I don't get sprung."

I agreed, disappointed to be spending my first outing in Sydney without him. George and Sophia took us to an expensive restaurant overlooking Sydney harbor. Mum and Dad did the tourist thing and took hundreds of photos. My thoughts were with Daniel, wondering what he was discovering, hoping that he would find something to give him peace. I was too distracted to enjoy the meal or the shining white oyster shell opera house that floated in a sea of turquoise and royal blue.

Daniel was in bed when we returned home. Sophia and George tried act normal, but fear was written across their faces.

I knocked on Daniel’s door after our parents went to bed, but he ignored me. I felt abandoned. He needed his space, he’d come home after two years of being lost, and I could understand that he would need some time alone to think. But it hurt that he hadn’t shared the results of his search with me, maybe he hadn’t found anything and come to realize that his memories were flawed. I hoped that he didn’t feel too embarrassed to tell me the truth.

The next morning he ignored my knock again. I walked through the mansion feeling small in the endless space. It must have been lonely for Daniel growing up alone in such a large house. A hollow feeling filled my stomach as I entered the luxury kitchen, which looked like it had never been cooked in. The benches were immaculate and the shiny kitchen fixtures looked brand new.

Sophia stood at the kitchen sink nursing a coffee that had long cooled. She was staring out the window at the boats bobbing gleefully in the sparkling blue bay. Sydney was considerably warmer than Geelong. I hadn’t worn shorts and a T-shirt in weeks back home, but Sydney weather allowed light clothing. My arms and legs were hungry for sunlight.

"Good morning," I greeted, wrenching Sophia from her thoughts.

"Good morning," she replied, clutching her cup between two hands. "Your mother cooked some breakfast; it's in the oven to keep it warm."

"Is Daniel up?" I asked, trying not to sound desperate.

She nodded toward the pool outside the kitchen window where Daniel sat listlessly with his legs dangling into the pool, the beautiful weather wasted on him.

"If you had an unbelievable secret, would you tell someone?" Sophia asked cryptically, staring at Daniel as though he were a stranger.

"The truth will set you free," I quoted my old religious studies teacher.

Sophia giggled. "Can't remember the last time I heard that."

"You can tell him," I told her seriously. "It's better than what he's imagining."

"What's he imagining?" she asked anxiously, squeezing her mug.             

"Just talk to him," I replied, leaving the kitchen before I could betray Daniel’s trust.

The sun shone hot on my skin as I walked out to the pool. The green grass looked like it had been manicured with tiny scissors; the bay was a deep opulent blue. Everything about the Esso’s home and yard was fancy, including the jelly-bean-shaped pool with the waterfall on one side and the spa on the other. In the middle, Daniel sat listless and still.

"Hey," I called, as I opened the pool gate.

Daniel looked up, his golden hair glinting in the sunlight. He didn't even smile; he merely grunted at my greeting.

"So, no success last night?" I concluded lamely.

"Maybe I'm just losing my mind," he said, sounding unconvinced.

"I think you should ask your mum," I told him.

"Pfft," he sighed, letting me know he thought it was futile.

"What other option do you have?" I asked, sitting down beside him, my shorts soaking up the morning dew.

Before Daniel could offload anymore negative energy, Sophia called us inside.

Daniel stood and offered me his hand; it was so cold. My warmth seemed to give him energy; he smiled as he put his arm around me. "You're so soft and warm; I miss you when you're gone."

I laughed. "We can’t all be rock-hard demigods," I teased, poking him.

He laughed, which seemed to make everything feel better, despite the ominous feeling hovering over us.

"You two need to eat so we can get going," Sophia hurried us.

"Where are we going?" Daniel asked, disinterest dripping from his question.

"I gave April inspirational pieces for most of the new house, but I want to buy a few pieces in the city," Sophia replied excited, the blush of an imminent shopping trip coloring her cheeks.

Sophia took us to the Queen Victoria Building, with its domes reminiscent of a time when ladies wore seven-layer skirts and men wore bowler hats. The black and white checkered floors were romantic, bringing back an era when life was simpler… classier.

Sophia chose a golden Versace cushion as the master bedroom centerpiece. It cost over four hundred dollars, and Mum managed to keep her face impassive, despite how obscene she must have thought it was to spend so much money on a cushion.

Growing up, Mum had always likened any item I wanted, to days that a child could survive in a third-world country for the same cost. So instead of designer clothes or fancy new gadgets, I had a sponsor child.

The day dragged by slowly, even Daniel and I couldn’t find fun in the designer stores. We had tossed around a Versace pillow, till the shop assist shooed us from the section. “Versace pillows are not designed for pillow fights,” she sneered, angrily.

She was less than impressed when we returned for a second round of shopping with Sophia in the mid-afternoon. Mum looked wiped out, as we wandered through the store again. The only one with any enthusiasm for designer shopping was Sophia.

Mum and I vacantly flicked through a magazine stand, reflecting the desire to be elsewhere.

"Do you want Visage clothing?" Mum asked suddenly, as Daniel tried to convince his mother that Target was as good as any designer store, and a whole lot cheaper and quicker.

I shrugged. "It's Versace, Mum, though I think six hundred dollars is a bit much for a piece of clothing."

She beamed, proud of my conviction but willing to indulge me if I really wanted something.
  "If there's something you really want, you can have it."

"There's nothing I need," I told her honestly.

"The cheque was for a million dollars," Mum told me after checking to see if anyone was listening.

"No way!" I squealed, making everyone in the shop stare at me. I imagined that squealing in the presence of Versace was uncouth.

"I guess I know I can go to uni now," I replied, gobsmacked.

"I just wanted you to know we're going to be OK till Paul finds a job." She shrugged.

I liked that Mum confided in me, and I felt strong having inadvertently provided for my family. It was such a pleasant feeling compared to the discomfort of dealing with Miranda or ignoring the endless stares at school. With the news item from last night, I envisioned school being more awkward than usual. Miranda wanted Daniel before he was a billionaire; she would be utterly crazy for him now. I pushed the dread aside, knowing there was nothing I could do to change the situation.