The Keeper's Vow (19 page)

“Worst thing that happens? He threatens to
take you to an omitter or gets angry and throws you out.” Tristan
shrugged, “It looks like that’s already essentially happened.”

“Thanks,” Katie said sarcastically. She
closed the car door, but Lucinda opened it again.

“You’re coming too,” Lucinda said, waving
Tristan out.

“I think I’ll sit this one out.”

Lucinda’s head snapped around. If they
could, her eyes would have glowed red. “Get—out—now.”

Katie felt like that was a bad idea, but she
wasn’t going to tell Lucinda that. Not with her eyes shooting out
lasers and burning holes through concrete.

Will had already rang the doorbell when she
stepped onto the porch.

Her dad answered the door and looked at all
of them. “How dare you come here after what you’ve done.” Katie
thought he meant her, but he was looking at Will.

“Drew, look. What’s done is done. Can we
stop playing the blame game and talk about your daughter,” Will
said.

“The one you’ve stolen from me?”

“They didn’t steal me,” Katie said.

“Oh, no. They’ve been plotting this for some
years now. Lucy’s always been good at revenge.”

Lucinda laughed violently. “You think I
would use a child to get back at you? You’ve got to be kidding me.
Only one of us is that cold hearted.”

Katie’s dad looked at them all. One against
four. It wasn’t fair. “It’s not anyone’s fault. It just.” Katie
said, trying to defuse the tension.

“That’s why they brought him here? Nothing
just happens in life. I thought I raised you smarter than
that.”

Katie looked between her dad and Tristan.
Tristan’s eyes were dead cold. She tried to connect the pieces but
nothing fit.

Will cleared his throat, “Are we gonna sort
this out or not?”

Katie thought her dad was going to slam the
door in their faces. Instead he left it open as he walked inside.
He leaned on the wall that led to the living room. “You know you
can’t take her to an omitter, Drew. It’s against the law, it’s her
choice now, she’s over the age.” Will never had a quiet voice, but
in their small hallway it boomed.

“Don’t talk to me like I don’t know
your
law.”

“Our law,” Will said. “You are still one of
use whether you act like it or not.”

Lucinda stood in the middle of the hallway
not touching anything. Tristan was just as rigid. Katie wanted to
suggest that they all sit down, but she felt so small.

“Drew–” Will started.

“No, Will. I get it. The boy shows up and
She,” he pointed at Lucinda, “Starts feeling a bit vengeful, and
somehow my daughter ends up in the middle of this. I can see
through you Lucy, you’re like glass. And Will you’ve never had the
balls to tell her when she’s bat-shit crazy.”

“I’m crazy? How dare you! HOW DARE YOU!
After what you did—”

“I did it to protect my daughter.” Katie’s
dad went red in the face. “You’ve just exposed her, it’s only a
matter of time before—I can’t believe you! After all I’ve done to
protect
my daughter!”

“What about my sister? What about her
family? You just didn’t care did you? How can you stand here and
think what you did was right? For years you lied to my face. How
can you look at
his
face and think what you did was right?”
Lucinda was shaking.

“Your sister? My
wife
was there too!”
Her dad didn’t budge. “I made my decision. Katie make yours. I’m
not going to burying my daughter. If
you
remember
correctly,” her dad looked at Tristan with disgust in his eyes, “I
didn’t even get to bury my wife.”

“You didn’t bury her?” Katie’s voice was so
small the only person who showed signs of hearing her was
Tristan.

“Decide now Katie. I can make everything go
back to normal and we can get on with our lives.” Her dad
fidgeted.

“You know it’s not that simple,” Will
said.

“I can’t—” she looked at Tristan. What had
happened ten years ago. Why couldn’t she remember anything about
having a mother. “You took me to an omitter before didn’t you?” she
said. She couldn’t look her father in the face. She knew the answer
was written all over it.

“And you’ve had a good life because of it.
This world—“

“What about Allison and Brian and everyone
else? Their parents aren’t trying to erase their memories.
I’m—”

“You’re different, Katie. You can’t be apart
of this.”

“Why do you think I’m so
stupid
? If
they can do it so can I. I
am
going to do it.” She was
starting to feel brave. She was starting to feel like she had a
voice. “Whether you like it or not.”

“
Whether I like it or not
? Okay,” her
dad’s face contorted. She had pushed the last button. “Get your
shit and leave.” He turned around and walked into the living room.
The conversation was over.

Katie packed another bag full of clothes.
The last time she was packing a bag she didn’t think she was
actually running away. This time she’d been kicked out. This time
Tristan wasn’t there to look through her things, it was just her,
packing as fast as she could trying not to cry like a baby. She
wasn’t even sad. She was angry. What had just happened? Everyone
knew something she didn’t. There was no wonder she never remembered
Kindergarden or any single thing about her first grade. She’d
always chalked it up as she was too young to remember things that
far. But there weren’t many baby pictures either were there? No,
there was one. She was sitting with her dad, maybe she was two.
Who’d taken it? The mother who had died during childbirth? What
happened to the rest of the pictures? Who was Tristan and why did
her dad talk to him like he was at fault for whatever happened. He
would have only been seven…around the same time his parents were
murdered. What happened?

Her mind spun faster than ever before. It
worked hard trying to uncover clues. Every time it went as far as
it could she’d start to feel dizzy. She almost tripped going down
the stairs, but she swore, for a moment, she saw a little boy with
blue eyes and black hair.

No one said anything on the drive to
Lucinda’s and Will’s house. Her new home until her dad came back to
his senses—just like old times. It hurt that he kicked her out, but
most of it was him being petty. She knew he’d get over it sooner or
later. But did she want to go back home to a house of lies? Before
she left she wanted to smash every picture of her mother. What if
the woman on the wall wasn’t even her but some fake picture that
came with the frame. That’s the life her dad wanted for her. Fake
people to fill stupid picture frames.

Lucinda didn’t have to tell Katie which
bedroom to set up in. It was the same bedroom she spent most of her
childhood living in. She had more childhood memories here than she
did at her own house. Katie passed through the front door and
stopped. When did those memories start? She ran to her old bedroom
and searched the door frame. She found it in seconds. Several
notches and their correlating years where Lucinda kept record of
her height. Her stomach dropped. It started at seven-years. She ran
to Brian’s door and looked. His started when he was one. As far as
Katie knew, as far as anyone told her, she’d been coming to this
house since she was born. She’d asked her dad once about that
picture of them both, when she was two. Her hair had been in an
elaborate up-do. She’d asked who did it and he’d told her
Lucinda.

It was a lie. Another lie. She could feel it
in her bones. The memory was fuzzy but it hit her, the first day
she’d met Will and Lucinda. Lucinda was making applesauce, and let
Katie help. Katie had asked if Lucinda was her mother. No, maybe
that was a dream. Maybe she was making it up.

Katie unpacked one of her bags and hung up
her kitty poster. It was all she could do before she left the room
to find Will.

He was in the basement watching pictures
move by on the TV.

“How’s unpacking?” His gaze was still fixed
on the TV.

Katie walked over to the empty arm chair.
She leaned on it rubbing her fingers over the fabric. “Okay, I
guess.”

She looked at the TV pretending to watch it.
They were both pretending and she felt stupid. “Will—my mom didn’t
die in childbirth, right?”

“No, Katie. She didn’t.”

“When did she die?”

“About ten years ago. You and Drew moved up
here right after.”

What had happened that made her father erase
the memory of a six year-year old. “—How?”

“I wasn’t the one who was there.” This time
he looked at her. “Some things are best left alone. But I’m not
going to tell you what you should and shouldn’t go looking
for.”

She stared at the TV waiting.

“You’ve had a long day, maybe you should go
get some food and hit the sack?”

He was telling her to leave.

On her way up the stairs she saw Brian walk
through the front door.

“What are you doing here?” he said. Katie
thought there was a hint of annoyance in his voice, but she ignored
it. She was on edge and probably thinking too much of it.

“I got thrown out.”

“By your dad?” Brian looked thoroughly
surprised. “What the hell did you do?”

It struck her that he had no idea what was
going on in her life. How much was because he didn’t care to ask.
At that moment she felt a twinge of satisfaction that Tristan had
embarrassed him in front of everyone. Someone had shown him he
wasn’t that invincible.

“I told him I was going to quit school and
be a prostitute,” Katie spat.

“What?” Brian shook his head, “Whatever, I’m
not in the mood for your drama.”

“Asshole,” She could finally yell at someone
and be heard.

“Go tell someone who cares,” he said, going
up the stairs. Katie wanted to run up the stairs and punch him in
the back of the head. She wanted to take it all out on him. Why did
everyone think she wasn’t someone to take seriously? She went to
her new room. How long was it going to be like this? She slammed
her face into her pillow and went to sleep.

An ever growing fall breeze settled in
Katie’s bones as she woke up for yet another morning training. It
had been two months since she left home.

It was torture.

Lucinda scheduled trainings twice a day, no
matter if the mornings, like this morning, were freezing, or if the
evenings were dark and dusty. Tristan didn’t care, not that she
cared if he cared. They’d gone back to being two awkward people who
spent nearly every waking moment together—which was a type of sick
torture. Worse was Brian actively ignoring her when they lived in
the same house, but then again, he didn’t seem to be on good terms
with anyone in the house.

She drug herself out of bed, wrapped up like
a silkworm cocoon in her comforter, and shuffled to the bathroom
wearing nearly every shirt in her closet. Katie went straight to
the backyard where Tristan awaited to beat her up. The cold wasn’t
the only reason she wore extra shirts. She could use the padding,
her bruises from yesterday morning were barely turning a deep gray
blue. Her hip ached from landing on a tree root two days ago, her
elbows still burned from being dragged across the ground yesterday,
and her left leg twitched a little when she stood on it too
long.

“No pain no gain,” Tristan said as he sat
down a pair of knives.

“Out of my head.” She was too tired for
this.

“Then wake up, you’re going to learn how to
really use a knife today.”

She couldn’t help but smile. “Really?” She
had been waiting for this ever since she saw Allison practicing.
The way her body extended to the tip of any knife she held was
unreal. The fluid stabs and quick recoils, the impossible accuracy
of each throw. If Katie could perfect that, she could stunt double
for action movies.

Tristan scrunched up his eyebrows. “No. I
lied. But, now that I have your attention, stretch your legs out.
You’re going to do a lot of running this morning.”

She could have pretended to be affronted,
but a part of her had expected him to be lying. “Water break,” she
sighed, opening the back door.

“Oh, come on. You just got here,” Tristan
laughed evilly behind her. “Seriously, hurry up.”

She was surprised to hear Lucinda pacing the
kitchen floors. Normally she sat at the window in the living room
watching them practice, screaming orders and corrections. In the
silence, Katie heard her voice from the kitchen, “She’s getting
good. Really good,” she said. She must have been on the phone,
because no one else was in the house. Brian and Will had left
earlier that morning.

Katie stopped in the hall when Lucinda
smacked her hand against the kitchen counter.

“No!” Lucinda’s voice turned to acid.
“That’s not the same. Drew kept Celia’s death
and
Tristan
from me. Letting a little boy be taken by some stranger is as bad
as throwing a baby out in the woods—he claims that’s why he left
this system, but he’s no better than any of us.”

Katie stiffened, her pulse beat in her
throat. She pressed her body against the wall as Lucinda’s
footsteps grew closer.

“No, William. He should have known I would
have forgiven him. I knew what she was in the beginning. He’s a
liar and a murderer.”

What Lucinda said pushed past Katie and beat
her down worse than all the weeks training with Tristan. A
murderer? Her dad wouldn’t
kill
anyone. Had he
killed
Tristan’s parents?

Lucinda said her goodbyes to Will, and Katie
hurried back outside. Being in the house, made her feel like she
couldn’t breathe, but it was worse the moment she looked at
Tristan. She felt a wave of his anger, frustration, and pity.

“Practice over,” he said, no doubt knowing
how all-sorts-of confused she was.