“You may refer to me as ‘R.’ That is all you need to know at this time,” he stated matter-of-factly. Who did this guy think he was, some kind of Bond villain? Seriously dude, this was Indiana. Are you going to murder me with a stalk of corn? Trying to keep my face as blank as I could, I decided to see what information I could gather from him since no one else was talking here.
“Well, R,” I sneered back. “You still haven’t explained what it is you want from me? And quite frankly, I don’t care that you were at my birth—kind of a weird flex, to be honest. I’m sure several people I didn’t know were there—Nurses, Doctors, orderlies—so, whoopee freaking do. Do you want a cookie or something? A high-five? Not sure how that makes you anything special,” I scoffed at him with all the sarcasm an almost sixteen-year-old had… which was quite a lot in case you were curious.
Maintaining a staredown with him, I didn’t break eye contact. R didn’t know how often I stared into Henry’s eyes or had stare-offs with Finley. I am a teenage girl, R; I can go all day. His smile lifted again as if he were impressed with my abrasiveness toward him.
“Your strength will serve you well for what awaits you, my dear. Despite your parents keeping you in the dark about your heritage, it seems your genetics haven’t let you down,” he grinned evilly. Seriously, what was with this guy? And why did he keep saying ‘parents’ like he had swallowed something disgusting?
“The only thing that awaits me, R, is practice, which, I’m already late for. You’ve met me now and said your piece, so I’d appreciate it if you were to leave now. Tomorrow’s a particularly important day for me. So, if you’d please…,” I stood up again and motioned for him to follow this time. Taking charge of the situation since my parents appeared to be struck with a case of muteness. They were going to have a lot of explaining to do after this. Surprisingly, R stood and followed me to the door with his goon.
“I’m sure this is a lot to process, so I will leave you to get packed. I will be here at dawn tomorrow. Goodbye, for now, my sweet Sariah,” he commented cryptically, making my skin crawl in the process.
Like hell was I going anywhere with this loon! I kept my mouth shut, though, because I just wanted him to leave. See, teenagers could be polite! The big oaf opened the door for R, but he turned back one more time, pointedly glanced at my parents, and left on a final parting statement.
“You know what will happen if she is not here in the morning when I come to collect her. He will not be happy.”
The sound of the door shutting reverberated throughout the quiet house. I turned back to look at my parents, finally hoping to get some answers. The look on their faces jolted a sense of fear and foreboding through me. Their usual easygoing expressions and jovial moods were nowhere to be found. Dad even looked as if he aged ten years since yesterday. His face had an unusual pallor, sweat beaded on his brow, and he had a heaviness now in his eyes. Mom didn’t fare any better, but her upbringing allowed her to mask it better, but when I peered closely I could see the lines around her mouth, the bags under her eyes, and fear vibrating through her body.
“Mom… Dad… What’s going on? Who was that crazy guy, and what was he talking about?” I questioned, my voice shaky, as I made my way back into the living room. They had not moved from the couch. It was my Dad who broke first, spilling all the details. I felt myself go faint as all the blood drained from my face. Thankfully, the couch was still behind me because I freaking fainted. Apparently, I was a damsel in distress circa Pride and Prejudice, after all.
Hello, fainting couch, meet face. This was not how I had envisioned my day, AT ALL. Fuck!
Chapter 1
Sawyer
Present
"Sawdust!" yelled Charlie, my boss and guardian.
"Yeah?" I yelled back. Finishing up my mopping of the girl's bathroom floor, I couldn't help but laugh at his use of a nickname for me. At this point, I accepted it as his way of telling me he cared. He had started calling me that when we first met because he said, "you’re as annoying as sawdust since you won't go away."
Charlie Smith was a widower and owned the ice rink. He became my guardian when I was seventeen after nagging him for a job for a week straight. Though not legally my guardian anymore since I was almost twenty-two, Charlie had come into my life when I desperately needed to believe in someone. Charlie had recognized something in me, and so, begrudgingly offered me a place to live along with the job. The arrangement had suited us both.
Charlie and I worked well together and, over the years, had developed a routine. I kept him from feeling too lonely and assisted him at the rink with classes, scheduling, cleaning, and dealing with all the parents' bullshit. In exchange, I got a paycheck, a safe place to live, and a companion. We may not always say a lot to one another, but we had our own language to express our affection.
"Someone on the phone for you says they have been trying to reach you for a week," he gruffed out as he leaned against the bathroom door jamb I was finishing. Charlie was a big old grump, but he was my grump. He was of average height and build, with a bushy head of hair and a beard that were mostly grey at this point. He had to be in his late sixties, but he’d never tell me his age, hence why I just called him old grump.
"Who would be calling me here?" I wondered. It was almost closing time, and I was hoping to get out of here at close for once. My body was exhausted, and I just wanted to sleep. It had started to feel as if I would always live in this cycle of work, sleep, work, and sleep that I had found myself stuck in over the past three years, but especially the past six months. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with some pissed off skating mom because her kid wasn't a professional yet, or even worse, a creepy hockey dad hitting on me. I shuddered at that thought, gross.
Charlie shrugged his shoulders and walked back towards the front. Charlie had become my safe place after being in the foster care system for two years. It hadn’t all been rainbows and puppies like they would like you to believe. I winced as I briefly recalled celebrating my Sixteenth birthday at my first foster home two weeks after my parents had died. As a sixteen-year-old, it was challenging to find a home that was willing to take a teenager, much less a decent one that didn't have a leering predator waiting in the wings to pounce when the opportunity presented itself. There had been too many close calls over the years, and a few times I preferred not to remember.
Shaking off the unwanted thoughts, I finished up the bathroom and clicked off the light to head to Charlie's office, the only place that still had a landline connection. Charlie was old school and did not carry a cell phone; no matter how often I spoke of how convenient it was, he wouldn’t get one. Hurrying into the enclosed space, I picked up the receiver off the desk.
"Hello?" I answered with a hint of exasperation.
"Sawyer Sullivan?" asked an unfamiliar voice. It was weird hearing that name even five years after the fact.
"This is she. How may I help you?" I said professionally since I had no clue who was calling me here.
"This is the 'Sawyer Sullivan' who applied for the Junior instructor position at The Aldridge School?" I sucked in a breath. Having given up hope on the job when I hadn’t heard back over the summer, I was beyond surprised to hear those words uttered to me. The job posting was from back in April for the 2020-2021 school year, which was starting in just two weeks.