Or maybe I should panic and call the Police, but what would I tell them?
I finally make a decision. It’s not a huge one and it won’t change much, but it will help my conscience ease a little. “Can you watch Dillan for me again?” I ask Jeanine, hoping I’m not pushing my luck.
She throws me her car keys and waves me away. Great.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The house is dark and empty when I arrive. The only car in the driveway is my beast of a BMW. I slide out from Jeanine’s car and pull out my keys.
All I want is my necklace back. I should never have ripped it off and the niggling in my mind is driving me crazy. Once I have it, I’ll repair it and send it back to him. Or I’ll keep it. I haven’t decided yet.
I tiptoe up the stairs, feeling like a criminal and praying that Nathan didn’t think to lock his bedroom door.
He didn’t. Thank god.
I don’t flick on the light. The room is dim but I can see where I’m going.
Using the camera flash as a torch, I drop down onto my knees in his closet and seek out the gold pendent.
Almost immediately, in the far corner, the tiny red jewel sparkles at me. I smile and shuffle forward, grasping it with one hand. I pick it up but the chain gets stuck on something, causing me to drop it. Must be a loose nail it has snagged on. There are clothes above making it pitch black and I feel for the end of the chain with difficulty.
I use my phone again and purse my lips when I see the chain is stuck between the skirting board and the floor. What are the odds?
I give it another tug but don’t get anywhere. I’m starting to worry that I’ll break the chain further.
Sliding onto my belly, I pray that there are no spiders and lean my phone against a shoe so it shines directly where the chain is stuck. I give it another tug. Nothing.
Damn it.
It is really stuck in there. I think the clasp has slid through and has twisted.
I head back into Nathan’s room and pull open the top drawer of the desk by the bed. I’ve seen him grab pens and things from in here, so I’m hoping there’ll be something I can use.
What the hell? When…? Oh my god.
I grab the photo and blink in astonishment. It’s of me and Nathan on the Ferris wheel. I’m pregnant, my head is resting against his shoulder and his chin is on top of my head.
The memory surfaces and it suddenly dawns on me that this is what he must have been buying when I went to the toilet that night at the fair. My mouth stretches into a soft smile. I touch the picture with the tip of my finger affectionately and place it back in the drawer.
I think Nathan feels more for me than I realised. How else do I explain this secret photo? He clearly doesn’t want me to know that he has it or it would be on display. Either that or he would have at least shown me.
So how long has he felt this way? I thought he disliked me back then.
My mind goes back to my necklace. I grab a ruler (why the hell he has a ruler upstairs I have no idea) and get back to work on loosening the necklace from the skirting board.
The corner of the plastic measuring device slips between the floor and board at the corner. I slide it along the crack until I’m a few centimetres away from my jewellery.
Click. Uh-oh. The skirting board just fell away from the wall. That’s not good.
My attention is on the small dark space and I’m sure I can see something in its depths, like a box of sorts. Using the light from my phone, I shine it into the hole, scared I’ll find any number of creatures. Instead I find a very small and clean space filled with DVD cases perfectly lined up.
What are these?
Nathan’s porn stash? I can’t help it, my curiosity won’t let me leave them behind. If it’s porn or possibly even Nathan doing naughty things, I’ll just put them back.
I’m so lucky. Caleb always said I was lucky and he was right. It feels like I was meant to find this. What are the odds that this would happen because I threw my necklace?
I run my finger over the plain black cases with labels along the narrow edge. My eyes instantly zoom on one that seems separate from all of the others. It’s the only one that’s labelled.
First Time
(Inc---Stephan)
Isn’t that Mr Weston’s name? I’m sure it is.
I pull out three of the unlabelled DVDs and the labelled one and walk back into Nathan’s room. I should have taken better note as to where everything was. He’ll most likely notice that I’ve moved things, being the perfectionist that he is.
I wish I had my own TV in my room, less chance of getting caught, but I know he won’t be back for a while. It still makes my hands shake at the thought though.
When I open the DVD the title baffles me.
I don’t hesitate to place the disk into the attached DVD player behind the TV and turn it on.
He Knew
What kind of title is that for a homemade porno? That’s assuming it is a porno.
I pop the DVD in the player and sit back on my knees. The screen is fuzzy for a few minutes with white noise. The quality isn’t great either. Huh, seems to be some kind of… oh my god. That’s here, I’d recognize that front door anywhere.
“Where is he?” A man I don’t recognize speaks from behind the camera. “Where’s my big boy today?”
Oh, it’s some kind of home video.
“Here, Grandpa, here!” I let out a startled laugh as a dark haired boy who can’t be older than six comes rushing through the archway and vanishes from sight as he no doubt hugs his grandpa. Wait… I’ve seen this boy before. The picture I found. It’s Caleb!
My heart soars.
“Look what Grandpa has, Nathan.”
Wow. It’s Nathan? Is he sure? He must be, he’s their grandfather. The resemblance is uncanny.
“Cool.” The video wobbles a lot and crackles as the boy’s grandfather shows him the camera.
Nathan is now back in view, his face only seeming to be a few inches away from the camera. Oh my god. I know those eyes and those lips and those freckles. That’s Nathan. It is Nathan! Now that I’m getting a closer look I can tell that it’s him.
“And how old you are now?” Grandpa asks as he takes the camera back from the happy little boy. So carefree, so happy. It’s odd seeing Nathan this way.
The boy smiles and the smile is so easy, it reminds me so much of Caleb. “I turned six yesterday!”
“I’m guessing you’ll be wanting a present?”
The little boy bounces on the spot, his tight white shirt and cute little blue bow tie the only thing in view as he goes up. He can jump pretty high for a kid of his age. “Pwease, pwease, pwease.” Aww, he said pwease. He’s so adorable.
“Come on then.” Grandpa leads him outside. “To the barn.”
“Yes!” Nathan hollers, his little fist pumping the air. “To the barn!” He says this like a superhero and flies forward through the long grass. I can’t stifle my smile at his playful behaviour.
Ah, I get to see the barn which has been burned to the ground.
My suspicions are soon confirmed when they manage to make it to the huge white barn, almost as big as the house. I see Grandpa’s slightly aged hand unlatch a door around the side and push it open. This camera movement is making me feel a little bit nauseous.