Forsaken (7 page)

“Can I help you miss?”

I step back, he steps forward. I didn’t come here to be seen, I was just going to walk past and now this man, possibly my Father, is walking towards me. I can’t run, he would likely chase me, I can only back up. He narrows his eyes as he gets closer to me; I quickly stare at the ground.

“Are you lost?”

“Ah, no, I mean…yes.”

“Can I help?”

I am looking at the ground and he probably thinks I am so rude, “Oh, no thanks.”

“Can you look at me young lady? Why are you standing in my front yard?”

I am on the path, it hardly makes me in his front yard, but I look up and he nearly falls over. I guess he has seen his own eyes enough times to know mine are an exact replica. His hand goes to his throat and he looks as though he is struggling to breathe. I turn, and I run. I can’t deal with this; I can’t take the way that man looked at me…with love. What if he isn’t my Father? Oh who am I kidding, even an idiot could see he is.

“Wait, please wait,” h
e calls.

I run faster but damned if the man isn’t quick, he catches me by the arm and spins me around.

“Please, I have the wrong house, let me go.”

Aw shit, he is crying, standing there with tears running down his handsome face. Up close he is very attractive for his age, his dark hair hardly has any flecks of grey and he has a defined jaw and mouth. He reaches out with trembling fingers and touches my cheek, and that is it for me, I start wailing too.

“It can’t be.”

“I…am sorry, I never
meant to…”

“What is your name?”

“It’s Maya.”

“Tell me when you were born
, Maya.”

“It’s…I have to go,”

“Please,” he croaks, “I am begging you. Please.”

God
he looks like a wounded puppy, my heart lurches. How can I deny this man? The emotions running through me are huge, and I know if I walk away now I will regret it. I whisper my birth date and he makes a choking sound, and his hand grips his chest as he struggles to compose himself.

“It can’t be…it can’t be…”

“I didn’t know until a few days ago, I just wanted…”

“Do you know how long we have thought about you, pined for you, died slowly because we couldn’t have you?”

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

“No,
God, it wasn’t your fault.”

I can’t speak, I don’t know how. I stare at the man and I
have a sudden urge to jump into his arms. Seems like he has the same feeling because he grips me and yanks me to his chest, and we stand in the street sobbing and crying, clinging to each other. They say animals in the wild have a natural instinct when knowing who their parents are; right now I feel that pull. I feel the deep pull towards this man, a warmth I haven’t felt for so many years.

“Please, come in, my wife…”

“Are you still married to her?”

“Yes,” h
e chokes, “Please, oh please, we have lived years in agony…”

I nod, swallowing the lump in my throat. He takes my hand and leads me back to the house. When we step inside, I smell cookies baking, a smell I never had as a child. What am I doing here?
God, Ryder will kill me and yet, I can’t stop myself. I have to know, I NEED to know.

“Amy,
” The man calls in a hoarse voice.

“Yes Will? I am busy.”

“You want to come out here.”

“Busy!”

“NOW!”

“Oh my
God, I can’t believe you spoke to me like that…” A woman yells, coming around the corner, her voice dies off and she stands and stares at me with an open mouth.

“She is here…it’s her.”

Tears thunder down the woman’s beautiful face, like she has held them in for so many years. I hiccup and cup a hand over my mouth; she is the spitting image of me. Ok, I have my Father’s eyes but this woman has the same face as me, the same honey colored hair and pixie like features.

“Oh, oh…”

She steps forward and reaches her hand out much the same way my Father had, her fingers trace over my cheek.

“Is it real?”

“Look at her Amy, it’s her.”

She snatches her hand a
way and covers her mouth again, “How?”

I look at them
both, and try to find my voice, “The people who took me, left when I was young. I went into foster care and met a really great man. After a series of…horrible events, I asked him to help me find them. I thought they were my family. He searched and searched for a year, when he finally came across a newspaper article about a baby stolen on the same day I was born, he looked further into it and narrowed it down to me. Of course a DNA will prove it but…”

“
Nonsense,” The woman whispers, “One look at you, oh, just one look…my baby is home.”

I tremble again.

“May I hug you?”

I nod, feeling more tears stumble down my cheeks. The woman steps forward and pulls me into her arms, where I truly melt.
I have missed the comfort of a Mother, and now I have finally found where I belong and it feels right, everything about it feels right. She pulls back and wipes her eyes again.

“I feel like I am dreaming,” s
he whispers.

“Listen, I can’t stay long…”

“Oh, please don’t leave. We have searched for you for years, oh God, I saw you for just a minute when you were born and they took you to the nursery, then…you were just gone, no one could find you. Please, let me have more than a minute.”

I nod,
“I just have to make a call.”

“What is your name?”

“Maya Traydon,”

“Maya,
what a beautiful name,”

I give a weak smile.

“Maya Traydon? As in the girl who got taken by the serial killer?”

My
Father says the words quietly, and I turn to stare at him.

“Yes, that was me.”

“Oh sweet Jesus, what has happened to you?”

“It’s a long story.”

“Oh my baby, my poor baby,”

They usher me into the lounge and we sit, talking about what happened the day I was stolen. They had no leads, no idea who took me or any idea where to start looking. They put out a search, but how do you search for a baby with no name? They were devastated and spent years living in depression when they had my
other siblings. I never thought I might have any other siblings out there; it just never crossed my mind.

“This is a lot to
take in,” I whisper.

“We have dreamed of this day for so long, we didn’t think it would ever happen.”

“I should probably go, my boyfriend will be waiting and he worries a lot…”

“Those two men that were in the news…that wasn’t…correct was it?” My
Father asks very gently.

I snort,
“Nate is gay, so no it isn’t correct. I have never been with two men, it was a lie.”

I see my
Mother release a puff of breath.

“Won’t you stay until your sister and brother get home, they would love to meet
you?”

“They know about me?”

“Yes, of course.”

“How old are they?”

“Sarah is twenty this year and Mark is err…twenty three.”

I nod, swallowing.

“Maybe another time, this is so overwhelming and I am not sure how I feel…”

As I stand, the front door opens and two young people walk in. I am guessing my brother and sister.
The girl has dark hair like my Father, with pretty blue eyes. She is tall and very attractive. The young boy is built for his age, making him look older than twenty three. He has the same honey colored hair as me, but his eyes are also blue, like my Mothers. They stop and stare, glancing at their parents and back to me.

“The day has finally come…” m
y Mother whispers, “She found us.”

Sarah, my sister, looks like she has been slapped, but in a good way. Mark glares at me, and I am taken aback.

“This is our sister…oh…it’s for real?” Sarah whispers, stepping closer.

“This is
her; we will get a DNA of course but just look at her…”

“She looks just like you
, Momma.”

“Doesn’t she?” My
Mother gushes.

Sarah sticks her hand out,
“My name is Sarah; I…am your sister I guess.”

I take her h
and and feel a rush of warmth, “Maya.”

“You are so
pretty, isn’t she pretty Momma?”

“Stunning, my girls are stunning.”

“Are you staying? I can’t believe it’s you, we have so much to learn, I always wanted a sister!”

Mark snorts and I glance at him, he is still glaring at me.

“Ah the precious child returns, well, now they can stop fucking talking about you even when you aren’t around.”

Ouch.

“MARK!” my Mother cries, “That is awful, it isn’t her fault.”

“No, I suppose not. I am going to my room.”

“Mark, get down here young man.” My Father yells but he is gone.

“I am so sorry about
him; he has never taken it well.”

“It’s ok, I should go anyway. I will come back, I promise.”

I give them my phone number and endure another half an hour of hugging. By the time I get out front and into the cab, I am beyond overwhelmed. As I am driving away, I stare out the window and up at Mark who is watching me from the second story. What is it about him that I feel so damned close to? He tugs at my heart strings and I can see a deep pain in his eyes, with a sigh, I turn away.

CHAPTER 6

MAYA

When I get back to the apartment, it is dark. I walk up the drive and past security, and then I stop dead when I see Ryder hugging Janelle. What the fuck? She is crying and gripping his shirt, and I feel jealousy swarm me. Why does she insist on being such a thorn in my side? I walk right past them and into the apartment, Ryder notices me at the last moment and his gaze meets mine. He gives me a sorry expression, but I simply slam the door.

I go to bed, not bothering to talk with anyone. Sandy is out with her friends and I couldn’t be bothered chasing her tonight, I just don’t have the energy. I do hope she is ok though, because no matter what I still love her. I fall asleep quickly only to be woken by one very hot, very hard body against mine. Need overwhelms me, I don’t even know where it comes from. I roll and grip Ryder’s chest.

“Ryder?”

“Baby, I’m sorry. She came and…”

“Fuck me.”

He pauses,
“What?”

“I want you to fuck me, so hard, so fast…fuck me Ryder,
and make it all go away.”

“Baby…”

“Please…”

He rolls over me and his hot skin against mine is my undoing. I grip his shoulders and wrap my legs around his waist. I kiss him furiously, my tongue teasing his while my hands move up and down his sides. I grip his ass and tug him forward and he groans deeply against my mouth.

“No foreplay?”

“No
.”

He moves his hand down between us and grips his cock, then slowly slides it inside me. I whimper when he is fully sheathed, my body comes alive beneath him. My hips arch of
f the bed with his first thrust and a tormented groan escapes my lips.

“Oh baby…”

“Fuck me, harder,” I rasp.

He pulls his hips back and he slams harder, until he is riding me with such force the bed creaks and slams against the wall. I scream his name when my first orgasm rips through me, followed by a second minutes later. Ryder growls my name and yanks himself out, shooting his seed
over my belly and breasts. I whimper and touch the hot liquid, curious. He gets out of the bed and flicks on the light, looking down at me with a cheeky grin.

“I always wanted to do that, fuck you look good right now.”

I smile up at him, but say nothing. He disappears into the bathroom and comes back out with a warm, damp cloth. He wipes me clean and then lies down beside me again, pulling me into his arms.

“I was worried about you this afternoon.”

“Why was Janelle here?”

He sighs,
“Her boyfriend hit her and she had nowhere to go…”

“Oh.”

“I was only hugging her because she threw herself at me, I told her to go to the cops. I said I wasn’t her
go to
anymore.”

“I believe you,” I whisper.

“Then tell me, how did it go?”

“They are such lovely people Ryder.”

He sits up, “You met them?”

“It was an accident, but yes.”

“Aw shit baby, why didn’t you say so? Now I feel like an ass.”