The Unknown Thief

Part 31

Chapter 31

Aubrey could feel something shaking her, panic in their voice.  Opening her eyes, she stared up at her mother and father.  Her dad let out a sigh as he realized that she was awake; her mother wiped at the tears on her face before jumping to her feet with a glare. 

“You scared me half to death,” her mother accused with tearful eyes. 

Her dad leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her cheek.  “We are so happy that you are awake.”

“What happened?”

“We’re not sure,” her mother stated, leaning down and hugging her tightly.  “You came home, but your brothers do not know what happened.  The other, Nathaniel, I think—”

“How is he?” she interrupted, sitting up in her bed.  Feeling the pain radiate up her side, she gasped, but didn’t keep her eyes from her father’s face.

He looked at her in concern, as her mother went to stand behind the chair he sat in.  “Are you in pain?”

“No.”   They all froze, staring at one another in shock.  A smile spread across her face, one large enough to make the once grave situation seem nothing but bright.

“You can lie!” her mother said in a cheery voice before pulling her into another hug.  “I am so happy for you, Brey.  Oh, imagine how you can move on with your life now, how much better things will be for you.”

Her father cleared his throat, allowing her to pull free from her mother’s too tight hug.  “I do not think this is necessarily a good thing,” he mumbled.  “How will we know when she is telling the truth now?”

“Oh, honey,” her mother said with a chuckle.  “She’s the same Aubrey as she was weeks ago.  The only difference is that she can finally get over the curse she felt so horrid about.  How can you not see the good in this?”

He snaked an arm around her mother’s waist, pulling until the woman had no choice but to fall into his lap.  Connecting eyes with Aubrey, he smiled.  “You grew up fast, too fast for my liking.  When I lost you the first time, I never thought you would return home.  Now that I know I could lose you once more, I do not know to feel.”

“Papa, I am not going anywhere,” she promised with a smile.  “I may still travel, I may live in another home, but I will always be here, where my home land is.”

“Promise me?” he asked, his eyes clouding.

She nodded at him with a smile.  “I promise on all that is me that I will be home more often than I was that I will not leave on long, reckless journeys for amusement.”

“That is all we ask,” her mother said with a large smile. 

Aubrey smiled back at her mother before her thoughts began to connect in her mind.  The last thing she remembered was a woman.  Who the woman was, she had no idea.  She had fallen, a weapon in her heart while Aubrey held on to Nathaniel.  Whoever the woman was, Aubrey didn’t feel sadden by her lose, didn’t feel as if she had lost a friend.

“What happened, honey?”

Her mother’s soft tones eased the tension in her body.  “I do not know,” she answered honestly.  She couldn’t remember it all.  There was this blank, this empty spot in her memories, one that she knew would connect everything together, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t remember what it was.

The door burst open, standing there was Ainsely and Luther, both with annoyed expressions on their faces as they both tried to push through the doorway.  Aubrey laughed at the two of them, while her mother and father rolled their eyes.  “Children,” her mother said with a huff.