Revenge : Book 2

CHAPTER 9 : Nomad

I was an only child and so was my father, meaning I had no cousins or aunts and uncles from his side. I had never met any of my grandparents, my mother's parents as well as my father's. The only other family I had beside my parents and Harrod was my aunt Jess, my mother's younger sister. 

      She lived on the other side of the country, growing up I hardly ever saw her. She visited on holidays only, Christmas and thanksgiving. As a kid I always looked forward to her visits. She'd always bring me a ton of presents and she'd tell me the most interesting stories of her travels around the world. 

     When faced with the decision of where to go, she was the only person who came to mind. She was the only one I had left. I couldn't return to West Chapel, it was far too dangerous. I had no one else. 

      It wasn't snowing in this part of the country but the night was still chilly. This was my first time at my aunt's house. As a matter of fact, I wasn't even sure if this was her house. I was still new to this whole teleporting thing. I figured all I had to do was think really hard about some place or someone and I'd appear there. I really hoped it was true.

      It was dark as I approached the front door of a two story house. The only light came from the front porch light. I walked up the wooden front steps, they creaked under my feet. I wrapped my hand into a fist before softly tapping on the red wooden door. There was no response, so I tapped louder this time. 

     The house stirred to life. The lights came on, as footsteps resounded through the house. They grew louder as they neared the door, I swallowed the lump in my throat as I fidgeted with the hem of my shirt. The door swung open and my breath hitched as I stared at my aunt Jess. 

    "Hello, can I help you?" She asked warily. She obviously didn't recognize me, it had been about eight years since I'd last seen her. I'd grown quite a bit. But I recognized her instantly. Her hair was blonde, just like my mom's. She had the same grey eyes though hers were a shade lighter. 

     Her hair was tied up into a messy bun, she was in a nightgown and robe, seeing as it was the middle of the night. I probably had woken her up.

    "Aunt Jess, it's me, Marcus." I said. She took a second to observe my face. I could see it on her face, the moment recognition hit her, her eyes widen and her mouth gaped. 

     "Marcus?" I nodded, her face immediately lit up. She wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. "What are you doing here?" She asked as I returned her hug. 

      I didn't answer her immediately. I just wanted to hug her. It felt nice. It felt nice to hug a woman who reminded me so much of my mother. It was comforting, and reassuring. I really needed some reassuring in that moment. I felt safe again. I'd missed this. Tears welled up in my eyes. 

     "I need your help," I said as I slowly pulled away from her, tears staining my cheeks. She immediately noticed them. 

      "Come in," she said stepping away from the entrance. I stepped into the house, it's warmth instantly engulfing me. 

     She led me into the living room. The room was decorated in artifacts from all over the world. There were objects ranging from tribal masks from Africa to jade statues from Asia. Russian nursing dolls where settled on top of a shelf. There were Celtic figurines on the coffee table. She'd collected all of this stuff, I remembered a few presents she'd given my parents on one of her visits. She'd been everywhere, traveled the globe and done just about everything, from mount climbing to sky diving. She was just about the most interesting person I knew. 

     As a child I admired her greatly. I wanted to just be like her. She'd promised me so many times that one day she'd take me on one of her adventures. We never got the opportunity though.