Lost and Found (A Novel) (11 page)

Shakily, Hayley stood up, still clutching her stomach in pain. She winced as she made her way to the kitchen sink to wash the wound on her forehead, vaguely aware that her father was still in the kitchen, watching her every movement. Sensing a presence behind her, Hayley spun around suddenly. She gasped and stumbled backwards, surprised at the proximity of her father.

“Now, now, is that any way to repay my help?”

When Hayley was younger, she had used to wish for her father to talk to her, even if it was just one word. At least she knew that her presence was acknowledged. However, that day when her father finally spoke directly to her for the first time, it made her wished that he hadn’t bothered to at all. That, she was in fact, still invisible to him. It wasn’t so much the words he used but the way he leered at her as he spoke made her cringed in disgust. She inched herself further backwards, leaning away from him. She did not know why but her instincts told her to put as much space between her and her father.

“You know what to do kiddo. When the time is right.” Mr. Price gave a crooked smile and winked at Hayley before sauntering out of the kitchen.

Hayley slid down to the floor, shocked beyond believe. She did not know what her father expected her to do but the look on his face was something she would rather not see again. The way his eyes roamed over her from head to toe and the way his lips sneered at her, they made her shuddered. She knew now that both her parents hated her. While she dreaded the cold harsh look of her mother, she would rather be faced with it than the look of her father that gripped her with fear. It was evil personified. It made her wonder when her life would get better. If it would ever get better.

Hayley brushed her fringed down to hide the band-aid that covered the gash on her forehead. Judd was already at their bench, bent over something. Her face brightened slightly at the sight of her only friend.

“Hey.” Hayley said softly, stopping just beside Judd.

Judd looked up and his eyes lit up with excitement. “Hey, I thought you had gone overseas again.” His forehead creased slightly when Hayley winced at his words. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m alright. But I can’t stay long. I promised my mother that I would be back early today.” It was not really a lie. She had been told not to be late for dinner again and the only way was not to stay at the park.

“Oh, I see.” Judd’s face fell slightly before he quickly masked it with a smile. “Before you go, I would like to give you something.”

Hayley watched with curiosity as Judd turned back to pick up a long rectangular black box. He grinned excitedly as he held out the box towards Hayley who took it hesitantly.

“What is it?”

“Why don’t you see it for yourself?”

Hayley opened the lid cautiously and sucked in her breath. Her mouth fell open as she took in the sight of the beautiful kite. “Oh Judd...” Her voice trailed off as her fingers ran over the smooth sheet. “You shouldn’t have.” Judd shrugged his shoulders, still beaming happily. Hayley had never received any presents before. This was the first time and it was something she could not accept. How was she ever going to hide this huge thing in her room? Her mother would only tear it apart and she could not bear for that to happen.

“It’s really sweet of you but I can’t accept it.” Her eyes gave the kite one last longing look before she closed the lid resolutely.

“Why not?” Judd frowned.

“It’s too much.” She said simply, not wanting to disappoint him.

“Oh don’t worry about it. I know you like flying it. I have another one of my own at home. This is yours. We can fly our kites together sometime.” Judd gave her another one of his dazzling smile, making her smile in return.

“Yeah, I would love that but my mother doesn’t like me accepting gifts from people.”

“But it’s just a kite.”

“Even then...” Hayley’s voice trailed off, not knowing how else to turn him down. “How about if I accept it but you keep it for me?” Hayley asked as the thought entered her head. It was the only option she had. Judd seemed to ponder this for a moment as his expression turned thoughtful.

“What good would that do? You won’t be able to use it if it is with me.” The frown was back on his face.

“I will be able to use it but I will need to trouble you to bring it to me whenever we are flying our kites.” Hayley smiled earnestly, hoping that it would appease Judd.

“I suppose that will do then.” Judd finally conceded. At least the kite was now Hayley’s even if he was keeping it for her.

“I have to go now. Thank you again for the gift.”

“You’re welcome. See you again.” As Hayley turned to leave, the wind blew her fringe away and Judd caught sight of the band-aid on her forehead. His hand automatically shot out and grabbed her arm to stop her from leaving. On reflex, Hayley flinched and her body moved into a protective stance. Judd pulled his hand back and stared at her wide-eyed. Her face also seemed to have paled considerably. “Did you think I was going to hurt you?”

Hayley relaxed her posture and tried to act nonchalant. “No, it was just a normal reflex. Is there something you wanted to say to me?” Judd still looked at her suspiciously, making her nervous.

“I wanted to ask about your forehead. What happened?”

“It’s nothing. I just tripped and fell, you know how clumsy I can get.” Hayley said quickly, self-consciously brushing her fringe again to conceal the band-aid.

“You don’t come across as someone who is clumsy.”

Hayley laughed nervously. “Umm...I am, it’s just that you haven’t seen this side of me before.”

“Hayley, if there is something wrong, you can talk to me about it.” Hayley just shook her head, not trusting herself to speak. She was worried that she might broke down in front of him.

“Tell me honestly Hayley, all those times when you disappeared, did you really go overseas?” Judd could not help the doubt that was rising in him. As he thought over the little things he had brushed off in past, it dawned on him how suspicious they all added up to. Those times when she came back from her overseas trips, she would give vague answers when asked about the places that she went to. It was as though she didn’t really know about them despite being there. He had not thought to question her further then. This was not the first time he had seen an injury on Hayley. He had come across small bruises before and each time, Hayley had brushed them off as her knocking over things and that it was in her nature to bruise easily. Again he had let it past. This time however, the way she had reacted to his touch told him that there was indeed something going on. It was as though she was bracing herself for an expected beating.

Hayley blinked as she stood dumbstruck. There was no way she could tell Judd what was happening. “I’m sorry Judd but I really have to go now.” She tried to hurry away but Judd grabbed hold of her arm once more. Again the flinching was there even though she recovered faster this time but Judd had caught it all the same

“You are not going anywhere until we talk about this Hayley.” His tone was soft yet firm.

Hayley knew that he was not going to let her go unless she said something that would satisfy his suspicious mind. “I will talk to you about it Judd, just not today, please.” She looked up at him, pleading with her big crystal eyes.

Judd seemed undecided for an instance but then let go of her arm and sighed. “Fine. Just know this Hayley, you can trust me. I will help you.”

Hayley nodded her head and briskly walked away from the park before Judd changed his mind and chased after her. Judd watched her go with mixed emotions. He knew that she was hiding something from him but using force would not give him the answers. He had no choice but to wait until Hayley was ready to tell him herself. He just hoped that it would not be too late by then.

CHAPTER 9: 11 YEARS AGO

The droning voices and light from the television set was the only indication that somebody was in the otherwise dark den. Yet, the figure that was slumped on the sofa had been oblivious to his surroundings since almost four hours ago. His mind was too preoccupied with thoughts of a particular eight-year-old girl whose elusiveness frustrated him greatly. Judd mentally ran through the events of the past week again, hoping that it could somehow helped him decide whether his assumptions were baseless.

Letting Hayley walked away the day his suspicions first brewed was a risk. There was a chance that Hayley might decide not to come by the park again to avoid his questionings. As he waited for her the next day, he had realized then how much he knew nothing about Hayley’s family other than the things she had told him, if they were even the truth. He did not have her phone number, much less knew where she lived. With great shame, he acknowledged that he had taken the friendship she offered for granted. He was contented with simply having her company but not enough to learn more about who she was. He took the emotions she showed at face value, without bothering to find out her true feelings. As he caught sight of Hayley making her way slowly into the park, he clenched his fist tight with sheer determination to be a better friend, one whom Hayley truly deserved. He vowed to help her out in every way he could, even if she did not want his help. The first step would be to find out the secret that she seemed so bent on protecting.

That first step was harder than Judd had thought. Hayley came prepared with answers for him, but somehow, Judd knew that she was not telling him the whole truth. Pushing it further would only drove Hayley away and that was something that Judd could not afford. Much as he disliked it, he had to accept her explanations for now. Hayley had admitted that she did not follow her parents overseas, that she, in fact, had not even stepped foot outside of the town before. Those times when she disappeared were because her parents had grounded her for her errant behavior. Her parents were a strict lot, very particular about manners and house rules. Their idea of grounding was to deprive Hayley of her social life, which they deemed was the source of her misdemeanor, hence confining her to the house until they were satisfied that she had learnt her lesson. Being overseas was her only excuse as she was ashamed of being punished for not behaving. As for her injuries, Hayley had maintained that they were due to her own carelessness and not inflicted by anyone.

Judd stood up and began pacing across the length of the den as he replayed Hayley’s body language and analyzed her words. She had kept her head down throughout, only looking up at him once she had finished explaining. Even then, she had avoided eye contact with him at all cost. It was as though she was afraid that he would see the truth in her eyes. Her speech was smooth and fluid, almost as if she had rehearsed it by heart. It was like the speech had been prepared just for him.

Then there was the tale itself. He found it a little extreme for parents to forbid their children from leaving the house totally for days on end as a disciplinary method. Maybe for the older generation but in this modern society? Even if it was plausible, it did not make sense for them to intentionally caused her to miss out on school, not to mention blatantly lying to the school about the reason while wanting to teach her values. That was just plain ridiculous. It was for these reasons that he decided to secretly tail Hayley as she walked home for the past few days. He had even stalked her apartment until her mother came home hoping to find out something unusual that would strengthened his suspicions. Other than the fact that Hayley’s walking speed seemed to slow down almost to the point of dragging her feet each time her house came into view, they looked like any other normal family. Judd grunted in frustration and dropped down on the sofa, leaning his head back and stared into the dark ceiling.

“Something’s bothering you?”

Judd jumped in shocked, turning to face an amused Elise sitting beside him. “Couldn’t you have announced your arrival instead of being so sneaky?” He grumbled in annoyance.

Elise chuckled. “I did call out your name as I came in but you were too far spaced out, it was no wonder you didn’t even realize I had been sitting here observing you since you started pacing the length of this room.”

“Humph.” Judd grunted in response and was about to tell Elise to leave him alone when an idea occurred to him. Elise was an adult and she could provide an insight about Hayley’s situation. “I know we are not very close but would you mind doing me a favor?” He asked eagerly.

“And what is that?” Elise cocked her head to the side, watching him with interest.

“I need your opinion on an assumption I had made based on some facts which are observable and some information that may as well have been fiction.” Elise’s face scrunched up with confusion. “Err...I’m not making sense am I?”