Her Song in His Heart (The Ghost Bird Series #14) Read online

  Our team took great care in ensuring my identity would be as obscure as possible. I could see why for most people, it would be near impossible to become a ghost bird and do the work I wanted to do.

  Gabriel picked up a couple of old dusty cloth, hardbound books out of one of the boxes. He opened them, flipping through pages. “Check every page. Sometimes things get tucked in, you know?”

  We each took a box at a time. Gabriel kept us organized by shuffling boxes to the opposite wall of the shed after they’d been search. The air was stifling, and despite the colder weather, we were getting warm as we searched.

  Gabriel removed his shirt after a while. His bare chest glistened with a light sweat. Lean, strong, with various muscle lines. His jeans hung low enough from shuffling around that the start of a V-line at the lower abdomen showed.

  Even being elbow deep in boxes and shifting items, I became slightly distracted. All the guys on the team were so attractive in individual ways to me. Gabriel was no exception.

  His striking, crystal blue eyes met my gaze, catching me staring at him.

  I blinked rapidly, focusing back on the box, pretending to shift through items but not really looking for a few seconds after getting caught.

  After a few more boxes, we managed to find a collection of paperwork tucked into a metal box that was unlocked. It had copies of information for both myself and my sister. Mine appeared to be photocopies but notarized by stamp and signature.

  I gazed over my own birth certificate, unsure if I’d ever really looked at it.

  October 6th. No hospital, home birth. Illinois.

  There were vaccination records as well, mostly scrawled out in pen and signed by a doctor.

  Gabriel looked it over. He looked at Marie’s as well, comparing. “They look exactly the same.”

  I looked over his shoulder as he held up the pages. The vaccination records were identical, as if we’d gotten shots at the exact same time. There were only very slight alterations to the dates. Even the signatures looked identical.

  It was the same with the social security card. My name, but very similar number to Marie’s and only two digits off. And mine was just a photocopy and not a real one.

  “Forged,” Gabriel said. “Just enough for you to get your license maybe. And that might have been the plan, get you into school, get you an ID, and then ditch the Social Security number fake thing. You’d eventually have to sign up for a real number later and they’d give you one because you have a birth certificate and ID and then boom, you’d be integrated without anyone figuring it out.”

  “I guess for us, it’s good news I haven’t gotten an ID yet,” I said.

  Gabriel combed his fingers through his hair, gazing down at the paperwork. “We should keep going. And check the rest. Make sure there’s nothing left behind.”

  I knew why he said so. We were hoping this was the last time I’d be here. After this, unless Marie or my stepmom needed my help, I wouldn’t be back.

  Saying goodbye forever. Could I stay away? In the back of my mind, I thought I’d at least want to check up on them.

  Despite everything, I just wanted them safe and as happy as could be. Especially after everything we’d been through.

  I didn’t blame my stepmother for being crazy. She was ill, and on top of it, her soon to be ex-husband forced her to care for a baby he’d fathered with another woman. She did okay, until she started to get sick, and then slowly, as it got worse, her abuse and neglect did too. Now she was bitter and alone. Still, she didn’t deserve complete abandonment.

  We were about finished up when Gabriel pulled an old Bible out of a box. I thought I recognized it. It had an old leather cover, large with gold along the edges of the pages. My parents never went to church, though my stepmother often brought up sin and God in her ramblings.

  The old Bible in Gabriel’s hands didn’t seem particularly important to her or she would have brought it inside.

  Gabriel opened it up, reading an inscription. “It says Sorenson,” he said. He held it up to show it to me.

  As he did, something thin and small fluttered out from between the pages, landing on the ground between us.

  A photograph. The old Polaroid sort with a white frame.

  Gabriel picked it up, and he stopped, his mouth opening in surprise. “Jesus Fucking Christ,” he breathed. “Thought this was you for a second.”

  My heart raced. I blinked, aware of what he was saying but the meaning behind it not connecting.

  He flipped the photo to show me.

  It was me, or my image. Me with a tiny baby wrapped in a blanket. In a room with a brick fireplace in the background.

  At the white bottom boarder of the photo, there was an inscription: October 7th. Winchester, Kentucky. One day old.

  Kentucky?

  I didn’t know what to say. It had to be her.

  My real mother.

  Gabriel flipped it back to look at the photo again. He breathed the inscription. “You’re shitting me.”

  “I was born in Kentucky?” I asked. I hadn’t thought about it. I knew I had family there, that the Sorensons were from there, but I guess I assumed I was born in Illinois since my fake birth certificate was from there. I hadn’t realized that might not be the case.

  “Yeah, that,” Gabriel said, still gazing at the photo. He lowered it a bit, turning the image slightly as he stared. “But... I didn’t think.” He looked up at me. “This is where my mom and dad are from.”

  My eyes widened. “What?”

  He nodded slowly. “I’ve got family there still. Cousins. Haven’t seen them in years.” He blinked rapidly. He rolled his head back and closed his eyes. “God don’t tell me.”

  “What?” I said, anxious about why he seemed so stressed out.

  He smirked and shook his head. “It’s a small town, Sang, and fuck us if we’re... I mean, it could be... we’re related.” He quickly added, “Distantly. There’s no way. I never heard of some Sorenson family relation.”

  It seemed impossible. Still, my heart raced. Suddenly this was all too real. I’d held off thinking too much about my mom, where she was from and what happened to her.

  Mr. Blackbourne had told me about her. About how they suspected she had been my father’s younger cousin. It was undetermined if it had been a mutual relationship or if he’d forced himself on her. So in the back of my mind, I knew some things, but... seeing it, realizing my stepmother had spoken the truth. That my father, who had told me it wasn’t rape at all... I hadn’t really trusted it.

  And now it was here, staring me in the face.

  I didn’t know what to think. Did it change much of what I knew?

  Somehow, just seeing her photo, it made it... real.

  Their Lives, Mixed Up in Some Old Crime

  GABRIEL

  They took another hour combing through every last box inside the shed. Gabriel struggled to say something more supportive to Sang. She made timid movements, slow and distracted, and avoided looking at what they had found.

  Processing maybe?

  What could he say? It was the first time there was a photo of any sort of her mother, at least that he had heard about. Wouldn’t that have been shocking?

  Once they finished up, Gabriel exited the stifling shed and sucked down fresh, cold air. He put his shirt back on.

  Sang followed him, bringing along the Bible they’d found.

  “Why are you bringing that?” Gabriel asked.

  “I don’t know,” Sang said. Her eyes were glassy, and she didn’t look right at him. She zoned out.

  Shock. That’s all. Still, he didn’t like to see her like this, but what could he do? They needed to go let Mr. Blackbourne know, but he was at the school. They had the birth certificates. They checked everything. There was nothing left to come back for.

  “Hey,” he said gently. “I know you probably won’t really feel like it, but we need to go see boss man.”

  She tilted her head, confused. “Kota?”

  Gabriel smirked. “No. Mr. Blackbourne. But do you want to wear that or a uniform?”

  She considered it. “Probably the uniform since he’s at the school.”

  That’s it. Keep her thinking ahead. “Then let’s go change.”

  Keep her moving. Keep her occupied for a bit. Tonight, she could take time out to decompress, but they had a lot to do.

  He tried not to believe that he was pushing her to avoid what they found for now, mostly because he needed to know what to do next.

  He had a feeling what it would be, because it was the same thing he’d been putting off for a long time.

  Finding your family, figuring out if you wanted to be a part of them, that was part of Academy initiation. Leave no stone unturned, in a way. All options on the table.

  And Gabriel hadn’t actually fulfilled this part himself. And he didn’t like bringing up the topic.

  It reminded him of that last task he needed to do, and he didn’t want to.

  ♥♥♥

  Within a half hour, Gabriel parked his moped near the bike rack at the school. The school was only a few miles away from Sang’s house, but the air still bit at his cheeks and hands on the way. Sang had worn the gloves that he’d brought along, but even she had clung to him and ducked her face into his back the whole way.

  Maybe he should give up on the moped and get an actual car. But he liked it. He’d earned the money himself for it, and that felt like it meant something. Getting a car now, he’d have to ask for help. He had the funds within the Academy and they’d agree he’d need one, but he wasn’t totally over the idea of wanting to earn his first vehicles on his own.

  But it was getting to be a real pain in the ass to travel in the cold. Or the rain. It was limiting to just have the bike.
br />   After he parked, Sang removed his hoodie, and then the helmet, revealing the uniform; the gray skirt and blazer combo he’d designed months ago.

  Gabriel chuckled at it, and at his own uniform he wore now, sans a tie at the moment. “I don’t think I’ll miss the uniforms when we’re finally out of here.”

  She nodded, though she didn’t say anything.

  Gabriel stashed the helmet and hoodie into the storage box in the back of the moped. He eyeballed the Bible she had carried in hand all the way from Sunnyvale. It stood out a bit, given it was large and the cover was leather. The front of it was worse, with a large Jesus picture on the front. It wasn’t that it was a Bible, it was just so big and obviously not a textbook, and this was a school and kids had opinions. They attracted enough attention. “Do you want a bag? Or something? I can go in and get one.”

  She rubbed her fingertip against the edge of the binding on the book. “Maybe can I have the hoodie back?”

  He pulled it back out of the moped storage box and gave it to her. She wrapped the book carefully so the hoodie’s material covered it.

  Sang shouldered the makeshift backpack and gazed reluctantly toward the high school. Gabriel sensed her dour mood. She didn’t want to be here right now.

  How would Gabriel feel if he’d learned he’d not even been born where he thought? Or found that kind of photo?

  Hadn’t the thought of her possibly being a relative, even for a short moment, made him rethink his entire existence? If that flicker of panic was anything she was dealing with...

  Maybe they should get this over with. They needed to talk to Mr. Blackbourne, but after that, he could take her... anywhere else.

  It was around noon when they walked in, so a quarter of the students were at lunch. The noise level when they entered was so loud, the difference between being outside to inside felt like walking into a concert hall.

  It was hard to not feel eyes on them as they entered. The uniforms announced them as being different every time.

  They’d crossed the expansive hallway when Gabriel stopped to send a text to Mr. Blackbourne, checking in to make sure he was available.

  Mr. Blackbourne: Give me a few minutes. I’ll let you know when I’m free.

  “He’s got to be with someone,” Gabriel said.

  Sang readjusted her grip on the makeshift bag she carried. “At this time, probably a teacher. Sometimes if it’s a teacher meeting, he has me leave the room. It wouldn’t make sense for a student to sit in on things like that.”

  “Still kind of weird you work in the principal’s office at all instead of going to classes.”

  “He’s picked some of the best kids in the school to be assistants and get time out of classes by passing tests early. Which is a good idea since the school is so shorthanded... We’ve got all the extra substitute teachers coming in to assist, but they need to be available to other schools, and hiring mid-term... we’re basically calling retired teachers to come in at this point. It’s temporary. During the summer, there can be restructuring and proper hiring. Mr. Blackbourne will get replaced.”

  Gabriel gazed around at the collection of students in the front hallway. Despite a four-shift lunch schedule, there were not enough tables in the cafeteria.

  Most students crowded in the large main hallway, standing in clusters along the walls, or sitting on the floors. If they were eating, it was from the vending machines or food they brought from home.

  Barbaric, honestly.

  As if reading his mind, Sang said, “There’s no way to put more seating in the cafeteria. And they can’t put tables and chairs here in the main hallway. Something about fire codes for this space. And if they split up lunch anymore, they’ll have students eating lunch at nine in order to be able to fit them all in.”

  “Too many in one spot,” Gabriel said.

  “The only other solution was to ship some to another school, and other schools don’t want that,” she said. “Besides, a lot of them are already on the bus for an hour before they get here. Mr. Blackbourne might make it optional to eat in the classrooms for now, but he was pretty sure not a lot of them would take their lunch upstairs to classrooms, or out to the trailer classes. Next year, hopefully they’ll have a better solution.”

  “Yeah, they’ll build a bigger school.”

  “If we find the money.”

  Gabriel grimaced. The lost money stolen by the other principal and his henchmen. They were close to a solution. If they could keep their position a little while longer...

  Sang stood close to him. Her arm brushing against his, what little he could feel through the material of the shirt he wore.

  Combing back to the school sucked. Away from here, he could hold her hand or whatever. Now he had to be aware people were watching and might make trouble. To the students, she was Silas’s girlfriend, and since she was here nearly every day, she had to distance herself a little from the rest of them, and only get close to Silas when he was around.

  Why did it have to be Silas? Why couldn’t he have... He shook off the thought. Too late. And it wouldn’t be for long. He tried to remind himself that they were more than halfway through the school year. Just a few months and this would be behind them.

  They were always waiting. When was it time to actually move on?

  Should It Ever Happen?

  Sang

  I tried not to focus on anyone when walking through school hallways. It was a habit from my old school. Don’t look anyone in the eye. For the most part, it meant people left you alone. No chance to start a conversation... or a confrontation.

  At Ashley Waters High School, with Gabriel walking beside me, I wasn’t paying attention again, out of old habit—and being very deep in thought about what happened and what I was carrying with me. A Bible, my mother’s photo...

  But we didn’t have to wait long before we got a message to come in.

  In the principal’s office, Mr. Blackbourne’s desk had collected many more papers and folders throughout the morning. Part of my job was to keep the paperwork at a minimum by going through it and picking out what he actually needed, and to file others away. Without me there, it tended to pile up, and he’d have to spend extra time at the end of the day to put all of it back in order.

  In the office with him sat Silas, Luke and Victor. I wasn’t sure where the others were.

  Mr. Blackbourne signaled to have us close the door when we came in. Luke immediately shifted to sit on the floor and motioned to me to sit on the chair. When I was seated, Luke shuffled until he was sitting on my feet.

  Victor, Silas, and Luke all had on the uniform, with only Silas wearing the tie. Victor wore a white, crisp shirt that looked similar to his typical Armani, but was different somehow. He’d been changing clothes and brands a lot, and I wondered if he was trying new things since he left his parents’ house.

  Victor’s face, tired and with some still-healing scabs over his nose, made him seem too unwell to be here at all. He’d paled considerably. He was a little thinner, too. Recovering from a car accident, a disastrous falling out with his parents, and then on top of it, a quick trial that resulted in being put on probation, among other things, had him constantly busy, and at times looking exhausted, though extremely happy.

  Gabriel stopped by Mr. Blackbourne’s desk first, retrieving from me some of the stuff we had found, sliding to him the photo, the birth certificate, and the handful of other documents. “That’s all of it. At least at that house.”

  I held on tighter to the makeshift bag with the Bible inside. I didn’t know why I was keeping it. I just felt it didn’t belong to anyone else.

  What if it had been... hers? I’d have to inspect it more closely, but I didn’t want to here. Not yet.

  Luke, as if sensing me tense up, gently wrapped an arm around my calf, leaning his cheek against my knee. He nuzzled my knee with a cheek.

  His touch brought me back from dwelling internally, and to focus on here and now, being safe with them.

  Mr. Blackbourne shuffled through the papers but ended up focusing on the photo. “Winchester...”

  At this, the others leaned forward. I waited, holding my breath. I wasn’t even sure why. It was as if I expected he had some in-depth answer that perhaps he could give me.