‹ Prequel: Never Meant to Be
Status: Whenever I can
Ghosts of Our Past
Chapter Twenty-One (Edited)
July 30th, 2027
Saturday
On the Canadian/U.S. Border
4:00 A.M.
Trenton moved as best he could through the woods. It was so dark and he didn't have a flashlight. He listened to the unfamiliar sounds of animals echo through the trees but he didn't feel an ounce of fear. A half hour later the sun had risen and Trenton stopped for a break. He sat against a tree and drank from the large bottle of water he'd bought back at the gas station. He truly felt like a nobody as he sat there underneath the tree. He was completely lost; he didn't even want to use his real name anymore. He thought up some names that he thought sounded cool. His new name would be Jack Steele. It sounded so tough that no one would dare try and mess with him.
He took another long swig of water before moving on. He pulled out his phone to see he had no service but there were two missed calls from his mom. Suddenly he grew worried about being tracked through his cell phone. He had no choice but to destroy it. He took a large rock and crushed the phone until it was a small pile of plastic and wires. He then felt the cold metal of the silver hockey chain he wore on his neck. He angrily pulled the chain from his neck so one of the links snapped. He threw it into the ruins of his and walked away. He wasn't exactly sure where he was going, as long as he didn't hit big civilization. Hitch hiking was an option he'd be willing to take.
He traveled another half hour before reaching a two lane road. It looked pretty remote and he couldn't see any buildings around. His feet were beginning to hurt and he thought he'd give the hitch hiking a try. He slowly walked along the road until he heard the sound of a large truck coming up behind him. He didn't even have to stick out his thumb before the truck stopped alongside him and the driver stuck his head out the window.
"Hey buddy need a lift?" he asked. Trenton smiled and said
"Ya, thanks," He went around the other side and climbed up into the seat. The man smiled at him as he took off his backpack and shut the door.
"What's the name?" said the driver.
"Jack Steele," he said getting satisfaction in being able to use his fake name.
"I'm Sam," said the driver shaking his hand. "So where you headed Jack?"
"Anywhere," said Trenton. "Where are we right now?"
"Brockville, Ontario, Canada." said the man. Trenton was surprised. He had had no intention of going into Canada but now that he was in he wasn't leaving.
"Alright," said Trenton. "Where are you headed?"
"I'm shipping fish to Thunder Bay." he said.
"Where's that?" said Trenton. The man laughed and said
"My guess is you're not from Canada,"
"No," said Trenton laughing.
"Thunder Bay is above Minnesota." Trenton felt happy with the thought of getting so far away and said
"Mind if I join you?"
"Not at all," said Sam. "I'm just wondering why are you traveling so far?"
"Just wanna explore the world a bit without having to pay that much." said Trenton. Sam asked more questions like where he was from and his age. He lied completely and told him he was from Buffalo, NY and was nineteen. Trenton found himself falling asleep. He was exhausted from driving and walking through the woods all night. He leaned against the window and dozed off.
“Where do you think he is?” asked Lucille.
“I don’t know,” said Evangeline. The two sat on the porch looking down the road, hoping by some miracle to see Trenton’s car turn the corner. She heard the phone ringing in the house and got up to answer it. She read the caller ID to see it was the police station again. Hoping to hear good news she picked up the phone and said
“Have you found him?!”
“No but we did find his car,” said the police officer.
“Where?!” she said.
“We found it in far upstate New York in a small town near the Canadian border. It was way back in the woods, on a dead end rural road. All the doors were locked and there was no evidence inside that could tell us where he is right now. Finding the car is good because that means he’s on foot and if we send a helicopter out to search we’ll probably find him.”
“You really think so?” said Evangeline.
“I do,” said the officer. “We find a lot of runaways when we find their car and then search the overall area.” Evangeline felt a glimmer of hope inside of her and she said
“Thanks officer,”
“No problem, we’ll call you if we find anything else important.” Evangeline wished she could be out there searching for Trenton herself.
Nathan finished unpacking and went straight down to the Verizon store. He quickly bought a new cell phone and managed to get all of his contacts put back on. He went outside of the store and sat on a bench and called Evangeline. She picked up after the second ring and before she could say anything he said
“I know what’s happened.”
“It’s cause I told him,” said Evangeline.
“Told him what?”
“That you are his father.” She said. Nathan was silent before saying
“What did he say?”
“He didn’t believe me until I sat him down and told him everything that had happened.”
“And he ran away?”
“He was so upset,” she said in a distressed voice. Neither of them talked for a few seconds and then Nathan said in a quiet voice
“I think that since you’ve told Trenton and Lucille, I should sit Dylan and Zach down and tell them.”
“Don’t uproot them,” she said.
“You uprooted Trenton and Lucille,” he said.
“Not as badly as you would if you told Dylan and Zach. Trenton and Lucille already didn’t have a father in their life. If you told them think about the consequences, you’d loose them completely. He’d walk away out of your life following Tammy.”
“Why are you so set on protecting them?” said Nathan.
“Cause I care about them,” she said. “They may not be my sons but they’re yours.”
“You’ve been putting other peoples wants before your own all your life Evangeline, don’t you think it’s time to stop. Let me tell Dylan and Zach, divorce Tammy, and then we can finally be together.”
“I can’t do that, I don’t want you to loose your sons.” She said quietly.
“This is impossible.” said Nathan feeling angry. “We’ll never be together if you don’t let me tell them.” The dream of getting married to her and having another baby was getting ripped out from under his feet.
“Please don’t,” said Evangeline.
“It just makes me angry that you act like a servant to everyone elses happiness. You’re putting aside your life for other peoples. Don’t you think you deserve happiness?” said Nathan sounding a little more pissed off then he intended too. He could tell she was insulted
“It’s not fair to your sons, especially Dylan, he was in your life before I was. If you hadn’t broken down the day I met you, or if I hadn’t decided to go for a walk we would have never met each other. We’d be two completely different people who probably would of never even set eyes on each other. You’d still be happily married to Tammy and you and your sons would have a far closer relationship then you do now.”
“I think I might just go ahead and tell them.” said Nathan.
“Why would you hurt them like that? Don’t you care?” she said. He heard the edge of anger in her voice and he said
“I do care but I’m not going to hold back on what I want like you. You’re being fucking ridiculous Evangeline.” His voice got louder as he talked.
“Oh I’m being ridiculous because I’m thinking of others?! I feel like such a home wrecking whore because of you!” she yelled.
“Don’t try and blame this all on me! It takes two people to have a relationship! There were plenty of times I had the opportunity to back out of my marriage and you wouldn’t let me so don’t think you can just say this is all my fault!” Evangeline felt a pang of fear rush through her. She’d never heard Nathan yell like that before, especially at her. “I could have divorced Tammy when Dylan was two back in 2011 and he wouldn’t have a problem with it now. But of course you say no and I go ahead and waste fifteen years of my life in misery. Now that I can fully blame on you. If you had toughened up a bit and stopped being so whiny about it maybe I wouldn’t have wasted all those years of my life to depression.” He could hear her soft crying from the other end.
“If I’ve really caused you that much pain I think it’d be best if we ended this now.” She said sniffling. “For good, forever like I wanted.” Nathan wished he could take his words back.
“Evangeline I-”
“I don’t want to hear it,” she said. “Hopefully this the last time I say this to you, goodbye Nathan.”
__________________________________________________
Thanks for reading :) Please comment.
Saturday
On the Canadian/U.S. Border
4:00 A.M.
Trenton moved as best he could through the woods. It was so dark and he didn't have a flashlight. He listened to the unfamiliar sounds of animals echo through the trees but he didn't feel an ounce of fear. A half hour later the sun had risen and Trenton stopped for a break. He sat against a tree and drank from the large bottle of water he'd bought back at the gas station. He truly felt like a nobody as he sat there underneath the tree. He was completely lost; he didn't even want to use his real name anymore. He thought up some names that he thought sounded cool. His new name would be Jack Steele. It sounded so tough that no one would dare try and mess with him.
He took another long swig of water before moving on. He pulled out his phone to see he had no service but there were two missed calls from his mom. Suddenly he grew worried about being tracked through his cell phone. He had no choice but to destroy it. He took a large rock and crushed the phone until it was a small pile of plastic and wires. He then felt the cold metal of the silver hockey chain he wore on his neck. He angrily pulled the chain from his neck so one of the links snapped. He threw it into the ruins of his and walked away. He wasn't exactly sure where he was going, as long as he didn't hit big civilization. Hitch hiking was an option he'd be willing to take.
He traveled another half hour before reaching a two lane road. It looked pretty remote and he couldn't see any buildings around. His feet were beginning to hurt and he thought he'd give the hitch hiking a try. He slowly walked along the road until he heard the sound of a large truck coming up behind him. He didn't even have to stick out his thumb before the truck stopped alongside him and the driver stuck his head out the window.
"Hey buddy need a lift?" he asked. Trenton smiled and said
"Ya, thanks," He went around the other side and climbed up into the seat. The man smiled at him as he took off his backpack and shut the door.
"What's the name?" said the driver.
"Jack Steele," he said getting satisfaction in being able to use his fake name.
"I'm Sam," said the driver shaking his hand. "So where you headed Jack?"
"Anywhere," said Trenton. "Where are we right now?"
"Brockville, Ontario, Canada." said the man. Trenton was surprised. He had had no intention of going into Canada but now that he was in he wasn't leaving.
"Alright," said Trenton. "Where are you headed?"
"I'm shipping fish to Thunder Bay." he said.
"Where's that?" said Trenton. The man laughed and said
"My guess is you're not from Canada,"
"No," said Trenton laughing.
"Thunder Bay is above Minnesota." Trenton felt happy with the thought of getting so far away and said
"Mind if I join you?"
"Not at all," said Sam. "I'm just wondering why are you traveling so far?"
"Just wanna explore the world a bit without having to pay that much." said Trenton. Sam asked more questions like where he was from and his age. He lied completely and told him he was from Buffalo, NY and was nineteen. Trenton found himself falling asleep. He was exhausted from driving and walking through the woods all night. He leaned against the window and dozed off.
“Where do you think he is?” asked Lucille.
“I don’t know,” said Evangeline. The two sat on the porch looking down the road, hoping by some miracle to see Trenton’s car turn the corner. She heard the phone ringing in the house and got up to answer it. She read the caller ID to see it was the police station again. Hoping to hear good news she picked up the phone and said
“Have you found him?!”
“No but we did find his car,” said the police officer.
“Where?!” she said.
“We found it in far upstate New York in a small town near the Canadian border. It was way back in the woods, on a dead end rural road. All the doors were locked and there was no evidence inside that could tell us where he is right now. Finding the car is good because that means he’s on foot and if we send a helicopter out to search we’ll probably find him.”
“You really think so?” said Evangeline.
“I do,” said the officer. “We find a lot of runaways when we find their car and then search the overall area.” Evangeline felt a glimmer of hope inside of her and she said
“Thanks officer,”
“No problem, we’ll call you if we find anything else important.” Evangeline wished she could be out there searching for Trenton herself.
Nathan finished unpacking and went straight down to the Verizon store. He quickly bought a new cell phone and managed to get all of his contacts put back on. He went outside of the store and sat on a bench and called Evangeline. She picked up after the second ring and before she could say anything he said
“I know what’s happened.”
“It’s cause I told him,” said Evangeline.
“Told him what?”
“That you are his father.” She said. Nathan was silent before saying
“What did he say?”
“He didn’t believe me until I sat him down and told him everything that had happened.”
“And he ran away?”
“He was so upset,” she said in a distressed voice. Neither of them talked for a few seconds and then Nathan said in a quiet voice
“I think that since you’ve told Trenton and Lucille, I should sit Dylan and Zach down and tell them.”
“Don’t uproot them,” she said.
“You uprooted Trenton and Lucille,” he said.
“Not as badly as you would if you told Dylan and Zach. Trenton and Lucille already didn’t have a father in their life. If you told them think about the consequences, you’d loose them completely. He’d walk away out of your life following Tammy.”
“Why are you so set on protecting them?” said Nathan.
“Cause I care about them,” she said. “They may not be my sons but they’re yours.”
“You’ve been putting other peoples wants before your own all your life Evangeline, don’t you think it’s time to stop. Let me tell Dylan and Zach, divorce Tammy, and then we can finally be together.”
“I can’t do that, I don’t want you to loose your sons.” She said quietly.
“This is impossible.” said Nathan feeling angry. “We’ll never be together if you don’t let me tell them.” The dream of getting married to her and having another baby was getting ripped out from under his feet.
“Please don’t,” said Evangeline.
“It just makes me angry that you act like a servant to everyone elses happiness. You’re putting aside your life for other peoples. Don’t you think you deserve happiness?” said Nathan sounding a little more pissed off then he intended too. He could tell she was insulted
“It’s not fair to your sons, especially Dylan, he was in your life before I was. If you hadn’t broken down the day I met you, or if I hadn’t decided to go for a walk we would have never met each other. We’d be two completely different people who probably would of never even set eyes on each other. You’d still be happily married to Tammy and you and your sons would have a far closer relationship then you do now.”
“I think I might just go ahead and tell them.” said Nathan.
“Why would you hurt them like that? Don’t you care?” she said. He heard the edge of anger in her voice and he said
“I do care but I’m not going to hold back on what I want like you. You’re being fucking ridiculous Evangeline.” His voice got louder as he talked.
“Oh I’m being ridiculous because I’m thinking of others?! I feel like such a home wrecking whore because of you!” she yelled.
“Don’t try and blame this all on me! It takes two people to have a relationship! There were plenty of times I had the opportunity to back out of my marriage and you wouldn’t let me so don’t think you can just say this is all my fault!” Evangeline felt a pang of fear rush through her. She’d never heard Nathan yell like that before, especially at her. “I could have divorced Tammy when Dylan was two back in 2011 and he wouldn’t have a problem with it now. But of course you say no and I go ahead and waste fifteen years of my life in misery. Now that I can fully blame on you. If you had toughened up a bit and stopped being so whiny about it maybe I wouldn’t have wasted all those years of my life to depression.” He could hear her soft crying from the other end.
“If I’ve really caused you that much pain I think it’d be best if we ended this now.” She said sniffling. “For good, forever like I wanted.” Nathan wished he could take his words back.
“Evangeline I-”
“I don’t want to hear it,” she said. “Hopefully this the last time I say this to you, goodbye Nathan.”
__________________________________________________
Thanks for reading :) Please comment.