And two, I no longer thought of this metropolis as home. The itch to run grew stronger every wave we sailed over. Even the thought of seeing Madeline again couldn’t stop my overwhelming desire to hold the captain at gunpoint and order him to return to the high seas like any good pirate.
As the loud groan of the humongous anchor splashed into the harbour and jetty mates helped tether the floating behemoth to the dock, I trembled so hard, Galloway struggled to hold me.
The captain was ever professional, donating more clothes from the gift shop (and Coco a cute stuffed turtle), accepting no charge (not that we had any money), and providing scripts of antibiotics and vitamins before granting us safe passage to land.
He also pulled us aside before we entered the gangway and stuffed a piece of paper into Galloway’s hand. The random set of numbers meant nothing to me until Galloway exhaled heavily. “The coordinates?”
The captain nodded. “To return if you ever need to. Those exact coordinates will lead you back if you feel the urge.”
I’d hugged him then.
I’d squeezed him so hard because he’d just given us the key to paradise.
He’d given me the power to someday collect my phone with our memories. My notebook full of scribbled songs. And the four spirits who’d died and found salvation in the salty seas and sunshine.
If our future was too hard—if our dreams turned into a disaster—we had a safe haven to run to. An island that had almost killed us. But was ours, nevertheless.
We were the last to disembark (after watching two thousand people crawl like ants) and we didn’t do it alone.
Stefan and Finnegan escorted us down the gangway, handing us over to the grabby hands of the media, newsmongers, and awaiting immigration officials.
This was our new hell.
But at least, we had directions back to heaven.
One day.
Someday.
I wanted to go home.
Chapter Sixty-Nine
...............................................
G A L L O W A Y
......
“CAN YOU TELL us what happened on the island?”
“Did you resort to cannibalism?”
“Where are the others who crashed with you?”
“Do you regret your decision to board that helicopter?”
“The pilot’s family said you pressured him into flying when he advised it was a bad idea. Can you confirm?”
“Do you think you should be held accountable for Akin Acharya’s death?”
Bloody hell, they’re vultures.
Worse than vultures, rabid disgusting locusts.
“This way, please!” Someone in a navy suit flashed a clipboard above the heaving crowd of journalists.
Grabbing Estelle’s waist while she cradled Coco, I pinched Pippa’s elbow and manhandled, pushed, and shoved my way through the crowd.
“Tell us what happened!”
“Is it true you killed a man?”
“Why won’t you confirm that you’re responsible for the crash?”
By the time we made it to the glass doors of customs where seafaring passengers were processed, I was sweaty, angry, and more stressed since I was sentenced to jail for a crime I wished I hadn’t commit.
My system wasn’t running at top capacity and my head swam with nausea. The headaches had faded and the redness on my arm had turned to a blush rather than murder, but I still wasn’t well.
We shouldn’t have to put up with this crap.
We were tired.
We needed to rest.
Can’t they see that?
The man who’d waved us over clanged the door, locking it the moment we were inside. Waving at Stefan and Finnegan, I was glad we’d said goodbye before this circus because our unceremonious parting was short and messy.
Instantly, we were led into a private room away from the hustle of returning holidayers, treated like suspects rather than lucky survivors.
The man’s short hair gleamed like a doberman’s pelt beneath the glaring electric lights; his glasses reminded me how desperate I was to replace my prescription.
My fingers itched to steal his so I might see Estelle, Coco, and Pippa in crystal clarity rather than fuzzy haze.
Motioning us to sit, the man settled at the large table and set the clipboard down in front of him.
Awkward silence fell.
Estelle soothed Coco as she squirmed in the velour chair. Poor kid wasn’t used to plastics and silks and metal. She’d been raised on salt and wood, the stars were her night-lights and the waves her lullabies. This foreign, chaotic world would wreak havoc on her senses.
Hell, it wreaked havoc on mine. I’d forgotten how archaic human interaction could be. How many sensory interruptions we had to phase out in order to pay attention to what truly mattered.
I’d have to re-learn.
And fast.
“So...” I cleared my throat. “What happens next?”
The man clasped his hands. “We’re just waiting on a few others, then we can begin.”
A few others?
Who exactly?
An answer came ten minutes later, after a carafe of water and shortbread cookies on a three-tiered cake stand was placed before us.
A woman joined our party with an identical clipboard, taking her place at the top of the table.
A door opened and shut, reverberating in the all glass room. The clack clack of high heels sent chills down my back.
Pippa turned first.
Of course, it was only right.
Family was family. No matter how much time had passed.
But the way she beamed and burst into thankful tears tore out my heart and smashed it into the untouched shortbread.
“Nana!” Her chair went flying, sending Coco into a squeal of fright. Estelle turned at the same time I did, just as Pippa soared into the arms of a frail grey-haired woman with dangling pink earrings.
Her bony arms came around my child, holding her close to a scratchy woollen suit and well-worn handbag. “Pippa! Oh! I’m so glad you’re okay.”
I should look away as Pippa was graced with a thousand kisses, dotted haphazardly on her forehead. I should be happy that she had one surviving family member.
But I wasn’t.
Because I knew the truth.
This was the last time I would be able to call her mine.
“Ah, Mrs. Evermore. Now that you’ve arrived, let’s begin.” The man motioned for her to take a seat.
However, she didn’t. She remained standing with her arms around my daughter and glowered at Estelle and me. “Where is Conner?”
The interrogation had begun.
She’d not only ripped out my heart by claiming Pippa, but stomped on it, too.
When no one answered, the old woman took a couple of steps forward, dragging Pippa in her spindly embrace. “I asked...where is Conner?”
The first question...the one I’d been dreading.
Her rage increased.
Pippa cried into her nana’s suit, unable to utter the words. She hadn’t spoken them yet. She hadn’t verbally admitted that Conner was dead. Whenever she spoke of him, she used words that were ambiguous. Deliberately ignoring the truth.
That he had gone.
That it wasn’t a lie.
That he’d left her. Me. All of us.
“Answer Mrs. Evermore’s question, if you would, Mr. Oak.”
My attention snapped to the man running his fingers pompously on his clipboard. My instincts kicked in, sniffing for his hidden agenda. Because he had a hidden motive; I just didn’t know what it was.
Estelle wiped away tears and answered for me. “He’s dead, Mrs. Evermore.” Her chin tilted with courage. “He died of stonefish poisoning. There was nothing we could do.”
“Is that the truth?” the officer demanded.
Mrs. Evermore turned puce. “You’re telling me my grandbaby is dead? My son and daughter-in-law? All dead?”
&nbs
p; Pippa cried harder, burying her face in her nana’s protection.
Come here, Pippi. I’ll protect you.
Not that crone.
“What do you mean is that the truth?” Estelle balled her hands. “Of course, it’s the truth. What are you implying?”
Coco sniffled and wriggled but didn’t make a peep, her eyes wide with fear.
“I’m implying, Ms. Evermore, that perhaps Mr. Oak had something to do with his passing.”
“What?!” I lurched to my feet. My chair screeched along the porcelain tiles.
The man and woman (who I still didn’t know their names) looked worriedly at one another. “I’m just saying...with your history.”
“My history?”
“Yes, you can’t expect us not to ask that question. After all, no one was there to attest your innocence.”
“My innocence?” I punched myself in the chest. My heart resembled a fire-breathing creature. “I have nothing to attest. It’s the goddamn truth.”
How had a homecoming become so twisted and wrong?
My head swam with weakness, my immune system draining far too fast thanks to life-sucking vampires.
Estelle stood, keeping a calming hand on Coco’s head. “You’re incorrect. There were people there to confirm his innocence. Us! I know why you’re targeting Galloway and you couldn’t be further from the truth. I’ve never seen someone so broken over another’s death. He loved that boy. We all did. We would never hurt him. We would’ve died in his place if we could.”
I breathed hard as Estelle held out her hand for me.
Every desire wanted to latch onto her, but I couldn’t. I wouldn’t use her as my safe place, not when I’d done this.
I’d caused these suspicions.
My past had superseded me.
She shouldn’t have to pay for that.
Everyone stood in a rage-filled standoff until Pippa untangled herself from her grandmother and stood alone in the sea of tiles, looking younger, sadder, older than I’d ever seen. “It’s the truth. Conner stood on one a couple of years ago and Stel and G saved him. They looked after us. We would never have survived without them.”
She bowed her head. “My brother...he...he...” She smashed fists into her eyes, forcing herself to continue. “He loved them as much as I do. Don’t spread lies when you don’t know what happened.”
Her grandmother gathered her in a hug, her face softening with shared grief. Her eyes met mine. “I’m sorry. To both of you.”
Estelle nodded curtly. “I understand.”
“I appreciate you looking after my son’s children.”
“I would do it again in a heartbeat.” Estelle looked at Pippa. “I love her like I love my own daughter. She’ll always have a place with us.”
Grandmother Evermore smiled sadly. “That’s very nice to hear. Likewise, my home is always open to you.” Her gaze flickered to me. “Again, both of you.”
Biting her lower lip, she hesitated before blurting. “Are we related, child?” Coming closer to Estelle, she added, “You have my husband’s last name, yet I wasn’t aware we had any relatives in Australia.”
Estelle ran her fingers through Coco’s blonde ringlets. “No, I don’t believe so. Just one of those quirky happenstances.”
Joanna Evermore closed the final distance, stopping by me. “May I?”
I froze.
May she what?
Before I could reply, her bony arms wrapped around me. “Thank you. From the bottom of my heart. My son would be proud knowing you loved his children as much as he did.”
Letting me go, she gathered Estelle in the same treatment with a kiss on her cheek for good measure. “And you. I’m ever so grateful.”
Estelle hugged her back when I had not. “I want you to know Duncan and Amelia were given a graceful send-off. We thought of them often, and they’re free from their tragic end.”
Tears welled in the old lady’s overly powdered face. She would’ve been a handsome woman. Now, she was wrinkles and worry. “Thank you. One day, I want to hear the story of what happened. But today isn’t that day.”
Turning to Pippa, she opened her arms. “Today is the day I rejoice having one family member return.”
Estelle sniffed as Pippa burrowed into her grandmother. “Oh, Nana, I wished you’d been there. But I have Mummy’s bracelet and Daddy’s watch. And their wedding rings.”
Joanna met my gaze again. “You kept them?”
“For Pip and Conner.” I flinched, screwing up in just a few words. Conner no longer needed such trivial things. “For you. For family.”
“You are family, G.” Pippa smiled shyly. “Always.”
The rage holding up my spine siphoned away leaving me hollow and hurting. “And you, Pippi. Forever.”
Pippa came to me. I dropped to one knee to embrace her completely. Her torso bent over my shoulder as we glued tight, tight, tight together.
Estelle came to join us.
Because we knew.
This wasn’t just a normal hug.
This was goodbye.
The man in charge of this God-awful meeting cleared his throat, breaking the spell. Pippa wiped away her tears, backing into her nana.
I nodded as if it made perfect sense. We were her naturally appointed guardians, but we were also awful memories. She loved us, but whenever she looked at us, she saw Conner, our island, pain and suffering and death.
No young kid should have to see that over and over again.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her but the man interrupted my sadness. “I’m sorry, I’ve been remiss in introducing ourselves. I’m Alexander Jones and this is Daphne Moore. We’re here to make your immersion back into our great city as easy as possible.”
The tone of the meeting changed.
However, instead of sitting, Estelle and I remained standing, poised as if any second Pippa and her grandmother would disappear.
Coco kept her blue-green gaze locked on us, gripping the back of her chair with tiny fingers.
Daphne asked, “Do you have your passports by any chance? That would make the process a lot faster.”
My fists curled.
Seriously? They wanted to waste our time with these questions? Luckily, Estelle answered because I was about to lose it.
“No, they’re back on the island. Besides, they’re expired now.”
“Ah, never mind.” Alexander Jones looked at his clipboard. “You’ll be expected to undergo a full physical, despite the captain's doctor assuring us you’re all in good condition, considering the recent events.”
There was no question to that nonsense.
We remained quiet.
Daphne said, “Along with the medical, you’ll be expected to undergo a debrief on how you survived, what you cooked, how you sheltered, and why you chartered a helicopter in such bad weather. Search and rescue will discuss the parameters of their initial investigation when you disappeared and will have their own questions, I’m sure.” She smiled thinly. “Of course, such things can wait. This is just preliminary warning of what—”
“A warning?” I tensed. “Strange choice of words, don’t you think?”
Ms. Moore stiffened, glancing at her partner. “Um, well...”
“Not entirely, Mr. Oak. I’m afraid we do have a mixture of good and bad news.”
Of course, they did.
It would’ve been too much to expect a kind welcome. Everything had to be so hard when dealing with bureaucrats and red tape.
I crossed my arms, standing over Estelle and Coconut, preparing to protect them from whatever verbal stupidity we’d be subjected to.
“One thing we need to clarify, Mr. Oak. Is...” Alex looked at his paper for the millionth time. “You’re not Australian. Are you?”
I wanted to lie. To say I was Australian so I wouldn’t be separated from Estelle but my accent gave me away.
My English clip that I couldn't hide.
Anyway, they already knew the truth. They had every det
ail they needed. I wasn’t an idiot. My verdict had already been decided.
Before I had time to answer, Daphne jumped in. “Mr. Oak, you are in fact from Kent, is that correct?”
“You have our birth certificates and God knows what. Do you really need me to answer that?”
The two officers fell quiet.
These questions were a farce.
I balled my hands tighter. “Just get on with it. What’s the good and bad news?”
Ignoring me, Alex asked, “And you were heading to Fiji on a work visa for three months?”
They wanted to play?
Fine.
“Yes.”
“Yet you ended up overstaying by an extra three years and three months.”
“I hardly call crash landing and having no way off the island a deliberate overstay.”
What was with the skulduggery officials and pompous paperwork? Couldn’t they empathize? Couldn’t they understand what we’d been through? We didn’t need this Spanish inquisition.
“That being the case, we can’t permit you into Australia until necessary forms have been completed.”
“What? You can’t do that—” Estelle leapt in my defence. “He’s mine. We’re married. We have a child together.” She pointed at Coco as if there was any mistaking the blended creation of her blood and mine. “See.”
Alex frowned. “That does bring us to another issue. We will need to figure out what to do with the infant.”
Right, that was it.
“What to do with her? Don’t speak about her like she’s an inconvenience, mate. She’s my daughter.”
Estelle placed a hand on my trembling forearm. “Its okay, G. I’m sure that’s not what they meant.”
“No, quite.” Alex shuffled his papers. “Getting back to the point. We do require correct paperwork. Ms. Evermore is free to enter the country and as the child is clearly hers and below the age of five, she can travel under the proviso of attending the necessary meetings to arrange citizenship.”
“And what about me?” I bit back my rage.
“You, sir, are a little more complicated.”
“I don’t see why. You say I don’t have forms. Well, give me the bloody forms and I’ll fill them out right here, right now.”