Chapter 31
Avidya
The sound of the doorbell rang through the house, causing me to slightly jump as I followed Zachariah into the house as he kept a hold of my hand. Every time I met one of his men, I was kept on my toes, and I was sure this time was no different.
It was first Jonas as I didn’t count my kidnappers being properly introduced to me. Jonas had grown on me over the last few days, although it did help that he made sure to keep his distance. Surely, Jonas knew I wasn’t pleased with his actions. He had been a good family friend; one Cody was halfway okay with letting me talk to after church on Sundays. Jonas really was a good guy, but I needed time to adjust to it all.
Jonas was like family to me. He was the one I felt comfortable enough to talk to when I needed a listening ear, and a man that I knew would never want anything from me in return. He was my rock when Cody started becoming a bit more controlling over the years.
Entering into the kitchen, mumbled voices from the foray reached me. Zachariah gave me an encouraging smile over his shoulder as he pulled me further into the house. He seemed a bit too excited for me to meet his guest. A guest I was dreading meeting. People and I just didn’t mix well most of the time. Maybe it was due to me not being allowed to talk to certain people most of my life. Or possibly it was to do with me just liking to keep to myself if I could.
“Hey, Bro!” spoke a man I had seen before. A man that I knew without having to take a second look. His voice was deep as always as he greeted the man I had just agreed to marry verbally.
His blue eyes that were barely a shade darker than my own matched his chestnut blonde hair, which was also darker than my own. His round face was shadowed in tiredness, and he was in desperate need of a shave.
Before he had disappeared off the planet, a number of people had commented how alike we looked, which I always found odd.
“Travis,” Zachariah replied in greeting. He let go of my hand and did a man hug with the newcomer by a handshake and pulling each other into a brief hug. It seemed as though they knew each other quite well by the display of affection.
I stood there, hands fiddling with the hem of my shirt as Jonas took a stance beside me. I wasn’t sure how to react to his unexpected presence after so long.
“They’ve known each other for a long time,” Jonas explained. “At least since they were children. One of the families that Carlos knows adopted Travis when he was five or so.”
“On my fifth birthday, actually,” Travis supplied as he looked me over and Zachariah walked back over to where I still stood.
No introduction was needed as I knew Travis well enough. I felt like I wanted the floor to open up whole and take me with it. Cody loathed this man before me as much as he did Zachariah or more if it was possible.
I wasn’t a huge fan of him myself, not after the stunt he pulled. He had never treated me differently just because of who my father was, even when he would try to stop by and say a few words on Sundays. He’d been doing that for years; making Cody seethe silently at him constantly. Travis was never scared of Cody Ray, unlike so many other people. I always thought he was stupid to try to test Cody like that. Now, I still thought he was stupid, but maybe he did have a reason for getting on Cody’s bad side like he did.
“It’s great to see you again, Avidya,” Travis said in way of greeting. He wisely kept his distance from me as he shoved his hands into the front pockets of his faded jeans. His distance could have been explained by the burning glare I shot his way.
“Can’t say the same,” I stated flatly, folding my arms across my chest and leaning on one foot as the one went behind the other as I stood. I could remember all too well that stormy night I looked out the window, seeing him staring up at me in the dark as lightning flashed across the sky.
Travis gave me a small, apologetic smile. Was he sorry for disappearing for over a year without a word? Or was he sorry for spying on me after he returned?
“So, youdoknow each other,” Zachariah stated more than asked as though he didn’t believe it. “I wasn’t sure.”
“He went to Cody’s church,” I supplied, letting Zachariah pull me against his side. “I know him. Would have helped if he hadn’t have disappeared for a year without a word.”
“Hey now!” Travis said, almost appalled at such an idea. “The people that needed to know where I was knew. You were not one of those, for safety reasons.”
“And then you just show back up, looking into my bedroom!” I said, throwing my hands up in the air. I was filled with rage at the idea. The fact that he scared me so badly wasn’t even the worse part, surprisingly.
“You were spying on her?” Jonas asked out roughly before Zachariah was able to get a word out. He took a threatening step forward toward Travis.
“I just wanted to stop by,” Travis defended himself with wide eyes. “I didn’t mean to scare you, Avidya, truly. I just had to make sure you were okay. I couldn’t very well just walk up to your house.”
“And scaring me was okay?” I seethed.
Zachariah’s hand fisted into a tight fist against my hip as the words were passed back and forth.
“I’m sorry,” Travis said, sounding like he meant the words. “I . . . learned a few things on my trip away, and they made me second guess a lot of things. Including you. I had to make sure you were okay.”
“What things?” Zachariah asked, or more like demanded.
“A number of things that are not too important at the moment,” Travis answered carefully with hidden meaning behind the answer. “Avidya is safe, and so are you. Things will change drastically soon, now that I’m back.”
“Who else knows you are back?” Jonas asked, still giving the man a stare down.
