Page 93 of Don’t Open Your Eyes

“Surprise.”

Annabelle

One Year Later

It had been hard for Annabelle to overcome her desire to protect Scarlett and Olivia and try to sugarcoat what James had done, but in the end, she realized the truth was more important. She had been hiding from it for far too long. In time, maybe they would forgive their father for his actions, but that was between the three of them.

James was a broken man. Sentenced to twenty years in prison, his license revoked, the life he knew over. Tara had also been charged with kidnapping in addition to her other charges and received a twenty-five-year sentence. As for Annabelle, one day forgiveness would come, but it would take time. She had always known deep down that James wasn’t the one for her, but she’d allowed herself to mistake feeling safe for feeling loved. Her instincts had been there all along. She wondered now if the reason that her mother had believed they were a couple was because James had been telling her so. His penchant for self-delusion was the only explanation she could think of, for how he could believe he’d done the right thing in giving her son away to Tara. It’s possible that he had come to regret it over the years, especially seeing what the loss had done to Annabelle. But at any time, he could have come clean. Instead, he’d stolen sixteen years from her. And from Lucas. The only thing she couldn’t regret was that he’d given her Scarlett and Olivia.

Annabelle sold the house, and they moved into a smaller one a few blocks from the beach. Her stock options had matured, and she invested the money from them as well as some of the house money. She wanted to make sure that her children’s futures were financially secure. She’d been tempted to ask for a transfer to the California office, but she wouldn’t separate the girls from their grandparents. They were heartbroken at what James had done and grateful that Annabelle placed no blame on them.

Now she stood on the deck, inhaling deeply, and watched as her children finished their cornhole game in the backyard and ran up to the house.

“Is dinner ready? I’m starving!” Olivia said, out of breath.

Following close behind her were Scarlett and Lucas.

“One point!” Scarlett said, shaking her head. “One of these days I’m gonna kick your butt.”

“Good luck,” Lucas said, laughing.

They went inside and sat around the kitchen table. “I made your favorite,” she said to Lucas as she pulled the lasagna from the oven, the cheese bubbling over, and the noodles looking cooked, not crunchy. She smiled when she thought back to her first failed attempt all those years ago.

“Thanks…. Mmmom,” he said, the word still not coming easily.

They were getting there, she thought. In the beginning, the only reason she saw him at all was thanks to Chase making plans with her. After a while, Lucas began to feel comfortable coming on his own. Annabelle and the girls started going to his sports events, and over time it became more natural for them to feel like a family. Then one night, about a month ago, he’d come to spend a Friday night for a movie marathon. Olivia, Scarlett, and Lucas each chose one film. The girls fell asleep by the time the third movie came on, but Annabelle struggled to stay awake to keep Lucas company. She was surprised when he started talking, looking at the screen.

“I always felt like something was missing. I mean, I loved Mom and Dad, but deep down sometimes I felt like I didn’t fit. Especially with Mom’s mood swings. I never really knew how she would react to things.” He finally looked over at her. “I didn’t want to admit it, even to myself. It seemed so disloyal. But on some level, I wasn’t completely shocked when I found out the truth.”

Annabelle waited, not wanting to interrupt him in case he had more to say.

“Sometimes you say something, and it kind of reminds me of the way I feel about things. Thank you for not making me choose. I’m glad you found me…Mom.”

She’d reached over and hugged Lucas to her and was surprised to feel his shoulders shaking with sobs. They stayed that way for a long time, and as she held him, she knew in her heart that her son had truly returned to her.

Now as they sat down to eat, she looked around the table and she was filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Even though they’d only found each other a year ago, the gaps had been filled in more quickly than she could have ever imagined. The girls both adored Lucas, and he loved being a big brother. He still lived with Chase most of the time, but he had his own room in their new house, and he spent the occasional weekend here. Now that he was seventeen, though, his friends took up the majority of his time. Annabelle didn’t mind. She was just happy to have him in her life and to see him thriving.

“Dad texted. He’s on his way,” Lucas said.

—

Chase arrived just as they finished dinner.

“Time for some coffee and dessert?” Annabelle asked after he came in.

“Always,” he said, smiling.

The kids cleaned up the dishes, while she and Chase went into the living room.

“How is Lucas dealing with Tara being in prison?” she asked.

“Honestly, I think he’s just relieved that it wasn’t me. Now that you’ve met her and know what she did, I’m sure you can understand that his relationship with her has been less than ideal. Still, I had no idea of what she was really capable of. The fact that she was complicit in the switch. And the other thing that’s so unforgivable is that we never mourned the death of our son. Because, of course, I didn’t know that he’d died. How she could exchange the babies like they were objects instead of people. It’s inconceivable.”

“Now I understand why James kept trying to get me to take a leave of absence. He didn’t want me to find out the truth. He saw your picture on your website and recognized you from the hospital all those years ago. And Tara was so convincing. She had me believing you were this narcissistic monster, when she knew all along that she’d stolen my child. How did you live with her all those years?”

“It wasn’t easy, but I couldn’t leave Lucas with her. She was a fantastic lawyer; she would have gotten full custody, and then I wouldn’t have been there to mitigate the emotional drama she loves to inflict.”

“You must have been devastated to find out that she faked all those pregnancies. I can’t fathom it.”