Chapter 36

Chapter 36: Stacy’s Place

 

The next day we reached Manhattan around two in the afternoon.  Wasting no time, we went straight to Stacy’s.  I still had a key so I let us in knowing she was still at work.  Stacy usually spent two hours at practise every day and then had rehearsals every Friday for four hours.  I knew she would be home in about half an hour and I hoped I didn’t freak her out being here.  I walked slowly around the uptown apartment remembering my years with her.  I saw her favourite book sitting on the coffee table with my letter sticking out holding her place. I smiled softly; I knew she would find the letter I had left and know that I had to leave and that I hadn’t meant to hurt her.  James was sitting in a chair in the living room waiting patiently for her to arrive.  I heard the key in the door and I turned to face Stacy as she entered.  When she opened the door and saw me standing there she dropped everything she was carrying and stared at me in disbelief.

“Hello Stacy,” I said quietly.

“Alli, where have you been?  When did you get here?  What’s going on?” she demanded breathlessly as she stared at me in shock.  She quickly pulled herself together and moved into the apartment catching sight of James as she shut the door.

“Stacy this is my godfather, James Madley.  My real name is Anastasia.  You can call me Anna now.  I’m living in Canada right now and, as for what is going on, I can only tell you that my mother was very wise to have kept me hidden.  I’ve learned a lot this past year.  I’m sorry I left the way I did, but it was the only way to keep you safe. You were being followed by one of my father’s thugs.  I didn’t want you to get hurt because of me, so I left.  I’ve seen things that you would not believe and protecting those I’m close to is something I’ve tried to do.  I don’t want anyone to get hurt because of me anymore,” I blurted out.  It felt so good to finally tell her the truth.  She looked at me appraisingly, then suddenly threw her arms around me and held me tightly.

“I’m so glad you’re safe,” she breathed.

“It’s good to see you too,” I whispered back fighting the tears of happiness that threatened to spill over.  I know she would believe me.  I loved her so much.

“So why did you come here now?” she questioned looking from me to James.

“Have you seen this writing before?” I asked holding the pages Jeff had given me out to her.  She took the photocopied page and looked at it for a few minutes.

“Latin and Egyptian I believe,” she mused, more to herself than to us.  She sat down in a chair by the window reading the passage quietly to herself.

“There’s one line missing.  I have seen this before, but not the original.  Your mother had this written on a piece of paper.  I know there was another line in Greek, something about a star choosing something.  I really don’t remember, it was such a long time ago.” She looked at me apologetically.

“Thank you,” I said quietly and exchanged a glance with James.

“If your right then there is hope yet,” I smiled with relief.

“What is this all about Anna?” she asked raising the photocopy in her hand.

“That is a legend that my father and his family believe in.  I guess I kind of believe it too, and I need to know as much as possible because my father and his family think that I am the Rising Starr,” I explained.

“Anna!” James said in a disapproving tone.

 I turned to glare at him.  “I’m not going to hide this from her James.  She’s in as much danger as the rest of you and she needs to know why my father has been watching her.  It’s only fair,”

“You don’t know that Anna.  He could have left her alone,” he retorted.

“I doubt that.  You know how thorough he is.  I’ve been keeping a low profile for years and he always finds me.  The only reason he hasn’t done anything lately is because of the ultimatum I gave him.” I stated flatly.  James nodded tersely and crossed his arms over his chest as he glared out the window.  I could tell that he wasn’t pleased, but he also knew I was right.

“Anna, what are you talking about?  This is nothing but a silly story.  There’s no real truth to it. Your mother left your father because he was abusive.” Stacy looked at me in confusion.

“Yes, he and his family were extremely abusive, but that wasn’t the only reason she left.  I mean, think about it Stacy, she never even told you my real name!  She also never told me when my real birthday was.  I only found that out from James this past September.  She hid a lot about me from everyone and James is the only one who knew the whole story and I knew nothing of him until just before I arrived here.” I revealed to her.

Her eyes widened in shock as she took in what I had just told her.  She shook her head in disbelief as she thought about everything.

Just then, James’ phone rang.  I glanced at him as Stacy and I spoke quietly about my past few months in Huntsville.  I didn’t tell her everything, I just gave her a basic overview of how things had been.  I was listening to James conversation with half an ear.

“Yes,” he answered.

“When did it happen?” he demanded his eyes darting worriedly to me and then out the window.  My ears perked up immediately and I started to pay attention to James and the tension in his shoulders and voice.

“We’ll leave immediately,” he stated firmly and snapped the phone shut.

“We have to go Anna. Now.” He was on his feet immediately and turned toward the door.

“What’s happened?” I asked in a panicked voice.

“Your school friend Jeff was found murdered.  We need to get back.  I have to watch over the investigation,” he said urgently as he headed for the door.

I nodded.  I threw my arms around Stacy and hugged her quickly as I folded the photocopy of the legend I had shown her and put it back in my pocket.

“I’ll try to call you when this is over.  I’m sorry you had to be involved,” I said sadly.  “Please stay safe.”

“I’m just glad you are okay.  Take care of yourself.”  She waved from the door as we got onto the elevator. 

 

 We raced back to the airport and booked the next flight back to Toronto.

“What’s going to happen when we get home?” I asked worried.

“I don’t know.  I need to see the reports and, if I can, the body as well,” he answered.

“My father did this didn’t he?  He’s getting impatient.” I looked at my hands.

“We don’t know that for sure.  We shouldn’t jump to conclusions until we have all the facts.” James placed a hand on my shoulder trying to offer some comfort.

“This is all my fault.  I hurt the people I’m close to.  I should be locked away forever.” Tears starting to well up in my eyes.  I felt so helpless.

“Who are you talking about? Jeff or Alex?” he asked softly brining me in for a hug.

I shook my head mutely, and leaned into his shoulder for support until we could board the plane.  I honestly didn’t know who I was talking about at that point in time but I had a feeling it was more related to Alex than Jeff.