Page 13 of Forgotten
“Okay, please don’t panic. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t…” Ash’s face is red—purple—and his breath ragged and broken. He glances at his phone, again. “I’ve gotta go home.”
“Uh? Why?”
“Ford, you and I…!” His phone rings again and Ash’s chest fills with air. I’m scared my pupils might pop outfrom the pressure of not knowing and knowing toomuch.
Nothing prepares me for what Ash tells me next. “You and I have a daughter.”
Chapter 6
2006 - Ashley
It is a sunny day and it just makes sense. It is Sun-day.
Mom and Daddy took us all to church in the morning and I had to hold Erik on my knees when he started crying because Mom said she was hurt. I know why she’s hurt. I heard Daddy scream last night. I heard how mad he was that she had bought the wrong brand of yoghurt and I heard how sorry she was.
“I don’t want to hear what excuse you have. Du er så dum, Sarah.”
It’s not the first time Daddy calls Mom dumb. Daddy always calls Mom by her name; never calls her “love” or “honey” like Gregory Hale calls Lily Hale. Gregory Hale never gets so angry he has to hit the wall, slam the door, and hurt Mom so much that she falls and cannot carry Erik to church.
After lunch, I’m happy when Daddy takes Martin and Edwin to the park and I’m not even angry when Edwin hits my shoulder on the way out. For a moment, I think Martin will ask me to join them. Then, he shoves me out of the way with his cricket bat and an evil grin. “Move.”
I watch them leave and I lock the door when they are gone. Mom is on the couch with Erik and calls me with a soft voice. “Ashley? Sweetie, will you bring over a blanket? Erik and I are going to take a nap.”
I rush from the entrance to the living-room, and a strange feeling is growing in my belly and I almost feel like I have to cry. Carefully, I fix the blanket around Erik and Mom.
“Can I go ride bikes with Ford, Mom?”
Mom looks confused at me, as if she’s not understanding me. “Who?”
“Can I ride bikes with Ashford, at the end of the street?” I don’t know what I’m saying wrong.
In a lower voice, Mom warns me, “Don’t go past the big street.” And then she shushes me, because Erik is asleep in her arms already and she’s probably too tired to deal with me.
I don’t mind. I rush to get my shoes and I lace them up tightly. My bike is waiting outside and I stop to smell the fresh air; the sun warming me on my back.
A few minutes later, I’m ringing the Hale doorbell and I hear Gregory Hale’s voice from the window. There is music playing in the background, just like every time I’m round.
“Fordy, Ash is here. With his bike!” he calls out and I start counting the seconds until Ford appears.Seven, eight, nine, ten.
The moment I see him, I lose count of the numbers. He’s wearing a white shirt just like mine, and jean shortslike mine. Even our bikes are matching, both a dark green.
“Ah!” he exclaims happily. “We are twins.”
I giggle, because we definitely are not. Martin and Edwin are twins, with their identical brown hair and identical noses and haircuts and laughs. Ford and I couldn’t be more different: red hair versus brown, curly versus straight. Though he’s a year older than me, he is almost a whole hand shorter. I’m too pale to be his twin; too skinny, too tall.
Behind Ford, Gregory Hale appears. “Aren’t you two just two lil’ peas in a pod?”
It makes me smile, because he always says that and I don’t know what it means. Ford and I aren’t peas. We are boys. And I don’t know what a pod is.
“Hello,” I greet them both before I forget my manners. “Look what I got!” I shove my hands in my jeans pockets and I carefully extract two of my canineteeth.
“Wowie!” Ford drops his bike and runs to me.
“Congratulations, Ash!” Gregory Hale says seriously while opening the gate.
“I’m so jealous. Look at mine.” Ford shows me hismouth and wiggles one canine for me. “It won’t comeoff.”
“Patience, little one. Give it time.” Gregory Hale smiles at Ford as he picks up his bike.
