Chapter 347: 2-2

“Why would we keep you alive, you’ve already given us that book, and floppy disks?” Gabriel pointed out, Philip sagged, “I did a lot that was wrong, but I’m not – I just – Judy, I swear to you, I didn’t even think I had a mate, I thought that the Elders – the life that I was living was all I would have – I did this for the greater good, for us-” his eyes begged, “I knew I would have to come clean about who I really was, but then I realized that I wasn’t anyone before you. That imposter wasn’t-” “Logan take him back to your warehouse,” Gabriel interrupted, and as quickly as Logan appeared he disappeared, Philip in toe, Jade, Meadow and Taryn crying trying to console their mother. Logan, ask him about the ‘Betray No Elder.’ “Gabriel you should look at this,” Nonno said distracted, taking my hand Gabriel led us over to Nonno, taking the book, and the notes we found in that first book, computer printed were a set of names, addresses as well as phone numbers. In between the printed and some scratched numbers there were penned numbers and addresses, connotations. New addresses, numbers, details about each person, who got married, had children, all things I’m sure helped keep track of those people. “Are these people like him?” I asked when I turned the book over in my hands, searching for a title that said something like if these people were what he referred to as Devotees or Unseen. We were at a point that was unbelievable and it could either help us or have us walking face first into a trap that had taken nearly seventeen years to come to fruition, were we in danger here? “Has his behavior ever been odd at all?” I asked Marlon sifting everything I found, questions answered. Marlon glanced at Judy and the girls, wondering if they were part of this plot as well. Are they innocent in all this Luna? He questioned outright when his mind went into circles of moments that were either piled in the guilty or innocent category in his mind. Not answering his question, neither a loud nor silently, I turned to Judy and the girls, “We haven’t come to a decision about the end of your mate in terms of this situation. Taryn, the order to not shift remains, when something has been decided we will come to your. Do not pester us, any signs that you are attempting to over throw our authority; you will be removed from the island and given directly to the Elders. I have the ability to remove memories; I would face no difficulty in removing all of yours and handing you over to them, let them decide your fate. Is that clear?” I addressed them bluntly. With widened eyes mother and daughters nodded, inside their minds was overwhelmed trying to place Philip into the mold that is created for those working with – or for – the Elders. The doting husband and loving father just couldn’t be someone that fit the mold; the parameters were unfitting of the man that cared for them when they were sick, that loved his daughters and adored his mate. However to Gabriel, Philip Pascal was no better or worse than George Gavino, he thought after a side-glance at the women, was Judy innocent in all this? He thought on the fence on that front as was I, if she isn’t… this is surely an Oscar winning performance on her part… again, I thought the same, but it was her thoughts, something that would in her own mind be kept private and unreachable that would truly be the deciding factor in her innocence. Yet what I couldn’t decide or even begin to understand was something that had always bothered me to some extent, if you were on the Elders radar, and they could read minds, how did they ever lose these people that were on the island? . . . Oakley POV I wanted to do something for Chelsea and Gabriel, they had done so much from Ben and I, making us feel comfortable. They brought uncle Grant and aunt Julia along, and despite my busted leg, they had made settling in such an easy transition but now, letting Kieran stay here was just so much more. I hobbled my way along with Kieran, a big smile on my face, my head down, thinking of how he treated his mom and dad, “Why do you call your mom and dad, Carla and Tony?” I ask as we walk in to the library, when I lift my head I see Kieran shrug, “That’s their names,” he says and I open my mouth to say that it’s different, that they are his parents, but then I factor in the coldness in his tone, and I’m faced with the truth in my own behavior. I’m in not place to question him, “What?” he asks startling me a bit, his bluish gray eyes focuses on my face, my eyes, “I used to call Sarah, Sarah as well,” I say tightening the hold I have on my tote bag. He remains silent, waiting for something more, sighing, I answer. “Well remember how I told you my dad met Sarah, she came in a changed everything?” he nods once, “Well she wanted to adopt Ben and I, but I didn’t want her too, so since she’s been with my dad I’ve always called her Sarah. I don’t want to call her something she isn’t and everyone back in Middleburg thought it was disrespectful, but I didn’t think so. I mean what else was I supposed to call her?” I defend myself getting angry when I think about back home. “Did she hurt you?” Kieran questions, again the intensity of his stare surprises me, “No,” I mumbled a bit dazed, and then the thought next brings me back. “Did Carla and Tony hurt you?” he shakes his head, and mumbles something like, “no they just never looked for me.” Deciding to leave it along for now, Kieran opens the large door, and a cool breeze nips at my bare legs, entering the library however captures my full attention, my jaw dropping in awe, “No way!” I say in a daze, at the sheer size of this room. In fact, it’s not a room, but what baffles me is that the space inside doesn’t match with what is on the outside. We enter on what is overlooking a room with tables below, a wrap around area of the books on this floor, twirling stairs heading to the bottom below to the left of me; I follow Kieran robotically, my eyes sweeping over old books, the covers faded and aged. Encyclopedias, dictionaries, journals, more books than my elementary, high school, community college and Middleburg public libraries put together all in this – in this hall. “This is – wow – I wonder how long it took Chelsea’s dad to get all of these,” I say in total awe, “How come it only looks like a room from the outside?” my face is whipping around in different directions, the measurements do not match up here, the dimensions are wrong. “From the outside this library should be no bigger than your bedroom,” I turn each way, gazing below me, then lifting my head up, “I mean down there shouldn’t be there,” I’m pointing and when I finally turn to Kieran he isn’t as concerned about the room we are in as I am I notice. My whole face goes red and I smile looking away, down the steps and then over to the sofa pulling out my ipad, as Kieran takes the seat the furthest distance away from me on the same sofa. But that doesn’t bother me, he followed me down here and that has to count for something. I do as I have since I’ve been around Kieran, I read, out loud for what seems like five hours but I’m sure was only two or three, my skin turning more and more red as I notice that he’s watching me. While sometimes he would rest his head back and just listen, there were moments when he would sit up, and focus on me, I could feel the burn of his eyes on my hand, or my face. He never interrupted my reading, “You are a very fine person Mr. Baggins, and I am very fond of you; but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all! ‘Thank goodness!’ Said Bilbo laughing, and handed him the tobacco jar.” I sighed after reading the last lines. When I looked up from the ipad, I was caught again in the intense gaze Kieran was giving me, his eye brows pushed together, he opened his mouth twice shutting them each time, “You confuse me,” he finally says but the troubled look doesn’t leave his face.