A Stolen Secret

“I hate you!”
Libby threw a picture at them. Dan and Julia ducked down just in time.
“Now, Honey, this is for your own good,” Dan said.
Libby got more frustrated, “My own good? How can this be for my own good?” She threw a pillow. “I can’t even make any friends!”
Julia had a menacing look, “You will do as you are told.” She picked up the pillow and placed it on the bed. “You will clean up this mess you have made. We are leaving at the end of the week.” She looked at Dan, “Come on. We have to start packing.”
As soon as she heard the key turn, Libby collapsed on the bed. She sobbed into the pillows until she had no more tears. She had to get out of this. For as long as she could remember, she had moved from place to place all over the country. Every three or four months they would pack their things and move 1000 miles somewhere else. Why, she had no idea. She learned to not ask questions. This has been going on long enough, she thought. She had to leave. Just then, Dan unlocked the door and peeked his head in.
“Your mother and I are going to run errands.” Then his voice lowered, “I will leave the door unlocked so you can walk around. Just don’t come out until we leave.” He heard Julia call him. “I have to go,” he said. He looked caringly at Libby, “I’m sorry.” Then he left.
As soon as she heard the car leave the driveway, she rushed out of her room, walked past the kitchen, and into her parents room. Something must be making them move. Was it tax fraud? Were the Fed’s after them? Were they ex-convicts? She looked everywhere for clues. She spotted the calendar. She couldn’t believe it. That weekend they were going into Mexico. She kept looking. In the closet, she found it. She pulled the box down and took it to her room. She sat down on the bed and opened it.
What she pulled out, shocked her. Tons of newspaper articles started to make a pile on her bed. All of them were about robberies, mostly in banks. Then, tears came to her eyes as she came to a shocking headline:

“ONE KIDNAPPED, TWO KILLED IN BANk ROBBERY!”

Libby read the article until she came to a name that would change her life. Libby Crawford! This couldn’t be her. She was Libby Andrews. Finally, it sparked in her mind. This is why they had no baby pictures of her. She wasn’t their baby! Libby kept on reading.
Libby Crawford was two years old when she went with her mother and grandmother to the bank 15 years ago. Her mom was just cashing a check when two robbers came in. They took Libby, saying that if they didn’t get the money, they would kill her. Libby’s mother and grandmother resisted, trying to get the child back. They were shot and killed in the scramble and the convicts ran, taking the baby with them.
The rest of the articles were about the continuing search for Libby and her captors. Libby knew she had to get out of here. She figured out that the reason why she felt like she didn’t belong here was because she wasn’t supposed to. She belonged wherever her real family was. If she still had a family, that is.
She put everything in the box except for some of the more important articles. Just as she put the box in the closet, she heard the car pull up in the driveway. She ran back to her room and started clean her mess. Just as she put the articles in her jacket pocket, Dan peeked his head in the door.
“We got you some good old fashioned Mickey D’s,” he said as he pulled out a paper sack.
“It smells good,” Libby said as she wiped her still wet face.
Dan looked concerned, “Are you still upset about earlier? I thought you would be used to moving.”
Libby bit into a tender chicken nugget, “How can I get used to it? I’m afraid to make friends, I can’t get a job, I have no money. I’m not about to have the normal teenage life because I don’t know if I’ll be move the next day.”
“I understand how you fell. I don’t like moving either.”
“Then why does Mom want to move all the time?” Libby asked, noticing how weird it was to call Julia “Mom”.
“It’s just how she is. Don’t worry about it, Kiddo. I think this is going to be our last move for a long time,” Dan replied as he walked out the door. Then, he locked it.
As soon as Libby finished eating, she put on her jacket, got the few dollars she had, and opened the window. She carefully pulled the screen in so she could climb out. Once she did, she climbed over the fence and started walking. Although she didn’t know where she was going.

~

Craig was wiping down the countertop when he saw her walk into the diner. She looked like another lost soul, searching for something. She sat down at a booth and pulled something out of her jacket pocket. Then, she started crying. Craig decided to see what was wrong.
“So what can I get you today?” he asked.
She looked up at him, lost for words, “Uh…nothing, thanks.”
“You look like you need a friend.”
“Does it? Well, I’ll tell you one thing. That’s the last thing I’m going to get around here. Who would come up to a stranger and ask them what’s wrong?
Craig sat down across from her, “Try me.”
Libby couldn’t help but smile, “I guess there are always exceptions.”
My name’s Craig Jansen,” he said as he held out his hand. “Everyone calls me C.J.”
Libby shook it, “Libby Andrews, just Libby.”
“Well nice to meet you, Just Libby,” he joked. “So why are you upset today?”
Libby didn’t know how to put it into words, “Have…have you ever found out about a secret your parents kept from you. And when you found out, it changed your life forever?”
Craig laughed, “Oh, you mean the one where my hamster, Gilligan, ended up to be a girl instead of a boy and come to find out I had many Gilligans? Yes. That was the worst day of my life.”
Craig kept laughing but stopped when Libby said, “No, the one where you find out that your parents are fugitives from the law and that you were actually kidnapped when they killed your mom.”
Craig just stared at her, gobsmacked. That’s when she showed him the articles. When he finished reading all of them, she said, “I can’t go back there. I mean Dad seemed like my read father and I love him to death, but Mo- I mean Julia, I’m afraid of what she would do to me if she found out I knew.”
“You are coming home with me.”
“What?!”
“You heard me. You are staying at my house.”
“I can’t do that”
“Sure you can. My sister just moved out so you can stay in her room.”
“But what about your parents? What would they say?”
“They won’t mind. After all, it’s a friend helping a friend.” He reached out and touched her hand. As soon as he did, he felt his heart flutter a bit. This girl is special, he thought. I have to help her.
“I think I’ll close early today. It’s getting that time anyways,” Craig said.

~

“Mom? Dad?” Craig called when they got to his house. He turned to Libby, “I guess they are both working late.”
He led her to the living room. Then he said, “Make yourself at home. You can watch T.V. if you want. I have to check my mail.”
“T.V.? Wow. Julia never let me watch television. I’m guessing because she didn’t want me to find out anything with the news.”
“No T.V.? It’s a wonder how you lived,” Craig replied.
When Craig finished his e-mail, he looked over at the couch. Libby had fallen asleep. He walked over to her and covered her with a blanket. He caressed her hair. She sleeps like an angel, he though. Damn, how could he fall for anyone this quickly? He went back to the computer. He had to help her somehow.
He got onto the Missing and Exploited Children website and typed in Libby Crawford. When he got to the page, he couldn’t believe his eyes. He called the hotline.
“Missing and Exploited Children.”
“Yes, I have information regarding to the kidnapping of Libby Crawford. Yes I’ll hold.”
“Oh my, God!”
Craig turned his head and saw Libby standing behind him, tears falling off her face. What she saw on the computer screen frightened her. The age progression picture of Libby Crawford, looked exactly like her.

~

In the past two weeks, everything had gone by soo fast. Julia and Dan were caught just before reaching the Mexican border. Dan confessed to everything and said he only cared for what was best for Libby. Julia kept going on saying how Dan should never have let that bitch live.
The car stopped in front of the house. They had traveled hundreds of miles to get here. Libby and Craig sat in the back of the Lexus.
The agent from Missing and Exploited Children turned his head, “Well, we’re here. Are you ready to do this?
Libby was shaking. Her nerves were fried. She started to feel calmer, though, when Craig held her hand.
“It’s okay,” he said, “I’m here for you.”
“Ok. I’m ready.” She looked at Agent Smith, “Does he know?”
“No,” he replied. “We only told him we think we got a lead.” He smiled. “Do you want me to go with you?”
“No,” Libby said. “I want C.J. to come with me. I have to introduce my boyfriend to my dad.”
At this, Craig beamed. He took her hand and kissed it.
“Well, I’m ready. Let’s go.”
Agent Smith said, “Good Luck!” when they got out of the car.
“I’m so nervous,” Libby said. Then she smiled, “But I’m ready for this. I’ve been ready for a long time.”
When they got to the door, Craig stopped her from ringing the doorbell.
“I want to give you something first,” he said. Then he kissed her. “Ok, now you can ring the doorbell.”
Libby smiled and pushed the button. Her heart leaped when the door started to open. She just stood there staring at the pair of green eyes. The four-year old boy just stood there waiting for any answer.
Craig, recognizing that Libby was speechless, said, “Is Mr. Crawford home please?”
“Daddy? I will go get him,” said the squeaky voice.
He left the door open and went to go get him.
“My little brother,” Libby said.
“He has your eyes,” came Craig’s reply.
“May I help…”
Libby looked at the man standing at the door.
“I know his face, Craig.”
“Oh my Lord!” Mr. Crawford shouted. “It can’t be!”
Libby felt tears stinging her eyes, “Daddy?”
“Libby!” They embraced. Even Craig couldn’t help but shed a tear, although he quickly wiped it away.
“Honey? Who’s at the door?”
Mrs. Crawford looked at Libby. “Oh, my. Is this?”
“Yes, yes! My little girl is home. Even after 15 years.” He let go of her. Not even wiping the tears from his face, he said, “Libby, this is your step-mom, Sandy.” He felt a tug on his pants. “And this squirt here is Robert. Bobby is what we call him.”
“Nice to meet you both,” Libby said, still overcome with emotion.
Craig cleared his throat.
“Oh, Dad. Wow it feels so good to say that. This is Craig Jansen, my boyfriend.”
“Well, pleased to meet you, Craig,” Libby’s father said as he shook his hand.
“Pleased to meet you, too, Sir.”
“What are we doing standing out here for? Let’s all go inside and have you tell us what happened. Some of us are going to have to get to know each other again,” Mr. Crawford said as he shuffled everyone inside. Just as he closed the door, he had one final thing to say.
“Welcome home, Libby.”