Page 11 of Born for Starlight

That smile of hers… Beautiful.

Chapter Four

I’d decided to meet with Julian Harmon at my home in Calabasas, California, not the little house I was renting in Jasper Creek. Tennessee was my private place, and I didn’t want to give that much of myself away to this podcaster. Even after two weeks here in California, I was jonesing to get back and see everybody in the small town. Dammit, I wanted a cinnamon roll at the Down Home Diner, and some of Little Grandma’s wisdom.

Before the man got here, I’d gone through and cleaned. Despite having a regular housekeeper, Mom would have been appalled if I hadn’t cleaned the house myself before having visitors. Then I set the stage in my living room. I moved the good lamp closer to the couch, picked the chair that put my back to the wall, not the window, so the afternoon light would land on my face instead of his. Small things. Things that made me feel more in control. I liked feeling in control. Of my environment and my thoughts.

“Yeah right. Like you’ve been able to stop thinking about Matthew and his broad shoulders?” I mumbled.

Great, now I’m talking to myself. Concentrate, Drakos.

When Julian arrived, he spent a little too long complimenting my house, my clothes and my hair. I’d forgotten how oily and talkative he was. Damn, the man wouldn’t shut up.

“Oh Angelica, it’s so good seeing you again. You look wonderful today. Did you do something different with your hair? I love this place. Who was your designer?”

This is going to be the longest two hours of my life.

“I designed it.”

“You have so much talent. You could have gone into interior design. You know when our last interview went live we had over a million downloads. A million. It was wonderful. Don’t you think?”

Soooo long. Shoot me now.

“Yes, wonderful, Julian.” I managed a smile, not a sigh. “Let’s move this to my living room.”

Julian set his recorder on the table between us.

I’m about to really step in it now.

“Whenever you’re ready,” he said.

“Don’t you have questions for me?” I stalled.

I’d been ready for two weeks. Maybe longer. I just hadn’t told anyone, not Mom, not my brothers, not Marty, not Zoe or even Adam over milkshakes in Nashville. I knew where I wanted to go, I just needed one more deep breath to get there.

Julian finally took the lead. “Last time we talked, you told me about the orphanage.” Julian leaned forward, elbows on his knees, recorder angled toward me. “Tell me about being found.”

“That’s the good part.” I smiled and meant it. “Three teenage boys walked into that building and refused to leave without me. Jase, Renzo, and Malik. They were just kids themselves, and somehow they were the ones brave enough to do what every adult in that place should have done years before they ever showed up.”

“Your parents backed that up? Adopting a toddler on a teenager’s say-so?”

“It was my mom who was there, and she didn’t even blink. But that’s who she is.” I felt my throat tighten, the good kind of tight. “And it wasn’t just me. Once she understood what that place actually was, she helped shut it down. She got my dad involved. They reported it. Pushed until people with badges finally listened. That orphanage doesn’t exist anymore because my family made sure of it.”

“You’ve never said that part publicly before.”

“I’m saying it now.” I held his gaze, steady, because I wanted this on the record exactly the way I meant it. “My family is the reason I got to grow up at all. There were bad things going on there. Really bad. I want to make that clear.”

“That’s a strong statement,” Julian murmured.

“It’s true.”

My voice softened. “But it started with Jase, Malik and Renzo. The three of them. I remember vague snatches from dreams. I remember being held and sung to. They saved me.”

I could tell he was filing it away.

“So where does that leave you now?” he asked. “A survivor with a happy ending doesn’t usually come back for round two.”

“Because it’s not just my story.” I sat forward, matched his posture without meaning to. “That building’s gone, but not that kind of evil. From what mom and dad figured out, some of the children were sold to good homes, but many were out-and-out trafficked from that orphanage.”