11

Chapter 11

For several moments after Argo had gone upstairs, Gid'on remained silent, looking at the empty spot where Argo had sat, deep in thought. Finally, he cleared his throat and spoke once more.

"Dad has always been so protective of mom... It doesn't seem like something that'd happen... If he knew who she really is, I mean" Thought Gid'.

At those words, he remembered one very important thing that his father had taught him before the accident: Don't give your own identity away unless it's absolutely necessary and never use your birth name unless you're under a pseudonym.

But then he looked closely at his son and realised that that rule was only used for situations like this. And he wondered if Jackon had ever given his birth name away, especially in case someone else found out that he wasn't related to Argo. He didn't think that was likely, considering that both fathers were very careful about their names and even their personal information, so Gid'on assumed that his son had never done so. That was why he had thought it would be impossible for his father to have known the truth all along. And now that Gid'on thought about it, he was pretty sure that he hadn't met any other Gurdians since he had been born, so perhaps he had never revealed his true name to anyone... Even if he was worried that someone might recognise his real name and call his father. He shook his head at his worries and looked at his friend, wondering why Jackon suddenly wanted to change the subject.

"You ok?" Inquired Gid'on gently.

"Huh?" Blurred Jackon slightly as he snapped out of his thoughts, making Gid'on wonder what he was thinking about.

"Are you alright Jackon, did you forget something? Is it your homework?" Questioned Gid'on, trying hard to hide the concern that he was feeling.

"Oh, yeah I was just wondering where the spare room key for you was. Your bedroom has already been assigned, right? How come you didn't notice it was missing from the shelf?" Asked Jackon, sounding confused.

"The house is huge Jacko" Gid'on explained "Plus, I have no idea what's there."

"Well, do you want me to ask around and see if anyone knows where your key is?"

"Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night" Replied Gid'on sarcastically, causing Jackon to chuckle.

As they continued talking, it got harder and harder for Gid'on to concentrate on what Jackon was telling him; the words kept blurring into one another until everything sounded muffled and distant. The only things that could be heard clearly, were Jackon's voice and the sound of rain hitting the window. Suddenly the doorbell rang and caused Gid'on to jump up from his seat; he knew it was his friends from school.

As he opened the front door, the others came running inside. Once everyone was inside the house, they stood around looking around, before coming to stand behind him.

"Where are the spare keys?" Asked Argo.

"They're probably in the kitchen" Answered Gid'on, as he led them to the kitchen.

Once there they immediately spotted the spare keys sitting in front of the fridge. While Jackon and Argo went over to grab the keys they saw that there was a postcard lying underneath them. As soon as they picked the card up, the other three ran over to take a look as well.

"Is it from dad and mom?" asked Argo.

"Yes. They're on a trip and won't be home for quite some time" Replied Gid'on.

"So, when will they be back?" Asked Argo, getting impatient.

"I guess tomorrow morning?" Answered Gid', glancing at his watch.

"Great. Well, I better go, I have work tonight" Replied Argo as he left the house and headed down the driveway.

Once Argo had reached his car, he noticed another postcard lying under the windshield wipers of his car. He grabbed it and smiled as he read what was written on it. He chuckled lightly as he unfolded the sheet of paper.

To: R.H.

From: D.J.

Hi dad,

We just landed in London, London. The weather is great here, you should visit, it's beautiful. We will be in the hotel by noon today, so don't worry about dinner. We'll send a text to you later and you can tell us all about your new place and how are you adjusting? Love, JackandD.P

Ps - Do NOT bring Gid'on with you, I will personally strangle you if I hear him laughing at the TV or reading a book. PS - Please try not to be late tomorrow or else I will kill you.

PS - Also, remember that we still need to buy groceries and we haven't eaten anything for over 12 hours.

Argo burst out laughing as he read the letters and thought that Jack and D.J. were acting way too much like teenagers for his liking. When he had calmed himself down, he put the letter back underneath the wipers and headed back home.

As soon as he stepped foot back into the house, the rest of the Gurdian family hurried to greet him. After hugging each other, Gid'on went straight to his father's study as Aragon took a bath and changed out of his work clothes. He entered and stood next to his father's desk.

"Father..." Started Gid'on nervously.

"What is it son?" Asked Argo calmly.

"It's just that..." He trailed off, wondering if he should say anything.

"Go ahead and say whatever is on your mind son. There's nothing wrong in being curious." Comforted Argo, giving his son a supportive smile as he patted his shoulder.

Gid'on took a deep breath, before starting to speak again.

"Father, I was thinking that I'm going to have to move away..." Explained Gid'.

"Really?" Confused Argo.

"Yup" Agreed Gid'on.

"But why? Where would you go?" Shouted Argo, sounding shocked.

"That's where it gets complicated. Since I live in Australia and my parents lived there, they've been planning to send me to a university there, which means I have to start studying there immediately.