The Parent Trap

Chapter 18: Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Carly Lewis

POV

After what happened yesterday, Chase gave me the day off. I didn’t have any friends I could visit. So I decided to check in with Koah.

I haven’t seen her in a while and I was worried about her.

I still couldn’t wrap my head about the safety deposit box situation. I was still in shock if I’m being honest. The wait for the results were killing me slowly..

Something about being back here at this apartment gave me a sense of comfort, this apartment felt connected to the person I was just two weeks ago. Maybe because this was the first place I called home after I woke up after my accident.

I walk into the building and made my way up the stairs to my apartment.

It felt weird but I knocked on my apartment door. I didn’t live here anymore and walking in felt rude. Especially since I knew how jumpy Koah was.

A few seconds later, the door opened and I saw Koah’s surprise and her two dogs, Remi barked excitedly at me while Draco stayed at seated beside Koah’s leg like he was trying to protect her.

A laugh escaped me before I could stop it.

"Hello Remi." I bent down and pet her fur.

I looked up to see Koah smiling faintly.

It was the first genuine smile I’d seen from her since I’ve met her. frёeωebɳovel.com

"Hi sorry I showed up unannounced. I got the day off and I wanted to come check on you. I hope you don’t mind?" I ask standing up.

She smiled. "Of course not. Come in..." she lets me in and closes the door behind me.

I walked over to the sofa and sat down like a guest.

I looked around the apartment, it felt more lived in now than it did when I moved in.

A woollen blanket draped over the sofa. It showed she sat on the sofa watching tv or just reading. By the books on the coffee table I knew that was true.

There were dog toys scattered across the apartment floor.

Koah sat beside me with two coffee mugs in her hands. She handed me one.

"Thank you..." I smile while taking it from her.

Something about the apartment tugged at my heart. I couldn’t describe it. But I felt like I desperately needed, but I didn’t know what it was.

Koah noticed my expression immediately. "Did something happen?" she asks softly.

I blinked at her. "Were my emotions that obvious?" I ask.

"After you’ve been through hell. You learn to read people expressions, even the ones they’re hiding..." she shrugs her shoulders.

I place the mug on the coffee table and stared at my hands. For what felt like hours I tried to figure out where the heck I should start. My life or life I’ve lived over the last three years taught me how to survive even when I felt something was missing.

I sighed. "I don’t know who I am." I confessed.

Koah frowned like she didn’t understand.

"I’m being honest. I don’t know who I am..." Something about Koah told me she wouldn’t judge me. It didn’t matter what I said it felt like she’d listen. Maybe it was because she looked just as lost as I felt. Maybe we were both good at pretending to be okay, when we felt anything but that. "I woke up three years ago with no memories of who I am or where I was."

Her eyes widened.

"I don’t remember the accident, how I ended up outside a hospital, if I was dropped there or dragged myself there. I’ve got no memory of my childhood, if I have any family, if my name is really Carly, nothing. I didn’t even know how I liked my coffee."

Silence followed my statement.

I told her everything I’ve been through after the last three years, how I’ve spent the last three years trying to find clues and how I thought I’d finally had that yesterday. Only to be met with more questions.

The baby blanket, the hair brush and the DNA report.

By the time I finished explaining, my throat felt dry, I grabbed the now cold coffee and drunk it down in one gulp.

Koah stared at me speechlessly.

"If the DNA test is real..." My voice cracked. "That means I have a daughter. The little girl who has stolen my heart."

"Have you had like at tests down or anything to see if you had kids after you woke up?" Koah asks.

I nod. "They tested for everything. I had tests I’ve never even heard of done on me. But none of my doctors knew..."

"Carly maybe go to another hospital and have those tests done." She suggests.

"Do you think the doctors didn’t tell me on purpose?" I ask.

Koah shrugged her shoulders. "I honestly couldn’t tell you if that’s what happened or not... I just find it strange..."

I nod thinking about it. I could have the tests done once I have my own health insurance. I was still on Amy’s and after what happened yesterday I wasn’t sure if I trusted her.

"I met her." I say softly.

Koah frowned. "The little girl from the DNA results?" she asks.

I nod. "Yes Stella. You remember my job as a nanny? Stella is the little girl I have to look after." I tell her.

"She’s almost five." My voice cracked. "If this test is real... And she’s my daughter..."

Koah sighed. "Then you be the best mother to the little girl that you can be..." She says and for the first time since I’ve met Koah she looked tired and drained. "My turn." says.

I look up at her.

She wasn’t looking at me, she was looking at the floor. "My boyfriend used to hit me..." she said it like a statement. So matter of factly that it didn’t sound like she was speaking about herself.

I didn’t say anything, I waited for her to continue. She didn’t interrupt me while I was unloading on her.

"You know how it goes. He wasn’t always like that. He was sweet charming. Always said the right things and we moved in together. Then everything changed. I was a principle dancer at Julliard. A male principle dancer gifted me flowers as a thanks or congratulations. I can’t even remember. He saw it and slapped me across the face. Right after he apologized. But after than he just got worse and worse."

"And then?" I asked.

Koah’s gaze drifted toward the window. "Then one day I woke up after a terrible round of beating and I realized this had become the norm for me. I would take a few days off give my part to another dancer and I didn’t recognize myself."

A shiver ran down my spine.

She continued speaking. "My parents died and left me their fortune. He was forcing me to get married and a part of me feared he’d kill me for the money..." She says so softly I almost didn’t hear her.

She continued to tell me about Austin, about her life in New York, about how she got out of New York. How she contacted her family lawyer to protect her assets. How she was hiding from About Austin.

Koah explains to me how she’d come to Chicago to not only escape but look for someone. Enzo Amato.

The way her voice softened told me everything. About how they’d broken up in high school and she’d met Austin when she moved to New York.

"You still love him." I concluded.

Koah smiled sadly. "I think a part of me will always love Enzo." She didn’t deny it.

I leaned back. "Have you tried to find him after you found out he no longer lived here?" I asked.

Her expression immediately turned sad. "No."

"Why not?" I asked.

"What if he moved on, what if he didn’t remember me?" she was close to tears I could see it.

"If your relationship was as good as you told me. There’s no way he’s moved on. And take it from me. You don’t want to forget anything, even if it hurts." I stood.

Koah smiled. "Thank you Carly. Your friendship means more to me than you could imagine."

I smiled too. "Honestly you were my first friend since I’ve woken up alone. And You have no idea how much I needed this. Thank you Koah. I promise I won’t let anything happen to you..." I promise her.

I left her apartment feeling so much lighter.

Amy has been calling me all day, but I couldn’t speak to her not when I hadn’t found all the answers yet. If she had to wait the whole ten days, then she had to.

Later that evening after Stella had already gone to bed, I went looking for Chase. I found him in his office.

He looked up from the documents he was reading when I entered his office. "What is it?" he asked.

I hesitated, would I be betraying my friendship with Koah by doing this? "Can you find people?" I ask him.

His eyebrows rose. "Depends."

I sat down across from him. "A friend I met recently is looking for someone..." I confess. I bite my bottom lip, feeling a little guilty. I felt like I was betraying Koah’s trust...

"A boyfriend?" he asks with a frown.

I shake my head. "No. Uhm what do they call it. The one that got away I guess..." I shrug, trying to come off nonchalant.

That caught his attention though. Which probably helped my case. "Who am I looking for?" he asks.

"Enzo Amato." I say, thinking about how Koah’s face lit up when she spoke about this Enzo guy.

Chase froze.

His reaction took me off guard. I frowned. "What?"

"What did you just say?" he asks like he didn’t hear me the first time. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

"Enzo Amato." I repeated.

Chase stood up so fast he startled me. God it was like a bug or something jumped on him. "Is there a bug?" I ask already on me feet ready to flee if needed. Something deep within my bones feared the creepy crawlies.

He sighed. "No... This friend of yours is her name Koah?" he asks.

I stared at him. "How did you know?" I asked. My stomach dropped. Did I do something I shouldn’t have. Did Chase know Austin?

I looked at Chase. He looked like he’d seen a ghost. He was paler than a ghost too.

"How do you know Koah?" I ask him.

But he doesn’t answer me.

"Where is she?" he asks.

"She’s staying in my old apartment... Do you know Austin?" I ask.

He looks confused shaking his head. Before I could question him he grabbed his keys and headed for the door.

I stood confused calling after him. "Chase?"

He ignored me and left me standing alone in his office.

I rushed after him but I heard the front door slam shut.

My eyes widened. Had I done something I shouldn’t have?

Shit. I did, didn’t I? I ran to my room and called Koah immediately.

She answered on the second ring. "Carly?" she sounded little confused.

"Uhm... How well do you know my boss?" I ask her.

"I don’t know your boss Carly. You never told me his name remember..." she reminded me.

"I asked him to look for Enzo, but he freaked out and asked about you and he rushed out. I assume he’s on his way to see you..." I explain.

"What is your boss’s name Carly?" she asks.

I frowned. "Chase Jacobs."

Koah went quiet. I couldn’t even hear her breathing.

Finally she responded with an "Oh."

I blinked. "What does that mean?" I asked. Was that a good thing or a bad thing?

I was met with more quiet.

"Okay." she finally said.

"Koah..." I tried but she hung up on me.

I lowered the phone slowly. I stared it in confusion. What exactly is going on?

It seems like recently the questions just keep piling on. I wasn’t getting any answers though.

But I concluded that Koah and Chase knew one another. Though I didn’t know how well.

Right now. I was out of the loop and neither wanted to fill me in on the information for my brain to shut down...