Awakening Book One of the Trust Series(57)

“At fourteen, I found that I became one of his confidants. It was then that I began to separate from the other kids my age. They couldn’t appreciate or comprehend what it was like to be an Actual, even those whose families were of old lineages and were taught their heritage at a young age. They were all about sports and school. I was talking with my father about issues occurring in the Trust.”

Caitlyn grabbed Declan’s hand then, giving it a squeeze. He smiled appreciatively at the gesture before continuing. “Then to make matters worse, I awoke at age sixteen… well, imagine a teenager going through the change. You thought it was difficult being twenty-four. No one my age went through it, they couldn’t understand. I had to deal with the difficulties of being an Actual on top of all the hormonal changes and personal growth that comes with being a teenager. I found myself becoming even more of an outsider. It was easier to be alone than not being accepted by my peers. I graduated early that year from high school. I never went to high school football games, joined drama club, or even went to a prom. My life at sixteen revolved around the Trust only.”

Caitlyn squeezed his hand again. It was comforting. “I’m sorry, Declan. That had to have been very difficult for you. Normally a teenager would resent their father for that. But you look like you didn’t.”

“I did a little at first. But my family are Descendants. There are certain obligations that come with that and I understand that. My life revolves around the Trust, it always has. My father carries tremendous guilt to this day about my young adulthood, but he wasn’t responsible for my changing early. Nature was in charge of that.”

“But, and I mean this with all due respect because I think your father is a wonderful man, don’t you think it was unfair that he put so much responsibility on you at such a young age? You are twenty-eight years old and you were a negotiator by twenty. That has to be a huge weight to bear.”

Declan pursed his lips. “It was-It is. But it’s life. When your most trusted friends, your most trusted advisors, begin to decide that the Cine Tofa is a better way for Actuals, and begin selling your secrets to the highest bidder, you have to be very careful about whom you trust. And my father could trust me. I was his blood, his heir. If he can’t trust me, then who can he trust?”

Caitlyn leaned over and gave him a hug quickly before pulling away. “I understand. For the record, I admire you for how you have handled it all. Not many sixteen years olds would have the strength or the ability to handle what you went through.”

“I have a feeling you would have done just fine.”

“You obviously did not know me as a teenager. My mother would have respectively disagreed.”

They sat there for hours just talking. It turned into a game of twenty questions, with both of them answering the questions. Declan revealed to Caitlyn that he did not have any fears with the exception of disappointing his father. He also told her that his first kiss was with a blonde girl named Nia, at the age of seventeen. He lost his virginity at nineteen, his proudest moment was when his passed the Threshold, and someday, he did want to marry and have children of his own. Declan explained how important it was to continue his bloodline.

Caitlyn had admitted to him that her first kiss was at fourteen, she did not lose her virginity until age twenty and it was an awful experience, her proudest moment was when she graduated summa cum laude from graduate school, and she too, wanted to someday settle down and have kids of her own, though she did not know when.

It was the nicest afternoon Declan had spent in a long time. By the time the sun was setting, he felt closer to her and he hoped that the questions that he answered filled in some of the questions she had about him.

Declan tried to stifle a yawn and Caitlyn moved to put their long empty plates in the kitchen sink. “I think it is time that you get some sleep, Declan. For me.”

He acquiesced. Before he transported out of the apartment, she gave him a deep hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Just so you know, I think your mom would be very, very proud of the man you turned out to be.”

“And your mom would be very, very proud of the woman you turned out to be. Have a good night. I’ll see you in morning.”

That night, Declan McPherson slept very well for the first time in weeks.





Chapter 17



Caitlyn pulled out her backpack from Declan’s SUV and slung it over her shoulder, staring at the trailhead that greeted her. Despite the fact that she had not been hiking since she was a young girl, she had been the one initially to suggest the outing. Garrett had been sent on yet another assignment that the Trust had given him with no known date of return, and she found herself itching to get out of the small town, explore some of the mountains that she could always see on the town’s outskirts.