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Mom refused to tell me any more until we were seated in the plastic covered booths of the 24/7 Diner. She chose the booth in the corner, closest towards the back mirror wall and around the corner from the bar.

Ok we're 10,000 miles away from everybody. Tell me!! Her silence was eating me alive and all she did was tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear, sitting down in the booth acting like everything was normal.

A waitress with a blonde low ponytail looking in her early thirties came up to us with a pad and paper. She snapped her gum. "What would you ladies like?"

"Coffee and water for me please," Mom smiled. "Oh, and can we share some cheesy fries?"

"Of course, honey." the waitress, Lucy, scribbled on her pad before turning to me. "And for you, darlin'?"

"Just a water thanks."

"Be back soon, ladies." She walked away to make our order.

"Mom, you got to tell me. I can't wait any longer," I blurted.

"Just wait until she leaves again. It's not an easy story to tell. I need to figure out how to tell you," Mom offered a grim smile and leaned back as Lucy placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of her.

"You just wave me over if you need anything else, alright ladies?" Lucy finished placing our waters and fries on the table, waiting until we nodded before going off to serve another table.

"She's gone," I prodded, plucking a greasy fry from under the cheesy blanket.

"I know." Mom sighed, "I don't even know where to start." She looked up at the ceiling, taking a deep breath. Tears gathered up in her eyes, shining in the lights from the diner.

"Can I ask one question before you do start?" I asked, now scared of what the answer would be. It wasn't even that she was hesitating to explain to me everything, it was that it was so difficult that she didn't know how. That fact alone made my palms sweat in a panicky anxiousness.

"Sure." She poured some cream and sugar into her coffee, waiting for me as she stirred.

"Do you know who the kidnapper is?"

"Yes." Her voice was clear and she looked straight at me, burning holes into my head. I felt my breath catch and my heart pick up the pace.

"Who?" This felt like a dream. How did my mom know? How could she know? Why did she know? All the questions piled up like bees buzzing around in my head, causing me to miss Mom's answer. "What did you say?"

"Me," She breathed and blinked back the threatening tears. "The kidnapper is me."

"What?!" I shrieked, standing up so suddenly that the whole table shook. My water jumped out of the glass and spilled onto my pants, giving me a harsh wake-up call to snap out of my blind outburst.

"Carter, sit down."

"But, you-" I stuttered. The words couldn't form. Moms couldn't kidnap their own kids, right? That was dumb, Mom wouldn't do that. They already had the kids living under a roof, with food on the table, a husband who supports.

"You wanted to know," Mom started. "Now let me explain my motive."

"But-"

"Carter, sit down and please let me explain. This is going to be extremely hard and I need your full attention. I try to believe that I made the right decision, and you're either going to completely understand or completely hate me by the time I'm finished."

I slowly sat down. Extremely hard? You don't think you dropping the bomb that you've been kidnapping my brothers and sisters wasn't extremely hard????? My throat felt thick with cotton and I swallowed hard to make it go away. "Ok, I'm listening."

My mom cleared her throat. "One by one, I've been kidnapping your brothers and sisters for the reason of protecting you. That night that your father came home drunk, you remember that? How he hit your Granma Jo?"

I nodded numbly, thinking back to that day outside the cafeteria in school when Luke told me his worry about Dad.

"That hasn't been the first time. He's come home like that before, and he's hit both your Granma Jo and me." I felt myself shake my head. "I'm sorry, honey, it's the truth. I wouldn't lie to you about this."

I thought back to that night when Dad hit Granma Jo, and about how he laughed afterwards. After a moment I whispered, "I believe you." I hated myself for it.

Mom gave me a look close to sympathy and continued, "Since I'm the secretary at Smith N' Finance, I know when he does and doesn't work. I know how much money he should be earning compared the amount he was actually making." She took a breath. "Carter, the times when he comes home late from work, lately he hasn't been. I also found that he's been making way more money than has been showing up on his paycheck."
"What does that mean? What's he doing instead?" I asked, almost breathless. My mind was completely blank except for this, the fact that my dad wasn't who I thought he was.

"He's been making deals, selling drugs to other customers. That's why we have such a big home, why you and Luke each have your own cars, and why we always seem to be ahead financially with so many mouths to feed and take care of. Your father began these deals to make sure of this, that we would never have to be stressed out about money." Mom took a sip of her coffee. "But lately, he's been losing more money than he can make. So we find ourselves slowly but surely sinking into debt."

"What? Now we're in debt?"

"Kind of. We have enough money right now, but at the rate we're going, we're going to have to sell your cars or adjust how we live in some way. Your dad," Mom shook her head, "I don't want to say he messed up, but he messed up big time."

"How does this have to do with you kidnapping all of my siblings?"

"Truth be told Carter, I'm scared. Terrified. The men that your dad made those deals with are not forgiving people, they don't care that he has a family, all they care about is the money. One of these days they're going to realize that their money isn't coming in and they're going to come looking for it. I don't want them to hurt you, you're my babies. So, I called Granma Jo-"

"You called Granma Jo?"

"Yes, I needed her help."

"And she agrees with you on this?"

"Fully supports it. Honey, Dad is in so much trouble that Granma Jo not only supports it but is helping me get you guys to safety."

"You mean kidnap us?" I asked and Mom cringed.

"Yes." She finished her coffee and pushed it to the side.

"What about Dad? What's going to happen to him?"

"Once all of you are safe, then Granma Jo and I are going to figure out a way to solve this and help him. But for right now, we don't want to take that risk of getting involved for fear that there might be collateral damage if something goes wrong and you guys might get hurt."

My head spun with everything my mom piled on me. "So, it's you..Granma Jo...is there anyone else involved? Did you kidnap everybody or was there someone else?"

"Well, Luke drove Katie and Sean off, but Aunt Mary was also involved. She picked up Sam after her basketball game and Jack the night you were babysitting."

I groaned. I was right about Aunt Mary. "So Luke knew about this before me?"

Mom nodded. "You're strong and I needed you here with me to keep everyone else safe."

"Then why didn't you tell me? I have a right to know all of this."

"Yes you have a right but knowledge is a weakness."

I rolled my eyes. "Where are they all going?"

Mom smiled a little, just a ghost on her lips but still evident. "The house that you and Gabe found in the woods. It's Grammy and Pop-pop's cabin. You remember it because we went there sometimes in the summer when you were younger."

How ironic.

"What about the man on the porch with the gun? Who was he?"

"Aunt Mary's boyfriend. He's helping us keep everybody safe as well. I bet you gave him quite the scare though, tonight, bringing yourself and the sheriff's son onto the property."

"Why didn't you take everyone at once?"

"I don't want your father to know. If your father knows, then that means information he can give the people he owes and knowl-"

"Yeah, yeah, knowledge is a weakness." I thought more. "The notes! Can you explain those?"

"Also me." Mom clasped her hands in front of her. "Make sure you keep checking your closet for more though, it's a non-obvious way to let you know important things."

"Ok." I let it all sink in, focusing on breathing. It was all too much at once. I knew Mom was just trying to protect all of us, that was clear. All she ever did was protect us because of how much she loves us. I just didn't want to believe this was me, I wanted to pretend that I could wake up. I'd be in a cold sweat and shaking when I woke up but at least I wouldn't have to live in this nightmare. It was too unreal and too unexpected. Of course I trusted Mom, all the pieces fit together and made sense with the story she told.

"Honey, I'm so sorry." Mom slid out of the booth and into mine, enveloping me in a crushing hug. "I didn't know of any other way."

"What about the police? Can't they take care of it?" I could feel myself trembling with fear, shock, the crushing reality of this huge secret.

"They're drug dealers. They live illegally and if we called the cops, I can only imagine how much worse it could get." She rocked me back and forth murmuring, "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. I understand," I muttered. There was a limited amount of options for Mom to chose in order to protect her kids because of the situation my dad put himself, and his family, in.

"I'm so glad you do," Mom sniffed, hugging me harder.

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The ride back home was silent except for my occasional question. It was hard to see past tonight, to see how I was going to live with this. It was a secret that affected the relationships I had with my dad, my mom, Granma Jo, and all my siblings.

When we pulled into the driveway, Mom took out the keys and just sat for a moment. "I'm really proud of you for being so brave. This isn't easy by any means and I know you're probably angry. At me, Dad, or whoever, but this is the reality of the situation and I need your help. Are you willing to help me?"

Yes, I'm mad at Dad, at the guys he made the deals with, at everybody right now. I just wish I could wake up as somebody else and pretend that I didn't have to live in this mess of a life. But this is my life and I'm going to do whatever it takes to keep my brothers and sisters safe. Whatever it takes. "Yes, whatever it takes."

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hey!! thanks for reading! and for those who are a little confused.... I changed the Mom and Dad's company name from TrustFund to Smith N' Finance. 

what'd you think of the big reveal??

<3 <3

- Scarlett Wilson