Chapter 5: 5. Natasha: Taking to the Road

The family piled into their small kitchen and waited for their dad to tell them what was going on. Natasha leaned against the counter and watched him fill the kettle with water.

“Come on dad, what’s up?” Aiden asked with an annoyed huff.

“Let me get the kettle on first,” Stephen said, raising a stern hand.

Their father always needed a scorching cup of tea before tackling any big tasks. He’d have one when he was about to get into a tough meeting, or next to him as he fixed up part of the house. Natasha was intent on getting a nap and shuffled her feet, too impatient to wait out this ritual. Damon was also frustrated and she could tell he was at the end of the rope. The room was tense and silent except for the soft clinking of Stephen busying himself. Natasha was the first to speak up, breaking the stifling quiet.

“So?” She urged.

Their dad set the kettle down on the heater and faced his kids, exhaling loudly. “Okay. So your mother and I have been planning this surprise for a while.”

He paused.

“Uh-huh, and?” Damon gave Stephen a hard look.

“We’re going skiing out at Jasper for a week!” Stephen opened his arms wide in an attempt at a ‘tadaaaa’ though his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Damon’s fist unclenched slightly and Aiden was taken aback, shaking his head in disbelief. Natasha cocked hers, the Sinclair’s had never even travelled off the island, their parents always coming up with reasons why they wouldn’t. The statement was actually a surprise and the kids were all shocked into more silence.

“Really?” Damon asked, excitement rising in his voice. “Like, the Jasper in Alberta—Jasper?”

“What other Jasper is there worth going to?” Stephen asked, grasping at Damon’s excitement. “Your mom has to work but we’re going to have a great time.”

That’s strange. Family trips had always been with everyone together; their mom never wanted us to go off alone. She’d almost lost it when Natasha had first asked to go over to a friend’s house as a kid. They ate as a family, shopped as a family and of course travelled as one too. People said she was over protective and of course, Natasha agreed. This was unlike her. It could be she could finally be letting the reins loosen a little, but there was that little part of Natasha that had bells ringing.

“We still have school,” Aiden said, crossing his arms. “We’ve got exams coming up.”

He didn’t look impressed, this trip may impede on his grades.

“I talked to your principal. It’s fine.” Dad crossed his arms as well, getting impatient with all the questions. “Come on, we’re going to have fun.”

With that final statement, the kettle clicked off and dad turned to prepare his Earl Grey. Natasha shivered feeling off about that conversation, and realized it wasn’t just her, that the house was cold; like the heaters had been turned off. Tucker nuzzled the back of her leg. She reached down and scratched behind his ears as she murmured ‘good boy’ to him. He was also shaking. Nothing about that conversation quelled Natasha’s worries and somehow Tucker could tell. This sudden change in her parents was unsettling.

“We’re leaving on the three o’clock ferry.” Their dad picked up his mug and headed to the stairs. “Pack up quick! We don’t want to miss it. Remember your layers, it’s going to be cold.”

“I can’t believe this,” Aiden said, getting up from his chair.

“Maybe mom and dad are just being normal for once,” Damon said with a shrug. “My friends get pulled out of school all the time.”

“Not this us, we’re never normal,” Aiden said. “Mom can barely handle letting us go out of town, let alone off island, you know that.”

“Just—let’s see what happens okay?” Natasha said, shaking her head.

They looked at her then nodded in unison. The twins headed up to their room and I waited and watched dad taking small sips from his cup. Steam slightly fogged his glasses which he didn’t seem to mind since he had his eyes closed in concentration.

“Dad?” Natasha called out quietly.

“Hm?”

“Why—” She started but decided to try a different direction. “I mean I’m excited and all for the trip, but why so sudden?”

He took another sip and paused before answering. “Because—” he sighed. “I really don’t know why now, Sasha, really I’m sorry.”

‘That wasn’t the reaction I was expecting.’ Natasha watched him walk off upstairs then heard the master suite door snap shut.

She was left there in groggy shock as her mind ran off without her. There shouldn’t have been a reason to apologize. What did he mean by that? Was there a deeper meaning behind it that she couldn’t clock? Natasha checked the time and sighed; there was no time for a nap. With her shoulders slumped she also made her way to her bedroom, shutting the door behind her after Tucker followed in.

Natasha dug through her closet and grabbed an old duffle bag after throwing her backpack onto her bed. She placed her duffle next to it on her bed then stared out the window pensively. Tucker jumped onto her bed and curled up to watch her. She’d nearly forgotten about that morning and seeing the backyard brought the shadow back to mind. Her eyebrows furrowed. From just beyond her door she heard Damon and Aiden arguing. The whole situation didn’t sit right; too many coincidences in one day, and it was barely afternoon. Even her brother’s had been talking about something happening; then there was that guy, Benjamin. The glass nearest to Natasha began to fog up as her breathing began to get unsteady.

Tucker giving a small whine brought her out of her thoughts. She gave him a small smile. He huffed at Natasha like I’d done wrong by him. She shrugged at him, shaking her head. At that point there was no more thinking to be done; only doing.

Natasha unzipped the duffle bag and dumped some old moth eaten clothes out. Tucker rolled around in them, wiggling himself on his back in their dusty smell, making a low growling sound. SHe shook the bag out thoroughly and brought it to my dresser and began to pack. Mostly jeans, long sleeve Ts, undies were shoved in though Natasha paused and then chose to add a knitted sweater.

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After making sure she had about a week’s worth of clothes she grabbed a make-up bag and took out ALL the unused items. With that she went to the bathroom and filled it with toiletries—toothbrush, floss, and toothpaste. The rest of the house seemed dead, the twins having gone quiet. Natasha checked the bathroom thermostat; It had been turned off. The same was for the hallway. It made sense since they were leaving.

After getting back in her room she stared at herself in the mirror then adjusted her hair as several strands were sticking out of place. She looked over her face, stopping at her tired amber eyes for a few seconds. Leaning in she inspected them further. Bright flecks streaked across her iris like embers from a campfire. That movement spooked her and she pulled away with fright.

With nothing else to do Natasha sat on her bed and rubbed Tuck’s belly as she ran through what else if anything she needed. There wasn’t much. The winter sun shone into the room and the slow moving light patch landed on her back. She basked in the welcome warmth and spread out on her bed enjoying the sun for a long, quiet ten minutes before it completely passed by. She was brought out of her reverie by a light tap on her door.

“Yeah?” Natasha called.

Stephen walked in. His eyes were dark with his brows tightly knit above them. His hair was disheveled from running his hands through it too many times. The teacup was hanging at his side in his limp hand. The corners of his mouth twitched with a weak attempt at a smile.

“You got everything ready, then?” He asked. “We should leave soon.”

“Okay.” She gave Tuck a final pat on his side and he jumped off the bedside. “Just give me a sec?”

“Yeah, sure.” He reached up to his head and once again carded his fingers through his hair.

Tucker followed her dad out. Natasha decided the last thing she was going to bring was an old necklace her mom had given to her for my twelfth birthday. It was the only jewelry Natasha owned, other than a few pairs of stud earrings she wore once in a while. She opened my bedside table and pulled out the fancy chain, which had always reminded me of a tiny coiled snake. A black glass-like shard of stone hung off it catching the sunlight with bright sparks of orange and red as if there was a fire burning within it. She pulled it over my head and tucked it under her shirt.

Grabbing her toiletries she stuffed it in her bag then headed out with it. Before she reached her door she saw the dream journal lying on the floor. Natasha retrieved it and tucked it under her arm. After dropping everything at the door she tucked the book into the bag then waited. With a long sigh she slid down into a crouched position. With her eyes half closed she was close to falling asleep when Aiden rounded the corner from the stairs and walked over. He placed his bag by Natasha’s.

“Don’t know about you but I don’t like this.” He stooped down to check his bag’s contents. “What about mom?”

“Her and dad always fight about how protective she is,” Natasha said with a shake of her head. “Maybe she’s finally loosening up?”

Aiden thought about it for a while. Natasha wanted to be excited about going skiing. The family had been several times before on Mt Washington which was a couple hours north of Nanaimo, of course still on the island, but the kids had always wanted to go to Whistler or Jasper. Those were the world renowned skiing resorts in the west.

“Yeah, she’s not really good at it,” he mumbled. “I’m just—I can’t shake the feeling…”

“She’s fine, I’m sure of it.” Natasha assured trying to convince herself of it.

Natasha’s phone buzzed and she jumped, having forgotten that it was there. She pulled it out and checked who’d messaged. It was Derby.

She’d asked ‘Whats up?’

Natasha wasn’t quite sure how to say it and after some waffling she simply wrote ‘Going skiing in Jasper apparently? Dad thought it was a good surprise… leaving today.’

It took Derby a second to reply, ‘Yeah? awesome! Have fun k.’ Then quickly added ‘C u when u get back ♥️.’

Derby’s excitement made Natasha feel a bit better about all of this. Maybe it was normal for parents to surprise their kids like this. ‘Yeah, will doooo~ See you when we get back ♥️’

She was about to lock her phone when she got an idea. Natasha pulled up the chat from her mom. The last thing she had said was a few days before when she had gone to Derby’s and had forgotten to tell her. She had been wondering where Natasha was.

Natasha hesitated a moment before typing in ‘Everything ok? Where are you?’

She hit send. Aiden looked over at me from his bag. Damon walked down the stairs loaded with his bags and a camera. He unloaded his things next to the others and sat on the floor fiddling with his Go Pro. Thirty minutes passed before dad made his way to the front door; there was still no answer from Alicia. She was usually good at answering within ten minutes but Natasha figured she must be busy at work. Maybe that’s why she was going to meet up with them later. That had to be it. I looked over to Aiden who was playing with the strap on his bag.

Stephen checked his watch. “I guess now’s a good a time as any to go. Nothing wrong with being a little early.”

Natasha gave one last peek at his phone before replacing it back in her pants pocket. With a grunt she got up and grabbed her entirely unused winter jacket from the hall closet and tucked it under her arm. It smelled of must from disuse. Aiden stood up and shouldered his bags. Tucker who’d appeared without her noticing nudged my hand, reminding Natasha of his presence.

“What about Tucker?” she asked, patting his head.

“Your mom will be back tonight,” Stephen said. “Don’t worry about him.”

Natasha bent over to pet Tuck’s scratch behind his ears. He whined and let his tail droop between his legs. It didn’t feel right leaving him behind. The dog had always been at her side wherever the family went.

“We can’t take him.” Stephen reiterated as he opened the door. “The car’s too full. Don’t worry mom’ll be home in a couple hours.”

The man loved that dog and leaving him behind for more than a day would tear him apart. Natasha repeated that in her head to assure herself. Tucker was a part of this family just as much as any of the kids. Her heart sank a little knowing he’d be anxious being home alone. But her mom would be back to fetch him, it was only going be a few hours.

“He’s gonna be fine, Sash.” Damon rolled his eyes.

She sighed. If they were all insisting, then it must be fine. Natasha took her hand off the dog and raised it, palm out.

“Sit.”

Tucker listened, though his butt never touched the ground. He slid his paws forward on the laminate floor and lay down. Tuck knew what was happening and his eyes flicked from Natasha’s face to the door. Stephen and Damon made their way through the door. Aiden gripped my shoulder.

“Come on, Sasha.” He squeezed a little.

“Mhm, coming,” Natasha said as she stepped back and turned out the door, closing it behind her. “He looks so sad.”

Their dad popped the trunk open and they all stuffed their bags inside; which was already packed with blankets and other survival bags. He left the kids to pick their seats and went to lock the front door.

“Shotgun!” Aiden called.

“Rules, Aiden.” Natasha chided, climbing into the front seat, ignoring his call. “Oldest always gets shotgun.”

He sighed as he climbed into the back. “That’s your rule.”

“House rules.”

Damon took his seat without a word, pulled out his camera and readied it on the window to record the trip. Their dad hopped into the driver seat and made sure everyone was settled. None of them seemed to be ready or eager for this trip. Stephen started the car and backed out onto the street. We turned out and were on our way to the ferry terminal.

“Where are we going to be staying in Jasper?” Natasha asked casually.

“Oh, one of the resorts out there,” Stephen replied. “Your mom took care of everything so most of it is a surprise for me too.”

“That’s exciting.” Natasha looked out the windshield to the clear highway in front of them.