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| The jagged edge of the bed approached with tremendous speed. "YEEEEOUCH! I cried out, immediately gripping the tip of my foot that had collided with the bed. I was still so clumsy, getting used to maneuvering around in my own home. But maybe it was because I was so damn distracted all the time. Dwayne, Aaron's uncle, needed a place to stay, and of course I had good-naturedly offered that he could board in the small room that was built apart from the house. Being the perfect hostess was a hard task, but I doubt that could be the cause. Something seemed... off...about Aaron's uncle. There's just something there that troubled me, and that was enough to disconnect my brain from my limbs, causing my incredible clumsiness. |
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| Stomping around the room like a madman, still clutching my sore toe and still crying out hopelessly, I gained the attention of Jemma, who only looked on with curiosity and surprise. Her teeth clenched together, growls erupting from between her jaws. Her eyes were fixated on the window, or to be more exact, what was outside if the window. "Nice to see you're still happy and alive," the shadow that fell across the room's floor commented, waving chirpily, without a care in the world that I just injured myself. That meant one thing: Bridget. "What do you want now?" I whimpered, plopping down on the bed's covers, taking sweet Jemma into my arms. Her prickly tongue played over my fingers. I couldn't help but smile at her, even while in a bad mood. "What I want at this very moment would be for you to open this window and let me through," Bridget ordered, tapping her foot against the concrete. "Why not use the front door?" She simply smirked. "Front doors are overrated." Grudgingly, I went and swung the window wide open. Bridget came in immediately, but decided not to climb; instead, she somersaulted into the room like a gymnast. "You should know that Aaron is the acrobat in our rag-tag group of friends. You're the magician. Since when are you doing gymnastics?" I grumbled, ignoring her showing-off antics, and walked towards the bookcase. I hadn't had the chance to even see what Aaron had stuffed into it, so I was curious, but also... I really didn't want to speak with Bridget at that very moment. |
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| "So you haven't called in forever, and you haven't even remarked on my hair color.... Something is definitely wrong with you," Bridget spared a moment to scratch Jemma behind her ear, before deciding to lean back against the wall, arms in front of her. I sighed, my hand lingering on a book. "I haven't had time to call, Bridget. I'm playing the perfect girlfriend for Aaron's uncle 24/7, so I had to push aside my social life. I don't even wanna know how many messages Janelle left... The phone's been buzzing for hours." Bridget coughed, shifting her weight from one leg to the other. "Those calls might not be from Janelle alone. Mom has been trying to reach you. Dad as well. That's actually the reason why I'm here. You know I don't like talking to them so... Go call mom. Please. I'm begging you. Make them stop bugging me before I kill myself." "Fine," I groaned, rolling my eyes yet again. "I'll call and tell them to stop antagonizing you. That alright?" "YES!" she grinned, jumping into the air ever few seconds. Giving Jemma one last pat on the nose, she climbed through the window, escaping over the railings and onto the ground. She was crazy, that much was obvious. |
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| As soon as I heard Bridget's running footsteps disappear off the yard, I sneaked out of the room, taking the stairs one at a time. Aaron wasn't around, and neither was his uncle. Perfect. I whipped out my new phone, not even bothering to check the messages. There were hundreds, probably all meaningless. My finger scrolled down the contact list, and stopped at the one I was searching. Home. I always labelled my mother and father's number as "home", because that was the one place I felt truly safe. Still, I stood there for minutes, deliberating whether or not I should press the call button. Face my mother's worried voice and my father's angry words, or face Bridget's wrath when she finds out I didn't call them? I pressed the call button immediately. |
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| My mom picked up the phone within the second ring. "Kaylin? Sweetheart, is that you?! We've been so worried! Your father has been on edge all week, wondering if he should drive over there... I finally convinced him not to, but you know how he is. Still grumbling to himself..." "Whoa, mom, slow down," I chuckled to myself, imagining her worried face in front of me, and my father's restless behavior. Gosh, I missed them so much. Especially Keegan, who hasn't had the decency to pick up his phone. Of course, he and his wife reside in Ireland for the time being, visiting her family. "I'm fine, thanks for asking. I've just been silent for a while, trying to show Aaron's uncle I'm perfect for him." "Honey, you're perfect already! You don't have to change anything about the way you act. Just be yourself and chill." |
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| The embarrassing night when I first met his uncle flashed before my eyes, and I cringed at the memory. To be honest, that was the reason I was trying really hard to impress him. We hadn't met in the best of circumstances. "Funny thing...," I mused, remembering the words he had spoken to me that night. "He knew me, in some way. He knew you too, and the fact that I looked just like daddy..." "Really?" my mom's attention perked. "Do you know I would know him? What's his name?" "Um... Lemme think. His full name is Dwayne Lewis, he's a businessman an-" "THAT BASTARD!" my mom screeched like an animal. I held the phone a few good inches away from me, afraid that she might yell again. I was right. "What the hell does he think he's doing, coming back and interfering with my children's life. Hasn't he done enough? Haven't we all suffered enough?" "Des? What happened? Did Aaron do something to Kay? Speak to me, dammit!" I heard my father's voice softly in the background. From what I could figure, my mom was in shock. |
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| "Mom? You're not making any sense. Could you please tell me why you just freaked out?" I asked, sounding like a dumb five-year-old. It took a while before my mom regained her normal voice, or any voice at all. Deep breaths sounded in the phone. "Kaylin, that man is dangerous. His entire family is, to be exact." "MOM! That still doesn't explain to me how you know him. Please, explain it, or I will drive all the way over there and force it out of you two." "Listen...," In that one ominous word, I knew that this tale did not have a happy ending, and that I definitely should focus all my attention on this explanation. "Dwayne and I met after I broke up with my boyfriend Chad. We ended up dating for a long time. He even bought me a dog. While we were dating, he told me about his life in Bridgeport, about his family... Most of them were vampires. Of course, I accepted that, because I loved him. But then, I met his mother, and she almost killed me. Dwayne left me with the promise that he'll fix his family, and that he'll come back to me. The thing was, I couldn't wait for him. I couldn't love someone that put me in danger. All I had was a promise, and I wasn't going to be pathetic like those characters in the stories that believed in that promise. I didn't want supernatural elements in my life... Then I met your father, and everything became perfect. I found my soul mate. So in a sense, I should thank Dwayne, but I can't, because he came back and said we could get back together. He was gone for years, and he just expected I was going to take him back! I had you with me that day, when he and I met again, and the sight of all of it sent him over the edge. He bothered us for quite a while, but luckily... It's all in the past. We moved on, and we're happy. But he wasn't, I guess." |
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| My feet were disconnected from the rest of my body, and aimlessly moved me towards the window. My mother's words rang in my ears. He was dangerous. But did that really mean he still is? Couldn't he have changed? He looked so kind. "So what do I have to do know?" I whispered into the phone, my eyes focused on Aaron standing outside. "Do you know where he is?" my father asked, his voice muffled. "He's outside with Aaron. I'm looking at them right now." "What does he look like now?" my mother wondered, her hand audibly clutching at the phone. "Muscled, that much I can tell. Teal eyes, straight nose, gray suit. And brown hair with lots of gray patches." "That's because he ages...," mom whispered with sadness, and I frowned. Everyone aged. What the hell was she talking about? "Yeah, mom, I guess he doesn't age as gracefully as you and dad. Do you even have gray hair on your head? Or wrinkles for that matter? I thought everyone's skin become really droopy. And aging spots, lots of those." "Um." The word hung in the air. My mom didn't know what to say. Since when did my mother become speechless? "We'll tell you about that in due time," my father answered after a while. "For the time being, do your best to not interact with Dwayne. I don't want to lose you, especially not to that jackass." Click. My dad ended the conversation without so much as a "goodbye" or a "we love you". It was enough to make me cry, almost. Almost. But I kept myself together. I had to. For almost two months, I was able to interact with Dwayne in a detached way, not allowing myself to get close to him at all. Aaron noticed, I could tell, but didn't say anything about. The day his uncle left for his own apartment, I heaved a relieved sigh. Now things can go on as usual. Normal. Just how I like it. ~*~ |
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| "Are you sure you want to do that? It's a lot more complicated than it looks, Aaron..." "I'll be fine," Aaron assured me, toying around with the knife in his hand. Not a good idea. It accidentally slipped out of his grip and unto the floor. "On second thought... Maybe this was a bad idea." There were many reasons I loved Aaron, and this was definitely one of them. He was sweet and caring, actually offering to cook us lunch. Of course, Aaron couldn't cook to safe his life, but it's the though that counted, right? I couldn't look as Aaron was cooking, so I stared at the door, hoping someone would ring the bell. Watching how Aaron cut the vegetables, threw to much sauce over it... It turned my stomach in a bad way. |
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| I knew something bad would happen, and it did. "Kaylin... Where do we keep the bandages in the house?" I raised an eyebrow, peeking over to where he was standing. "Um, in the top cupboard. I think there are still a few left in the package... Why?" "'Cause I just cut my finger open... and it's bleeding." "Obviously it's going to bleed when you cut it!" I groaned, getting up from my chair and rushing towards him. Tenderly, I took his finger and forced it under the tap, letting the water run over it and wash the blood away. "We should add some disinfectant before bandaging it, perhaps..." "Kay-Kay, I'm fine, seriously. No need to go all supermom on me," Aaron laughed, pulling away his hand and applying the bandage himself. As if nothing happened, Aaron pecked me on the cheek, and continued slicing up some peppers. "You know, you'd make a great mother, when you finally let the little ones live their own life." That comment caught me by surprise. Kids. Kids. Could I be a mom? Could I be as great as my own mother? Definitely not. Maybe I had to face the truth - I wasn't ready to ever having kids, and even talking about it made me anxious. Aaron wanted kids, that much was clear, and I didn't want to break his heart. "Eh heh... Perhaps one day, when we're married and live in a much bigger house?" I laughed awkwardly, quickly moving back to my seat at the table. |
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| As soon as I took my seat, Aaron finished up with the salad and brought over two plates, gingerly placing them on the table. "Bon appétit, madame. There's a lot of love in that dish, so hopefully it will taste good." "Not to mention a little bit of blood," I joked, picking up my fork and playing with the leaves on the side. Salad wasn't my favorite thing in the world, and I hardly ate vegetables when I had a choice. But to satisfy Aaron, I readied myself, jagging my fork into a tomato. I could only stare at it. "Aren't you gonna eat it?" Aaron frowned. "No, I'm going to, don't worry!" I struggled to fake a smile. "I'm just observing whether or not it's gone bad." My smile disappeared, and I gulped down the piece of food. I instantly regretted it. It tasted awful. Bad, horrible, putrid, whatever synonym works. "It's um, it tastes great, Aaron. Maybe you should become a chef or something...," I laughed around the food lodged in my throat. |
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| "Oh, really? It's that good? I thought I did something wrong..." Aaron's frown never wavered, and I could see him eyeing the salad with a doubtful look on his face. "Well, I'm glad it worked out, because I actually had a hidden motive when cooking. I wanted a calm mood in the room when I had the courage to tell you... I want to go see Charlie." His words gave me enough reason to spit out the food I was munching at. "What?" I splattered. "I thought you never wanted to see him again?" "Not really. He's my best friend, Kay, and he'll always be. I will always have hope that he'll become healthy again... I think it might help if I go to him. Would you come along?" "Sure, sure," I mumbled, looking at the creases in my dress. I never told Aaron about the meeting I had with Charlie, and I wasn't planning on telling him about it, now. Turning my eyes back to my plate, something in my stomach turned as I looked at the half-wilted leaves in front of me. |
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| There wasn't time to explain. I jumped up and ran for the stairs, hoping that I'd make it to the bathroom. "Where are you going?! What's wrong?!" Aaron yelled, running after me. Within a few seconds, he could hear exactly just what was wrong. "You're salad was horrible. Don't ever cook for us again, you hear me?" I croaked as soon as I got my voice back, and I was sure my entire mouth was clean. "I knew you were lying... I knew it," Aaron smirked to himself. "I failed my Consumer Studies tests when I was still at school, and the teacher always commented that I wouldn't even be able to make toast." |
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| A bad aftertaste from the salad lingered in my mouth, by I ignored it as best as I could as I drove Aaron to the prison. Instead of meeting with Charlie in a cell, they directed us outside, where Charlie hung out. The funny thing was... He was wearing normal clothes. And he looked so much better. Healthy. I immediately took a seat at the picnic table, leaving them to sit on a bench. They deserved some private time to talk. "Some guards said my mental state is really improving, that I have to be one of their best behaved prisoners yet. The state is considering to put me in for transfer to a friendlier place, a rehabilitation unit. I'll still have to live out my sentence, of course, but I'll have a positive influence all around me," Charlie bubbled excitedly, his eyes literally shining. "That's really good Charlie," Aaron smiled at his best friend. "I'm... I'm really happy that you're getting better, after all that has happened. Have they figured out what was wrong with you yet?" They grew silent behind me, and I could feel Charlie's eyes boring in the back of my head. He must've figured out that I hadn't told Aaron about that day... "They don't have a clue," Charlie ended up laughing. "It must be something that runs in the family. My dad also went crazy, so I guess it's my turn now, huh?" |
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| Runs in the family. It was bizarre how cool and detached Charlie could sound, talking about his family like that. Shaking my head, I cast my eyes over the road, only to notice a blond exiting the building. Sure, it was just another visitor that exited... But something seemed off. I had this uncanny sense lately to know when someone is hiding some deep, something dark. Though I did not see her face, I knew she had a secret, a secret that was hidden inside this prison facility. "Hey, Charlie, do you know who that is?" I asked, pointing to the blonde woman. "That? Oh, that's my sister, Jenna. She came to visit a few hours ago, and was handling my transfer papers." Hearing the name "Jenna" instantly reminded me of my dog back at home, but something made me look past that, made me remember what I had read about Charlie's family... "Charlie...," I frowned, turning my head towards the two guys. "Your sister is deceased. I read that online." Instead of the retort I was expecting, Charlie only remained silent, looking dumbstruck. Something was wrong, seriously wrong. "Show me your arms," I commanded him. He stuck them out without much resistance. I pulled his arms closer to me, and tried to find what I was looking for. It took a while, but my eyes finally landed on it. A fresh wound, with a little bit of blood still oozing from it. A needle's prick. "You've been drugged!" I yelped out, taking a step backwards. "You think that chick who just exited the building did it?" Aaron asked, standing beside me. He didn't even question how I knew he had been drugged. "I don't think; I know. I'm going after her. You stay here with Charlie." |
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| And with that command, I ran. |
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| I had suspected she would have been long gone, having escaped in a getaway car or something. But she didn't. Motionlessly, she stood there, doing nothing. Though I couldn't see her face, I had an odd feeling that she was smiling. "Hey! You there!" I called out to her. "Turn your little booty around and face me. Tell me what you did to my friend Charlie." |
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| She turned around, much to my surprise. Her face stunned me. This "Jenna" couldn't be Charlie's sister - she didn't look anything like him. But the thing that stood out most was the scar across her nose. "I don't know what you're talking about," she shrugged, avoiding my eyes. "I was just here visiting someone. It's a free country, I can do what I want." "But what you can't do is drug my friend and make him think your his dead sister!" "That's just the thing," she grumbled. "I'm not dead. I AM his sister." "And how would that be possible? Every article I read suggested you were killed!" I almost yelled at her. "People judged too quickly. I died, exactly four times, but I was revived five times. Some idiot went and declared me dead while I was obviously alive." |
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| "Fine. So you're his sister. That still doesn't give you the right to drug him!" "I drugged him to protect him from people like you! He doesn't need a slut like you, he needs someone like me," she screeched, pointing a long, manicured finger at me. It finally clicked in my head that Jenna... She was in love with her own brother. "You love him? You love him so much you'd hurt anyone else that wants to get close to him? But that doesn't make any sense. Wait... You made him act out and attack people? You shaped him into 'The Raven'?!" |
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| For a moment, Jenna grew quiet, looking at the sky. "You're a lot smarter than you look... I do love him. Since I was five, I knew he and I had to be together, even though we were siblings. When I was adopted into a household, away from him, I was heartbroken, but I planned a way, a way for us to come together again. When I found him, he was sponging off of that idiot Aaron. So I formulated the plan to take out all the famous and talented people in Starlight Shores, so his own talent could shine and he'd be famous. Of course, I couldn't get close to those people, but Charlie could... I took control of his mind through the use of drugs and hypnotism. That's how 'The Raven' came to life. 'The bird of death', in other words." She finally snapped out of her mesmerized state. "You're good. Getting me to confess like that." "You're insane!" I spat at her. "I'm not insane...," she grumbled, her eyes turning to slits. Her feet were inching closer to me, that much I could notice. She was going to attack me, silence me here so the truth won't escape. I couldn't move. |
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| "Nu uh, you don't get to beat up my best friend," out of nowhere, Janelle appeared and grabbed Jenna by her hair, throwing her onto the tiles. The entire scenario reminded me of the day Charlie went crazy and when Aaron pulled the exact same stunt. "Damn. That bitch is crazy," Janelle grinned, standing over the now unconscious Jenna. "How did you know where I was?" I tried to keep the shock out of my voice as best as I could, and hid it by fumbling with the locks of hair hanging over my shoulder. "I didn't know where you were, but I knew where she was. After you told me about Charlie's family that one time, I did some digging of my own, and found out all about her. I pretty much ended up stalking her, but that turned out well. Now, we gotta get Charlie out of jail and throw this piece of trash in there instead. Then, I'll explain everything a bit better, alright?" My best friend pulled me in for a hug, and I gratefully returned it. I was so lucky to have her in my life. ~♥~ So... This post was pretty long? I would have put an author's note at the top, but I didn't want to mess with how the post looked in general. I'm sorry if a lot of the post seemed jumbled and a bit messed up, but I've hardly had time to play the game, seeing as I have to start studying for the exams that start next week, and I still have a History project that needs finishing. Anywho, thanks for reading, and have a great day! :) |
