by Jamie Magee
Aden peeled out of his spot and turned left on the next street – the one I was just on. The street light was beaming brightly, and there was no sign of Silas or Britain.
“Did he see you?!” Aden yelled as he pressed the gas.
“Yeah, we had a little talk – he knows I’m awake.”
“You told him? You got that close?” Aden asked, seething with anger.
“Close enough,” I mumbled as I stared out the window, wondering who Silas was, and how he knew Britain; how Britain knew he was coming for me.
Chapter Six
Aden sped through roads, not saying another word. I glanced over my shoulder to Monroe; she was leaning forward and holding on to my seat as Aden turned into the curves. I was gonna get her to talk one way or another. I wanted to know how Silas knew her name – was I crazy to think I knew him? I decided to wait until I was alone with her to ask. I had a strange feeling that Aden and Draven unknowingly made her uncomfortable.
Aden turned into my driveway and circled to the back, where the garage was. Once he threw the truck in park, he reached for his cell phone and started texting.
“Who are you talking to?”
“Who do you think?” he said through gritted teeth.
“Do you really think it’s a good idea to tell him about Britain?! This morning didn’t work out too well – you’re antagonizing him.”
“Me?!” he said as his eyes quickly glanced to his side at me, then back to his phone’s screen. “I wasn’t the one that wanted to go to town.”
“Seriously, I’m not a prisoner in this house - or yours, for that matter.”
Aden sighed. “Don’t worry; I sent a group text to Dad, Grayson, Madison, and Draven. They won’t let him do anything crazy.”
“Like they could stop him,” I said shortly as I reached for the handle and charged out of the truck.
My car was parked in my spot. I glanced in the window as I passed by and saw my bag. I halted, then turned around to get it. As I climbed back out of my car, I found Monroe waiting on me.
“Oh yeah,” I mumbled. I was so mad at Aden that I forgot to ask her in. “Come on…you get to meet Kara – fun,” I said with a forced, fake smile. She looked down and waited for me to lead her.
When I opened the back door, the guitar sound was blaring in one of its angry tunes. I shook my head. Looks like everyone’s mad at me.
Kara was walking down the stairs that led to my room. When she saw me with Monroe, a warm smile filled her face.
I looked over my shoulder to see Monroe looking all around – almost as if she were looking for the sound. I raised my eyebrows. “Hear something?”
She looked at me nervously, then down at her feet.
“Monroe, it’s so good to see you,” Kara said as we met her in the entry hall.
“Did Nana call you?”
“Mom did – this morning. Madison helped me get everything ready for Monroe to stay with us.”
“So I guess Nana just asked me to be polite?” I said shortly, knowing it wouldn’t have mattered if I said yes or not.
“Well,” Kara said bleakly as her eyes moved across my face. “She’s the only one you still listen to.”
I glared at Kara. It wasn’t that I listened to Nana more than her or Mom; it was just that I felt Nana was calmer – and never made rash decisions or chose to push an issue she didn’t understand.
“None of you thought to tell me they were here – that Evan was back?”
“Maybe if you came out of your room once in a while, you’d know things. Seriously, mom is thinking of putting a kitchenette up there. She thinks that way, you may eat more – but I told her you’d never come down if that happened.”
“Well, if the company downstairs wasn’t so interested in telling me to run away and never look back, I might. Did you ever stop to think that if I leave with Austin – I may never come back, see you again?” I choked on those last words. I couldn’t believe I actually said that aloud. It was my second fear of leaving; the first was taking my demons to another world – and I’d chance both if it meant saving Draven from whatever he was fighting.
Kara’s eyes glassed over, and she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me. “I just want you to have peace - even if that means I can only see you in my dreams,” she whispered in my ear.
I hugged her back and let an angry tear race down my cheek. “Truce,” I whispered.
“Truce,” Kara said as she let me go. “Have you guys eaten?”
“Yeah,” I mumbled.
“Alright,” Kara said, reaching her arm around Monroe. “Let me show you where you’re staying.”
I followed her and Kara up the stairs, sure that she’d stop at the guest room - but she didn’t; instead, she kept climbing the stairs to my room. I was shaking my head, ready to argue. Madison was already sharing my room with me – even though it was huge, intended to be a living room but changed to my room at my request; I didn’t want to share it with two other girls, especially if there were perfectly good rooms that were empty.
When we reached my room, I saw that it had been invaded. My double bed was gone; now, there were two twin beds on opposite sides of the room. In the center were a black bean bag cushion and two big leather chairs. Across the floor and one of the beds were Madison’s sketch books, and images I couldn’t comprehend were on each of them. Some were of demons that kinda looked like monkies. There were ones with Ankhs on them, and others with eyes. Some were dark and captivating, and others were emerald and mesmerizing, like Madison’s. There was even one that looked very much like Britain’s steel blue eyes.
“What’s going on? Where’s my bed?” I asked, completely confused on how my room could be transformed so much in the course of one day.
“Upstairs,” Kara said, nodding to the short staircase that led to my father’s studio.
“You’re kicking me out of my own room?!” I all but yelled.
“Listen,” Kara said as she turned and put her hands on my shoulders. “This is for your own good. Apparently, what you can do - what your friends can do - has raised some concerns. Mom’s first idea was for you to just move in with Draven, but I told her you needed your space and that you wouldn’t want to be away from us, or…the sound I know you hear here…before you had to be.”
I glanced around at the thin air at the sound of the guitar that was still scolding me. “What do you mean? What concerns?”
Kara let her hands fall from my shoulders. Monroe nervously walked to the bed that didn’t have any sketches on it and sat down. It was clear she was uncomfortable with mine and Kara’s argument.
“I don’t understand them,” Kara said in a calm voice. “But from what I gather, once you see a place or go to a place, you can go back there. Apparently, that’s what Draven is doing now, and they think that the reason you saw the illusion of Draven arguing with you in this room on the night of your accident is because we let Bianca in this house; she was in this room and was able to come back to it.”
“I saw Draven, not her,” I said, looking down.
“Like I said, I don’t understand it,” Kara mumbled. “Ask Madison to explain it. If you wanna stay at Draven’s, that option is on the table.”
“No, I’m staying in my own house.”
“See - I still get you,” Kara said as she tried to smile. “But I’m gonna warn you,” she said as she looked around the room. “If a certain someone says it’s time to go – Mom is gonna make you.”
It was like she didn’t want to mention that my father haunted this house in front of Monroe, but it was clear to me that she already sensed that. “He doesn’t talk,” I said, crossing my arms. “At least not when you’re awake.”
“Mom says he does…maybe you need to stop looking for words and just listen to the emotions of the room…I would think that words are for the living, not the dead.”
“Well, I’m alive and he’s dead, so I guess we have a language barrier.”
Kara’s expression
grew dim. “K…maybe you’re right….maybe mom is. I don’t know; I’m just doing the best I can right now with what I have. Your bed is upstairs…I hung drapes on the window to give you privacy.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled, clearly not caring anymore.
“Let me know if you need anything, Monroe,” Kara said as she glanced at her before going down the stairs.
“I guess I’m gonna check out my new room,” I said blankly as I walked to the stairs that led to the studio.
They had put my bed and a night stand on the left wall. The black leather couch, guitar stand, and amps were still in the same place. In a way, I was surprised I hadn’t thought of this before. When I did sleep, it was usually on that couch with a guitar in my lap.
There was an area rug beneath my bed that matched the new maroon drapes across the window. I liked how it matched my fluffy black bedspread. I walked over to the bed and sat down and pulled my phone out of my bag. I saw the cord for my charger on the night stand and plugged it in. There was no life in my battery, so I had no idea how many texts from Britain were waiting on me.
The sound of the guitar seemed to grow more intense as I impatiently waited for life to creep into my phone.
“You can yell at me with this song all night - I don’t know what you’re mad about. It’s not like I meant to run into him,” I said into the room.
The sound fell silent, and I heard an innocent voice. “You like dead people, don’t you?”
I looked up quickly to see Monroe standing in the doorway to the studio.
“They like me,” I answered, smiling slightly, surprised to finally hear her speak.
In Monroe’s hand was what looked like a rock. It was the size of a football, tan, and had crystals embedded within the surface. I assumed that was in her bag, which meant Aden had brought them in – which also meant he was more than likely in my old room, ‘protecting’ me like he was supposed to. I wondered how mad Draven was and what he was doing now that he knew I had seen Britain again today.
Monroe slowly walked over to the night stand and sat the rock down. I could see now that it had a cord attached to it. I assumed it was some kind of lamp.
“Where did you get that at?” I asked as I admired how unique it was…it almost calmed me to look at it.
She didn’t answer me; instead, she reached to plug the cord in. I expected it to light up or something, but nothing happened.
“I don’t like the bad dead…but the good dead are nice…I guess…still scary,” Monroe said slowly as she knelt down.
“The unknown is always scary,” I mumbled. Something about hearing her voice made me feel sorry for her. She had this hard core Goth image going, one that might scare most people: Black and lace head to toe, piercings, and black lip stick…but when she spoke, her image changed….it was as if innocence was washed over her. I felt privileged to hear her speak; it was as if it was her simple way of telling me that she trusted me.
Her fingertips moved up the cord.
“My mom liked talking to the dead…to my dad.”
“Your dad is gone?” I asked in the kindest voice I could manage as I tilted my head and looked down at her.
She didn’t answer me for a second or two; instead, she sat on the floor beside my bed. “Is anyone ever gone, ever real? Are we not just energy in a different form?”
I raised my eyebrows and slightly smiled. “That’s a new way to look at it.”
Her pale cheeks blushed slightly. “They need energy…to show themselves…if they just appear at will without preparing you for it…it will wipe you out…they will pull all of the energy of the room to them just so our eyes can see them.”
“Now, that’s debatable. I’ve seen my father, Draven’s mother, and countless shadows and never felt wiped out.”
Her dark eyes peered up at me. “Your energy is strong…you have developed a tolerance for the images you see…your father has done this…he is still careful not to overpower you. He comes in your dreams when your body is not strong enough to see him.”
I moved my head from side to side. “Did they tell you to convince me to sleep and eat more?”
Her blank stare told me that she had no idea what I was talking about.
“So…it’s obvious that you can see what we see. Most of us use music as an escape, a way to deal with it…Madison uses art…what’s your escape? Do you play like your brothers?”
An innocent smile came to the corners of her lips. She reached for Draven’s necklace, which was still wrapped around my fingers. I let her have it. I wanted to let her know I was her friend. Once she had it, she reached in the pocket of her hoodie and pulled out a miniature version of the rock she had placed on my night stand, as well as a few small rings. Her long dark hair fell around her as she looked down, and I had a hard time seeing what she was doing with her hands.
A few minutes later, she looked up, smiled slightly, and reached for my hand. I held it out for her, and she hooked a newly made bracelet around my wrist. The cord that held the necklace was wound three times along the leather cord. There was Draven’s pick, the small tan rock she had in her pocket, and a charm. It was an Ankh; I assumed that Madison had gotten the inspiration to sketch Ankhs from Monroe.
“I make jewelry…sometimes, anyway…I like to create new looks.”
“Well…that’s a beautiful escape; almost as beautiful as this,” I said as I pulled my wrist back to myself so I could admire how perfectly this bracelet was put together. I had no idea how she had connected it. There didn’t seem to be a way to take it off. I didn’t intend to anyway, though, so that didn’t bother me. Oddly, I felt safe wearing it…full of energy.
Monroe reached for the cord that led to the rock on my nightstand and turned a switch on. The rock seemed to glow slightly in response to the power that was going to it.
“Do you feel the energy?” she whispered.
I nodded, realizing that I did feel something. It was almost like a hum in the air.
“Now to speak to him,” she said, looking up at me.
The sound of the guitar around us grew a little louder.
I smirked as I smiled. “Dad…feel like showing yourself?”
At that instant, he appeared beside Monroe. He wasn’t as faint has he had been the last few times I’d seen him. There was still a glow about him, but he looked more real. My eyes grew wide with surprise as I looked from him to the rock, then at Monroe. She was rising to her feet. She never acknowledged that my dad was standing there.
“Your sister was right, though…words are for the living…no rock will bring to life that aspect…they commutate on a much higher level…you just have to listen.” She let her eyes fall as she made her way to the door.
Once she was gone, I looked up at my dad. He smiled slightly as he sat down next to me on my bed. I looked down at my wrist and fumbled with the charms that Monroe had placed there.
“Kinda had a bad day…” I whispered.
I felt the energy of my father’s arm go around me, and I leaned into him.
“Is he gonna be OK, dad?” I whispered in a tearful plea as I let my guard down and faced the fear that Draven was either fighting his demons or turning into one.
I felt a calm come over me and somehow held on to the answer of yes.
“I don’t want to hide from Britain…I don’t understand why you were screaming at me with your music…it’s not like I planned running into him…I don’t even think he’s a bad guy.”
I looked up at my father to see him carefully moving his head from side to side as if to tell me that it wasn’t the reason he was mad. “If you were just warning me…that doesn’t make sense either.”
The look in his eyes told me I was still wrong. “I like words…I don’t like one-way conversations.”
A sad smile came to the corners of his lips as he reached for my eyes. I felt the hum of his fingertips gently move across my lashes. He was telling me I had to see his words.
“Trying…” I whispered.
He nodded as if to tell me that I was doing well.
My phone began to vibrate on my nightstand. I half-heartedly glanced at the sound, but when I saw the words ‘fire’, I reached for my phone.
The text was from Britain. It read” “first he breaks my phone, then he sets my house on FIRE.”
My heart began hammering against my chest as a sick feeling ached in my stomach.
“Oh my God – what did he do?!” I yelled. I looked to my side at my dad, sure that this was what he was trying to tell me about. How did I misread his anger this badly?
My father stood, and his eyes locked with mine as he vanished. I pulled the charger loose and ran down the stairs. Monroe was unpacking her bags, and Aden was sitting in one of the big leather chairs, playing on his phone.
“Arson! He committed arson! Are you happy?!” I yelled at Aden as I ran to the wall by him and plugged my phone in.
“What?” Aden said, not bothering to glance up at me.
“That is what Britain just said.”
“You’re talking to him?!” Aden said as he tried to get my phone away from me.
“Stop it! This is my phone – your mess I have to clean up,” I said as I turned my back to him.
Aden started dialing on his phone as I texted “???” to Britain. I figured playing dumb was the best way to do this at first.
Aden stood up and began to pace the floor in-between the beds. “Dad – where’s Draven? He’s not answering,” Aden said into the phone.
Monroe and I stared at him and tried to hear the other side of the call.
“Are you sure?” Aden said in the phone. Evan must have explained something because it took a second before Aden spoke again. “Well, he must have saw him. He told her.”
Aden looked at me and shook his head as he kept his pace. My phone vibrated in my hand, but Aden held his hand out to tell me not to do anything as he answered his dad. “OK, I’ll stay here…yeah…you guys need to hurry, though; I’m tired of getting the heat from her.” Aden hit ‘End’ on the phone and fell into the chair, then stared forward.
I looked down at my phone to see the text on the screen. “Now that we are being honest we need to talk – you’re wrong I’m not dangerous he is and your new friend Silas isn’t any better for your health.”