Entrelacen

by Morales, Dani

  Brian was the eye of the storm in the hurricane known as my life. He was the solace I craved. Just being around him made everything else seem to disappear. Everything finally seemed to be falling into place. I had a great set of loyal friends; I even went out and partied sometimes. So why did it feel like something bad was about to happen? Just as that thought passed through my mind, the phone rang. It was my father. He was asking my mom for a speedy divorce; he said it was urgent. Being the nosy person that I’m, I wanted to know why. I mean who wouldn’t, right?

  “Mom, why does he need to divorce you all of a sudden?”

  “Well apparently the girl he’s with lied to him.”

  “Okay... so?”

  I was seventeen at the time, and I still didn’t comprehend why he needed to rush into a divorce. I must’ve had this confused look on my face because my mom sighed, told me to sit down, and she would explain.

  “Well, she’s not nineteen like she said she was.”

  “Okay, so is she younger or older?” The whole time I was hoping she was older. Talk about wishful thinking.

  “No April. She’s not older. She’s younger.”

  Wow! I freaked out. I mean my dad should be smart enough to realize eighteen is the legal age for consensual sex. Hell, his youngest daughter was seventeen. How the fuck old could this chick be? Then my mind started to comprehend everything. Oh my god, my dad needed to get a speedy divorce so he could marry her to avoid being charged with statutory rape.

  “She’s sixteen April.”

  Eww! How the hell could a girl younger than me be attracted to my dad? He was a major drug addict and drug dealer, who didn’t even keep up his appearance. He had long hair and a long beard. Gross! Then it made sense; she must have been into drugs too. That was the only explanation, right? Then my second thought was that I needed to warn this girl. She couldn’t know what she was getting herself into. I did just that, but to no avail because she didn’t care what kind of person he was. I knew my dad had finally met his match. It was actually scary how much like him she was.

  They got married a few days after of the big reveal, and guess what? I had a beautiful baby brother a few months later. I stole him every chance I got. They didn’t know what they’re doing, and it frustrated me that they were subjecting this perfect baby to this horrible life they had. How can you have a child when you’re still a child? My dad should have known better. He hadn’t even taken care of his oldest children. How could he possibly do things any better this time around? It wasn’t too bad though because that baby had a sister who would do anything for him. Matthew was spoiled rotten! I bought him so many clothes and toys that he would be set until he was two.

  I got to my house with Matthew one day after taking him out to play and was shocked to see my dad’s car in the driveway. What the hell was he doing here? I unloaded everything and walked inside.

  “Hey Dad, Tiffany. What are y’all doing here?”

  “We have some news.”

  Chapter 8

  Logan The best part about having a best friend is that you have someone to talk to when things are going bad. You have someone there to help you fight your demons. What happens when your best friend moves away? Phone calls, emails, and texts don’t make the separation easier. If anything, it makes it harder. It had been two days since Deandra left, and I could already feel myself reverting back to my old ways. We had been talking nonstop since she left. She even tried to me to go hang out with our group, but I declined both times they asked me.

  I was lying on my bed staring at the black celling above me one night, and I got this odd sense of déjà vu. It was the weirdest thing. It felt like a memory was trying to release itself, but I fought it. I felt fear for the first time since I was thirteen years old.

  I felt electricity charging the air around me, like when you go touch that ball at a science museum, and the electricity chases any part of your skin that touches it. There was something different in this situation. It was

  everywhere; the prickly sensation was running all over my entire body, and my muscles began to tense like they were gearing up for a fight. What the hellwas goingon?

  I tried to lift my head off the bed, and I couldn’t move. This charged field was holding me down; I was immobile. As quickly as it came, the sensation

  disappeared. I got up to look around the room, waiting for someone to jump out and scare me. Nothing. Absolutely nothing in the house was making a sound except my rapid breathing and my heartbeat. I made my way to the window in my room and opened it to let some air in. What I saw creeped me out and stopped me in my tracks. Standing in front of my house was a man dressed in all black. His face was partially covered. Only his dark eyes were visible as he stared at me.

  My eyes connected with his, showing him that I wasn't scared even though I was actually terrified. We both stared each other down until I heard him speaking, but his mouth wasn't even moving. His voice was clearly being projected into my mind.

  “We’re coming for you Logan. You belong to us.”

  “I belong to no one. Who are you?”

  “Whowe’reisn’t important right now. Allyou needtoknow isthat in a yearyou willbe right where you are supposed tobe.Your destiny iswritten; your fate has been sealed.”

  “I write my own destiny.”

  “Stupid boy. You will see. It’sonly beginning. That rage you try tocontain willincrease andconsume you untilIt’s released. Once It’s, you willcome looking forus."

  “I won’t. Thisismy life; I choose what happens, not you or anybody else.”

  “We’ll see.”

  Just like that he disappeared. What the hell was that all about? I needed to find Mom and talk to her. Something strange was going on, and it was about time she told me what it was. I stayed home from school. There was no point in going because the teachers were basically just wasting time until Thanksgiving break. I heard the car door shut and looked at the clock. It was 9:30. Why wasn't she at work? I walked down the stairs and met her in the kitchen.

  “Hey Mom.”

  She let out a scream, “Oh my god Logan! You scared the crap out of me! What are you doing home?”

  “I’m sorry Mom. We’ren’t really doing anything in school, and something weird happened last night, so I wanted to talk to you. I guess I fell asleep before you made it home.”

  That was a complete lie. I was up all night waiting for her to come home, and she never did. She was up to something, and it didn’t feel like it was a good thing.

  “Oh, umm yeah. It was pretty late when I finally made it back. What did you want to ask me?”

  She couldn't even look at me. She was looking everywhere else: the floor, the walls, the celling, the damn coffee machine, but not once did she look at me.

  “Well you can start by saying why you can’t even look at me or why I’ve basically been on my own since we moved here. Take your pick. Then you can tell me what’s going on with me because you have to know.”

  That was the first time I had ever spoke to her like that. I didn’t even recognize my own voice. It held so much hate and anger. What was going on with me? She finally looked at me, and I immediately wish she didn’t. All I saw was fear in her eyes. Why was she scared of me?

  “Logan there are some things you need to know about our family. Sit down. This is going to be a long talk.”

  “Fine."

  We took a seat at the table, a table we had never eaten on, not once.

  “Our family comes from a line of magic. Everyone in our family is destined to protect something, whether It’s a person, an object, or the family secret. I was supposed to protect an amulet. This amulet in the wrong hands could give the darkness the upper hand in the war we’re constantly fighting. I messed up though, and the amulet was taken.”

  My mom had lost her mind. Magic? You have to be kidding me.

  “We come from a family of

  witches?”

  “No, not witches, though we do have some who can work spells. W
e’re

  considered protectors. I failed at what I was supposed to protect because of your father. I trusted the wrong person.”

  “Okay, let me get this straight. Our family members on your side are

  ‘protectors’, but we also have people who can work actual magic?”

  “Yes. Now this next part is going to be tricky because you aren’t the right age to learn about this. It’s supposed to be revealed to you on your eighteenth birthday, but I fear you might need to know now.”

  She’s lost it. My mother was insane, but I decided to play along.

  “Okay, you have my undivided attention.”

  “When I met your father, all the warning bells inside me were telling me to stay away from him. Like any girl caught in the temptation of a guy like your father, I went against my instincts. It was beautiful for the first couple of years. He was always nice and caring. I didn’t even notice the attention he placed on the amulet. I made it a point to wear it around my neck every day. The amulet was beautiful. It was an onyx stone that was set in silver. It had tiny rubies and diamonds surrounding it making this intricate pattern. Then I got pregnant with you. I was so happy that I didn’t focus on anything other than you. Your dad would rub my belly and talk to you when I when I went to bed. He was so excited about becoming a father that I thought everything was perfect. I look back at it now and notice the way he was looking at me. I always thought it was me that sparked the longing in his eyes. I was a fool.”

  She closed her eyes and looked like she was either trying to escape the truth or relive it. I was not sure which. When she opened her eyes, I knew that what she was saying was the truth. Her eyes looked cloudy, like she was blind. I couldn't see the color of her eyes anymore.

  She continued, “When you were born, he was so happy. He was always holding you or playing with you. As you got older, I started sensing a change in him. He wasn’t the man I fell in love with. He wasn’t the man that loved you. It wasn’t an immediate transformation. The changes started happening over time. I was still so caught up with the fact that I had you that I ignored my other

  responsibilities. I lost track of my mission. Instead of protecting the amulet like I was supposed to, my main priority was protecting you. Then he started hitting me. His anger became magnified, so I started hiding you anywhere I could in case he was going to start hitting you too. It was then that I realized he had the amulet. I went searching for it. I threw clothes all over the place, upturned drawers in the kitchen, and looked through all of his stuff. I turned up with nothing. He must have had with him. That’s what was causing the change in him. I was never told what it could do. I was just supposed to guard it with my life. I guess I finally figured out what it could do in the wrong hands. Every day I think about that and wish that I hadn’t left it where someone could get it. I wish I had protected both you and the amulet. But you, Logan, are more important to me than that amulet, so when he beat you so bad you ended up in the hospital, we left. I should have left long before that, but I held on to the hope that he would leave the amulet lying around, so I could take it back. If I could get it back, maybe he would go back to the loving man I married, to the loving father that he was when you were born. I was fool to believe that could happen, but love is blind. It took him putting you in the hospital for my eyes to truly see he was beyond saving.”

  I remembered it all. I even had some memories of being five or six and playing catch with him. We were always laughing. That’s the last good memory I could remember. Things started clicking into place. The way the darkness would surround him used to scare me. What was scaring me the most since Deandra left was the darkness I felt inside of me.

  Mom said, “I see it in you Logan, that darkness that your father had. Yet it’s different at the same time. You have two ways you can go, but it’s your choice. This next year is going to be extremely hard for you. There’s going to be many temptations to bring you to the side of darkness, but your future is your choice to make.”

  “There was a guy here last night. He said my destiny was already written, and I have no choice. He said he would be back for me. He said I belong to them. Is this what he was talking about mom?”

  “So it begins. Yes Logan. He’s referring to the darkness in you. Your future is not set in stone. That’s the beauty of life. We make our own

  decisions.”

  “What am I supposed to do?”

  “You need to live your life to the best of your ability. You’re strong. You can fight the darkness inside of you, but only you can do that.”

  “Who are they?” I asked, though I had an idea.

  She was quiet for a couple of minutes and had that look teachers get when they’re about to explain something in detail, the face that told you that you were about to be bored out of your mind.

  “The darkness is what some would call evil, the devil's children so to speak. In actuality, those who are considered "the darkness" were once protectors who decided they didn’t want to be servants to a higher power. In every generation, there are a few children born with great power. This power could cause unrepairable damage if the darkness were to gain all of the children’s allegiances.

  Each person is created like a yin and yang, an equal balance of white and black, but it’s the person who decides his or her own fate. Each individual is given the choice of whether to go towards the good or the evil. It’s your choice. Logan, you are one of those children. If the darkness is seeking you out and being this aggressive, it’s because you hold the key to their whole mission.” Her voice sounded defeated, like she had already lost.

  “Agatha is going to be very

  important in your life when the time comes. Don’t be afraid. You can handle this. I have faith in you Logan. You can beat them.”

  Agatha? How did our neighbor fit into this equation? I walked away and tried to process all of this. Is it possible that I was a mistake and was never meant to be born? It felt like I was being torn in two. Everything inside of me was telling me that there’s more to this than what my mom told me. I had this feeling that something big was about to go down. My life was going to change drastically. The very essence of the world was going to shift, and the balance lied with me.

  Does that sound cocky? Yes. I know it does, but I knew that if I took the wrong path, it could be very bad for all of humanity. I just wondered when all this would take place and what I would have to do.

  Chapter 9

  April Ah hell. I knew something bad was bound to happen. I was telling Brian that everything had been going so good. I kept wondering when the other shoe was going to drop.

  “It’s crazy Brian. Matthew is doing awesome. He just got the surgery to remove the extra toe. Christmas is around the corner. It’s all going so good for me that I think something bad is coming. I can feel it.”

  “Is it too hard for you to be happy? Come on April, maybe the other shoe won’t drop.”

  Well, the shoe met the floor.

  My dad and his wife were about to unleash some big news

  “So what’s this news?”

  “I’m pregnant!”

  I was looking at them and getting more and more furious. What the hell were they thinking? They didn’t even take care of their one little boy as it was. How could they be on the verge of having another? My therapist told me to count to 10 before saying something when I'm angry. That’s what I did. I counted to ten and took a deep breath. It was time for my infamous poker face to make an appearance again. I hadn’t had to use that technique in a while, but it was like riding a bike. Once you’ve mastered the ability, you never truly forget.

  “That’s great! When are you due?”

  She looked so happy, like this pregnancy was great news. “I’m due in August.”

  I was having a total mental break down. How did they think this was okay? They lived in a tiny room with no bathroom or running water in my grandparents' backyard.

  I had nothing else to say that was nice, so after a moment
of silence, my father said that they were so excited.

  Shortly after they left, without Matthew by the way, I was sitting on the couch staring into space when my phone rang.

  “Hello?” I was so out of it that I didn’t even look at the caller ID.

  “Hey April, what’s up?”

  “Oh hey Marie. What are you doing?”

  “Nothing. Is everything okay?”

  Something must have been wrong with my voice because she never asked me that. So I told her what happened.

  “So my dad and the bimbo are pregnant again.”

  “NO WAY! Are you serious? What the hell are they thinking?”

  “Girl, I have no idea.”

  The call didn’t last long. After we hung up, I started feeling a little bit better. That’s one thing I always loved about talking to Marie. She seemed to put a positive spin on bad things. I needed a lot of that because I saw nothing good about this situation. Things seemed to go by very quickly. It’s like before when problems arise, or when I started to feel stressed, time speeds up blocking out the chance to care. Before I knew it, I had a little brother named Lee. Soon after he was born, my mom, Brian, and I got on a plane to Las Vegas for a much needed vacation. Brian and I shared a bed. We still hadn’t become anything more than friends, so we weren't planning to have sex or anything. He was planning on playing poker late at night a lot, which would leave the bed unoccupied. Why waste a perfectly good bed? Okay, maybe I did have a hidden agenda. I told him that he could make me move to my mom's bed when he got back at night, but I hoped he wouldn’t do that. Deep inside I was hoping he would try to turn our friendship into something more during our trip. I woke up to him sleeping right next to me, every night. That meant he had feelings for me, right? Why else would you sleep in a bed with someone?