by Daise, Sonny
I looked down at the book; the page still remained open. Like the other book, there was no writing, no explanation, nothing.
I lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling, why was Dante here? Why couldn’t he let me see him, not even for just a second?
In the corner of my eye, I saw the faintest, hardly even noticeable, blue and green haze. In the corner of the room, for one split second, I saw a slight outline.
“Dante?”
Slowly, he appeared. I was amazed. He had never done that alone before. He had never been able to use any of my powers on his own, and now he was.
“Skylar can find you, wherever you are he knows, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t find you.”
“I’m okay,” I said.
“Oh, well, that’s good. I’m going to get going.”
“What I meant, was that I didn’t get hurt. I’m anything but okay. I’m confused, and I feel like you took a part of me with you. The rational part, the part that knows how I’m feeling,” I sighed. “Look at this,” I said as I pointed to the book.
He became visible and knelt down on the floor. It was like we were two magnets, and I couldn’t help but go to his side, and kneel right next to him. I moved closer every second, and soon he was right next to me.
“I don’t understand this. It’s not possible,” he whispered.
“Please don’t leave,” I begged. “What if we’re making a huge mistake? What if there is something wrong with this, what if Skylar and I are meant to be together, but not for any good reason?”
“I’ll be back soon; I haven’t found what I’ve been looking for yet.”
“What do you mean? You said you were going to your aunts because she needed some help with something.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he laughed nervously. “She still needs me.”
“But—”
The room filled with green and blue swirls. I reached out to touch them, but before I could, they were gone, along with Dante. I pulled the book closer to me and touched the page.
I wanted to be friends with Skylar; that part of me was still there, the part that begged me to go back and kiss him again that first night. Now, I realized just what that part wanted me to give up; what I couldn’t bear to lose. I looked down at the book, and an orangey-red illuminated ink was running across the page. I went to touch it, and then the ink ran off the page, like water off waterproof fabric. It slithered under the bed and left the page looking as it had before—Skylar and I, nothing else.
I threw the book on the floor, grabbed my keys and ran out the door. I needed to drive; I needed to get everything off of my mind. I needed to go somewhere, I just wasn’t sure where. I got in the car and sped off.
I ended up in the parking lot of the funeral home. The first place I went, when I got back here. I stopped the car. I wanted to go to our special place. I had some silly idea that if I went there, Dante would be there waiting for me. I knew I was wrong; I knew I was going crazy, but I needed him, and I needed some hope.
I took a deep breath, and grabbed the handle on the door. There was nothing to decipher, there was nothing to fight the fact that I was supposed to be with Skylar.
I opened the door, and all the lights in the car turned on.
“Wha—” Someone gasped from the backseat.
“What are you doing here Skylar?” I almost screamed.
“I had nowhere to go, sorry.”
“What do you mean, you had nowhere to go?”
“My mom… she wanted to move. She had been planning it for a while.”
“So she left without you? And what happened to your car?”
“She had to. She knew I was in love with you; she knew that I wouldn’t leave, and she took the car it was hers”
“And what about…” I gulped, “your dad?”
“That was something you changed for the better when you went back in time. Sure I was never evil, but my dad tried to—”
“Your dad… that’s it! He was evil. He wanted us to live together for a reason, and it must have been this. Maybe we weren’t meant to be together for a good reason. I mean the world has to have some bad to keep its balance, right? So maybe we don’t have to be together.”
It just kept spewing out, even as I saw the look in his eyes go from hurt to torment. I couldn’t stop myself; I couldn’t think about anything else but finding a way out of this.
“I’m sorry you’re stuck with me. I would do anything to be the guy you’re really in love with.”
“It’s not like that Skylar. There is a part of me that wants to be with you so badly, but then there’s that part that only wants Dante. These two parts are clashing with each other and messing with my emotions. I can’t even think straight.”
“You keep talking about these different parts of you, Scarlett. You have only one heart. So, tell me, what does your heart want?”
“Dante,” I whispered.
“Alright,” he mumbled.
“So there isn’t anywhere that you can go, what about your friends?”
“It was kind of hard to make friends when I was always too worried about you.”
Each time he spoke I felt sorrier and sorrier for him. How could I alone, have messed his life up so badly? And now I couldn’t wait to get rid of him, like he was nothing.
“I know where you can stay. You can’t sleep in my car forever, and my mom would never let you stay in the house.”
I drove down the long and winding streets until I made it back to the neighborhood. I passed my house and went down the street a little, and then I parked in front of George and Elizabeth’s.
“Whose house is this?”
“My aunt’s. Wait here, I’ll need to explain.”
I walked up to the door and knocked. It took a few minutes for anyone to answer, but finally, Elizabeth came to the door.
“Oh, Scarlett. What are you doing here this late? Is everything alright?”
“Not really,” I said honestly.
I told her about Dante leaving, about the events leading up to his departure, and the feelings that I couldn’t ignore, but wanted to desperately.
“There are ways around these types of things,” she began. “People have done it before, I just don’t know how.”
“Who?”
“Your parents,” she sighed. “But it didn’t work out for them.”
“What did they do?” I wondered.
“To this day, I don’t know, your mother would never tell me. She hasn’t talked about your father since he left. I don’t know any of the details, just that they were not meant to be together.”
“When did he leave?” I wondered.
“Well, Sienna and Hazel would have been two, so about fourteen, fifteen years ago.”
“Sienna and Hazel… did he take them with him?”
“Yes, your mother hasn’t spoken of them either,” she sighed.
“At first, up until recently, I thought they didn’t exist here,” I admitted.
“No, but it’s as if they don’t. No one speaks a word about them.”
“I saw them earlier… in pictures, and I think I might have seen my dad.”
“Where, what are you talking about Scarlett?” She demanded.
“I—I was in their house. I think my dad is a murderer.”
“You can’t go back there, promise me you won’t,” she ordered.
“I need to. I need more answers, not only about the murder now; I need to know what they did.”
“It didn’t work Scarlett; they’re not together anymore.”
“Even so—”
“Promise me you will not go back.”
“Why? Tell me why and maybe.”
“First of all, you can’t do this to your mother. Second, I knew he was dangerous, but now apparently, he’s a murderer.”
“So why haven’t you guys tried to find Sienna and Hazel?”
“After sixteen years with him? After learning everything they know from him, they are probably just as bad.”
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“Fine, I won’t go back,” I lied.
“Good, there are just some things you should leave alone, and this is one of those things.”
“Alright, thanks Aunt Elizabeth. Oh and one more thing, I mentioned that Skylar didn’t have anywhere to stay… didn’t I?”
“No, you didn’t.”
“Do you think that he could possibly—”
“You want him to stay here?”
“I promise he’s not as bad as we thought,” I swore.
“Alright, bring him in.”
I went back out to the car. Skylar was just sitting there staring straight ahead at nothing. I opened the car door, and he jumped.
“Hey, you can stay here for a little while,” I said.
“Alright.” He got out of the car and followed me up to the door.
“Hello Skylar,” Elizabeth said. “We’ll get you set up in the guest room, okay?”
“Okay,” he answered. “I’ll see you tomorrow Scarlett.”
“Alright, goodnight guys,” I said before I turned around and walked back to the car.
I sped off toward the hole in the fence. It was a little soon to already be breaking my promise, but I had to. This man, this horrible, awful man—was my dad.
I wanted to believe that Ms. Winter deserved it. I needed to believe this was some sort of mistake, that Aunt Elizabeth had it all wrong. Somehow, someway, this needed to be wrong. After years of wondering, trying to find answers, he was less than a mile away.
I walked up to the circular fence and peeked through a tiny hole in the bushes. The house was lit up, and the light shined pink through the curtains. The porch light welcomed me. Something told me to go knock on the door, something inside me desperately wanted to know the other person who had a part in my existence.
I walked toward the opening in the fence and stopped. Though I wanted to believe better, I knew I would be putting myself in danger, but something made me continue forward.
I walked up to the porch and knelt down as I looked through the window. They were all sitting there in a circle. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but they were all talking at the same time. Actually, it looked like they were all saying the same thing. There was something in the middle of their circle, but I wasn’t quite sure what it was. The girls got up and grabbed something—it was a potion, in the same glass vials as the rest. While they were up, I could see what was in the middle. It was a small, clear, glass bowl. Next to it was one of the knives with the hollow handles. They took the top off of the vial, and carefully poured half in. Next, the man took the knife and pricked his finger with it. He let the handle fill up only a little bit, and he took the blue liquid inside and poured it into the bowl.
The girls sat back down, but this time, they left just enough space between them, that I could still see the bowl. They all joined hands and sat there chanting. It seemed like they kept repeating the same word. It took me a minute to figure out what that word was—Scarlett.
A picture started to appear within the bowl. At first, it was just a mixture of different colors, swirling around. Then it started to take shape. The picture in the bowl was showing exactly what I was doing in this moment—peeking through their window.
Their eyes shot to the window, and I ducked down, but it wasn’t fast enough. I heard them running for the door. I didn’t understand what was going on. Why were they looking for me? Was it so we could all be reunited, or did they have a more sinister plan in mind?
I got up and ran for the gate. I made it out, and they gave up. I just wondered how long that potion would work for. Would they be able to see where I was and what I was doing at all times? I had every reason to believe that they were evil, but this could all just be a misunderstanding. At least, that was what I needed to believe.
Chapter 10: Underground
I pulled a box out from under the bed. I couldn’t think about the woman who undoubtedly could have died because of my decision to take them. Every life I touched could be worse for it, but I had no time to ponder that.
I moved aside heavy, old books. Underneath them, were at least fifty vials, filled to the brim with variously colored liquids. I had no way to know what any of them did.
I looked around some more. That was when I noticed the book I’d left on the floor. It had turned to a different page—the last page. It was blank, nothing but discolored, white paper. Then, the magical, orange ink started to spread across the page. ‘You are here’ was the first thing it said.
Then the line started moving away, until finally, it reached an X. Next, the ink appeared to be drawing a picture, or just wavy lines—waves, that was it. This was a map leading somewhere outside next to the lake.
I picked up the book, grabbed a flashlight, and started walking outside. The line turned black where I had already been, it led me to where Dante and I came back to life. The X turned black and the ink ran off the page.
I set the book down; I would need to dig. The grass where the X had been on the page, was a few shades darker green than the rest. I went to dig my hands down into the earth, but instead, buried under the grass, I found a handle. I lifted up and the metal door underneath the grass; it groaned as it opened. The grass came up in a perfect square and stayed stuck to the door.
I picked up the flashlight; it didn’t look like there was any source of light down there. I grabbed the book, set it on the first step, and then I grabbed the handle under the door and pulled it back down.
I left the book at the top of the stairs, and ventured down. The floor and walls were all made of cement, but along the walls, were at least a hundred wooden cupboards. Some of the cupboards were filled with necklaces, some potions. There were books in others and a ton of stuff that I wasn’t too sure about. In the spaces that didn’t have cupboards, there were pictures drawn all over the walls.
When I got to the end of the tunnel, I realized it wasn’t the end—there was a door. I turned the doorknob, but it was stuck. With a little effort, I got it open. It looked the same on the other side, more cabinets, filled with more books, potions, and necklaces.
Again, at the end there was a door. This one opened with a little less effort. When I stepped through, I took a deep breath. There was more space, it wasn’t another tunnel, but a room filled with boxes. There was no door out but the one I came in through.
I decided to take a quick look in one of the boxes. It was filled with books. The book on top looked oddly familiar and in that moment, I knew exactly why—I had been here before.
I had no time to react. The wall moved aside, and standing there smiling, was my dad. His smile looked sincere, but in the most evil way. He walked over to me and grabbed me by the neck, lifting me up a foot above the ground.
“You were spying on me,” he growled.
“I know—” I choked. “I know you’re my dad.”
He set me down and that smile returned, but his hand stayed firmly around my neck.
“Is that all you know?”
“I know you killed that woman,” I spat.
“What woman?” he asked. Maybe I was wrong, maybe he was good. Maybe this was all some huge misunderstanding that would seem silly when all was cleared up. “I’m sorry; I lose track. I’ve killed a lot of women, and men, too.”
He pressed his thumb harder into my throat, and I coughed. I tried to break free of his grasp. I tried to think of anything I could do to get away.
“Someone was with me; they’ll know it was you who killed me.”
“Oh, I’m shaking,” he laughed hysterically. “Do you really think I would kill my own daughter? No, you have a place here with us; you just need to learn.”
“You want me to kill people with you? No way.”
“That’s not all we do. That’s why you need to learn.”
“What the hell are you talking about? If you kill people, innocent people, then you’re sick.”
“They’re not all so innocent.”
His grip on my neck tightened. I used t
his to my advantage; I let him hold me up. I took my feet off the ground and kicked him in the stomach. We both fell to the ground, but unlike him, I was able to get up and run away.
I ran as fast as I could through the tunnels. When I finally got to the end, I grabbed the book and pushed the door open. Once I made it out, I slammed the door shut and imagined a giant boulder over top.
I leaned up against the boulder, and took a deep breath. I got away. I didn’t need anyone there. I was fine alone.
My dad was a creep; he was a sicko. I had wanted to meet him for a long time, but it didn’t take that long to get over something I never had.
I climbed up to the top of the rock and looked up at the sky. A sharp pain tore through my chest as I thought of all the times Dante and I had stared up at the star-filled sky. All of the times we took in the beauty of the moon. I wondered if right now, he might be staring up at the moon. Miles away from each other and we could be staring in wonder at the same time, at the same thing. It made me feel a little closer to him than I actually was.
I sat there staring up at the moon, hoping—for some insignificant reason, that meant nothing at all—that for even one slight moment, Dante would look up and see the moon and think of me. To know for only one second, this thing tied us together. Then, I thought of all of the other people, staring up at the moon. I thought of how they might be wishing the same things as me, how they were probably thinking of someone special, too.
I stayed there until the sun had risen. Then, I decided to take a walk to Grace’s house. I hadn’t had a chance to talk to her in the past few days. She probably didn’t even know that Dante was gone.
She was home alone, as usual. Grace was good at being alone, and she might have even liked it. That was one of the many qualities I admired in her.
“Dante’s gone,” I said as she opened the door. “He left; I’m supposed to be with someone else.”
“What? You guys were so perfect—”