The Red Moon: Moon Rising

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The Red Moon: Moon Rising Page 3

by J. M. Lyons


  love.

  "We're home." I announced; as I swung the old screen door

  open, letting it hit the back wall hard. I shrugged my shoulders in

  hopes that it wouldn't break. I smiled at the thought, that it might.

  "Mia. Congratulations." Lily said, as she put down the napkins on

  the table and hurried over toward me; in her cute yellow sun dress

  with huge flowers surrounding the bottom, I always thought she

  looked like a sunflower when she wore it. I chuckled softly to

  myself as it crossed my mind.

  Lily was a very kind lady. She wasn't very tall in fact she was about the same height as me. She had short brown hair that she

  always wore down, and it was always brushed perfectly, pulled

  behind of the ears. Her light peach colored lips matched her pale

  colored skin and her round light brown eyes. She was my dads

  complete opposite; I guess that's why they made such a great

  couple. Although, when the arguments started, kindness, went

  out the window and she always won the fight. I smiled every time I

  heard them arguing.

  I took notice immediately, that there were three extra seats at

  the table, but the smell of the food grabbed my attention quickly.

  She put her arms around me and gave me a big hug, squeezing

  me a little. "You go on and freshen up, your dad said that we're

  going to have some guests tonight." She said as she spun around

  and headed back into the kitchen. "We sure are." I murmured.

  "Yeah; that sounds good." Tucker called out slamming the screen

  door shut making his way toward the steps.

  "Hey, I don't think so. I'm first." I yelled, now running toward

  the step. I pushed Tucker on the side as we both reach the stairs

  at the same time. Tucker tumbled over dad's work shoes that

  always sat at the bottom of the steps. "I'm the graduate, I'm first." I

  said laughing, hurrying up the steps. "Yeah, yeah. This won't be the case come tomorrow Mia, you can count on that." He said,

  also laughing, with his sarcastic tone. "Hey; hey you two stop it.

  I'm so going to miss this; when you two are all grown with your

  own children doing the same exact thing; I'm so going to laugh at

  you both." Lily called out from the kitchen laughing hysterically.

  My brother and I were always really close. All our lives it was

  just my dad, Tucker and I, until Lily got added into the mix. She

  never really tried to be the step mom, she was more like an older

  sister or an older friend who just so happened to be with my dad.

  Dad always tried his best to do what he could for us, but it really

  wasn't much. We had what we needed, but couldn't always get

  what we wanted. But in the end; Tucker and I were just fine with

  that. Lily made things a whole lot easier when she came into the

  family. She really helped me out a lot; household chores, laundry,

  shopping; not to mention being there for me.

  As I got to the top of the steps, I quickly pushed my bedroom

  door open. I went in and placed the roses from Jon onto my

  vanity. I stared at it for a little bit, as small memories flashed in my

  mind like someone was playing a picture slide show. I

  remembered how sweet he was; always bringing me flowers, and

  candies. How he would help my dad when he needed it. I began to miss him; his smell, his touch, his kiss. "Um. I'm going to take a

  shower if you're not." Tucker insisted, poking his head through my

  bedroom door. "I'm coming, and don't you dare." I demanded; as I

  hurried off to the bathroom.

  Tucker was an all-star football player when he was in high

  school, colleges from all over the US came to see him play and a

  few of them tried to pick him up to play for them. Dad said that it

  was his decision and that he wouldn't push; but I think he wanted

  to, but just didn't say anything. Tucker even did track; but I don't

  think he ever wanted to leave Hillside or the Weeping Mountains,

  he turned them all down. Tucker just got in with the mining

  company that mined for precious gems from the Weeping

  Mountains. Dad's all bent out of shape about that, but never says

  anything. He just ignores it when Tucker comes home complaining

  about his job. He wanted Tucker to work at the Forestry with him;

  but Tucker being Tucker wanted to do his own thing.

  As kids we spent a lot of time with my grandparents because

  dad always had to work. So, we stayed with them, at the foot of

  the Weeping Mountains a lot, roaming through the woods learning

  about different things from our grandparents. I guess that's why I

  enjoy my solo walks so much; it gave me a chance to think about everything that we learned as kids.

  A few years ago our grandparents got into a major car

  accident while they headed home one night from our house on a

  very rainy night. The cops said that they lost control of their little

  green pinto; and flipped onto an embankment. They both died

  instantly. I was crushed, but Tucker he took it even harder. He

  didn't eat for days, he had horrible nightmares, and still till this

  very day refuses to drive when it's pouring rain; and I don't blame

  him either. When it's was pouring rain, I didn't even want my dad

  to go to work. But, my dad would just say, it's not my time yet

  baby, kissing my forehead and he leave for work with me crying

  my eyes out at the front door.

  My grandmother was a all around great lady; she always

  made us things with stuff that she found in the forest, or even in

  her very own yard. We would have pancakes, muffins’ and

  cupcakes with the berries she picked from the bushes that were

  all over the back yard; she made jerky with the meat of whatever

  animal that my dad and grandfather shot. We used to taking long

  walks to the river to fill water for the plants in her yard. She always

  said that the Mountains will provide what we needed; and she was

  always right. My grandfather, he was a joker; he always found humor in

  everything. I guess you could say that's where Tucker get's it from.

  He would hide behind the big boulders and throw berries at

  grandma and me just to get a laugh. He would throw Tucker and I

  into the frigid water of the lake and laugh as we would cry

  because it was so cold. He would always say; oh come on kids, it

  was just a joke. I credit my gymnastics skills all to him, because I

  always knew just how to lunge myself faraway; so that I was far

  enough to not get tossed.

  They were great; I miss them terribly but as dad says; we all

  must move on, we cannot hold on to something that just cannot

  stay, no matter how hard it is. I stepped out of the shower onto

  the towel that always sat at the bottom of the tub. I wiped the

  steamed mirror and just stood there for a minute. I needed to soak

  everything in; everything that happened this afternoon. First of all I

  finally graduated. I thought happily to myself with a smile. Then I

  get roses from Jon, which I was so happy to get; then out of the

  blue my mother show's up with a new husband; than I find out

  their coming to my graduation dinner.

  How am I supposed to react to this? I'm flattered that
Jon

  gave me roses; he knew they were my favorite; but then there’ my mother. I'll have at least another whole hour with her for dinner.

  What am I supposed to say? I mean; I've always rehearsed what I

  would say, if I were ever given the chance; but now that it's here; I

  don't know what to make of it. I was a bit bewildered by the whole

  situation. What did she want, did she want forgiveness? Did she

  want something from me? I took a deep breath as I shut off the

  bathroom light, and stepped out. "Tucker; it's all yours." I called

  out down the hall.

  I could smell the roses from my half opened bedroom door

  from the moment that I stepped out of the bathroom. I sniffed the

  air that was saturated with the smell of cooked steaks, and baked

  potatoes, but above all that; the smell of the roses filled the hall.

  As I stepped into my bedroom, pushing the door wide open, the

  smell of roses completely filled the air. Such a sweet smell, not

  even a hint of the cooking food that was just down stairs. I quickly

  shut the door trying to preserve every bit of this sweetness.

  I found the outfit that I picked out prior to my ceremony, lying

  on the bed where I left it. I slid on the fitted old jeans that I wore

  over a hundred times before, and pulled on my red over the

  shoulder cut top that Lily and I got last year. Luckily for me the

  color never faded. I sat there, looking at myself in the mirror, not sure what was going to take place when everyone got here. I

  finished putting on my eyeliner and lipstick and started to brush

  my long, thick red hair; and as I brushed I thought about when I

  saw my mother today, she had the same hair. The thought of

  coloring my hair was rather entertaining at the moment but it

  would be a waste of money, my hair never took to dye, in fact it

  would probably fade out in a few weeks anyway. I carefully

  twisted the feather that Katie gave to me back into my hair.

  Perfect; I thought looking at myself in the mirror. Just then I

  heard the humming of an car engine, followed by a honk of the

  horn. I slowly gazed out my window that sat just above the front

  yard. They're here, I thought watching my mom and James walk

  up the driveway. "Someone's out front." Tucker called out. "Yeah;

  I know I can see them." I answered, with an attitude.

  I sat back in my chair looking at myself in the mirror again;

  trying to find a reason why I didn't have to be here. Maybe I could

  sneak out of the window; yeah right, then where would I go. I

  thought. All sorts of emotions were flowing through me anger,

  despair, hatred, sadness, even regret. I wasn't sure why I felt

  regret, after all, it wasn't me who did anything wrong. As I sat

  there allowing all these feelings to build; I began to think about the last time I saw my mother.

  I was very young when I last saw her, and remembered only a

  little but I did remember that it was a stormy night; with loud

  crashing thunder and bright streaks of lightning; and I know we

  had a dog, a big dog named Dougy. I remember seeing my mom

  sitting on the old wooden floor with Dougy next to the fireplace at

  our old house, under Bypass Bridge. I remembered the fire

  burning bright that night even with the lightning streaking across

  the sky. I remember the smell of something burning, I thought it

  was hair; I wasn't sure where it was coming from but I figured it

  came from the fireplace. I vaguely remember my mom sitting up,

  waving me over to her; but my dad came in, and quickly picked

  me up and took me to my bedroom; then he put me in the closet

  with Tucker, who was crying. I didn't understand what was

  happening, or why we were in the closet. I do remember my dad

  saying you'll be safe here, before he shut the door behind him. I

  know that I started to cry because I was scared. Tucker was

  crying and it was dark, and the sound of the thunder and wind

  literally made the house shake.

  I think I fell asleep, because the next thing I knew I woke up in

  my bed with Tucker sleeping on the floor next to me. I jumped up off the bed and ran to the living room to look for my mom but she

  wasn't there anymore and neither was Dougy. There was a huge

  red spot on the floor next to the fireplace, but I didn't think much of

  it. I remember asking my dad "Where's mamma?" "We all must

  move on baby. We cannot hold on to something that just cannot

  stay. Sorry baby she's gone." He said, with a soft sad voice.

  As the memories flushed through my mind like a still frame

  movie; it filled my heart with pain and sadness. I closed my eyes

  and squeezed them tightly to stop the tears from falling. I wasn't

  about to let my eyeliner run; I thought to myself squeezing it a little

  tighter. I felt this overwhelming feeling of hate building up on my

  already emotionally drawn heart. My hair began to move on my

  back, and slowly lifted up as if someone had just turned on the

  fan, my blood boiled hard throughout my body.

  Suddenly I heard a knock at my bedroom door. I quickly

  opened my eyes, and my hair fell slowly fell back into place; I

  could still feel a slight wind blowing throughout my room. I looked

  around to see if I had a fan on, but to my surprise it wasn't. I

  checked the window and found it cracked open just a little; oh well

  it was probably the wind. I thought as I heard the knock again.

  "Mia, are you decent?" Tucker asked from the other side of the door. "Yeah, come in." I replied, confused at what just

  happened. "So, mom and James is here. Dad asked for me to

  come get you." He said, quickly pushing the door open. "Wow,

  that's some really good roses; it stinks like a girl in here." He

  continued, walking over to the bunch of roses lying on my vanity.

  "I know right; they're very sweet. By the way it's supposed to

  smell like a girl in here; it is my room." I said, with a smirk.

  "Ha, so are you coming?" He said heading for the door.

  "Yeah; I'll be right down." I said, shaking off the confusion. I

  slipped on my black flats that Lily got for me earlier in the day. I

  twisted and turned my feet around amazed that she got my size

  just right. I spun quickly toward the door and hurried down the

  hall, slamming my bedroom door shut so that I could keep the

  sweet smell in my own little space.

  As I got to the steps I noticed someone was standing at the

  bottom of the staircase. Half way down the stairs, I realized that it

  was Jon. I jerked back, nearly slipping on the steps, utterly

  stunned that he was here. "Um.. Hi Mia." He said, looking at me

  with his beautiful brown eyes. "Ah; Jon." I replied, completely at a

  loss for words at his appearance. "Um, what are you doing here?"

  I asked still very shocked that he was here. "Um, your dad invited me earlier. We kind of ran into each other, and he invited me so I

  said I'd come. I..Um.. I hope you don't mind." He answered with

  his soft smile. So that's why there were three extra seats at the

  table I thought quietly to myself. "No, I don't. In fact now I can say

  thank you properly. Thank you, for the beautiful roses, or should I

  have thanked Steve
?" I said, returning his smile with a nod of my

  head.

  "You look great Mia." He said looking me over a little.

  "Thanks, so do you." I said, as I leaned back, doing the same.

  "Uh, if you guys are done with your small talk, maybe you could

  get out of the way. You know I am the better looking of everyone

  here, and you know how much I hate being late." Tucker said, as

  he chuckled his way past us, stopping only to shake Jon's hand.

  "Yeah right." I shot back. "Huh, you're still the same." Jon said

  shaking his head. "Who, Tucker, yes he's still the same weirdo he

  always was." I said with a giggle.

  I could hear the sound of different voices coming from the

  living room right around the corner. I stepped slowly down the

  staircase and slowly moved toward the living room, guiding Jon,

  as if he didn't already know where everything was. Everyone went

  quiet in the room; a small sense of tension began to fill the air. They all sat quite in the living room; just staring at Jon and I.

  "So what everyone stops talking when I enter the room? Why

  thank you, I know I look good." I said with a laugh, trying my best

  to ease that feeling of tension out. It felt a little odd trying to hold

  my attitude in check, but I figure I'd try to be on my best behavior.

  After all it's been a year since I last had dinner with Jon.

  "Mia; you look wonderful, you're such a beautiful women."

  James said, staring at me then looking at my mom, who just sat

  there rather quite. "Don't you think Lu?" He said, still looking at my

  mom who was now just looking at me. "Yes; yes she is very

  beautiful." She said now smiling. "Mia's got her good looks from

  her mom; as you can see James." Dad chimed in with a grin.

  "Hum, she sure did." Mom said, getting up from her seat. She

  walked over to me and gave me a big hug. "You sure have

  grown." She said, looking right into my eyes. It felt like she was

  burrowing a hole into my soul for a minute. I glared back at her.

  "So, who is this?" James asked, breaking her deep stare.

  "Yes, who is this handsome young man?" She said, taking a hold

  of Jon's hand. She quickly dropped it, giving off a weird vibe.

  "This is Jon; he’s Mia's friend." Dad said, staring hard at mom, as

  she dropped Jon's hand fast. "Hi Jon, it's nice to meet you." She said returning to her seat, not even giving him a second look.

  "Likewise um.." He replied, a bit unsure of what to call her. "Sorry,

 

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