Dark Reality 7-Book Boxed Set

by Jennifer and Christopher Martucci

  ***

  The more than six hours of her school day had seemed like an interminable stretch of time. She’d glimpsed the clock on many occasions throughout the day certain hours had passed, only to find that mere minutes had passed. When the last bell of the day finally rang, Arianna felt as though she’d survived a marathon, tired and worn. But once she stepped outside and the cool fall air greeted her, she felt invigorated. As she approached Luke’s truck and saw that he waited for her, excitement stirred within her. Though she was going to Rockdale under troublesome circumstances, she was looking forward to taking a break from her new school, from the idea that she was the Sola, from her life, and hanging out with Luke. He was fun and funny and they got along well. She felt certain that the six hours they’d spend together in the car would be enjoyable ones.

  “Hey you,” she said and smiled.

  “Hey,” he replied and smiled. “Ready to go?”

  “Yeah, I’m ready. Where to first?”

  “Let’s go to your house first and get what you need then we can head to my little circus tent so I can grab a few things.”

  “All right,” she said.

  Luke opened the passenger side door for her then climbed in to the driver’s seat. His truck protested twice, sputtering and choking, before the engine turned over, roaring to life grumpily.

  “That doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence with a six-hour drive ahead of us,” Luke commented.

  “No, it doesn’t,” Arianna agreed.

  They drove for less than ten minutes, chatting lightly about their respective days, until Arianna’s trailer park came into view. A depressing display of metal, synthetic turf and plastic ornaments intended for rolling green living lawns, it resembled a junkyard with paths carved through the mountains of debris. Tires of varying brands and sizes littered nearly every front porch, and clothing lines laden with atrociously patterned clothes spanned as far as the eye could see. To many who enjoyed a more lavish lifestyle than she, her community was the material of nightmares, offensive and tasteless. To her, it was home. After years of living in one trailer park or another, she’d grown tired of apologizing for where she lived and what she didn’t have. She’d made peace with the fact that belongings, were just, well, stuff. And stuff was not what made a person interesting or exciting or worthy of respect, character did.

  Luke stopped in front of her trailer and turned the engine off. He reached a hand out and was about to pull the lever on his door when Arianna asked, “Oh, you’re coming in?”

  He froze for a moment. “Not if you don’t want me to.”

  “No, nothing like that. It’s just that this place is cramped and smelly. It belonged to my uncle and he was either a slob or had rented it to slobs.”

  “Arianna, you saw my drugged out mother unconscious near a pool of her own vomit. Nothing in your house could be as bad as that,” he said sincerely.

  “Fair enough,” she said then added, “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  The walked together, up three worn wooden steps, to the front door. Arianna unlocked it and they stepped inside. The small living-room area was free of fat men sleeping on the couch and there were no fast-food boxes or bags cluttering the coffee table. That was always promising. They walked past the living room and a quick glance at the pea-colored vinyl flooring made Arianna suspicious. A strong lemon scent hung in the air and the floors looked freshly mopped suggesting that her mother had cleaned. And Cathy Rose cleaned for one reason and one reason only: for a man. A man was either coming over in the next few hours or had just left. Either way, a new man in her mother’s life did not bode well for them remaining in Herald Falls for long.

  “This isn’t bad at all,” Luke said from behind her. “No drugs, no vomit. Already it’s an improvement from my place.”

  She reached behind her and took his hand in hers, gave it a gentle squeeze before releasing it. They walked down the short, narrow hallway past the bathroom to her room. She emptied her backpack of books and began grabbing things she’d need. A change of clothes was chief among them, then underwear and something to sleep in.

  “So this is your room,” Luke smirked and sat on the sleeping cushion that served as her bed.

  “Yep. And that thing is not where I sleep.”

  “Good ‘cause it stinks like mold or something.”

  “I know. It’s gross. Most nights I crash on the floor or the couch. That’s when I can sleep at all.”

  “I hear you. I know what that’s like,” he nodded somberly.

  She smiled sadly because he hadn’t the vaguest idea what she was talking about. He’d assumed she had referred to her life with her mother, about the hard times she’d had. But he’d been wrong. Of course, she did not blame him. How could he, or anyone else for that matter, guess that being a witch with untapped phenomenal powers could cause so many sleepless nights? Having a group of people hunting you with the intent to murder you didn’t make for a good night of sleep either. But Luke had no way of knowing those were problems that existed in the world, let alone in her daily life.

  “Let me grab my toothbrush and some cash and we’ll get out of here,” she said.

  In the bathroom, she lifted the lid of the toilet tank and reached her hand inside. Her fingers felt the cool, smooth surface of a plastic bag. She picked it up, but not before allowing as much water to drain from it as possible, and opened it. Inside was a roll of money, mostly twenty-dollar bills. She took three hundred dollars from the bag then returned her savings to the toilet tank. She washed her hands, grabbed a brush and her makeup bag and opened the bathroom door.

  “I’m all set,” she said.

  “Really?” Luke asked surprised. “I thought we’d be here for hours.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know. Every time my sister packs, she takes forever. I thought all girls were like that.”

  “Well, I’m not like other girls, and I’m not like your sister,” she said and winked at him.

  “No, no you’re not,” he said seriously. “And I’m really glad you’re not.”

  He moved toward her, slowly closing the distance between them. She stepped back instinctively and found her back flush against a wall. He placed both hands by her ears, trapping her between him and the wall. But she did not feel trapped. Her heart raced excitedly. He stared at her, allowed his gaze to drop to her mouth. She ran her tongue over her lips, readying them to be kissed, tempting him to kiss her. Luke dropped one of his hands and placed it on her hip. He pulled her close to him so that her chest pressed against him. She felt the planes of his body, warm and hard, touching the softness of her own. Kiss me already, her mind screamed. He slid his hand from her hip up the side of her body grazing the side of her breast and cupped her face in his hand tenderly. She felt his hot breath on her face and did not want to wait any longer. She tipped her chin up and kissed him.

  She did not kiss him with the tenderness he’d touched her with. Instead, she kissed him with abandon, wrapping both arms around his neck then raking her fingers through his hair. He lowered his hand and grabbed her backside. She could feel his excitement through his jeans pressing against her belly. She writhed against it and heard him moan.

  “Do I need to get a hose in here, or something?” she heard her mother’s voice say suddenly.

  Neither of them had heard her mother come in.

  Luke let go of her embarrassedly. She saw ribbons of scarlet streak his cheeks as he hunched forward to hide his excitement.

  “Hi Ms. Rose,” he said, his eyes darting anxiously. “Nice to see you again.”

  “Nice to see you, too,” she crooned. “Luke, right?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he replied sheepishly.

  “Ma’am. I like that. So respectful. Arianna, this one’s a keeper,” she said loving every moment of Arianna and Luke’s discomfort. Then she turned back to Luke and said, “Did I do that to you?” ges
turing to the obvious bulge below his belt.

  “All right, mom. Enough! Can you give us a minute?”

  Her mother did not say another word. She disappeared in to the kitchen. The clanking of pots reminded them that she hadn’t left and intended to ruin any further romance they may have had in mind.

  “She’s a human mood killer,” Arianna said then giggled.

  “You’re telling me,” Luke agreed. “I’m going to, uh, use the bathroom and um, splash some cold water on my face before we leave.”

  “You do that,” Arianna said and smiled. “I’ll wait for you outside.”

  Arianna walked to the kitchen and saw her mother smirking by the sink.

  “Well, well, well. It looks like you and loverboy were having quite a moment there,” her mother snickered.

  “Please, mom,” Arianna cringed. “I’m going out tonight and I won’t be back until tomorrow night.”

  “Oh really?” her mother asked. “Just use protection. You don’t want to end up knocked up like me.”

  “It’s not like that.

  “It sure looked like that.”

  “We’re going to Rockdale.”

  “Rockdale? Why?”

  “Lily, I haven’t heard from her since we moved here.”

  “So maybe she doesn’t want to be your friend anymore.”

  Arianna didn’t want to have this conversation again. “Whatever, I’ve been worried and I want to check on her,” she said curtly.

  “Suit yourself.”

  “Can you call me in sick at school tomorrow?”

  “Sure, no problem. Just leave me the number.”

  Arianna pulled a pad from the drawer below the telephone. She scribbled the school’s attendance office number on it and left if near the phone. “Thanks mom.”

  “Have fun and be safe,” her mother said just as Luke came down the hallway.

  “Don’t get my daughter pregnant, you hear?” her mother warned him.

  “Mom!”

  “Yes ma’am,” Luke said.

  Arianna grabbed Luke’s arm and pulled him out.

  “Good-bye mother,” she said testily.

  Outside she apologized for her mother’s comment.

  “I’m so sorry about that, about her, I mean,” she fumbled.

  “Don’t worry about it. She’s just worried about you. She loves you,” he said offhandedly.

  She was sure her mother had meant well, but her tact and timing left much to be desired.

  “Yeah, well, she has a funny way of showing it,” Arianna said and folded her arms across her chest.

  “At least she’s, I don’t know, conscious,” he said and the sadness in his voice made her heart lurch.

  “I guess,” she said and reached in her bag for her cigarettes. “Mind if I smoke?”

  “No. Mind if I join you?”

  “Not at all,” she said and lit his cigarette first then hers.

  “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re trying to get in my pants,” he said impishly.

  “You wish,” she joked and climbed in the passenger seat.

  He closed the door. “I don’t know, Arianna. I think you want me,” he teased.

  “Keep dreaming!”

  “We’ll see,” he said and started the car.

  They drove away from her trailer and out of her complex on to the main road. Faint rays of sun waged a fruitless war against leaden clouds that encroached, advancing like a fleet of warships. The wind had picked up and shook flame-colored leaves from treetops sending them cascading to the ground like burning embers. Arianna watched as they fell chaotically, heard the wind hiss through the dried leaves and branches like a thousand voices whispering at once. A strange sensation washed over her and made her skin crawl as though innumerable spiders raced across her bare flesh. Perhaps it was the just the eerie way the wind sounded or how the leaves fell like cinders to the earth, or perhaps it was something far more intrinsic that had unsettled her, but Arianna believed a warning had been issued; a warning that she may not return the same person she was leaving as.