“Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“Yeah I have a twin brother, his name is Asher but we just call him Ash,” I replied.
She looked confused for a minute then said, “Don’t twins usually have rhyming names?”
We got that a lot whenever we brought up the fact that we were twins and although we were fraternal, people always expected our names to match. “Everyone thinks that, but we’re fraternal. We’re simply two different kids born on the same day, three minutes apart from each other. At least that’s how my mom explained it to me,” I replied with a smile.
“That makes sense I guess, I saw a documentary on the birth of twins once, and they said the same thing, only it took them a whole hour to explain it. So do you know why your parents decided to name you Aliza?”
I wiped mayo from my face and thought about it. “I don’t know, Aliza is short for Alizarin, and now that you bring it up I’ll ask.”
Nikko sat quietly for the next thirty as Natalie and I talked about a slew of random things before he interrupted, “Hate to be a party pooper, but I have to be to work soon. Thanks for showing up Nat, I’ll walk you to your car.”
“I can handle myself,” she said as she wrapped the scarf back around her head. “It was nice meeting you Aliza, I hope to see more of you.” She looked at Nikko then got up from the blanket.
I smiled back at her then got up and hugged her. “I’m pretty sure you will.”
Once Natalie had gotten in her car and drove away, I walked over to Nikko and punched him. “I literally can help her, make her healthy again.”
He shook his head and looked off. “You missed it,” he said softly.
“Missed what?”
“She’s happy with herself despite everything that she goes through. Did she look like a person wallowing in her own depression because of something she couldn’t control? I’m not saying you should be like her but I’m saying that you should at least think about changing your attitude about life. Do you know how many people would kill to live forever? Think about it, it’s not that bad.”
I widened my eyes then sat down on the grass and crossed my legs; I would have never guessed this was the real reason he had brought me here to meet his only sister. “Do you think I’m selfish?” I replied lowly. If everyone around me was saying it then it must have been true.
“You’re not selfish, you just need to embrace the person that you are and move on.”
That was it; tears now fell down my cheeks. “That’s the third time I’ve heard that,” I cried. What was wrong with me? Why was I the only one not able to truly come to grips with it and live life without being suspicious of everyone and everything?
“If it’s the third time you’ve heard it then you know you need to make some changes in your life.” He turned around and came and sat down next me and wrapped me in his arms.
I felt safe in his arms, like he could protect me from any and everything as we sat on the itchy grass and looked off into the distance. “Wait, how did you know about any of this?”
He fidgeted for a while before answering, “Your brother told me about it the other day at school because he thought I could help you.”
For a person that didn’t like others in his business, he was sure in mine a lot. I shook off the thoughts before I started to over think and then start the negativity. “Thank you Nikko,” I hugged his body as tight as I could then let go. “You have to get to work right?”
He let go of me and got up, “Yes, unfortunately, could you grab up some of this stuff for me?”
I got up out of the grass and pulled up the blanket and gather it into the basket, along with the things that he had brought for Triton. “I think he had a little too much fun with this one,” I said as I held up a toy that was missing its head and a leg.
Once I had gathered everything together I picked up Triton and the basket then got closer to Nikko. “So how does this work? My hands are too full to wrap them around you.”
He smiled then barely touched my shoulder and instantly we were in my room. “I just wanted to see if you would actually do it last time; it never has to be full-on contact.”
“Just a little warning next time,” I said as my stomach became queasy. I handed him the basket and sat Triton down on the ground so he could run around some more until he got tired. “I had fun meeting your sister, and thank you for everything else.” I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him softly on the cheek. I felt little sparks nip at my lips as I pulled away and looked at his face, “Was that intentional?” I asked surprised.
“Only when I’m happy,” he replied, rubbing his cheek and smiling.
“Well you should probably get going; I don’t want you to be late.” I turned to walk away but he held my arm softly and pulled me to him, I wanted to resist for a moment but my body said something completely different, and before he could lean in to kiss me I jumped up and pressed my lips to his. I wrapped my arms around him and held him tighter as I was thrown into a lustful kiss that featured his salty yet sweet tongue. Before I knew it I was hoisted onto his waist with my legs locked tight behind him.
“I have to go,” he said, pulling away from me. Without another word, he was gone. I fell hard to the floor and went back so far as to hit my head on the carpeted floors.
He came back into the room briefly, “I’m so, so sorry.” then left again.
I got up from the floor and walked over to the bed and sat down, wondering briefly what was up with that.
***
Thursday October 14, 2010
Things were getting too serious real fast; Nikko and I were doing everything together, including traveling the world. I found myself only at home when I needed to be, other than that, my parents never even knew I was missing.
Somehow though, I felt bad because I was breaking the promise I’d made to myself; but in my own defense, back then I never could have guessed he would understand me the way he does, or at least pretends to.
I got up from the desk and went over to shut the television off, nothing was ever really good on, despite all of the channel options. While thinking about all of the stuff that Sly said before I’d made that promise, I paused in the middle of the room.
“So that’s where I knew that voice from!” I looked down at the bracelet and rolled my eyes. “Next time you’re out, you have some explaining to do, Azlyn.” I sat down on the bed, glad that I’d finally found the source of the mysterious voice and amazed at how long it took me to do it.
Since my mother was off today, she had decided to spend time with Triton and give me a break from constantly having to be his mother and guardian. I brushed some of his curled hairs off of the bed; hopefully she would get him trimmed in the process. It was undeniable that I missed him dearly; I imagined hearing his little bells as he followed me around constantly.
There was a small tap on the door, and Corey walked in. “Hey can I talk to you?” She asked as she stepped into the room. After walking over and pulling out the desk chair closer to the bed she said, “I have a question. What would you do if there was something you needed to do but it would hurt the people you really care about?”
I thought about the question for a moment and was a little confused; who did she want to hurt and why would she need to do it? “Well I could give you a better answer if I knew the specifics,” I replied finally. She was doing a good job of hiding her thoughts from me as I looked into her eyes.
“No specifics, just wondering.”
“Why did you ask me?” I looked into her eyes again until she looked down at the floor, not wanting to meet my gaze any longer.
“You’re right, I should have asked someone else.” She got up from the chair and dashed out of the room.
I didn’t care that she was annoyed, because nothing had changed between her and me- I still didn’t like her. I got up from the bed and went over to rummage through the closet; it was time to start getting ready for work. I found it surprising enough that I liked working more
than I thought I would; plus bringing home tips every night was legit, I didn’t have to ask my parents for money anymore. After grabbing the uniform shirt from the hanger, I backed up to the dresser and pulled a pair of long black jeans from the dresser.
“You could be at least a little more considerate,” Ash whispered as he walked into the room.
“I agreed to be peaceable, not buddies. Besides, I find out answers on my own, she can do the same,” I replied without turning to face him.
He exhaled then turned to leave the room, “All I’m saying is that you should be a little nicer.”
I rolled my eyes and walked out of the room after him, as I reached the bathroom, Corey walked pass me in the hall completely brushing my shoulder.
“Watch yourself,” I said aloud while pushing open the bathroom door.
“You watch it,” she mumbled under her breath before disappearing into Ash’s room.
I quickly took my shower then dressed for work and headed out of the door. As always, Louise was locked inside his office and Christina ordered me around more than the customers did. “Orders aren’t going to take themselves,” she called after me as I tied the apron around my waist.
“I just got here, you don’t have to be such a prick about everything. No one is even here yet,” I responded before walking over to the bar and having a seat. The fact that she was only a few months older than me was agitating and bossing me around like she was top dog was going to her head. As many times as she came in late, I’d like to tell her a few things that were on my mind but seeing that she was also Louise’s daughter made it too intimidating to do so.
Walking around and pushing me off the chair, “We don’t pay you to sit down, go clean the tables and polish the wood.”
I stumbled a little before catching my footing. “Why don’t you slap yourself and save me the trouble of having to do it,” narrowing my eyes as looked through her eyes, -not in an attempt to read her mind- so she would understand that I was serious. Without hesitation, Jesse and Christina both reached up and slapped themselves. The blank stares in their eyes put fear in my heart then dominance. “Thank you,” I smiled then walked away, leaving the two in complete shock.
Maybe they really are beneath us, I thought to myself as I stepped through the back and took my apron off. “Hey Louise, something just came up, it’s a family emergency. Can I have the rest of the day off?”
“Yeah no problem!” he yelled from his office.
I hung up the stained purple apron and walked out of the backdoor and around to my car, this was definitely the perfect time to see Centure. Wasting no time, I sped down the road smiling from ear to ear; people have to do what I tell them there was nothing greater than that.
Gently floating through the door, Centure appeared in the passenger seat. “You’re looking for me?”
Surprised that she had known, I slowed down and drove the speed limit before replying. “A few seconds ago I made my bosses daughter and the bartender slap themselves. Where did that come from? ”
She kept her eyes on me the whole time. “There is a truth you are not ready for yet. “
“Yet you think that Ash is? What, you thought I wouldn’t try to get into his mind every now and again.” The words poured out of me like fire, I was sick of playing nice and pretending I enjoyed being left in the dark. I had been unsuccessful to get any deeper into Ash’s thoughts before he blocked me out; ever so often I could peer in without him noticing but once he did catch on, I was right back out.
“Calm down, it has not been my decision to not tell you these things. If it were up to me, you would have been told a long time ago,” she comforted as she settled down in the seat.
“Who is stopping you from telling me? I need to know this stuff Centure, just tell me.”
“I will soon,” she replied before disappearing out of the door and being carried off by the wind.
I continued driving in silence, wishing that Triton was there in the backseat to confide in about my disappointment. Keeping my eyes on the road, I sped up until I got to the Sunrise subdivision and turned into Nikko’s neighborhood.
I pulled in front of his house and turned the car off then stepped out, before I could knock on the door Nikko was in front of me. “What brings you by today?” he asked before taking my hand and transporting me up to his room.
“Remember that conversation about warnings?” I said while I held my dropping stomach. “How did you know I was down there anyways?” After falling down on his unmade bed, I stared at the ceiling.
“I was looking out of the window before you even pulled up. I thought you had to work today?” He replied before laying down beside me.
“I did have to work, I just left early. Wasn’t in the mood to deal with Christina, I made her slap herself today,” I smiled with joy as the image played back in my head. I would have probably felt bad if Gillie was there and had slapped herself too, since she was the only one there that was nice to me. But being that I had discovered a new power on Christina and her sidekick Jesse made it even sweeter.
“How did you do that?”
I shrugged then got up from the bed. “What have you been doing here all day?”
“Nothing really, waiting for you to get off so I could show you something.” He got up from the bed and walked across the room. “This is your warning,” he smiled.
Walking over and looking up at him I wrapped my arms around his waist. “Is that why you were looking out of the window, loser?” Seconds later we were out of the room and standing in the alley of a bistro. “Where are we?” I let go of his waist and looked around the dark alley, suddenly getting suspicious.
“Calm down, this is France. The place I want to show you is in the front.”
I followed him to the front of the building and looked at the corner of people enjoying they’re breakfast outside in front.
“Isn’t it beautiful? I kicked myself when I realized I hadn’t brought you here, the food is magnifique.”
“I’m not really hungry, in fact I need to lose a few more pounds,” I said as I looked around at the chatting people.
“I didn’t bring you here so you could eat, there’s something I want to show you down the street from here. I’m well aware of your lack of interest in food.” He looked both ways before jogging across the street, “Follow me.”
Looking around, I followed him across then walked beside him as we strolled side-by-side down the sidewalk. “How far is the place from here?”
“We’re here,” he stopped in front of a green door and tapped twice on it, “It’s Nikko,” he announced.
“Come in,” a man said gruffly from the other side of the door.
After pushing the door open, Nikko and I walked in the dark antique shop. “How are you Benjamin?” Nikko called through the small store.
“I’m fine today, Nicholas, who is this young lady?” The man stepped around a beaded door and walked up to us. “Don’t tell me, hello, Alizarin. You look just like your mother.” His pearly white teeth flashed brightly as a smile wiped across his face.
“How do you know about my mother?”
The man walked away and went to stand under the light, as I looked upon his face, the dreams I used to have flowed continually, piecing together parts that were missing. The forest came to life, magical creatures flew about the landscape and a golden waterfall lit up part of the trees and reflected off of her face. None of it was making any sense, random thoughts and visions consumed me as I stumbled across the room, my legs threatening to give out under me.
“Are you okay?” Nikko asked softly as he tried to balance me with his body.
I put a hand to my head as they visions began to cease, leaving a mild headache in its place; at least that part I could heal. “Yeah I’m fine,” I replied as I struggled to stand up on my own. “He never answered my question.”
“My name is Benjamin Michaels, I was one of the people that helped your mother escape with you so many years ago. You have
grown into a very fine young lady. If only your father could see you now,” he said as he walked back around the beaded doorway and shuffled things around. When he came back out he was holding a large bowl in both hands; he had to be no more than thirty years old but he walked with the limp of an old man.
“What happened to your leg?” I questioned as I moved closer to the wooden counter.
“Nothing you should worry your pretty little head about. Nikko has been telling me about your dilemma and trust me, Centure is not the one you should be pointing fingers at.”
After pouring water into the bowl, he took a small vile down from a nearby shelf and dumped it into the water. “Without over stepping Centure, I’d like to show you something. Don’t expect much but this should clear at a little something up.”
I stepped closer to the bowl; the stuff he had put in there had turned the water a pale pink. “What do I have to do?”
He handed me a soupspoon and dipped it into the water. “Drink it,” he replied as he put the handle of the spoon into my hand. “Now you may feel a little pain at first, but that just means its working.”
Looking down at the spoon then over at Benjamin I built up enough courage to trust him. “Here goes nothing,” I said before drinking the pink liquid. Expecting excruciating pain, I shut my eyes as the last bit of it slid down my throat. “I don’t feel anything.”
As soon as the words as left my mouth, a large pinch grabbed a hold of my intestines and twisted them. I reached out and grabbed on to the top of the counter then slowly hit the floor.
When I got up from the ground, I was no longer in the antique shop but in the middle of a sunlit forest- the one from all of my dreams. I looked around in amazement as the sounds of nature swept across my ears. “Where am I?” I said aloud before realizing I was standing here completely alone.
“Welcome to your home,” Benjamin said as he appeared next to me. “This is Xyonthis, the twentieth dimension,” he continued.
Bloodlines: Everything That Glitters Page 21