“Hey, I just wanted to catch up with you before you disappeared. Your dad called and said he’d be late coming home from work.”
“Oh, well that sucks.”
“Yeah, but it’ll mean more hours, so at least there’s something good.” She looked at me, worry evident in her gaze. “The kids told me about what happened at school today.” She said softly. “Are you okay?”
I shrugged. She didn’t need any more to deal with. “Yeah, I’m totally fine.”
“You sure? Because if you need to talk, you know I’m here for you.”
“If I need to talk, I’ll be sure to call my shrink.” I snapped off.
“Fine. I get it. You don’t want to talk.” She ran her hands through her hair and let out a weary sigh. The dejected look on her face pierced through me, but I had to deal with this alone. No one would believe me. “If you need anything, you know where I am.”
“Yup, that I do.” I smiled softly at her, trying to replace some of the damage I inflected. When I saw her face brighten, I turned to my door, making my escape.
It took a lot of self-control not to run hell-bent down the stairs. I knew that if I did that Mom would likely follow me down to find out what was wrong. There were many things that were wrong at that moment, but the book held my attention. I was excited. This may be just what I needed.
I snagged it out of the bathroom and jumped onto my bed, laying the book onto my lap. I quickly flipped it open. The pages were coarse, made from some type of older parchment like material. I ran my hands lovingly over the texture, feeling somehow connected to it. I gently flipped through some of the pages, afraid that they would rip.
There were diagrams drawn on almost every page with precise handwritten notes throughout. I paused, reading a few sections. “The Goddess so blessed her children that they could control one of each element. The strongest of which she bestowed upon the symbol of the Goddess, that they may be of the blood to control all five elements.” I frowned, skipping a couple more parts to read more. “When the full cycle of the moon commences, the Goddess shall reveal herself in her maidenly form. We may pray beneath her imperial light and become more enlightened—”
I scanned through more pages and became more confused. What was with all this talk about blessings and a Goddess? How in the hell was I supposed to find any answers in this crap? I kept reading, hoping that there would be something or anything that would tie into the darkness. There was nothing. Everything that was written sounded pure, light. My darkness had no place in this book. I threw it down and looked at the clock. I was up later than I realized. I shut off my light and curled up under my blanket. My thoughts leading to dreams of light, power, and the Goddess.
Chapter Twenty-Four
It felt like my eyeballs were being forced out of my head by a stampede of rhino’s. I squinted in the early morning light and rolled over, smothering myself in my pillow. My mother’s soft rapping on the door reverberated against my eardrums, adding a frantic motion to the rhino’s stampeding.
“Star honey, it’s time to get up. You’re going to be late.”
“God Mom, would you quit shouting? My head’s going to explode.” I grumbled and sat up in my tousled bed, squinting at her beneath the shadows of my lashes. Concern crossed her face. She looked at me tentatively, then slowly walked toward me, unsure of herself. I groaned as she sank onto the bed beside me, the jostling causing my brain to squeeze in agony. Clutching it, I leaned forward, praying something would end it all. I didn’t understand why I had this bad of a headache. Yes, I stayed up rather late reading that damn journal, but I’ve spent practically all my life doing that and had never had that bad of a reaction.
I flinched as I felt my mother’s rather cold fingers grasp my hands lightly, removing them from protectively covering my head.
“Jesus Mom! Can’t you see that I’m—” I sucked in a breath as I felt her place her fingertips against my temple, applying a steady pressure. The shock slowly wore off as a warm wave seemed to radiate into my skull. My body started to relax as my pain dissipated slowly. I blinked open my eyes, testing to see if there would be any pain. My mother was smiling softly at me.
“There. Do you feel better now?” I stared at her, shocked. How in the hell did she just take away my migraine? I nodded numbly, my mind whirling and discarding a million possibilities. She patted my knee affectionately then rose, rubbing her hands against each other. “Good. You better get ready for school, you don’t want to be late. Oh, and don’t forget that the dance is tonight. I’ll have your costume ready by the time you get home.”
With one last smile, she was gone, leaving me to stare after her in stupefaction.
I ended up running late. Cursing my luck, I turned sharply into the schools parking lot, my tires squealing in protest. I slammed it into park and sprinted toward the schools doors right as the final bell started to ring. I skidded through the halls, racing past classrooms and lockers. The crimson and gold flying by in a horrific display, almost like a scene from a horror movie. I slid to a stop and threw the door open, startling Mr. Ridgewood and the entire class. I froze as they all locked their gazes on me like I had a target painted on my forehead. I sent an apologetic smile Mr. Ridgewood’s way and quickly made my way to my seat without making eye contact with anyone.
Luckily everyone’s attention went back to the front. I sank down into my seat, staring at my desk top. I almost squeaked when a rolled up piece of paper hit me on the forehead. I glanced up and looked into Gabe’s very amused eyes.
“What?” I mouthed to him, glaring at his smirk.
He quickly settled his face into a stoic mask. I almost rolled my eyes, he was such a goof. “You okay?” he mouthed back.
This time I did roll my eyes. “Yes, just late.” He looked me over, obviously checking to see that I was telling the truth. I leaned back and crossed my arms. “You done?” he nodded then turned back around. I let out a sigh, wishing that this day was over already. I didn’t feel right. The absence of darkness was making me feel edgy. I knew that after an episode it always quieted down, but this seemed
The day seemed to go on forever. I felt myself slipping into a depression. This definitely wasn’t the ideal mood for the night of the dance. I worked through the lunch lines and grabbed my tray and headed over to our table. Rose and Brandon were already seated. They froze when I approached, immediately stopping whatever they were talking about. I bet I could guess what it was.
I glanced over at the patio and could see caution tape blocking every entrance. Maintenance men in blue jumpsuits were standing around it, trying to find out the cause of the eruption. A shiver raced down my spine as I remembered the destruction of the previous day. No, definitely not in the mood for a dance.
I sat down and glanced at my friends. Rose was openly staring at me, trying to gauge my mood today and Brandon’s face kept switching between sympathetic and unease. I didn’t think he knew exactly how to react to it all.
“So, little Star, are you ready for the dance?” I looked into Rose’s steady emerald eyes, and knew she’d never let me get out of it. I slumped down and stirred the mystery meat around my plate with a fork.
“Sure, what more could I want tonight then to go dance? My life will be complete.”
“That’s the spirit! Besides, do you honestly think I’d go alone in the torture devices your mom and fancy boy over here created?” she shook her head while sending a glare Brandon’s way. “Think again, sweet cheeks. I’ll drag you by your hair if I have too.”
“Awe, love you too.” I glared right back into her determined eyes. God I hated how weak my attempts were at trying to get out of situations. I just didn’t want any more to deal with, and I really couldn’t deal with a fight right now. Maybe I’d get lucky and end up getting sick before the dance started.
“Alright you two, enough with the stare down. It’s going to be a blast! Just you wait, you’ll have guys lining up to dance with you all night. You’ll have to beat them off with sticks.” Brandon said with a happy smile. He should
