Shader

Part One Chapter One: Turning 13

It was a month after my mom had died and I still hadn't told Uncle John. He still thought that my mom was going to take me off his hands someday and I didn't feel like remembering every little detail of my moms death. Suddenly I felt more alone than I ever had before. I stared at the necklace my mother had given me and wondered why she never wanted me to take it off. Maybe she didn't want me to forget she was coming back, but that plan was pretty much shot now. Still, I refused to take it off. Everyday that has gone by I've thought of my mom dying, but I force myself to block out the image of my mother's last words and her death. I don't want to see that...I couldn't. I wonder what would've happened if the EMTs had gotten to her sooner, or if I had gotten to her. Could I have done something? Questions are all that I have. Like, who were those men in the black suits? Why did they want to kill my mother? Were they the reason I had to leave? If so, why do they want me? Are they looking for me now? If they find me will they kill me like they killed my mother? All these questions were making my head spin and giving me heart palpitations and panic attacks.

The day I got home from the airport, I went up to my room and studied the necklace. When I looked at the necklace I noticed that what I thought was a pendant was actually a fancy stained glass vial. It was quite beautiful actually. It was a small tube that was in the shape of a coco bean. It had the colors brown, blue, purple, and green all swirled together, but not blended, so that it wasn't one of those gross looking colors. Also, it has a silver top attached to it with a hinge implying that it should open, but I could never get it to. Another question for me to obsess about. What was inside of it? Was there even anything in it?

I took the necklace off and set it on the counter in my bathoom, even though my mother told me not to take it off.

You have to put this out of your mind Destiny or you'll drive yourself insane, I told myself.

A lot of the time, I have to think thoughts like this to myself. Tell my self to calm down and reassure myself that everything will be all right.

Uncle John is a medium seized man and surprisingly buff for a drunk. He never has a clean shave and always wears a regular white shirt, blue jeans and hiking boots. Don't ask me why, he just does. He's only in his mid-thirties, but his hair is streaked with gray, maybe from stress. Since the day I got here all Uncle John has done is get drunk, destroy his house (which I have to clean up), break a television (which I'm guessing is why we haven't heard anything about my mom yet), throw anything he can get his hands on around the house, and pass out on the floor. Oh and his personal favorite, yell and scream at me as loud as he can. Uncle John is mad at everyone and everything all the time. It hasn't been that long, but I've pretty much got Uncle John figured out. When you really look at him you realize he's not that complex of a person. I feel like if I stand up to him maybe he'll respect me...or maybe he'll throw me out on the street. I haven't decided if I want to take that chance yet.

There's not really much to do around here since Uncle John destroys pretty much everything he touches. I usually spend my days sitting on the edge of my bed in my room making myself calm down. Uncle John doesn't really care what I do as long as I'm not breaking the law, so I've decided to be home-schooled. I confronted Uncle John about it and he said that as long as I save my own money to pay for the computer I need to take online courses, he could care less.

"Sir, I hate to be rude, but isn't there a perfectly good computer in the basement?" I asked.

"Destiny," he said, "don't you remember that the basement is off limits to you?"

"Yes Sir, it's just-" I didn't get to finish.

"Destiny, if I've told you once, I've told you a million times. No going in my basement!" he yelled as he slammed his empty beer bottle on the ground.