Rare Attraction

Rare Attraction [1]

Here is the rewrite of Rare Attraction! I worked super hard on it, and I can't wait for y'all to read it. Please let me know what you think in the comments. I'm very curious to know what y'all think.         

        I was burning. The flames clung to my body like nagging parasites. I desperately wanted to leave this agonizing, seething abyss, but I was constrained by the fire. The blaze was alive, dancing deep within my core. This was a part of me that had been skillfully concealed, but now it yearned to be free.

         The fire gnawed at me from the inside, causing me to wail in anguish. This pulsing spark inside screamed for acknowledgement, craved to be accepted. It wanted people to see how powerful and compelling we could be when married in a terrifically gruesome union.

         It was my fate.

        I was abruptly awakened from my nightmare by agonizing screams coming from upstairs. My weary, yet alert eyes searched for danger. I turned my head to see blurred forms saunter by the living room. The muscles of my heart tighten from fear as I came to conceive what was happening.

        With a silent stealth, I rose from the couch and made my way towards the staircase. Placing my hand on the smooth wooden railing, I began to ascend. As I lightly shifted my weight onto the step, a hushed voice startled me to such an extent that I froze. Glancing up, I saw my dad staring at me from the top of the staircase, an impassive aura radiating from him. A soft gasp escaped my semi-parted lips when I saw trickling streams of blood on his shirt. 

        I cleared my throat and tried to compose myself. "I was just coming up to see if he was okay..."

        He stared at me for a moment before he replied, "He'll be fine, Aria. You might want to leave the house for a few hours." He turned and began walking back to my brother's room. 

        I stood there staring after him while the curiosity and hurt burned within me. It upset me so much to know that my own family didn't trust me with what was going on.

      Placing my hand on the railing again, I let it lead me upstairs- if possible, more quietly than before. I was desperate to know what was happening to my older brother. However, when I sneakingly peeked into his room, I wasn't prepared for what was playing out in front of me.

        Alastair was laying on his bed, his body flopping around like a fish without water. His eyes  sickeningly rolled into the back of his skull as he stared blankly at the ceiling. Thick trails of blood ran from both his eyes and nose.  As I continued gaping at him, I noticed his gaze trail away from the ceiling and down to me. It was like I was staring at a stranger, a terrifying stranger. Suddenly, his mouth opened. The way he smacked his lips together made me think that he was fighting to say something. Just as I went to speak back, I felt hands grasp my arms. My parents were yelling in my ears, but by that time I had completely tuned them out.

        "Say something, Alastair. Please," I begged while the tears ran freely down my cheeks.

        "D-don't trust-," He struggled to say before his gaze settled back to the ceiling.

        I screamed his name as I fought against my parents. Once they finally managed to get me out of the room, I turned to stare at their blurring figures. "Why do you keep thinking you can hide this from me?" I cried.

        Mom took my face into her hands and stared into my wet emerald eyes. "I know that you don't understand, but we're trying to protect you Aria," She reached into her pockets and fished out her car keys. "Here. Take my car and drive to Jake's house. I'll text you when to come back home."

        I snatched the keys out of her hand and glared at both of my parents. "You can't protect me forever from this. You're going to have to tell me sooner or later." I turned from them and hurried downstairs. With a deep-set misery settled heavily in my chest, I walked into the warm September afternoon and climbed into my mom's Toyota Avalon. As I wiped away the tears, I started the car and then began to drive to my boyfriend's house.

        I was fed up with the secrets that my family hid from me. For as long as I could remember they had hidden a lot of things.Things like fears. Fear was something that I fought with when I was a kid. I grew up struggling with the fact that everyone was afraid of my family, myself included. As far as I knew, we had never done anything to make anyone feel like we were dangerous. Every time I confronted my parents about it, they would make up excuses that was far from believable. These types of responses tore me up inside, especially when I yearned for a friend or just someone to talk to.

        On top of the emotional neglect, my parents also fed my brother and I lies about why we were constantly moving. We'd pick a place and move several months later. Either we were behind on house mortgage and sold the house, or my dad's workplace relocated to another state. It was obvious that they were lying. However, I had learned to deal with it after years of begging for the truth but still receiving the same lamely-executed excuses.