Aww... This chapter... It was fun XD
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M emories flooded into my mind, going through my head like a family video. Most of the time we were going through towns, searching for something that I didn't know what was. While we were in Columbus, Ohio, I asked, "What the heck are we looking for, Mom?!"
"Not a what, honey, but an old friend of mine," she'd replied, running a hand through my hair. "I think he can help us, so we're going to go visit him."
"Are you leaving dad?" I had demanded, crossing my arms stubbornly. "Because I won't like the man we're going to if he's supposed to be his replacement." I glared at my mom. "If he is, I hope he drops dead." It wasn't something I'd usually say, but I was ticked that my mom had made me leave my dad.
"He just might have," my mom had whispered so low I doubt it was meant for my ears as she flipped through the phone book. "None of them." She sighed before turning to look at me. "Listen, honey, me and your father aren't separating." When I'd continued to glared stubbornly at her, she'd added, "I promise. I love your father with all my heart."
"Okay," I'd said, giving up. "Fine."
We spent the rest of the week looking at every town my mom could think of, looking through countless phone books. Every time we left within a few hours of arriving, unless it was night time. If that was the case, we stayed at a motel.
"We're coming up with nothing," Mom had muttered one day, pacing back and forth in our room, thinking I was asleep. "At this rate, they'll find us. That one has gotten close too many times."
What was Mom talking about?
"Maybe I should go to them. It's bound to have worn off by now. I can trust him to be by her." She continued muttering to herself until about three in the morning, which was when a knock came at the door.
"Anyone in here?" A teasing, familiar female voice came from the other side of the door.
Before I'd gotten a chance to ponder on why it sounded familiar, I was swept out of my bed and into my mother's arms. "Don't open your eyes, Kat." There was the sound of wood shattering, and I quickly found out that we'd caused it. "Have fun catching us." I glanced up to see a girl about two or three years older than me with black hair running at us, all her other features besides her green eyes invisible due to the darkness. She was running, but we were moving so quickly away from here it looked like she was in a pool of water. And then the wall was suddenly in front of us, and we were falling. My mom's grip had tightened on me, and then there was a thud as we landed. "Darn it. Why so soon?"
I heard the thud of feet as my mom ran to the car, sliding me in and buckling before doing the same. "I said close your eyes, Kat!" my mom snapped, but I could see the worry in her eyes. The worry was what made me obey and close them. The last thing I saw was my mom pulling out her cell phone as she began to drive.
"John! John, this is Rebecca." There was a pause. "Yes, the absorber. I didn't know you knew two Rebeccas." Another pause. "We're being attacked by a Rouge." She glanced in her rear view mirror. "I'm heading to your house with my daughter. I can't find Ned no matter how hard I look. Was he killed?"
I heard a male voice say yes.
"Yet another friend," my mom murmured, tears building up in her eyes. "How many do they have to kill until they're satisfied?" I was surprised at the disgust in her voice.
"Where are we going, Mom?" I asked, confused.
"To one of my other friends' house, Kitty - Kat. We'll be there very soon." Then she added, "I hope."
About thirty minutes later, we got to a huge house. No, it wasn't a house. It was more like a mansion. Outside was John Armstrong, the man I know now and apparently back then, too.
"Rebecca," he began, embracing my mom before pulling away. "I'm so glad that you managed to get away from the Rouge."
"As am I, John." Then she gestured to me. "And this is Kaitlyn, my daughter; however, she'd rather be called Kat. I think you remember her."
"How could I forget. You should know I'm not sure if he'll be able around her," John warned, glancing back at the house were a boy, Max, looking older than thirteen, which was the age he should have been during my memory, stood. "Max took him to his room when he found out you were coming. We're still trying to get the spare rooms ready." He turned his attention to my mom again. "I hope they'll be ready before long."
"Thanks a lot, John." My mom ushered me toward the house. "Where's Ellen and the twins?" she asked.
"They're the ones putting the bed up. Max was helping, but I had him come out incase you needed help with anything."
My mom shook her head. "The Rouge just suddenly appeared, so we didn't have time to grab our stuff," my mom admitted.
"That's fine. We'll just go shopping then. You'll stay here until we can get this mess with the Rouge settled," John said, leading us up the steps. I lingered, letting Max go in before I did. That was my first look at the Armstrong's living room. "I still say you should have come to us sooner."
"Okay, John, I'll admit it. You were right. Happy now?"
"Very. You out of all people know how much I enjoy being right." John smiled at my mom.
"Rebecca!" A woman, Ellen, walked down the steps. "It's so good to see you again." Ellen gave my mom a hug, and then walked over to me. "My, Kaitlyn. You've grown quite a bit."
"Kat," I automatically corrected. "Have we met before?"
"Kat, the Armstrongs were some of the first visitors to see you in the hospital," Mom explained, running a hand through my hair.
"Yeah. Back then you were so adorable," Max said, smiling. "How come nobody ever stays as cute as they were when they were babies?"
"Kat's still cute!" a girl, Alley, disagreed as she walked down the steps.
"And some people stay as cute as when they were babies," another girl, Anne, said. "We're still as cute as buttons, just like when we were babies."
I gulped, pulling my mom in front of me. I automatically got shy when new people surrounded me. I don't know why I did that. I was okay at places at school and stuff, but whenever I was around someone my parents knew and I didn't, I felt extremely shy.
My mom rolled her eyes and slowly pulled me in front of her. "Don't worry, Kat. They're not going to bite you." She smiled at me. "It's okay."
"Hello," I whispered, looking at the ground. "Nice to meet you."
"Hey, Kat," the blond twin said, practically materializing in front of me.
"It's nice to see you again," the black haired twin piped in. "You've grown a lot." Anne and Alley grabbed each of my arms before herding me toward the stairs. "We'll go show little Kitty - Kat where her room is."
I couldn't help but smile. The two girls were just so energetic it was hard not to smile. They reminded me of cheerleaders. "Okay," I said, smiling at them. Ever since we'd left my dad, it had been hard to smile, but it felt right to smile while here. "Let's go see my room."
Saying the room they showed me was big was an understatement. It wasn't big, it was gigantic. It had bright red carpet that reminded me of oxygenated blood. At least I could bleed on the carpet and it wouldn't leave a stain. The walls were a light green color with a dark green vine, a few leaves coming from it. There was a twin bed, a bed sheet with a dark red cover that reminded me of deoxygenated blood. The wood that held the bed up looked like oak, but I might've been wrong. A wooden dresser that reminded me of the same type of wood from the bed was against the right wall, and a closet with sliding doors took about half of the back wall. A bean bag chair was on the other side, a huge flat screen TV in front of it. There was even a pool table there. Compared to my room, this was a paradise. I looked at the twins. "This is your guest room?"
"Yep!"
"Amazing, huh?" Alley piped in.
"Yeah, it is." I walked over and pushed down on the bed. My eye lids suddenly felt heavy. I hadn't slept in an actual bed, as in not a motel one that I thought was nowhere near as comfortable as a bed at home, for a while now. The cover felt like silk, but I wasn't all that sure. I looked at the white pillows, concluding they were made out of the same type of material.
"Go ahead and sleep, Kat. We'll tell your mom," Alley said, giving me a sympathetic smile.
"Yeah, Kat. You're safe now." Anne followed Alley out of the room, glancing back at me and watching me slowly slip into the bed before turning the light off.
I stretched as I woke up the next morning before sitting up. I blinked quickly, trying to wake myself up more than I already was. I glanced around, having to wait a moment before I remembered I was at the Armstrong's house. I lay back down, closing my eyes. I still couldn't believe that I was truely laying in an actual bed. I stayed there for a moment before scooting off of the bed. I walked over to the door, opened it -
And practically ran into some boy. "Oh, sorry." I stumbled away from him, watching as his eyes widened.
"Oh," the boy said. "It's okay." He cocked his head to the side, his auburn hair falling to the side. "Kaitlyn?" he whispered so low I hardly heard it.
"Are you one of the Armstrongs?" I asked, wondering how else he'd know me.
"Yeah. I'm Damien Armstrong. I was adopted by John and Ellen," Damien replied. His blue eyes slowly went back to normal. "Hello. What's your name?"
So he must not have wanted me to hear him mumble my name. "I'm Kaitlyn, but I prefer Kat." I smiled at him. "My mom and I are staying here, so I guess you'll be seeing me quite a bit."
Damien simply nodded, his eyes never leaving mine. "Hi," he said. It was hard not to laugh when he said that, almost like he was in a bit of a trance. He smiled at me. "So, you heading to breakfast, too?"
"Actually, I was going to go look for my mom. Since she might be at breakfast, though, I guess I can go check there."
Damien smiled. "Okay, then. Follow me and I'll lead you to our dining room." He began to walk, so I stayed on his heels. He led me down the stairs, through the living room, kitchen, and finally led me into the dining room. That was my first glimpse of their dining room. "Nice, huh?"
I looked over at him. His blue eyes were locked on me, almost like I was a magnet and his eyes were pieces of metal. He gave me a gentle smile.
"Damien?" My mother's voice sounded unusually strained when she spoke, making me look at her with a raised eyebrow.
"What's wrong, Mom?" I asked, wondering what could be bothering her so much. It wasn't like my mom to act like this. Uncharacteristically, she sounded completely emotionless, making me feel that much stranger. What was wrong with Damien? She acted as if he had a disease or something.
"Hello, Rebecca," Damien said, smiling at her, but his eyes seemed pained. He looked away, looking like some guilty child at the same as someone in pain. It was sort of confusing. "How have you been?"
"It's good to see you, Damien," was all she said before looking over at me. "How about you come over here and sit beside me, Kat?" She said this with a smile, but she seemed to be hiding something. Was it stress? Anger? I had no clue what the emotion I was seeing was.
"Okay," I said slowly before walking over to sit beside of my mom. "Is something wrong?" I whispered to Mom, my eyes full of concern. "Are you okay?"
My mom nodded, faking confusion. How could I tell it was fake? When my mom was stressed, she sucked at lying. "I have no clue what you mean. I'm perfectly fine." She gave me a reassuring smile. "I was just a bit surprised to see you by Damien."
Speaking of Damien. I looked over to see him standing uncomfortably in front of a chair. The only chair left was the one across from me, but he didn't seem to want to take it.
I heard my mom sighed, and then she said, "Is something wrong? You should sit down." My mom smiled at the Armstrong.
Damien's muscles seemed to relax as if a huge pressure had just been taken off of them. "'Kay," he said, sitting down in front of me.
"Here you go," Ellen said, passing me a plate. "Feel free to eat as much as you want. I know that you and your mom haven't eaten a proper meal in a long time, so don't mind eating a bit more than usual."
What she said made me slightly uncomfortable, but it also made me relax because that meant that they'd understand why I'd eat so much. I was starving. I grabbed one of everything, except for the fact I got two biscuits instead of one. I absolutely loved biscuits and rolls, but I preferred rolls over biscuits. They just tasted better.
Damien would put food in his mouth, but most of his attention was on me. I felt a bit weird with him simply staring at me, but I didn't say anything. I just ignored it. I'd ask him about it later. I wasn't sure if he'd answer me, though. I simply smiled at him occasionally before looking away, eating my breakfast as quickly as I could.
I left breakfast early, walking up to my room and shutting the door behind me. I know for a matter of fact my mom hated that I isolated myself like this whenever I got urges to, but I couldn't help it. I felt weird around strangers. Especially when these strangers knew me, even the kids who were only a year or two older than me. How could they even remember me if they met me when they were two for crying out loud?
After what seemed like hours, I walked toward the door, needing to do number one. After I used the bathroom, I walked back to my room. It was then that I heard them talking.
"I've told you a millions times before, Damien," Mom said, sounding exasperated.
"I'm sorry, Rebecca! I can't help it," Damien said, his voice sounding like a man pleading for his life.
"This is ridiculous, Damien. We all know why you can't get attached to her," a female voice that belonged to Ellen said. "You've known this for your entire life."
I slowly walked over, crouching down beside of the guard rail so I could see Damien standing beside the stairs, my mom a few feet from him. He turned his attention from whoever he'd been looking at (I assumed it had been Ellen), and then looked at my mom.
"Tell me, Rebecca, how you can say this stuff when you know exactly what I'm experiencing," Damien said, his voice slightly strained. "You can't stand not seeing the person who stole your heart, yet you can talk to me about this stuff?" Damien's voice was strangely cold, making me flinch.
"Damien," my mom said, her voice pleading. "Please, don't."
"You even gave up everything just to be with Devin, yet you talk to me about not being able to control the feelings I have?" Damien shook his head. "I can't believe it."
"Fine, Damien, you win," Rebecca Kry said, shaking her head.
"Rebecca, don't give in to him." John's voice. "We all know that you sometimes wish you hadn't, so don't worry. You don't have to give in."
"No, John. I want her to spend time with Damien. If it's the same way as it was with me and Devin, then I know he'll be able to comfort her. She's been really emotional lately," my mom said.
"That doesn't surprise me," Damien said. "You guys have been through a lot lately. I'm surprised she hasn't withdrawn into a shell or something."
"She has withdrawn a little, Damien. You know that. She's usually really happy." I heard my mom take in a deep breath. "Please, Damien. I didn't want to admit this, but I think you may be the only one who can pull her out of that shell. Please help Kat," my mom pleaded.
My own mother thought this boy who was a complete stranger to me could help me better than her? I didn't even need help, I thought stubbornly. I walked up the stairs, slamming the door shut behind me. If my mom cared so much about me, maybe she should try and help me with whatever problem she thought I had.
The knock at my door made me jump. "Kat? Can I come in?" Damien said from the other side.
Go away! I wanted to shout, but I simply made an excuse. "I'm changing." I grabbed a pair of clothes the twins had loan me. They were some of their old clothes, so they'd thought they'd just give them to me like hand - me - downs. I slid on the white T - shirt, put the blue tank top on over it, and blue shorts that covered from my waist to my knees. I walked back over and sat down, not even caring about the fact that Damien was still outside, waiting for me to say he was allowed in. I just plopped back down on my bed and closed my eyes. I was just about to fall back to sleep when he spoke again.
"You done changing now?" he asked.
"Come on in," I said after a few minutes. Did I want him in here? No. Was I going to be rude and yell at him to beat it? No, again.
Damien stepped in, pausing when he saw me sprawled out on my bed. After his small hesitation, he walked over and sat down beside my feet. "Are you okay?" he asked, looking down at my eyes even though I refused to meet his. "I heard your door slam shut. Is something wrong?"
"Nope. Not a thing." Besides the fact that I really rather be back at home sitting between my mom and dad while we watched crime shows, I thought, staring at my ceiling as I imagined that.
"Lying's a sin, Kat," Damien said, knowing that I was lying. "You shouldn't do it." He smiled at me, his eyes filled with sympathy. "Do you think it's hard not seeing your dad?" he asked, making me glare at him.
"Of course I think it's hard. No, scratch that. I know it's hard and it really hurts," I replied.
Damien sighed, letting his head fall back so he was looking at the ceiling. "I know it's hard, too, Kat." His words made me look at his face, trying to read his emotion, and then he looked down at me, meeting my eyes. I felt like I was captured in the blue pools. "I watched my mother get killed when I was only nine years old. You know who killed her?"
I knew that the answer I was thinking of was right, but I couldn't bring myself to say it. I couldn't bring myself to accuse the person I knew he was about to say.
"I watched as my father murdered my mother." Damien shook his head, his face one of disgust. "The very person he said he cared most about," he muttered. Damien looked over at me, his eyes filling with kindness the second he met my eyes. "See, Kat? I understand the pain of not seeing my parent. I ran away just to get away from my own father."
I slowly sat up, not taking my eyes off of his. "You watch your father kill you mother?" I repeated, unable to believe it. I'd heard of things like that on TV and stuff, but it still seemed impossible to me. Was his father heartless? I wondered, that being the only excuse I could think of someone so monstrous they'd kill the person that was his lover.
"Yeah, Kat. Seems unbelievable, huh?" A smile spread across his face. "I'm slowly getting over it, though. It's feels like it's been twenty years since it's happen." Something about what he just said made him smile. "Maybe a year or two less."
"I'm sorry," I whispered, unable to speak any louder. A look of pain passed over his face for a moment, and then it was gone. I felt like pulling him over to me and comforting him, but I knew that wouldn't be the best of ideas. I turned away and looked at the wall. I hated how easy it felt to be around Damien, and yet awkward at the same time.
"You don't have to feel sorry for me," Damien said. "I just wanted you to know you have me to talk to if you need to talk about anything."
I jumped when Damien's hand was suddenly on my shoulder. I was so freaked I didn't even jerk away from his touch.
"You shouldn't put up a wall, Kat. It's making your mom feel like crap and feel worried." His eyes were gentle and caring, making me want to confess all the things I've been feeling to him, but I didn't. I was not going to do that. "Kat, you know you'll be able to see your father again. I promise you she's going back right after she's finished here, and with some other business that should be fixed within a week."
I knew he felt what he was saying was true, but I didn't believe it. After my mom and I had left, she'd told me we'd go back to in a month tops. It had been way longer than that. "Whatever," I muttered, glaring at the bed sheet as I picked at the hem of the pillow. Like I even cared about his promises. But it did make me hopeful; however, I hated that. I didn't want to feel hope because it always ended up turning around and laughing in my face.
"It could be a lot easier, Kat. All you have to do is open yourself up. Anne, Alley, Max, and I can be your friends," Damien said. "You just have to let us."
I looked over, getting trapped in his eyes yet again. It was just so hard, I thought, to open up when I'd closed myself off for months. But here some stranger was, trying to be my friend in the time I felt like I most needed it.
Making me jump, Damien pulled me into his arms. "It's okay, Kat. You seriously don't have to isolate yourself from everyone else. You just have to trust us. To trust me."
I closed my eyes. I don't know how, but he seemed to be forcing me out of my shell. I relaxed his arms and slowly began to weep the tears I'd been holding back since I don't know when. Maybe since we left. Or maybe since we'd gotten here. Maybe it was when I yelled at her about going to a man's house.
"Thanks, Damien," I whispered before falling asleep in his arms. I really hated how crying made you tired. Actually, I hated crying in front of anyone in general.
When I woke up, I was surprised to see Damien was still there, his arms tightly around me. We were laying in my newly wrinkled bed. I felt my face heat up. I'd fallen asleep in a guys arms. I would have continued feeling embarrassed, slightly mad, and a little awkward if I hadn't seen his face. It was like that of a sleeping baby's. He looked so innocent and helpless he reminded me of a little child. I thought of his blue eyes, and they way they'd look perfect with his face at the moment. I slid out of his arms; his eyes instantly opening.
"Oh, Kat! I'm sorry. I'd meant to wait until I knew you were fast asleep before leaving, but I, too, ended up falling asleep." He gave me an apologetic smile. "Sorry," he repeated. He yawned, running and hand through his hair as if to see if it was messed up. "I should have forced myself to stay up better."
"It's okay, Damien. You didn't mean to," I said, trying to make him feel better. I smiled at him. "Actually, I think your quite comfortable." I blushed, looking away after I said that. I don't know why, but it felt weird admitting the thing I'd recently realized.
Damien smiled. "That's nice to know. I believe someone else has told me that before, but I can't remember who it was exactly," Damien said, gazing into my eyes. "So, you sleep well?"
I averted my eyes, feeling a bit weird being alone with him. Before I'd felt fine, but now it felt like when he stared at me there was another emotion mixed in with caring. Trying to distract myself from Damien, I looked down at my golden heart wrist watch. "Holy cow!" I exclaimed when I saw it was five o' clock in the afternoon. Had I slept that long? Had we slept that long, I corrected myself without actually thinking about it.
"I wonder how many people are wondering how I sleep so long," I said absent mindedly, getting to my feet and stretching. "You coming?" I glanced back at Damien who was still sitting on my bed by the time I was at the door.
Almost as if my voice had pulled him out of some strange haze, he blinked a few times before smiling. "Sorry about that. My mind drifts quite easily." Damien got to his feet, heading over to the door where I was standing.
I looked at him for another heart beat before turning and opening the door. I walked out of it-
And almost right into my mom.
"Oh, Kat!" she exclaimed at the same time I said, "Oh, sorry, Mom."
I smiled up at her, balancing myself with the door frame. "Sorry," I repeated, I backed up, giving my mom some space. "Were you coming up here to wake me up?"
My mom's eyes darted to Damien, and she shook her head. "No. I knew you were asleep. I was actually looking for Damien," my mom replied, shocking me. She was giving him a confused looking gaze. It looked like she trust him, but at the same time, she was afraid he was about to jump me when my back was turned. What was that about? "I was searching for him to tell him dinner was ready."
"What we having?" Damien asked, looking over my shoulder at my mom.
My mom glanced at me, and then smiled. "Sorry, Kat, but I didn't even think about telling them you hate fish until after I smelled it, so..." She just smiled. "You don't have to worry, though. I called and ordered some cheese pizza for you."
I sighed in relieve. "Thank you," I said, smiling at her. Damien gave me a weird look, so I explained it to him. "I absolutely can't stand the taste of fish."
"Oh," was all he said before walking over to the door, stopping in front of Rebecca. "By the way, nothing happened. I didn't mean to fall asleep in here." I thought about how him being so defensive was a bad thing, but I decided not to say anything about that. Anyway, there was no reason for my mom to be mad. It wasn't like he was going to try something.
"I believe you, Damien." Even though she said this, it sounded like she was forcing the words out. She nodded out the door. "Come on, guys. Let's go."
"Okay, Mom," I said, walking out behind her, Damien shutting the door after I left the room.
"Hello, Kat!" the two twins said, practically materializing beside me as soon as I touched the bottom step, almost scaring the crap out of me.
"Holy crap!" I exclaimed, jumping back. I would've stumbled and fell over the step behind me if Damien's strong, vise - like grip didn't grab hold of me. "Thanks." I smiled at Damien.
"No problem," he said, returning my smile. He waited until I was balanced before letting go of me.
"Hello, Anne. Hey, Alley," I said, waving at the two girls shyly. I pushed back against Damien, almost like I thought I could go through him so I would be invisible or something.
"Finally! Kat's come out of her shell," Alley cheered. "Nice, Damien."
"You did a good job," Anne piped in, high - fiving her brother. I was expecting him to sweat drop like people on anime he looked so much like one of them. Yeah, I'm an anime dork, but I'm proud of it.
"Yeah, you did," my mom said, adding herself to the people complimenting Damien. "And it's nice to have you shining like you always did whenever you weren't in the shell." My mom pulled me into a hug, and then started leading us to the kitchen while the twins bombarded Damien with questions.
"Okay, guys, only one of you can talk. If you talk at the same time, I can't hear a word you're saying," he said, rolling his eyes at them.
That's when we got to the kitchen, and the smell hit me. My hands flew so fast up to my face I think they blurred. Okay, yes, that was an hyperbole, but my hand went up fast. Not only could I not stand the taste, but I hated the smell of fish.
"Oh, Kat, it doesn't smell," Mom said, rolling her eyes. "I think you're being over - dramatic about this."
"Nope. My fish smell hate is your dirty sock smell hate," I said, reminding her how much she hated the smell of dirty socks when half the time I couldn't smell anything.
"Oh, come on, Kat," John said, smiling at me and holding up a fish stick. "Just try one. My fish sticks are good."
"No way. If I eat fish, my throat will swell and I'll die. Just one bite will, indeed, do that to me."
"You allergic to fish?" Ellen asked, raising an eyebrow at me. She turned to my mom. "I thought you said she's not allergic to anything."
My mom sighed. "She's not." She glanced at me. "She just says she is."
Anne gave me a fake serious look. "Lying's a sin, Kat."
"You shouldn't do it," Alley added, crossing her arms. I started to wonder how they weren't identical twins. They acted like they were.
I simply smiled. "I try to get Mom to put 'fish' under what I was allergic to on my emergency card," I told them, causing everyone to laugh and my mom to roll her eyes.
"I wouldn't give in, though, no matter how much she complained." My mom smiled at me, ruffling my hair. "I'm not going to give in to a little girl."
I leaned away from her hand, trying to put my hair back in place, causing them to laugh. When I put my arm back down, my elbow hit my glass, letting it fall off, falling on to my pants. "Oh, crapizoid!"
Six eyebrows rose while my mom chuckled. Damien was the first to break the silence. "Crapizoid?" he questioned, his lips twitching back as if he was forcing himself not to smile.
I shrugged. "I have a colorfully weird vocabulary?" None of the brows went back down. "You don't understand what the means, do you?" I guessed.
"Nope," all of them said in unison, surprising me, and finally making me laugh.
"It means my weird vocabulary is really colorful," I tried to explain. I'm not sure if they got that though. After a few minutes, the brows slowly went down and Ellen got me a towel. After that, I changed into some shorts that were borrowed from one of the twins.
The day went by quickly, and so did most of the days after that. I found out that there was a beautiful music room in their house, and that that was Damien's best subject. Since I'd never been good at music, I asked him to teach me it. He was good at all things, but, in my opinion, his music sounded most beautiful was the piano. Yes, I know, it's just like all the books I'd read, but it must have been the easiest because he was great at it. He even tried teaching some of what he knew to me. Damien started teaching me other subjects about a month after I was there. He was like my own personal teacher. Being my teacher, we were around each other a lot, and Damien had a lot of talks with my mom for reason I don't know of. Now that I think about it, him teaching me was what caused the whole event.
I sat on the chair in front of the piano, listening as Damien played, his fingers hitting the notes perfectly. I closed my eyes, trying to remember who had wrote it. I knew it was someone he'd recently taught me about, but the name slipped my mind. He slowly came to the end, and then I felt his eyes on me. I opened my eyes and turned to look at him.
"Who wrote that?" he questioned, his now familiar teacher tone making me have to force myself not to smile. I just thought it was hilarious.
I thought about it for another moment, and then answered, "Franz Liszt."
Damien smiled and then nodded. "Correct." And slowly smiled, his teacher tone completely gone when he continued. "And what era was he from?" His eyes were gentle, reminding me of calm water. I found myself getting caught in them, and then drifting off a bit too far like I had one time while at the beach. I'd been lucky because my dad caught up to me before I got too far. This had been happening more often, and it would take him talking again to snap me out of it. "Well?"
There it was. His voice, snapping me back into reality. "The romantic era," I replied. I watched him nod, and then he turned and played Liszt's song again, not even looking at his hands as he did. Instead he was staring at me, allowing me to get lost in his blue eyes again. I'd had a crush on him about a week or two after we'd gotten here, and it was starting to get annoying how I couldn't get myself to stop liking him. I'd tried over and over again, but being around him so often and living in the same house as him didn't help me all that much.
Dang it! Snap at of it, Kat. Cut it out! I yelled at myself, forcing myself to look at his hands and listen to what he was playing. Why was it that I couldn't force myself out of it? It was strange, but I'd feel like, at times, he knew I liked him, and he was doing things he knew would get me to not get drawn into his eyes, and at other times it was like he tried to pull me deeper.
"Kat?" Damien's voice made me look up at him. It was hard to believe how different I'd been back then, so willing to drift away in his eyes. I just always felt safe then. "Is everything alright?" he asked me, his voice soft.
I looked over at him, and then nodded. "I'm fine." I looked down at his hands again, and then started playing around the area in front of me since Damien had stopped playing. I didn't really play anything in particular, but I just had fun running my fingers over the keys.
"You're lying." His words were serious, making me look at him. "You've been like this for a few months now. Sure, it's not the same thing now as it was before, but now there's something else bothering you," he said. This time when I looked away, Damien gently grabbed my chin between his thumb and pointer finger and turned my head to look into his eyes. "You need to tell me what's wrong."
I looked into his eyes, choosing my words carefully. "You said we'd only be here for a little bit, and now it's been six months. I'm worried that we'll never get to go back home. I'm worried I won't see my dad again."
"What's the other thing?" Damien pried, his blue eyes seeming to look straight into my soul.
"I'm feeling something strange," I said. Before he could ask what I meant, I went on. "It's something I only feel whenever I'm around you." I couldn't believe what I was saying. Just shut up, Kat!
"What do you feel?" He was suddenly leaning toward me, but I didn't do anything to stop him. I forced myself to think he was just trying to hear me better or it was by accident. "Because I may be feeling the same thing."
I think my heart skipped a beat. I thought I saw pain flash through his eyes, and then he closed them for a minute before opening his eyes. I felt myself tense up, but I slowly relaxed as he got closer. That's when his lips met mine, and it felt like an electric current ran through my veins. It was only a second, and then it was over. Why?
"DAMIEN!" Saying my mom sounded furious was an under statement.
Damien was suddenly gone, and I found him all the way on the other side of the room, me being in the middle of my mom and Damien's eyes. "Rebecca," Damien mumbled, his whole body tense. He glanced at me for a split second before looking back at my mom. "Why don't we talk somewhere else." My mom's sharp nod actually surprised me. Once again, she was usually nice.
"How about the guest room where I'm staying?" my mom suggested.
"That would be fine." Damien walked toward the door, stopping and looking over at me. "I'm sorry, Kat. I let my emotions get the best of me," he whispered to me.
"Come on," my mom said, her voice uncharacteristically rough. She started walking, so she missed what Damien did next, not seeing him quickly walk over to me.
"Stay here, okay, Kat?" Damien took one of my hands into both of his, my eyes meeting his. "I'm still really sorry I did this to you, Kat. I shouldn't have....." Damien pursed his lips, trying to think of what to say, and then smiled. "I shouldn't have tried so hard to pull you under my spell."
I wanted to argue, but after thinking of all the times I'd thought he'd been flirting and just brushed it off as him being friendly resurfaced. I looked away, feeling like a fool for "falling under his spell." I never knew I'd know that saying three years later.
Damien let go of my hand, and then he turned and headed for the door. He glanced over his shoulder once more before turning back around and heading to the guest room.
It was true, I thought as I stood there. He had been really nice to me. So nice I thought he was doing everything he could just to keep me happy, see me smile, or to make me laugh. Had he been doing that on purpose? Apparently. So he had been trying to make me like him. Why was it that I didn't feel like that was a bad thing. Was he going to get in trouble because of the fact he kissed me. He'd told me he was fifteen, so he was only two years older than me, so it shouldn't be all that terrible. Sure, he may be three years older than me soon (not sure when his birthday was), but then I'd quickly gain a year and it would only be two again. Some people dated people six or seven years older than them in books.
I needed to know if I was causing Damien to get in trouble. Yes, he'd told me to stay, but I wasn't a good listener when I didn't want to be. So I ran out the room and headed toward the guest room, crouching down in front of the door. I was happy it was creaked open a little, so I didn't have to risk being caught eavesdropping on them.
"-needs to keep his feelings under control," my mom was saying when I finally was able to hear their conversation.
"She's leaving anyway. I'm just doing what I can to make her feel comfortable," Damien rebuked.
"Kissing her isn't keeping her comfortable," my mom snapped, and I could imagine the look of anger on her face she only got whenever she was truly ticked.
"Now, Rebecca, you really need to stay calm." John came into my view, standing beside the crack. When he'd started talking, I barely creaked the door open so they wouldn't hear it. I could see Damien leaning against a window, my mom's reflection visible in the glass.
"How can I stay calm, John? I told him to stay away from Kat, to only make her comfortable, and now he pulls this stunt off," my mom said. "I even told him that I'd force him to stay away if I had to to keep him away from Kat if he pulled something like this.
"Rebecca," Ellen said, "I agree with John. You need to stay calm."
"I'm really sorry, Rebecca," Damien said. "I just can't help but love Kat like you can't help but love Devin." His voice had a pleading tone in it. "I've been waiting for thirteen freaking years while you waited none."
"Damien, I don't want to bring Devin in this, and I don't want Kat to be dragged into this world," my mom said. Her voice was final, leaving no room for argument, but Damien found room.
"How about I do what you did? How about I seal my powers?" Damien suggested, his face becoming hopeful. "I'll do what you did. Then I can even seal Kat's power, too."
"No!" my mom screeched, a purple aura suddenly appearing around Damien. He winced, biting his lip as he was slammed against the wall right beside the window. "You will never do that to Kat!" My mom came into view, allowing me to see her better. Her hand was, like Damien, surrounded by a purple aura. "She won't be dragged into the Super Human world. She can't live her live like us, always fearing for her life."
"Then don't make her. Just let me do the same thing you did. Let me hide my Super Human powers from her like you do with Devin," Damien pleaded.
"Damien, that's enough," John said, looking at him with a pleading look. "You have to accept that you can't be with her."
I toned myself out for a moment. Why did the words Super Human sound so familiar? And why was her mom's hand and Damien surrounded by the strange aura? Then something clicked. Was my mom doing that to Damien? Could Super Human be like a super hero or something? Then a terrifying thought came to me. Or super villains? I was surprised that my mind was wondering toward this when usually I thought of good things, and now my thoughts were filled with bad possabilites.
Then I thought of something else, something like a memory. Mom standing in front of some man, talking to him about Super Humans, and how she was trying to get me rid of..... I couldn't remember what.
I felt eyes on me, and looked up to meet the eyes of Damien Armstrong. His eyes went wide. "Kaitlyn?" he said, still being pushed against the wall. I glanced at my mom to see her looking at me, her eyes fading from purple to their normal blue. I heard a thud and saw Damien hit the ground in the corner of my eye.
"Kat?" my mom murmured, looking at me with wide eyes. She must have saw the fear and confusion on my face because she approached me slowly. What was it that she was she so worried about?
What's she trying to protect me from? I wondered. How was taking me away from my dad going to protect me from anything? I wanted more than anything to be with him right now. I also wanted to know what was going on and why I felt a strange urge to get away from them.
I shook my head hard, feeling tears build up in my eyes. I wanted to know what was going on. How had my mom forced Damien against the wall by simply pointing toward him. "Stay away," I mumbled, taking a few steps back before turning and running.
"Wait! Kat!" I heard Damien call, my mom yelling things quite similar.
I would have ran for a lot longer, but I stumbled over my own feet. I hit the floor, feeling the tears begin to stream down my face.
"Kat, stop," I heard Damien murmur behind me.
"Leave me alone," I grumbled, forcing myself to stop crying. "Get away from me." I got to my feet, quickly wiping my eyes before turning to look at him. "Just stay away!"
"Kat, listen to me," Damien said. "Your mom is just trying to protect you. I promise." Damien took a deep breath, biting his lip and looking up at the ceiling. I quickly realized he was thinking. "Kaitlyn, you know these Super Humans you say you hate so much?"
I knew those words from some manga, which is like Japanese comics translated to English, and I didn't like what was coming next. "Shut up," I said, wondering if my face showed how stricken I was.
"You know what I'm about to say then? That those stupid Super Humans is what you are?" he asked, looking down at me and meeting my eyes. "That you're just like you mom, like me, like my family?"
"No I'm not! I'm a normal teenager," I disagreed, unable to believe it.
"Kat, you don't even know what Super Humans are," he said, sounding almost as irritated as I felt. "How can you tell if you don't like us or not?"
I can't believe a word he says, I thought. For all I know, he could be a killing machine. I seriously felt like one of those cartoons with an angel and a devil on their shoulders when a more reasonable, more me-like thought came to me. Exactly. As far as I know, meaning I can be completely wrong and he can be good. But how would a good person have demon like powers such as lifting someone of their feet like a person in a movie that was cursed or possessed.
"I don't believe you," I finally said. "I won't ever believe you and this total bull! I actually was starting to like you, and you pull this crap?!" I started to turn when my mom appeared in the doorway.
"Kat, calm down," she said.
This was her fault. She's the one who dragged me into this, not caring if I was being chased. She was the one who took me here. She was the reason I met him.
It was his fault that I was here. It was his fault for trying to get me to like him, making all of this hurt just that much more.
"No. I will not calm down!" I exclaimed. Tears escaped my eyes, streaming down my face. I was angry that my mom would do this to me. I felt an unusual rage build up to me, words forming on my tongue without me realizing what they were until they were out. "I HATE YOU!" I regretted it the moment it was out of my mouth, but it was slightly helpful. It shocked my mom long enough to give me time to turn and run, Damien running after me.
I ran through the front doors and toward the woods, wanting to get away from Damien at all costs. I had to be away from them. I had to think. I had to calm down, but first I needed to be away from all of this, no matter what. Second, I needed to find out why in the world I was thinking like this. Third, complete the first before the second. I ran into the forest, running faster than I've ever ran, and I could barely hear Damien say, "It's falling apart too fast," before I escaped into the night.
My bare feet hurt as they hit the cold ground. I stopped, leaning against a tree as I gasped for air. It felt strange to relax after running for about thirty minutes. The dark sky was lit only by the stars and crescent moon, but the trees blocked out most of the light.
I continued gasping for air, which strangely burned my lungs. I clenched the fabric of my blue tank top as I slowly slid to the ground. It was fall, but, like usual, I hardly ever got cold until winter. The cool breeze blew my brown hair across my face, blinding me for a moment, and then it would calm long enough for my hair to fall over my face before it picked up again.
I slowly got up, my aching muscles burning. I forced my mind away from the pain and toward the fact of what had happened at least thirty-five minutes ago. I paused, and then cautiously took a step. I was relieved when I felt pain, but not enough to make me fall to the ground, resting until it would stop.
My feet slowly began to move, but I made them pause when I heard a twig snap behind me. I swirled around to see if they had finally caught up to me, and I wished they had instead of what had. My eyes met her clover green eyes. They were the same ones from the hotel, and that owner had been after me and my mom. And no matter how mad I was at her, that didn't lessen the want to kill that was like an aura around her. Her eyes were already familiar to me, and so was the danger that was held within them.
I quickly turned, running as fast as I could in the other direction. Even though I was one of the fastest kids in my school, I could tell she was just toying with me, staying close behind me. My breathing picked up as I was compelled to go faster to stay away from her. She was so close I could sometimes see her in the corner of my eye.
I shouted in surprised when my foot hit a hard tree, making me fall toward the ground. A sharp rock cut from my left wrist down around my elbow. I winced as I put my hand against the wound, blood slowly covering my right hand. I bit my lip and began running again, knowing she was watching me like a little child would watch a TV show.
My feet stung and there were probably at least a dozen splinters in them. "Leave me alone!" I cried. I heard her laughter behind me, which made my blood boil at the same time as it froze from the amused laugh.
I shoved another branch out of my way, and then yelped as my foot hit grass. Before I could stop myself, I started sliding down the hill that was above the interstate. I never knew I ran that far. Crack! I winced as I caught myself, my fingers hitting the ground before my palms, cracking each and every one of them. After my palms hit the ground, my knees did, breaking the skin when they hit the hard, rough concrete.
I slowly got to my feet, knowing my life was probably about to end. Hm. So, because of my fear of what had happened at the mansion, I was about to die. I turned to face her, trying to meet her eyes, but was unable. Her black hair was a blur as she ran at me. I could see her sharp, neon orange nails heading for my face. They glowed for a second before they got longer. I closed my eyes, a tear slowly trickling down my face.
That's when her nails connected with my face, digging into my cheek. I was sent flying back, banging my head hard against the concrete. I felt wet, hot blood against my head. Darkness pushed down on me, leading me to death. I knew it was my fault, so I wasn't going to blame anyone else. I wish, though, that I'd been able to tell my mom I was sorry and that I loved her...... To bad I was such an idiot.
Sure, it had taken me forever to realize how Mom had been helping me. She'd been protecting me from the person who was attacking me, but the only way to do that was to take me-
Oh, that was it! She'd taken me away from Dad because, as far as I knew, he didn't know about this stuff and she didn't want him to know, so she'd taken me away, knowing that she'd follow us. Then she was going to protect me, and that meant she needed help, which is why she went to Damien's house. Why, you stupid idiot, couldn't you have listened to Damien.
"I'm so sorry it has to end so quickly, Kaitlyn, but we don't have enough time to-"
"Kat!" I heard a voice yell. No, it wasn't a voice, it was Damien's voice, meaning my mom would be with him. Maybe they would save me.
I barely saw the girl look up toward the voice, and then she actually turned transparent. Then she was blown away like smoke. Strange. I would've pondered on it longer, but my mind felt distant, almost like I couldn't focus on anything. That, and the fact that Damien came into my view, making me turn my attention to him.
"Oh my gosh!" I heard my mom scream, and I saw Damien tense before he fell to his knees in front of me, burying his face in his hands. I think he would've came over to me if my mom wasn't suddenly there, gingerly lifting my head, and then bending my neck so that she could inspect the damage. "I may be able to save her." Damien looked up so fast I think he actually blurred.
"How? She'll live?" Damien asked, a gleam of hope in his eyes. Now that I thought about it, Damien acted a bit different now. He seemed to care more and was a little less selfish (well, he was only wanting me to live because he liked me and not caring that it would hurt others. I could just tell that was why he wanted me to live).
"I think so," my mom replied, gesturing Damien to come over. "Put your hand on her cheek and try to lessen the blood loss." I felt my mom's hands leave and someone else's, someone strong, replace her hands. Damien. The next second my mother's hands were on my chest. A moment later felt energy surge through me, feeling like a tingle. It started at the place my mom's hands were and then spread up through my body, stopping at my cheek.
"Honey, if you feel a strange tingle, talk to me, okay? If not, well, I still want you to talk to me," my mom said, doing her usual nervous habit and making things longer than they needed to be.
"Mom," I mumbled, wincing when I talked. Why did it hurt so much? Oh yeah. The girl had hit my cheek. It hurt more than anything's ever hurt. I could still feel the wet stuff, blood, coating me. "I'm sorry." I felt tears slowly leaking from my eyes, hurting my cheek. I tried to look at her, and then let out a cry.
"What's wrong?" Damien asked, my mom too focused on something to ask.
"My neck," I groaned, feeling more pain there than in my cheek.
"Crap!" I heard Damien mutter. "Rebecca, she has a cut on her neck as well." He placed a hand there as well, making me wince. "Stay calm, Kat. Please, just stay calm." I heard him sob for a moment, but when he talked to my mom, his voice wasn't as emotion stricken as I'd expected. "What are you doing-" Damien paused, and I heard him take a deep breath. "What are you doing to heal her?"
"You know how absorbers absorb energy?" I guess Damien nodded, but I couldn't tell. "Well, I'm releasing my energy right by here so that the energy goes into her. The energy is what's healing her, not me," my mother explained.
I suddenly let out a scream of pain, surprising me and everyone else. Why was I so shocked? It shot up from my back and into my body. It seemed to hit the surface against my skin and try to burst out of me. What was going on?
"What's happening, Rebecca?" Damien demanded, voicing my own thoughts. "Why's she in pain?" I could feel them both looking at me.
"I don't know. I may have gave her too much energy, so...." I glanced at my mom, barely able to open my eyes, to see her looking guiltily at me. "The only way to help her is....." I saw my mom bite her lip. "Is to absorb the energy back out of-" Once again, she didn't complete her sentence, but this time it was because she screamed in pain. I felt the pain focusing around my chest where my mom's hands were.
"You're actually absorbing the energy out of her?" Damien asked, his voice containing awe.
"The pain should be gone soon, honey," my mom said in as soothing a voice as she could manage, forcing herself not to scream like me. "Just stay calm and relax. Please, just relax." I could tell she was about to cry. She really hated seeing me in pain, so that fact didn't surprise me all that much. We both screamed as pain shot through me and up my mom's arms.
"Just stop," I moaned, unable to make myself actually speak. I didn't want her to feel pain like me. I couldn't stand it. I hated my mom being in pain as much as she hated me being in pain.
"Don't worry. It'll be over soon," she said, but I knew that wasn't true. This was going to end very, very badly.
I felt my wounds closing, as weird as that sounds. It was like I could feel the skin forcing itself back together. I heard Damien sigh in relief when he noticed this. "You're going to be okay," Damien said, his eyes filled with pain. "You're not going to die."
"Mom," I murmured. I looked up, but all I saw was her crying. She was in pain because of me. "Please, just stop."
She was about to say something, but then we both cried out as energy came out of me like a pulse wave, slamming against her and sending my mom flying back. She slammed against the tree, falling limply on the ground.
"Oh no. Rebecca!" Damien shouted, started to run toward her, but stopped and looked down at me. He looked torn between staying with me and going to my mom. He looked like he was about to when he saw something. I followed his eyes, and having to force myself not to faint. Standing a few feet from us was a shadowed figure, the figure's clover eyes looking at us.
"Guys!" a familiar voice, Anne's, called out.
We all looked toward the woods, including the clover eyes. I was the first to look back, happy when they were no longer there. The last thing I saw before I fainted was John rushing toward my mom while Ellen ran toward me. Mom, I thought, I'm so sorry I made this happen.