Entrelacen (6 page)

After the shock had worn off, Mom agreed we
needed to leave, and so we did. It took us a little
while, but we finally made it out of that house. I
graduated, started college, and began working full
time again. My brother understood why we left, but
he decided to stay with my grandparents. He got into
some trouble and ended up in a rehab facility.

Anthony got really lucky that his probation
officer had him sent to there; he really should have
gone to jail. He was on probation for a charge that I
couldn’t remember exactly what he did, but it wasn’t
a joke. He got randomly drug tested and came up
positive, but his probation officer was nice and
recommended rehab. His best friend Jay and I got
close, really close. We worked together at the
waterpark and then started hanging out outside of
work. I started developing this crush on him, and well
apparently he felt the same. We were always together.
We never became an official couple though.

I never thought I had a type, but what girl
doesn’t like the potential bad boy? Jay wasn’t
necessarily the bad boy, but the image he tried to
portray screamed it. He was the wannabe gangster
that you always expected to come across in our
neighborhood. He was Mexican. Jay had medium
brown skin, brown eyes, and black hair. He was about
an inch or two taller than me and had a stocky build. I
wouldn’t say he was fat because that’s rude, but he
was “fluffy”. That’s one of the things I liked about
him though; I didn’t feel my insecurities surface as
much when I was around him. Maybe it’s because we
had known each other for so long, and our
appearances didn’t matter to one another. Maybe it’s
because we saw something in each other that we
couldn’t see in ourselves. Those eyes he had always
got me. There was something about them that just
spoke to me. It was like he saw me.

My family is big on birthdays, and it was
Jay’s
birthday. I took him out to eat and to the movies. Then
we went back to his place. I always said I was going
to wait until marriage to have sex, but I gave ‘it’ up to
him. Everything in my life was always drastically
changing, and nothing felt permanent, so waiting just
didn’t seem like a good idea anymore. In a way it
brought us closer, at least I thought it did.

Its been two months since the biggest chance
of my life, and a few days before my brother was to
be released, Jay asked me to come over to have a talk.

“What’s up Jay?”
“So I’ve been thinking.”
Right then, I knew he was going to say

“I
think we should just be friends. Before you
get mad and start yelling, hear me out.”
“Okay.”
“Okay? What do you mean, okay? You’re too
calm to be okay.”
“Jay just say what you want to say, so I can get
home. I have an eight o’clock class and work
tomorrow.”
“Umm… so I think we should just be friends. I
mean you’re great, but you’re in college and I’m still
in high school.”
Translation: Your brother gets out of rehab in a
couple of days and I don’t want him to kick my ass.
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yeah Jay, okay. I don’t know why you got the
idea that we were more than friends. I mean we had
sex, but that’s it. It’s seriously not a big deal.”
I turned to walk away. My heart was literally
breaking, and I was on the verge of tears. I had to
leave because I couldn’t let him see that.
“April, wait.”
Damn it. Why couldn’t he just leave me alone?
What could he possibly say now?
“Yeah?”
“Is it going to be awkward with Anthony? I
know he’s your brother, and ya’ll are close. We’re
going to see each other a lot since you’re the one with
the car.”
“It’s fine. Things will be like they’ve always
been, minus the sex we have been having recently.”
I walked out before he could say anything
else. Talk about feeling used. It seemed like I saw Jay
more after my brother got out, than when we were
together, and it got old quickly.
One night, my brother wanted me to pick up
Jay and his friend Randy, so we did. Feeling
outnumbered by guys, I also picked up my friend
Angelica. After driving around, the boys got this
stupid idea to go egging. Don’t ever go egging; it’s
totally not worth it. My brother hit a car, and the car
flipped around to chase us. Adrenaline was pumping
as I cut down a street in the middle of a neighborhood
I didn’t know. I cut the lights.
“What are you doing? It’s too dark down here
for no lights.”
“Chill Anthony. If they can’t see our lights,
they can’t find us.”
Boy, was I wrong. Next thing I knew, there
was a fist coming at my window. Apparently I ran a
stop sign and hit another car. I was trapped in my car
until Jay pulled me out from the back seat. For such a
smart girl, I seemed to be making monumental
mistakes. I was taken to the hospital because of the
severe burns on my neck and right arm. X-rays were
also being taken of my knee. I finally got sent home
with a concussion and ugly burns. Butterfly was
totaled. My freedom was boxed up and shipped to the
junk yard.
Not too long after that, my brother and Jay
stopped hanging out so much. I never knew what
happened between them, but I always figured my
brother knew what happened between Jay and me. I
felt bad at first, thinking maybe I broke up their
friendship up, but I like to think it was too hard on Jay
to be around me because he still had feelings for me
that hecouldn’t act on anymore. Ignorance is bliss.
With everything that’s been going on, it seems like
time speeds up. It felt like school just started and now
its ending.
It was summer again, and Jay didn’t come
back to work at the waterpark, thank god, but a new
guy came into play. Brian. He was a lifeguard with the
most beautiful eyes I had ever seen. We started
hanging out a lot. He went bowling with my mom and
me, he even brought his mom sometimes. We would
go to movies together. We basically did anything and
everything together. He became my best friend, and I
started falling for him very quickly. It’s funny how
life works. I believe in fate, and I think it was fate that
brought him into my life. Have you ever sat down and
allowed your mind to roam free? I’ve learned that if I
do that, I’m not always so angry and sad. After
meeting Brian and loving him so much, I started
believing in the idea of soul mates. I know that sounds
stupid, but when we met, I totally believed he was the
one I was supposed to be with, so I did anything and
everything to always be around him. Including sitting
for hours on end watching him play poker with a
group of friends.
Brian was the eye of the storm in the hurricane
known as my life. He was the solace I craved. Just
being around him made everything else seem to
disappear. Everything finally seemed to be falling into
place. I had a great set of loyal friends; I even went
out and partied sometimes. So why did it feel like
something bad was about to happen? Just as that
thought passed through my mind, the phone rang. It
was my father. He was asking my mom for a speedy
divorce; he said it was urgent. Being the nosy person
that I’m, I wanted to know why. I mean who
wouldn’t, right?
“Mom, why does he need to divorce you all of
a sudden?”
“Well apparently the girl he’s with lied to
him.”
“Okay... so?”
I was seventeen at the time, and I still didn’t
comprehend why he needed to rush into a divorce. I
must’ve had this confused look on my face because
my mom sighed, told me to sit down, and she would
explain.
“Well, she’s not nineteen like she said she
was.”
“Okay, so is she younger or older?” The whole
time I was hoping she was older. Talk about wishful
thinking.
“No April. She’s not older. She’s younger.”
Wow! I freaked out. I mean my dad should be
smart enough to realize eighteen is the legal age for
consensual sex. Hell, his youngest daughter was
seventeen. How the fuck old could this chick be?
Then my mind started to comprehend everything. Oh
my god, my dad needed to get a speedy divorce so he
could marry her to avoid being charged with statutory
rape.
“She’s sixteen April.”
Eww! How the hell could a girl younger than
me be attracted to my dad? He was a major drug
addict and drug dealer, who didn’t even keep up his
appearance. He had long hair and a long beard. Gross!
Then it made sense; she must have been into drugs
too. That was the only explanation, right? Then my
second thought was that I needed to warn this girl.
She couldn’t know what she was getting herself into. I
did just that, but to no avail because she didn’t care
what kind of person he was. I knew my dad had
finally met his match. It was actually scary how much
like him she was.
They got married a few days after of the big
reveal, and guess what? I had a beautiful baby brother
a few months later. I stole him every chance I got.
They didn’t know what they’re doing, and it frustrated
me that they were subjecting this perfect baby to this
horrible life they had. How can you have a child when
you’re still a child? My dad should have known better.
He hadn’t even taken care of his oldest children. How
could he possibly do things any better this time
around? It wasn’t too bad though because that baby
had a sister who would do anything for him. Matthew
was spoiled rotten! I bought him so many clothes and
toys that he would be set until he was two.
I got to my house with Matthew one day after
taking him out to play and was shocked to see my
dad’s car in the driveway. What the hell was he doing
here? I unloaded everything and walked inside.
“Hey Dad, Tiffany. What are y’all doing
here?”
“We have some news.”

The best part about having a best
friend is that you have someone to talk to
when things are going bad. You have
someone there to help you fight your
demons. What happens when your best
friend moves away? Phone calls, emails,
and texts don’t make the separation
easier. If anything, it makes it harder. It
had been two days since Deandra left, and
I could already feel myself reverting back
to my old ways. We had been talking
nonstop since she left. She even tried to
me to go hang out with our group, but I
declined both times they asked me.

I was lying on my bed staring at the
black celling above me one night, and I got
this odd sense of déjà vu. It was the
weirdest thing. It felt like a memory was
trying to release itself, but I fought it. I
felt fear for the first time since I was
thirteen years old.

I felt electricity charging the air
around me, like when you go touch that
ball at a science museum, and the
electricity chases any part of your skin
that touches it. There was something
different in this situation. It was
everywhere; the prickly sensation was
running all over my entire body, and my
muscles began to tense like they were
gearing up for a fight.
What the hellwas
goingon?

I tried to lift my head off the bed,
and I couldn’t move. This charged field
was holding me down; I was immobile. As
quickly as it came, the sensation
disappeared. I got up to look around the
room, waiting for someone to jump out
and scare me. Nothing. Absolutely nothing
in the house was making a sound except
my rapid breathing and my heartbeat. I
made my way to the window in my room
and opened it to let some air in. What I
saw creeped me out and stopped me in
my tracks. Standing in front of my house
was a man dressed in all black. His face
was partially covered. Only his dark eyes
were visible as he stared at me.

My eyes connected with his, showing
him that I wasn't scared even though I
was actually terrified. We both stared each
other down until I heard him speaking,
but his mouth wasn't even moving. His
voice was clearly being projected into my
mind.

“We’re coming for you Logan. You
belong to us.”
“I belong to no one. Who are you?”
“Whowe’reisn’t important right
now. Allyou needtoknow isthat in a
yearyou willbe right where you are
supposed tobe.Your destiny iswritten;
your fate has been sealed.”
“I write my own destiny.”
“Stupid boy. You will see. It’sonly
beginning. That rage you try tocontain
willincrease andconsume you untilIt’s
released. Once It’s, you willcome looking
forus."
“I won’t. Thisismy life; I choose
what happens, not you or anybody else.”
“We’ll see.”
Just like that he disappeared. What
the hell was that all about? I needed to
find Mom and talk to her. Something
strange was going on, and it was about
time she told me what it was. I stayed
home from school. There was no point in
going because the teachers were basically
just wasting time until Thanksgiving
break. I heard the car door shut and
looked at the clock. It was 9:30. Why
wasn't she at work? I walked down the
stairs and met her in the kitchen.
“Hey Mom.”
She let out a scream, “Oh my god
Logan! You scared the crap out of me!
What are you doing home?”
“I’m sorry Mom. We’ren’t really
doing anything in school, and something
weird happened last night, so I wanted to
talk to you. I guess I fell asleep before you
made it home.”
That was a complete lie. I was up all
night waiting for her to come home, and
she never did. She was up to something,
and it didn’t feel like it was a good thing.
“Oh, umm yeah. It was pretty late
when I finally made it back. What did you
want to ask me?”
She couldn't even look at me. She
was looking everywhere else: the floor, the
walls, the celling, the damn coffee
machine, but not once did she look at me.
“Well you can start by saying why
you can’t even look at me or why I’ve
basically been on my own since we moved
here. Take your pick. Then you can tell me
what’s going on with me because you have
to know.”
That was the first time I had ever
spoke to her like that. I didn’t even
recognize my own voice. It held so much
hate and anger. What was going on with
me? She finally looked at me, and I
immediately wish she didn’t. All I saw was
fear in her eyes. Why was she scared of
me?
“Logan there are some things you
need to know about our family. Sit down.
This is going to be a long talk.”
“Fine."
We took a seat at the table, a table
we had never eaten on, not once.
“Our family comes from a line of
magic. Everyone in our family is destined
to protect something, whether It’s a
person, an object, or the family secret. I
was supposed to protect an amulet. This
amulet in the wrong hands could give the
darkness the upper hand in the war we’re
constantly fighting. I messed up though,
and the amulet was taken.”
My mom had lost her mind. Magic?
You have to be kidding me.
“We come from a family of
witches?”
“No, not witches, though we do have
some who can work spells. We’re
considered protectors. I failed at what I
was supposed to protect because of your
father. I trusted the wrong person.”
“Okay, let me get this straight. Our
family members on your side are
‘protectors’, but we also have people who
can work actual magic?”
“Yes. Now this next part is going to
be tricky because you aren’t the right age
to learn about this. It’s supposed to be
revealed to you on your eighteenth
birthday, but I fear you might need to
know now.”
She’s lost it. My mother was insane,
but I decided to play along.
“Okay, you have my undivided
attention.”
“When I met your father, all the
warning bells inside me were telling me to
stay away from him. Like any girl caught
in the temptation of a guy like your
father, I went against my instincts. It was
beautiful for the first couple of years. He
was always nice and caring. I didn’t even
notice the attention he placed on the
amulet. I made it a point to wear it
around my neck every day. The amulet
was beautiful. It was an onyx stone that
was set in silver. It had tiny rubies and
diamonds surrounding it making this
intricate pattern. Then I got pregnant
with you. I was so happy that I didn’t
focus on anything other than you. Your
dad would rub my belly and talk to you
when I when I went to bed. He was so
excited about becoming a father that I
thought everything was perfect. I look
back at it now and notice the way he was
looking at me. I always thought it was me
that sparked the longing in his eyes. I was
a fool.”
She closed her eyes and looked like
she was either trying to escape the truth
or relive it. I was not sure which. When
she opened her eyes, I knew that what she
was saying was the truth. Her eyes looked
cloudy, like she was blind. I couldn't see
the color of her eyes anymore.
She continued, “When you were
born, he was so happy. He was always
holding you or playing with you. As you
got older, I started sensing a change in
him. He wasn’t the man I fell in love with.
He wasn’t the man that loved you. It
wasn’t an immediate transformation. The
changes started happening over time. I
was still so caught up with the fact that I
had you that I ignored my other
responsibilities. I lost track of my mission.
Instead of protecting the amulet like I was
supposed to, my main priority was
protecting you. Then he started hitting
me. His anger became magnified, so I
started hiding you anywhere I could in
case he was going to start hitting you too.
It was then that I realized he had the
amulet. I went searching for it. I threw
clothes all over the place, upturned
drawers in the kitchen, and looked
through all of his stuff. I turned up with
nothing. He must have had with him.
That’s what was causing the change in
him. I was never told what it could do. I
was just supposed to guard it with my life.
I guess I finally figured out what it could
do in the wrong hands. Every day I think
about that and wish that I hadn’t left it
where someone could get it. I wish I had
protected both you and the amulet. But
you, Logan, are more important to me
than that amulet, so when he beat you so
bad you ended up in the hospital, we left.
I should have left long before that, but I
held on to the hope that he would leave
the amulet lying around, so I could take it
back. If I could get it back, maybe he
would go back to the loving man I
married, to the loving father that he was
when you were born. I was fool to believe
that could happen, but love is blind. It
took him putting you in the hospital for
my eyes to truly see he was beyond
saving.”
I remembered it all. I even had some
memories of being five or six and playing
catch with him. We were always laughing.
That’s the last good memory I could
remember. Things started clicking into
place. The way the darkness would
surround him used to scare me. What was
scaring me the most since Deandra left
was the darkness I felt inside of me.
Mom said, “I see it in you Logan,
that darkness that your father had. Yet
it’s different at the same time. You have
two ways you can go, but it’s your choice.
This next year is going to be extremely
hard for you. There’s going to be many
temptations to bring you to the side of
darkness, but your future is your choice to
make.”
“There was a guy here last night. He
said my destiny was already written, and
I have no choice. He said he would be back
for me. He said I belong to them. Is this
what he was talking about mom?”
“So it begins. Yes Logan. He’s
referring to the darkness in you. Your
future is not set in stone. That’s the
beauty of life. We make our own
decisions.”
“What am I supposed to do?”
“You need to live your life to the
best of your ability. You’re strong. You can
fight the darkness inside of you, but only
you can do that.”
“Who are they?” I asked, though I
had an idea.
She was quiet for a couple of
minutes and had that look teachers get
when they’re about to explain something
in detail, the face that told you that you
were about to be bored out of your mind.