Savior (The Savior Series Book 1) (8 page)

14. THE DARK SIDE OF ME

MY FATHER WAS UP TO HIS USUAL SHENANIGANS WHEN I arrived at home. He and my mother were in the middle of one of their trademarked arguments as I entered the living room. My mother quickly turned away from me, probably hoping I had not noticed the tears in the corners of her eyes.

“Where the hell have you been?” Phillip, Sr. barked as soon as he noticed me. I knew better than to ignore him when he was in that kind of state. His normally yellowish eyes were reddened and I could smell the alcohol on his breath from twelve feet away.

“I was just hanging out with a friend. I lost track of time,” I said quietly.

“You lost track of time? How in the hell did you lose track of time?”

“Dad, it’s Friday. Give him a break!” said PJ, who had surprisingly emerged from the basement to come to my defense.

“Quiet, PJ! Your father is just concerned,” our mother interjected. It was hard for me to even look at her lately. She always had this look of sorrow in her eyes that would nearly bring me to tears. She was only 45 years old, but her now sunken face and hollow cheeks made her appear to be far older. It was as though the stress of our poverty and her desolate marriage to our father had caused her to age at twice the normal rate.

“You’d better listen to your mother, boy,” Phillip, Sr. growled as he glared at PJ.

I could tell by the expression on PJ’s face that he had no intentions of backing down. There was a familiar darkness within his eyes. A darkness that I knew all too well. I had felt it seeping into me and corrupting my soul as I plunged Fat Pat’s head into that toilet bowl and held him there so long that he almost drowned in the filth. At first, I thought my newfound strength was the catalyst of my morbid impulses, but I now knew that I had my father to thank for them. PJ wasn’t nearly as strong as I was but we shared the same darkness within. We were both merely products of our environment. I had Monica’s presence to help me keep the dark at bay, but PJ had no one.

“Are you going to hit me again if I don’t shut up?” PJ hissed as he pushed his stringy hair out of his face.

“Listen boy, just because you’re going off and visiting some fancy college this weekend doesn’t make you a man. You’d better show me some damn respect before I teach you some,” Phillip, Sr. roared, his eyes wide with rage.

“I wish I could leave tonight. I’m sick of this piece of crap house and this piece of crap family!” PJ bellowed.

“Phillip, please don’t talk to your father that way,” our mother pleaded.

“I don’t have a father.” PJ braced himself as our father approached him in silence. As the two of them stood face to face, I took a few steps forward, not sure if I should intervene.

“I don’t know what the hell has gotten into you, boy, but you’re about three seconds away from getting the hell beat out of you,” our father growled as he poked PJ in the chest with his index finger.

My hopes of cooler heads prevailing were shattered as PJ shoved our father away. Upset, Phillip, Sr. pounced on PJ and tackled him to the floor. He proceeded to wail on his eldest son with all his might, seemingly not caring about the possibility of seriously injuring PJ.

PJ’s attempts to fight back were futile as our father was considerably larger and stronger than him. Mother rushed to PJ’s rescue, throwing herself between him and Phillip, Sr. It suddenly became clear that Phillip, Sr. had no intentions of halting his assault, even as my mother prepared to use her body to shield PJ from the imminent blows.

As his tightly balled fist headed for my mother’s unguarded flesh, I decided that I had seen enough. In that moment, what little respect I still had for that man dissipated, and I could no longer stand idly by, watching him hurt the ones that I loved.

I crossed the room in an instant and firmly gripped the hand that he had dared to raise against them. The rage that I had fought so desperately to bury had returned. I gladly welcomed its presence as it flowed through my veins and drove out all sense of compassion.

The dark side of me returned, as I once again became the inspiration of fear. The same brand of terror that I saw upon the faces of Bryan and Jimmy had now found its way to my father.

I felt not a single ounce of remorse as I glared into his eyes and prepared to rip his right arm off and beat him to death with it. He was shouting something at me, but I couldn’t hear a thing over the sound of my own heartbeat ringing in my ears.

A twist of his wrist brought him to his knees. As he fell, my mother stood. She was shouting, no doubt pleading with me to release the pitiful excuse of a man. I never understood her devotion to him. Her once promising future was all but decimated by the very man that she was pleading to save.

As my mother and I locked gazes, I couldn't hear her words over the sound of my own heartbeat, but her eyes spoke ever so clearly. I silently pled with her to allow me to end him but she was not to be persuaded. I could see within her eyes that she loved him more than anything. More than PJ or me…more than life itself.

I wanted him dead, but she could not live without him, and I could not live without her. I finally released him and turned my back on them all. Mother pleaded with me to stay as I exited the front door without a word.

Outside, I pulled the straps of my backpack tight and zoomed away into the darkness. I glanced at the running watch strapped to my left wrist as I galloped away. I was only thirty seconds into my run, and I had already reached 85 miles per hour.

As I stormed deeper in the night, the edges of my own darkness began to fade.

15. FROZEN SKY II

IT STARTED WITH A THUNDEROUS EXPLOSION. MY EYES grew wide with fear as the searing tide of conflagration rose and spread rapidly in all directions, threatening to consume us. Blistering tendrils of flame anxiously clutched for my feet as I ascended into the night sky just outside the reach of the infernal blaze.

She was safe now. Monica’s once tense grasp was now relaxed as we cut through the icy air and ascended into the ebony heavens above. The dream had returned. As I carried her through the frozen, midnight sky, I once more hoped that love would find its place upon her face. I was once again disappointed as the apex of my ascension revealed the face of a person that knew not the meaning of love. Her eyes burned with a passionate revulsion as she beckoned for me to let her go. But what had I done to deserve such discontent? What would drive the love of my life to cast away her only hope of salvation in order to rid herself of me?

There were mountains of questions without as much as a crumb of an answer. Perhaps it was time for me to give in to fate. There was no use fighting that which I could not control. I took a deep breath as I prepared to let go of her for the last time. Time seemed to stand still as I finally released her. We both floated in the air for what seemed to be an eternity before she finally began her descent.

16. WHAT ARE WE

“NO!” I SHOUTED AS I AWAKENED FROM MY NIGHTMARE in a frenzy. Jason was instantly upon me, pleading with me to remain calm.

“It’s just a dream, Adam! Adam, snap out of it!” Jason shouted as he slapped me hard across the face. I barely felt the blow, but it was enough to free me from my delirium. Jason stared strangely at me as I tried to catch my breath.

I stood and gazed around the room, trying to remember where I was. The room was dark, but when I noticed the large screen that Monica and I had watched the Travis concert on, I realized that I must have been back at 3D. I slowly started to remember running to the Third Dimension after the skirmish with my father.

“What are you doing here, Jason?” I asked.

“I was working on an expansion room and came in here to get some supplies. What are you doing here? It’s two o’clock in the morning.”

“I just needed some air,” I lied as I diverted my eyes from his gaze. Something about the way that he was looking at me let me know that he didn’t believe me. I pretended not to notice, but as I looked away, I saw what appeared to be military grade body armor and combat gear lying on the couch behind us.
Looks like I’m not the only one who’s hiding something,
I thought.

“Anything you want to talk about?” Jason asked, his voice dripping with concern.

“No. I’m fine.”

“Well, you don’t seem fine. What’s going on with you, buddy? You haven’t been yourself lately.”

“I said I’m fine. Why do you care anyway?” I demanded as I turned my back to him. He was right. I was acting differently. I was changing too suddenly and I didn’t know why or how to control it.

“Adam, I’m your Ace, bro. You know you can tell me anything, right?”

“You don’t have to worry about me, Ace. I’ll be fine. I’ll see you later,” I said flatly as I left the Third Dimension. Jason didn’t deserve the cold shoulder that I was giving him, but I wasn’t feeling very sociable at that moment. I wanted to speed off into the night once more, but I didn’t know if he was watching or following me.

IT TOOK ME ABOUT THIRTY MINUTES TO WALK TO MONICA’S house. It was a quiet night and there were no lights on in any of the suburban houses in Monica’s neighborhood. I looked at my watch and scratched my head as I stood across the street, deciding whether or not to stop by.

Finally, I took a deep breath and crossed the street. I stopped just as I reached the front lawn because I realized that I didn’t know which room was her room, and I wasn’t exactly prepared to walk up and ring the doorbell at 2:42 in the morning.

Better luck next time,
I thought as I prepared to leave. Just as I was about to make my exit, a light was switched on in the front room of Monica’s home. I was frozen in place as I considered peeking through the window.

What if it’s one of her parents?
I thought.
What if a neighbor sees me?
Sure, I had topped 85 miles per hour on foot earlier that night, but I was starving at the moment. I doubted if I could have even hit 40 miles per hour with what I had left in the tank. The thought of only being able to run 40 miles per hour made me chuckle a bit.

I convinced myself that even at forty miles per hour I would be able to escape if I needed to. I took a deep breath and made my way over to the window of the lit room.

My palms were sweating profusely as I raised my hands to the window. I placed my face against the glass and peered inside just in time to see a female switch off the lights and head toward the stairs. I couldn’t tell if this was Dr. Kate or Monica due to the absence of light as well as their striking similarities. My heart pounded as I contemplated knocking on the window.
What if it’s Dr. Kate?
I thought.
But what if it’s not?!
My conscious fired back.

Screw it,
I thought as I raised my hand and lightly tapped on the window just as she started to climb the stairs. As the shadowy figure paused, my heart skipped a beat and I considered dashing away.

My heart thumped harder as the individual whipped around and faced the window. Her face was still shrouded in shadow, but something told me that this was Dr. Kate.
Run!
My mind screamed at my legs, but my legs wouldn’t listen.

I’m not sure why I closed my eyes. A natural reaction to fear, I suppose. I stood there for a moment with my eyes clinched shut until I heard her muffled laughter. My face grew warm as I opened my eyes and saw Monica snickering at me through the glass. Relief and embarrassment washed over me all at once. She smiled warmly and motioned for me to move to the south side of the house.

HER ROOM WAS EXACTLY HOW I IMAGINED IT WOULD BE. The warm color scheme of her wallpaper and the covers on her large, comfortable bed blended perfectly with her warm personality. The room was so neat and clutter-free that I’m sure I could have searched for hours without finding a single speck of dust.

“Has anyone ever spent any time in this room?” I asked, smiling.

“Of
course
. This is my room.” Monica grinned.

“This can’t be your room. It’s too clean. It’s like a museum in here!”

Monica laughed and placed her index finger over her mouth, indicating that I was talking too loudly.

“Sorry. I can get a little carried away at times,” I admitted.

“Tell me about it,” she grinned.

“You’re one to talk, Mrs. O.C.D.”

“What makes you think I’m O.C.D.?” she asked, smiling even wider.

I scanned her room for a few seconds and then looked directly into her golden eyes.

“I will bet you $3.67 that the books on that shelf are in complete alphabetical order,” I said pointing at the bookshelf to the left of her bed.

She bit her bottom lip in a failed effort to keep from smiling. We both burst into laughter, then pressed our hands against our mouths to drown the sound. As we continued to struggle to suppress our laughter, I realized that I was as happy as I had ever been in my life. There was something about her that lifted my spirits beyond measure. I knew that she would never believe it, but most of the way I felt about her had nothing to do with the fact that she is drop dead gorgeous. Of course, I didn't mind that part either.

“So, I’m thinking about trying out for basketball on Monday,” I said with a silly grin. I had been thinking about putting my new physical abilities to use on the court but I was really only half serious. I just wanted to see what she thought about the idea.

“Really? I had no idea that you played basketball. I love to watch but I couldn’t play if my life depended on it.”

“Maybe you could come and watch me play if I make the team?” I asked, bracing myself for rejection.

“Sure. I’d love to. Let me know how tryouts go.”

“Will do. Do you want to meet up afterward?”

Monica smiled and nodded her head. “Sure. I’ll meet you in front of the gym.”

If her offer to meet in me front of the gym was a gesture to show me that she wasn’t ashamed to be seen with me in public, it had definitely worked.

A rustle in the hallway outside of her room startled us both. I stood and quickly scurried over to the window as silently as I could. I can’t describe the degree of disappointment that I felt as I realized our rendezvous was about to come to an end. We could both hear footsteps approaching outside her room as I lifted the window and prepared to venture back out into the night.

I climbed out of the window and looked back at Monica who, by the look on her face, was apparently just as disappointed as I was that I had to leave. My palms grew sweaty as she slightly leaned toward me.

Go for it!
I screamed inside my head as we silently gazed into each other’s eyes. It didn’t take long for my body to respond to my brain’s request. As our faces neared, I closed my eyes and smiled as I felt Monica plant a kiss on my right cheek. It was cute. Not what I was hoping for, but cute nonetheless.

I turned to dash away but stopped and looked back at her once more. “Monica, what are we? I mean, are we a couple now? I just-”

A knock on Monica’s door silenced me. She quickly whipped around and faced the door. By the time she looked back to reply to my question, I was already 900 meters away dashing back to my house at 35 miles per hour. There was no way I could have known that as she peered into the darkness before her, she uttered the word, “Yes.”