The Prophecy (13 page)

 
Chapter Fifteen

I woke up with a jolt. I sat up and stared at the unfamiliar surroundings. It took me a moment to remember where I was. Rose's sleepy mumblings only concurred the fact that I was at Rose's apartment. I looked over and watched as Rose pulled a pillow over her head and buried herself further into the covers.

I rose quietly and tried not to wake her as I tiptoed to the door where my shoes lay. I picked them up and grabbed my car keys and phone off of the side table. I crept to the bedroom door, opened it, and silently shut it behind me. I breathed out a sigh of relief as I made my way down the hallway to the living room. I screeched when I felt a hand lightly tap on my shoulder. I turned around quickly and put my hand over my racing heart as I looked into the familiar eyes of Mary Beth.

“Holy crap, you scared me!”

She frowned slightly and made a tsking noise.
“Language, dearie. I know it wasn't
that
bad, but still, you're a lady and should speak as one.” She motioned for me to follow her as she made her way to the kitchen. She stood in front of the refrigerator and started pulling out eggs, shredded cheese, and chunks of ham. She placed them on the kitchen isle, and grabbed a spatula, gesturing for me to sit. “Go on, have a seat while I whip us up some breakfast.”

I looked longingly at the door.
“I really should be going home, my parents—”

“
I called your mother last night after you two got home, making sure they knew where you were. I was surprised when I found out that your mother and father didn't even know that you ever made it home.” She threw a disapproving look over her shoulder and slid a cup of coffee my way.

I sat wearily onto the isle's bar stool.
“Thanks.” I said, nodding to the cup of coffee. “I know. I went home and heard them talking—” 

“
I know that as well, which is why I'm not raising hell with you right now. Your mother realized it too once she had a chance to calm down.”

“
Oh.” I relaxed, letting the stress fade from my body.

“
That doesn't mean I'll make this any easier on you though.”

I looked up and met Mary Beth's gaze.
“Look, I'm sorry. I just—”

“
I'm not the one you should be apologizing to, Starlette, and you know it. You're going to eat, then go home and talk to your parents. Even though you spent the night here I know they're still worried.”

I nodded and started to trace patterns on the isle's marble top, refusing to meet Mary Beth's gaze. She turned back to the stove, poured the egg mix into the hot skillet and waited for the omelet to cook.

Some zombie like moaning coming from the hallway. I turned around to see a very bedraggled Rose making her way to us. Her short hair was sticking up every which way, half of it plastered to the side of her head. Her Rainbow Bright pajamas were back, but hung crookedly from her body. She looked like a pissed off peacock.

“
Morning sunshine!” I said cheerfully, laughing when Rose flipped me off. “Well aren't you all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning.”

“
Uuung.” A smiling Mary Beth walked over and gave Rose a quick kiss on the top of her head while handing her a cup of coffee.

“
Morning, love.” She said while eying her daughter’s appearance. “Did you sleep all right, dearie?”

She downed half the coffee before sending a glare my way.
“No,
someone
is a freaking bed hog.”

I grinned sheepishly.
“Yeah, forgot to tell you about that last night.”

“
Just remind me next time to get the cot out of the attic. That way when you get the urge to go all sumo wrestler in your sleep, you can just fall onto the floor instead of shoving me out of the bed.”

“
Deal.” I replied, clinking my cup of coffee against hers.

Mary Beth looked between the two of us and bestowed a beautiful smile upon us. We grinned in return while the heavenly scent of omelets permeated the air.

“So, what’s on the menu for today? Should I expect any more fun like last night?” Rose asked sarcastically.

I tensed and sent a sideways look toward Mary Beth. Not seeing any obvious interest coming from her, I turned back to Rose.
“No, nothing like last night. I don't think I could handle any more of that.” I whispered.

She rolled her eyes and looked at me.
“It wasn't that bad. We did have some fun before all the shit hit the fan. And why are we whispering? Are we going all secret ninja about your ‘incidents’?” 

“
Dude! Your mom is
right there
!” I hissed, nodding my head toward Mary Beth who was busy dividing the omelet onto plates.

She smirked and nudged me in the ribs. I didn't think it was funny.
“Just watch,” she whispered. “Hey Mom!” she practically shouted. Mary Beth jumped and whipped around, nearly dropping one of the plates.

“
Holy Mother, Rose! You know better than to shout when I'm distracted.”

“
Sorry, just wanted to see if you had anything planned for me to do today.”

“
Nothing that I can remember this moment. You go on out and have fun. I'll call you if I need anything.”

“
Okay, thanks Mom.”

“
You're welcome.” She replied distractedly, already focused on the task in front of her.

Rose leaned closer to me.
“See? There's no need to whisper when mom's busy. She completely zones out when she has something to focus on. Took me twenty minutes once to get her attention when she was re-arranging a shelf.”

We looked up as Mary Beth set the plates in front of them.
“Now, make sure you do the dishes after you girls are done. I have to run down to the shop and work on some paperwork. Oh, and make sure you lock the door behind you when you leave, Rose.” With a distracted wave she left, leaving us to stare after her.

“
I seriously don't want to go home.”

“
It can't be that bad.” I followed her to her room so she could get dressed. I was going to miss those pajamas.

I sat on the edge of the bed and ran my fingers roughly through my hair while Rose sorted through her over flowing closet. I laid back with a sigh and looked up at the ceiling.
“They think I'm going insane.”

Rose paused and looked over her shoulder at me.
“Who? Your parents?”

I nodded and turned over onto my side, propping my head up with my hand.
“Yeah, I overheard them talking yesterday. It's why I came over here. I didn't want to be at home with them after that.”

She frowned and sat Indian style on the floor.
“What did they say?”

I thought for a moment, distracting myself by picking small bundles of lint from her comforter. I knew how much it took Rose to talk about her Dad. Knew that I should return that trust, but I couldn't. The past year of hiding everything and lying had become too natural. I couldn't open up to her. Not yet. I shook my head.
“Just, never mind.” I got up and walked to the door, pausing to look back at Rose. “I'll talk to you later.”

******

I sat in my car as my parents words played over and over in my mind. My rage was almost non-existent after the huge 'incident'. My parents were right when they said that there's always a break after each one. I always felt more like myself afterward, more in control. But it always starts back up again, leaving me feeling lost in the myriad of tumulus emotions. That was almost worse than dealing with the constant darkness. I shook my head to clear the heavy thoughts away and got out of the car to walk inside.

My parents rushed into the entryway as I opened the door. They ran to my side and pulled me into a tight embrace. I allowed a moment to take in their comfort and sank into the warmth and familiar scent they offered. I pulled myself back together and grudgingly stepped out of their arms.

I stepped back from them and looked into their eyes, searching for the blame and fear I'd come to believe would be there. After the previous nights 'incident' I really couldn't blame them if they feared me. My eyes welled with tears and I held back a sob. I saw nothing but worry and love shining from them.

“Why in the world did you disappear like that?” Mom half yelled, her relief quickly being replace with anger. I looked away from them and remained silent. I refused to bring up the fact that I spied on them.

“
I'm sorry.” The flood of tears being held back made my voice husky. I moved back as Mom tried to hug me again and flinched at the flash of pain in her eyes. She backed off and moved to Dads side.

He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her protectively to his side.
“Yeah, well sorry doesn't fix anything.”

“
Look, I wasn't anywhere dangerous of doing anything wrong.” The taste of the lie soured my mouth.

“
That doesn't matter, you shouldn't have just disappeared like that! Do you know how worried we were? If it wasn't for Mary Beth calling and letting us know you were spending the night with Rose we would have called the cops!”

“
Actually, you can't do that until the person in question is missing for twenty-four hours—”

“
Enough! I've had enough of your switching temperaments and sarcastic attitude!” his face flushed with his bursting anger.

“
Paul, that's enough.”

“
No, it’s not enough! We've been babying her, and look at where it's gotten us! I've had enough of this!” he stepped away from her and stalked toward me. I'd never seen him that angry before. I stepped back as he advanced, fear flashing through me. He grabbed me roughly by the shoulders and looked menacingly into my eyes. “You will straighten up, or you will leave.”

Tears streamed down my face as my control broke. I couldn't deal with this anymore. It was all too much.
“Daddy, I didn't mean to—”

“
You never mean to! You say the same damn thing time and time again! Stop acting like a baby and take responsibility for your actions!” he spat into my face, shaking me lightly at the shoulders.

I stiffened, feeling the anger slowly start to return. No. Not again, not so soon. My tears dried up, the building rage replacing all other emotions.
“Let go of me.”

He released me and backed away. Mom tried to pass him to reach me, but he stopped her progress, pushing her slightly behind him.

“Baby girl—” she began pleadingly. “Please, just tell us what we can do to help you— we just want you back.” Tears streamed from her beautiful jewel like eyes as she held her hand out to me, silently begging, beseeching me to let them in.

I stepped away from them and slowly shook my head.
“I've told you. A thousand times over, I've told you. But you refuse to listen. You don't want to believe.” I ran my hands viciously through my hair, trying to keep rein over my rising anger. The darkness pulsed in time with my racing heartbeat, electricity sparking across my skin.

“
Star, please—” 

“
No! You say you want to help but all you do is condemn me! I don't know what's happening to me! How many times do I have to keep telling you that?” I gestured wildly as I felt the darkness flare within me. I shook my hands, trying to get rid of the excess energy coursing through me. I was becoming desperate. I didn't want to hurt them, could never hurt them regardless of how much they've hurt me.

“
How can we help you? Just tell us and we'll do it!” she cried out. I saw the truth within her eyes. She wanted, needed to fix everything. To have it all go away. But she couldn't. No one could.

“
You can't help me! No amount of talking or punishing me is going to make anything change! You think I'm the only one who's changing?” A bitter laugh burst free as I felt more and more of myself become consumed by the darkness. Almost drowning out my inner voice that was crying out in panic.