AN: Thanks a lot guys for the reviews and giving me your opinions. As you guys wanted me to continue so I am writing another chapter. I really hope you like it. Please read and review
Chapter 13: Rumors Turned True
I took a deep breath. A trail of tear flowed down my cheek. I leaned forward, leaving the ground and letting the air engulf my body. I finally jumped off the cliff, hoping to find peace in the arms of death…..
I was falling down fast. The rush I felt at the moment was very comfortable. It eased the pain in my heart right away. I would hit the ground any moment and my damaged soul would leave this soiled body. But something happened during the time I was falling. Something went wrong. My eyes were closed so I didn't know exactly what happened but I stopped feeling the rush suddenly. I felt like everything stopped around me. Did I already hit the ground? Am I already dead? If this was the feeling people got when they die then death is not painful at all.
I dared to slowly open my eyes; hoping to find myself in heaven. But when I did open up my eyes, I started to scream at the top of my lungs. I wasn't dead as I was supposed to. I never hit the ground in the first place rather I was floating in the air, not to mention a few feet above the ground. I had no idea how it happened. Maybe I was dreaming it up but it totally freaked me out. I landed on the ground like a feather, not breaking a single bone in my body, not even getting a little scratch. Before I could get a chance to hold onto the situation and understand what actually happened with me, my stomach started to twist painfully from the inside. I couldn't stand on my feet any longer and I started to throw up. The torture went on for sometime and dizziness filled up my head. Soon the darkness consumed me as I passed out for good.
I didn't know for how long I stayed unconscious or where I was at the moment? Bright light hit my eyes when I tried to open them, blinding me for a minute. I blinked rapidly to adjust with the light. Meanwhile, I heard people talking from all around me. When I could see properly, the first person I saw was a lady doctor, checking my pulse. Troy and Angela were standing right next to the doctor with worried faces. I looked around and figured that I was in a hospital room. I tried to get up in a sitting position but the doctor stopped me from doing so.
"You need to take rest." She offered me a small smile but I couldn't return it because I was too confused to react.
"How did I get here?" I avoided looking at Angela and Troy. They were still guilty in my eyes.
"Your friends got you here. You were unconscious when they found you. You should be more careful and must take care of yourself properly, especially in this state." I frowned at the doctor as she said it.
"What are you talking about?" I sounded a little rough. "How long was I out?" The doctor sighed and looked at me with pity in her eyes. It annoyed me very much.
"You were out for a day because of your weakness. And you are also….. Pregnant."
I stared at the doctor as if she has gone crazy. Troy and Angela both looked highly uncomfortable suddenly. They looked everywhere and anywhere in the room except at me. The reality slapped me hard, right across my face. What did I do so wrong that this was happening to me? I regretted being born at that moment. It seemed life preferred to be mean with me. First I was deprived from parental love, I never knew them, never had any family of my own. Then the people I thought as loyal friends betrayed me horribly. I fell in love for the first time but that also turned out to be a cruel sick joke. As if these weren't enough, I got myself pregnant with an unwanted child at the age of sixteen.
"I will come to check up on you after two hours." The doctor announced and left the room quietly. I was still in shock and didn't care about being alone with Troy and Angela. They wanted to talk to me but hesitated to do so. What happened with me when I jumped off the cliff was still a mystery to me. I had a feeling that this new life inside me stopped me from killing myself but that sounded nonsense even to me. I mean it wasn't even a life yet. I needed answers to my questions or it would drive me crazy.
"Why are you here?" I asked my once best friend. Troy sighed out heavily with sadness but avoided looking at me.
"Rayna, we know we have done wrong and you have every reason to hate us. But please just give us one chance to explain ourselves." I was angry with them, yes but I also wanted to know what they had to say.
"You should start talking then." My voice was very unfriendly and showed my hatred for them clearly.
"Rayna, we confess that we knew about the bet, we heard people talking about it but… we thought them fake rumors spread by some jealous girls. We couldn't trust our ears more than our eyes…and you were in love and we didn't want to see you sad so…" I could see guiltiness in Troy's eyes while he struggled with words.
"We really thought he changed, Rayna. We thought he was in love with you too." I felt a bitter taste in my mouth as his face appeared in my mind. Angela pleaded with her eyes for forgiveness. I sighed out heavily. My eyes shining with tears now.
"You could've at least warned me. I could have saved myself from all this. What I am gonna do now?" Suddenly I felt so sad and mentally so weak, that I burst out in sobs in front of them. Angela came over to me and wrapped her arms around to comfort me. I didn't dislike it and actually appreciated the comfort.
"We promise, we will never leave your side….. We will take care of you and….. everything will be back to normal again. Please just don't give up on us." Angela kept saying soothing words to me and it helped me to some level. My sobbing eased off a little eventually. Then something came into my mind suddenly.
"How did you find me?" I asked looking at Troy who still looked sad. I knew he was blaming himself for everything. I blamed them myself but now that I think properly, they could have abandoned me right away and never see my face again. But they looked out for me. They were worried for me. They were still willing to help me out in such time of need. I couldn't bring myself to hate them anymore but I was still holding a grudge against the sons of Ipswich, especially him.
Troy cleared his throat looking nervous. It seemed he didn't want to answer the question I asked him but my intense gaze made him speak. "We are not the one who found you, Rayna." I frowned at him in confusion. Who else would look for me if not them?
"Caleb found you and brought you here." He said. It really shocked me. Caleb was the last person I thought would look for me. Why anyone from the Sons of Ipswich would look for me? Didn't they just destroy my whole life just for fun? Before I could speak any further the door of the room opened and Caleb stood there staring right at me. Jessica and Michael were right behind him. Caleb looked away when my eyes met with his, probably ashamed. I felt myself shaking with rage at the sight of him.
"Troy, tell him to leave." I also turned my eyes away from Caleb. I knew I was being a bitch but can you really blame me? I noticed they exchanged looks with each other. Then Troy left with Angela, leaving me and Caleb alone. He slowly walked towards me but his eyes were on the floor.
"Rayna, I didn't come here to ask for your forgiveness, I don't deserve it-" I cut him off rudely, I was too enraged to listen to him.
"You are right, you don't deserve it. So, why the hell are you here?" He suddenly looked straight at me not with guilt or shame but with accusation.
"You jumped off the cliff." It wasn't a question but a statement. I scoffed at him darkly though it surprised me that he knew I jumped.
"Do you think I would be sitting here distastefully listening to you if I had jumped off a cliff? Besides why do you even care what I did or didn't do? It's none of your business." Caleb didn't need to know the weird stuff that happened with me. I didn't want anything to do with them, not anymore, not ever.
"It is my business, Rayna. And you are coming with me right now. I have things to explain to you." Caleb said as firmly as possible. The nerve of him. How could he order me like that? I wasn't going to give in easily.
"Forget it Caleb. I am not going anywhere with you." I glared at him but it didn't work. He leaned near my ear but kept a decent distance.
"If you want to know what saved you from inevitable death then you have to come with me." He said but how did he know something happened with me? I knew what I have to do. I needed to know what happened. Though I didn't like going with Caleb to an unknown place but I had no other choice. Caleb drove us to an old cemetery house. It looked haunted to say the least. I felt chills running down my spine. Caleb must have noticed my fear.
"Don't be scared, it's safe." He assured. Cold wind blew and made me shiver. Caleb took off his jacket and wrapped it around me. I hesitated at first but the cold was too much for me.
"Why did you bring me here?" I asked with shaky voice. Caleb led the way without looking back at me.
"You will know soon." Once inside I saw an old looking man. He didn't look so friendly and glared right at Caleb and me. Caleb seemed unfazed though.
"Where is he?" He asked the old man. I had no idea who Caleb was talking about.
"Upstairs. Is this the girl?" The old looking man obviously asked about me.
"Yes Gorman." Caleb replied to this Gorman guy. Were they related? I shrugged off the thought right away. It was none of my business.
"He is waiting for her. Take her upstairs." Gorman said. It was creepy but I followed Caleb anyway. Upstairs, I saw a big armchair in front of the fire place. Someone was sitting there. Caleb motioned for me to go forward. I did as I was told and walked towards the armchair. Once I was close enough I saw a very old and sick looking man sitting there. He looked dead except the eyes. He got Caleb's eyes or should I say Caleb got his eyes.
"He is my father." Caleb spoke the obvious. I stared at him dumbstruck. We all knew that Caleb's dad died a long time ago. If his father was still alive then everything they tell people is a lie. I wondered when was the last time the sons of Ipswich said something truth.
"So you guys lied about your father's death too. But why are you telling me this?" I asked. Nothing was making sense to me. None of it.
"You have read the history of our family, right." Caleb said with certainty in his voice. I merely nodded to confirm. There was a book in the school library on the history of Ipswich. It mentioned the five families who settled the Ipswich colony. The sons of Ipswich were supposed descendants of those five families. One family was lost though. The line of that family ended somehow and only four remained. Rumors has it that the families could do witch crafts and has magical powers. The five families formed a covenant of silence to protect themselves from the witch hunt. I recalled what I read in the book but it didn't make any sense to me.
"The rumors are true Rayna. And we really have magical powers, all four of us." Caleb said. If I was in a good mood I would have burst out laughing but I got angrier instead.
"Caleb, look… I am going through enough stress. Please stop this nonsense and drive me back to the hospital."
I started to walk towards the door but before I could reach it, the door closed itself. I thought it was the wind but when I tried to open it I found it locked. I turned around to face Caleb. He was also looking at me but his eyes were not the same anymore. It wasn't the usual dark brown ones, I was familiar with but it turned pitch black with no white in it. He looked like a freaking evil monster from some horror movie. I couldn't find my voice for some time. Caleb started to approach me. He was saying something but I was too scared to listen to anything. I banged on the door and cried for help. Then suddenly I felt like calming down. Why the hell was I calming down? Caleb just turned into something nonhuman and he was probably going to kill me. Then as if some magic worked on me I drifted into a peaceful sleep, wishing not to wake up ever.