Conspiracy
Chapter 12
"Where has that girl gotten to now?" Kyra asked worriedly after they had been out searching for Raven.
"She could be back at the hotel." Mya suggested.
"I doubt it. She wouldn't go there yet…She's probably somewhere secluded. I doubt she would want company right now…" Matrix said.
"I guess you're right. I'm still in shock." Kyra admitted, standing on her tip-toes to see over a row of bushes in hope that Raven might be there.
"She could be anywhere Kyra." Mya said, catching her glance over the bushes. "We should just go back to the hotel. She would go back there eventually wouldn't she?"
Kyra nodded her head, admitting defeat, and followed her associates, which were now minus one, back to the hotel.
Raven was curled up in a ball at the edge of the lake, her eyes shining brightly. The material of her dress reflected the bright moonlight and shimmered. It was quiet; the sounds of moving cars lost behind the thick wood that surrounded her. In all honesty she didn't even know where she was, but she didn't care. It was the best place possible for her to be at that time, and that's where she chose to stay. It wasn't exactly paradise or anything, just a small lake that seemed more like a pond.
Raven shivered slightly, pulling the material of her dress over her goose- pimpled skin. That didn't do much considering her dress wasn't all that much to begin with. Her back was bare and so were her arms and legs. It could get pretty cold at night, even if you were in the midst of summer.
Raven was scared half to death when she felt something fleecy hit her back. She turned around, her heart beating wildly, to come face to face with a sweater. She stared at it; unsure if she should pick it up and put it on when she so desperately needed it, or leave it laying on the ground as if it possessed a secret identity. In the end her sensibility got the better of her and she picked up the sweater. There was no sign of an apparent owner, nor any indication of where it could have come from. She pulled the sweated closer to her and pulled it on, happy that it was oversized and baggy as it stretched almost to her knees.
"I thought you might want that…" A dark form sat down beside Raven at the water's edge. Raven turned her head to face the man; at least she thought she was facing him. It was hard to see his face though she knew his voice immediately. She slid backwards, away from the man who had given her the sweater.
"Why the hell are you here…" She hissed, reaching for means of weaponry before realizing that she had rid herself of all her weapons.
The man tilted his head to the side and gave a slight huff. "You needed the sweater didn't you?"
"Don't get too close or I'll strangle you. You're just getting off easy tonight. I'm in no mood for killing. Oh yeah, don't try to befriend me either because you'll be betrayed at the end, not to mention, uh, dead!" Raven said sassily, hugging her knees to her chest again and looking out at the water. She rested her chin on her knees, her dark curls falling down the sides of her face, having been reduced to no more than rippling waves.
Brady shrugged his shoulders and kept his distance as he joined Raven in looking out at the water. After a few moments of silence, he spoke up again.
"You know you remind me of someone?"
"Really, who? Morticia?" Raven asked sarcastically.
"No…"
"Ok, well maybe one of her cousins? Catastrophia…or maybe Melancholia?"
"Um…not exactly…" Brady said, raising an eyebrow.
"Alright. How about some pretty happy-go-lucky girl like Christine from Phantom of the Opera?"
"Actually…no. And she wasn't like that…unless you are being sarcastic of course. But does this mean you like opera?" Brad asked.
"This doesn't mean anything." Raven replied.
"Oh." He replied, somewhat disappointed. "Anyway, as I was saying before…" Brady continued, shifting his position, "You remind me of someone."
"Yeah, you got that far the first time through."
Brady shrugged his shoulders. "Alright! Obviously I'm boring you."
Raven glanced over at Brady, her cheek pressed up against her knee. "No, you're not actually. If it pleases you to think that I have nothing better to do than to listen to you well tell your story already. It's always polite to give people some last words…"
Brady figured that was as best a response he was going to get from Raven. He tugged slightly at the bandage around his arm and risked moving a little closer to Raven. She raised her head immediately, as if she were a cobra ready to strike at its prey. Then she just lowered her head and stared out onto the moonlit lake again.
"You remind me…," Brady said, taking his time as he spoke, "Of a girl I knew. A long time ago…"
"Oh. I suppose you want to tell me about her now?" Raven said, pulling Brady's sweater over her legs.
"You do realize that's my sweater?" Brady said, eyeing the Black sweater that Raven was drowning in.
"What of it? Just cause I'm wearing it I have to be nice to you?" Raven said, raising an eyebrow.
"I'd appreciate that…" Brady answered, eyeing her strangely. Though not in the curious manner that he usually did.
Raven sighed. "Fine. But just for tonight. Just remember that I'm out here to kill you."
"Yeah…it's kind of hard to forget that pleasant fact." Brady said, his piercing gaze focused in on Raven who was still refusing to look at him.
"Yeah…it is. In fact I don't even know why I am talking to you. I have just gone through the worst experience of my entire life and now I'm talking to you! What the hell is wrong with me…"
"Are you sure it's the worst experience? You haven't had anything else happen to you in your life that you found traumatic?"
"Not unless you count having someone crack an egg in your hair as some stupid beauty treatment traumatic then yes."
"Oh." Brady sounded disappointed again. This confused Raven slightly, for she didn't exactly understand why Brady should be so disappointed in her. In fact, she expected herself to be ripping his hair out at a time like this. He was probably thinking the same about her.
"Well, go on with your story will ya? I don't have all night." Raven edged him on with her bright eyes then broke his gaze.
"Alright…"
(I'm going to tell this story in the form of a flashback! Bear with me here…)
Eighteen year old Brady Black sat at the desk in his bedroom and looked out the window, the bright sunshine seeping through the spotless glass. To anyone else it would have been a beautiful day, but to him it was dark and gloomy.
His ears perked up when he heard his mother calling his name. He turned around and tread down the stairs to the front door where his mother was standing with the door half-open, one leg inside and one outside on the front porch. Brady turned his around the edge of the door and spotted the familiar spill of long, dark hair sitting on the top of his best friend's head. He had been best friends with the tall brunette before him ever since she had moved into the house next door with her new adoptive family. That had been ten years earlier. Now she stood there on his porch, fifteen years old, not at all like the small girl he used to play in the sandbox with.
"Hi…" Brady said, attempting to put a smile on his face.
His friend didn't even try to smile. She just looked up at him with a sad expression on her face. The attempted smile disappeared from Brady's face.
"Is it alright if I borrow Brady for a while Mrs. Black?" The brunette asked politely.
"Of course it is honey." Isabella Black replied, nodding her head. Then she gently closed the door, allowing them to have a chance to talk alone. The brunette took Brady's hand and led him into the backyard of her house next door. She had a very large backyard dotted with trees and flowers. She stopped walking when she came to a small corner of the yard. (If you guys have seen the movie 'the secret garden', try to picture the yard like that) Tied neatly to a thick arm of tall maple tree was a small wooden swing, slightly worn from age but still useable. A few feet away were the remains of a small sandbox.
"Do you remember when we used to play here…" The girl asked, running her fingers over the tightly-knit rope that held the swing up before turning her head to face Brady. Brady nodded his head slowly, remembering the many times that he had been found in this yard either digging around in the sandbox, playing hide-and-go-seek or pushing his friend on the swing. The brunette nodded her head slowly and looked down at her feet, letting go of Brady's hand. She sat down on the swing.
"Will you push me?" She asked, looking up at Brady. Brady nodded his head and pushed her, just as he had pushed her so many times before. But this time it felt as if it were his last time, in fact her was pretty sure it was definitely his last time in that yard pushing his best friend on a swing.
"Why do you have to leave? Don't they care what you want?" Brady asked.
"This has nothing to do with what I want Brady…" The girl paused. "It's about what's right. If my mother wants me back in her family, who am I to object? I am her daughter aren't I?"
"No! You're mother is in there…" Brady objected, pointing to the Victorian- style house sitting primly at the other end of the yard.
"My adoptive mother."
"It doesn't matter! She's your mother…wouldn't you rather just stay here?"
"Of course I would rather stay here. I don't want to leave you…" The brunette said, leaning the side of her head on one of the ropes that held her swing up.
"Stay, please? For me…"
"Brady, I can't! It's not up to me. If my mother wants me back she gets me. It isn't my choice! I'm still a minor remember?"
Brady sighed and continued to push her gently.
"You're not making this any easier on me…" The girl said.
"I'm sorry."
The girl fell silent. She swayed with the swing as Brady seemed to have stopped talking too. A loud honking noise was heard in the front of the house.
"Honey! It's time…" Her adoptive mother called from the back porch.
"Just a minute mom!" The girl called back. She stood up and led Brady to the small gate in the fence that separated their backyards.
"Don't watch me go…it's too much to bear."
Brady nodded and started to open the gate.
"Oh yeah…one more thing." The girl said. She kissed Brady on the cheek. "I love you."
Then she turned and ran into her house through the back porch.
(Ok, the end)
"That was the last I saw of her. When you kissed me tonight, you reminded me of her…and you look a lot like her too, except that you're older."
"Oh god, don't remind me of that…" Raven said, rubbing her forehead.
"Why not? How come you did that?" Brady asked.
"It doesn't matter. I don't know what came over me." Raven said, looking up at the moon.
"Oh." Was all Brady could say in response.
Chapter 12
"Where has that girl gotten to now?" Kyra asked worriedly after they had been out searching for Raven.
"She could be back at the hotel." Mya suggested.
"I doubt it. She wouldn't go there yet…She's probably somewhere secluded. I doubt she would want company right now…" Matrix said.
"I guess you're right. I'm still in shock." Kyra admitted, standing on her tip-toes to see over a row of bushes in hope that Raven might be there.
"She could be anywhere Kyra." Mya said, catching her glance over the bushes. "We should just go back to the hotel. She would go back there eventually wouldn't she?"
Kyra nodded her head, admitting defeat, and followed her associates, which were now minus one, back to the hotel.
Raven was curled up in a ball at the edge of the lake, her eyes shining brightly. The material of her dress reflected the bright moonlight and shimmered. It was quiet; the sounds of moving cars lost behind the thick wood that surrounded her. In all honesty she didn't even know where she was, but she didn't care. It was the best place possible for her to be at that time, and that's where she chose to stay. It wasn't exactly paradise or anything, just a small lake that seemed more like a pond.
Raven shivered slightly, pulling the material of her dress over her goose- pimpled skin. That didn't do much considering her dress wasn't all that much to begin with. Her back was bare and so were her arms and legs. It could get pretty cold at night, even if you were in the midst of summer.
Raven was scared half to death when she felt something fleecy hit her back. She turned around, her heart beating wildly, to come face to face with a sweater. She stared at it; unsure if she should pick it up and put it on when she so desperately needed it, or leave it laying on the ground as if it possessed a secret identity. In the end her sensibility got the better of her and she picked up the sweater. There was no sign of an apparent owner, nor any indication of where it could have come from. She pulled the sweated closer to her and pulled it on, happy that it was oversized and baggy as it stretched almost to her knees.
"I thought you might want that…" A dark form sat down beside Raven at the water's edge. Raven turned her head to face the man; at least she thought she was facing him. It was hard to see his face though she knew his voice immediately. She slid backwards, away from the man who had given her the sweater.
"Why the hell are you here…" She hissed, reaching for means of weaponry before realizing that she had rid herself of all her weapons.
The man tilted his head to the side and gave a slight huff. "You needed the sweater didn't you?"
"Don't get too close or I'll strangle you. You're just getting off easy tonight. I'm in no mood for killing. Oh yeah, don't try to befriend me either because you'll be betrayed at the end, not to mention, uh, dead!" Raven said sassily, hugging her knees to her chest again and looking out at the water. She rested her chin on her knees, her dark curls falling down the sides of her face, having been reduced to no more than rippling waves.
Brady shrugged his shoulders and kept his distance as he joined Raven in looking out at the water. After a few moments of silence, he spoke up again.
"You know you remind me of someone?"
"Really, who? Morticia?" Raven asked sarcastically.
"No…"
"Ok, well maybe one of her cousins? Catastrophia…or maybe Melancholia?"
"Um…not exactly…" Brady said, raising an eyebrow.
"Alright. How about some pretty happy-go-lucky girl like Christine from Phantom of the Opera?"
"Actually…no. And she wasn't like that…unless you are being sarcastic of course. But does this mean you like opera?" Brad asked.
"This doesn't mean anything." Raven replied.
"Oh." He replied, somewhat disappointed. "Anyway, as I was saying before…" Brady continued, shifting his position, "You remind me of someone."
"Yeah, you got that far the first time through."
Brady shrugged his shoulders. "Alright! Obviously I'm boring you."
Raven glanced over at Brady, her cheek pressed up against her knee. "No, you're not actually. If it pleases you to think that I have nothing better to do than to listen to you well tell your story already. It's always polite to give people some last words…"
Brady figured that was as best a response he was going to get from Raven. He tugged slightly at the bandage around his arm and risked moving a little closer to Raven. She raised her head immediately, as if she were a cobra ready to strike at its prey. Then she just lowered her head and stared out onto the moonlit lake again.
"You remind me…," Brady said, taking his time as he spoke, "Of a girl I knew. A long time ago…"
"Oh. I suppose you want to tell me about her now?" Raven said, pulling Brady's sweater over her legs.
"You do realize that's my sweater?" Brady said, eyeing the Black sweater that Raven was drowning in.
"What of it? Just cause I'm wearing it I have to be nice to you?" Raven said, raising an eyebrow.
"I'd appreciate that…" Brady answered, eyeing her strangely. Though not in the curious manner that he usually did.
Raven sighed. "Fine. But just for tonight. Just remember that I'm out here to kill you."
"Yeah…it's kind of hard to forget that pleasant fact." Brady said, his piercing gaze focused in on Raven who was still refusing to look at him.
"Yeah…it is. In fact I don't even know why I am talking to you. I have just gone through the worst experience of my entire life and now I'm talking to you! What the hell is wrong with me…"
"Are you sure it's the worst experience? You haven't had anything else happen to you in your life that you found traumatic?"
"Not unless you count having someone crack an egg in your hair as some stupid beauty treatment traumatic then yes."
"Oh." Brady sounded disappointed again. This confused Raven slightly, for she didn't exactly understand why Brady should be so disappointed in her. In fact, she expected herself to be ripping his hair out at a time like this. He was probably thinking the same about her.
"Well, go on with your story will ya? I don't have all night." Raven edged him on with her bright eyes then broke his gaze.
"Alright…"
(I'm going to tell this story in the form of a flashback! Bear with me here…)
Eighteen year old Brady Black sat at the desk in his bedroom and looked out the window, the bright sunshine seeping through the spotless glass. To anyone else it would have been a beautiful day, but to him it was dark and gloomy.
His ears perked up when he heard his mother calling his name. He turned around and tread down the stairs to the front door where his mother was standing with the door half-open, one leg inside and one outside on the front porch. Brady turned his around the edge of the door and spotted the familiar spill of long, dark hair sitting on the top of his best friend's head. He had been best friends with the tall brunette before him ever since she had moved into the house next door with her new adoptive family. That had been ten years earlier. Now she stood there on his porch, fifteen years old, not at all like the small girl he used to play in the sandbox with.
"Hi…" Brady said, attempting to put a smile on his face.
His friend didn't even try to smile. She just looked up at him with a sad expression on her face. The attempted smile disappeared from Brady's face.
"Is it alright if I borrow Brady for a while Mrs. Black?" The brunette asked politely.
"Of course it is honey." Isabella Black replied, nodding her head. Then she gently closed the door, allowing them to have a chance to talk alone. The brunette took Brady's hand and led him into the backyard of her house next door. She had a very large backyard dotted with trees and flowers. She stopped walking when she came to a small corner of the yard. (If you guys have seen the movie 'the secret garden', try to picture the yard like that) Tied neatly to a thick arm of tall maple tree was a small wooden swing, slightly worn from age but still useable. A few feet away were the remains of a small sandbox.
"Do you remember when we used to play here…" The girl asked, running her fingers over the tightly-knit rope that held the swing up before turning her head to face Brady. Brady nodded his head slowly, remembering the many times that he had been found in this yard either digging around in the sandbox, playing hide-and-go-seek or pushing his friend on the swing. The brunette nodded her head slowly and looked down at her feet, letting go of Brady's hand. She sat down on the swing.
"Will you push me?" She asked, looking up at Brady. Brady nodded his head and pushed her, just as he had pushed her so many times before. But this time it felt as if it were his last time, in fact her was pretty sure it was definitely his last time in that yard pushing his best friend on a swing.
"Why do you have to leave? Don't they care what you want?" Brady asked.
"This has nothing to do with what I want Brady…" The girl paused. "It's about what's right. If my mother wants me back in her family, who am I to object? I am her daughter aren't I?"
"No! You're mother is in there…" Brady objected, pointing to the Victorian- style house sitting primly at the other end of the yard.
"My adoptive mother."
"It doesn't matter! She's your mother…wouldn't you rather just stay here?"
"Of course I would rather stay here. I don't want to leave you…" The brunette said, leaning the side of her head on one of the ropes that held her swing up.
"Stay, please? For me…"
"Brady, I can't! It's not up to me. If my mother wants me back she gets me. It isn't my choice! I'm still a minor remember?"
Brady sighed and continued to push her gently.
"You're not making this any easier on me…" The girl said.
"I'm sorry."
The girl fell silent. She swayed with the swing as Brady seemed to have stopped talking too. A loud honking noise was heard in the front of the house.
"Honey! It's time…" Her adoptive mother called from the back porch.
"Just a minute mom!" The girl called back. She stood up and led Brady to the small gate in the fence that separated their backyards.
"Don't watch me go…it's too much to bear."
Brady nodded and started to open the gate.
"Oh yeah…one more thing." The girl said. She kissed Brady on the cheek. "I love you."
Then she turned and ran into her house through the back porch.
(Ok, the end)
"That was the last I saw of her. When you kissed me tonight, you reminded me of her…and you look a lot like her too, except that you're older."
"Oh god, don't remind me of that…" Raven said, rubbing her forehead.
"Why not? How come you did that?" Brady asked.
"It doesn't matter. I don't know what came over me." Raven said, looking up at the moon.
"Oh." Was all Brady could say in response.