Chapter Eleven:
Part Two
" Man, I'm so full!" Michelangelo said as he fell back onto the deck and patted his stomach. " I don't think I'll ever eat again."
" Until tonight around midnight when you sneak into the kitchen looking for leftovers." Donatello joked, causing everyone to laugh.
" What's next on our agenda?" Vanessa asked as she tossed her crumpled up napkin onto her paper plate. Raphael piled his plate on Vanessa's and placed them both onto the table.
" Our neighbor down the street shoots his fireworks off at ten, so we got some time before we start our bonfire." He looked around at everyone and raised his hands. " So, if anyone has any ideas-"
Raphael stopped talking as Leonardo suddenly appeared on the deck with Christina behind him, her hands clasped around his own right hand, and both of them carried a red plastic cup. He glared at his brother as they moved to the far corner of the deck away the crowd and sat down, Christina placing herself in between Leonardo legs and rested her elbows on his knees. Linda kept her head down the entire time.
" So, what are you guys doing?" Christina asked, oblivious to the tension that sudden filled the air.
" That's what we were trying to decide." April answered her as she and the kids collected everyone's garbage and carried everything back into the house.
" Oooo, I know!" Angie jumped up from her seat beside Donatello and ran into the house. Seconds later, she reappeared holding an object tied in a green silk scarf.
" You brought your cards?" Linda smiled as Angie sat back down on the deck.
" Cards?" Michelangelo sat back up. " Are we playing poker?" He rubbed his hands together and smiled wickedly.
" Mikey!" Raphael snapped. " We told you! No more gamblin!"
Angie removed the scarf and spread it out in front of her. She then placed an oversized deck of worn cards on the scarf. Donatello looked down at them and studied the blue and black crisscross pattern that covered the cards.
" Oh, your Tarot cards. You really do carry them everywhere with you."
" Oh, course. Now, who wants a reading?"
Michelangelo's hand shot into the air. " Me! Me! Me!" He scooted across the deck and sat directly in front of Angie. Angie smiled as she lifted the cards into her hands.
" Okay, Mike. I want you shuffle the cards three times, cut the deck three ways, then placed them back down."
Michelangelo picked the cards up gently then began to hum as he shuffled them. After he had cut the deck and placed the cards back together, he placed them back down. Angie lifted them from the scarf and laid down three cards in a straight line. She studied the cards for a second, then smiled.
" Okay, this is what the cards say. This first one," she pointed to the card which featured eight long wooden sticks sailing through the air. " You're recently started a project that you are very excited about, and you're waiting for some sort of public reaction."
" Yeah!" Michelangelo nodded. " I just published a comic book. Did Donnie tell you about that?"
" I never said a word to Angie about that." Donatello said.
" Your next card, the Ace of Coins," Angie continued. " This is a good card considering what you just told me. You will defiantly be successful with your comic, Mikey, and this card means that you will receive wealth beyond your wildest dreams!"
" What?" Raphael scoffed. " That's crazy! He hasn't even sold any yet!" He then leaned over to Donatello and tapped on his brothers' shoulder.
" Don't tell me you're buyin all of this occult crap?" Raphael whispered into Donatello's ear hole.
" Let's just say I've expanded my horizons beyond the scientific realm," Donatello said with a smile as he rubbed Angie's back with his hand.
" Now this last one, the ten of Cups," Angie placed her finger on the card. " It's seems a little out of place. Have you done some sort of, how do I put this, 'rescuing' of any kind?"
" Huh? Rescuing? No." Michelangelo scratched his head as he looked down at the card.
Angie kept her finger on the card and closed her eyes. " I see a young girl, with blonde hair, and she's in trouble." She opened her eyes back up. " You're her knight in shining armor. You save her and you two live happily ever after."
" Oh, how sweet is that!" Vanessa smiled as moved from the couch and took a place beside of Michelangelo.
" If you say so. I want hear more about the money I won't be sharing with Raphael."
Michelangelo joked. Vanessa joined in with his laughter as Raphael glared at the both of them.
" Can I go next?" Vanessa asked eagerly.
" You've gotta be kiddin me!" Raphael threw his hands into the air as he stood up and moved to the railing of the deck.
" Okay, just do the same as Mike did. Shuffle and cut the deck three times." Angie picked up the deck and placed the cards into Vanessa's furry hands. Vanessa did as she was told then placed the cards back down onto the scarf. Angie picked them up again and turned over three more.
" Again, we have the Ace of Coins." Angie announced as she pointed to the card. " But this time, it has more to do with a proposal."
Raphael's eyes grew wide as he spun around. He moved back over to Vanessa, then stood behind her, looking down at the cards with a fearful interest.
" A proposal?" Vanessa asked as a smile spread across her face. " As in a marriage proposal?"
" So it seems." Angie leaned back and studied Vanessa's face. " But it seems one of the parties involves is it for wealth, not love."
Vanessa stared blankly at Angie for a moment then spoke without removing her eyes. " What about the other ones?"
Angie dropped her gaze. " Your next card, the 8 of swords, indicates to me that someone is trying to control you, and they won't stop until they have every aspect of your life under their thumb."
Vanessa then turned her eyes to Raphael, who had just sat down beside of her.
" I ain't say a word." He said as he leaned back onto his hands and stretched out his legs.
" But, there is hope for you." Angie regained her smile as she drew Vanessa's attention back to the cards. " This one, the Hanged Man, tells me you will be given a choice between two people, two very different life styles. Now the decision will not come to you easily, and there will be a lot of complications, but you will make the right choice."
Vanessa nodded as she stood up and moved back to the couch, then sat quietly. Raphael looked at her as she lost herself in deep thought, and held back the urge to grab her in his arms. Raphael then felt a pair of eyes on him and turned to see Angie's brown eyes burning into his head. She turned her head to Vanessa, then looked back at Raphael and offered him a smile and a wink, as if she knew about his feelings for the fox.
" Hey, Donnie. Why don't you go next?" Michelangelo pipped up, breaking Raphael's eyes away from Angie.
" No, no," Donatello shook his head. " She already did me."
Angie's eyes grew big and a hint of red flushed her cheeks as Michelangelo, Raphael, and Casey busted into fits of laughter. Donatello smacked his face with his hand as he tried to hold back his own laughter.
" Okay, you guys. I didn't mean it like that. Get you minds out of the gutter!" He then let his laughter out when he noticed Angie had grabbed her stomach and leaned forward as the laughter poured out of her. As Angie raised her head back up, her laughter immediately stopped when she noticed Leonardo was sitting in front of her. The laughter around her also died quickly as Raphael stood up and moved back to the couch. Michelangelo also stood up and moved over to one of the high backed chairs next to Casey. Linda held her ground and stayed by Angie's side.
" Do you want me to read your cards, Leo?" Angie asked, her voice almost in a whisper.
" If you don't mind," Leonardo's voice was just as low, as if he was trying to hide what he was doing. Angie replaced the three cards to the deck then silently placed them into Leonardo's open hand, lightly brushing her fingers against his green skin.
A flash of metal, a sword perhaps. Blood. It's everywhere.
Angie blinked her eyes several times, then placed her hand against her temple. Donatello noticed Angie's body had become rigid and he leaned into her ear.
" Are you okay?"
Angie nodded. " It was nothing. I'm fine."
Leonardo placed the cards down, then folded his hands into his lap. Angie picked up the deck, then felt a shiver travel down her spine.
Can't you hear it? That voice! It won't leave me alone!
"Angie?" Donatello placed his hands on her shoulders and squeezed.
" I'm okay. Maybe I'm getting chilly."
" I'll go grab a sweatshirt for you." Donatello then stood up and disappeared into the house. Angie's hand trembled as she laid down the top three cards on the deck. She could feel Leonardo's eyes studying the way her hands shook.
" Uh, okay." Angie looked down at the first card. The picture on the card showed a man sobbing into his hands as he sat upright in his bed. " The nine of Swords. I, well, the card," Angie lifted her eyes to Leonardo.
Don't you get it? I can't get over this! It's too hard! Help me!
" The card what?" Raphael raised his voice, signaling his growing impatience.
" This card is telling me that you are in deep despair over a past memory. You have several reoccurring nightmares that force you to lose sleep and you cannot get over what has happened to you."
" Well, that is painful obvious." Leonardo slurred his words as he took a drink of the liquid in his cup. Linda lowered her eyes and clasped her hands together.
" The next one, the ten of Swords." Angie looked back up at Leonardo, and he could see the surprise in her eyes. " You're in the process of using someone."
Leonardo's eyes grew like an animal trapped in headlights. " What?"
" This card represents backstabbing. You are using someone in order to get even with another."
Leonardo shook his head and laughed. " That's ridiculous!" He finished off his drink then stood up. He swayed a little bit then regained his posture. " Come on, Christina." Everyone watched as Leonardo staggered down the steps with Christina right on his heels. Raphael then growled curse words under his breath.
" What does his last card say?" Michelangelo asked out of curiosity.
Angie smiled, realizing she hadn't paid attention to it. " It's the Lovers." She lifted the card up and felt the shiver in her body disappear. "It signifies the one true love in his life." She then placed her other arm around Linda and hugged her tightly. " Things will turn out. That is the path that fate has laid out for him."
The roar of the ocean and the crackle of the burning wood were the only sounds that were made as they sat around the fire. Michelangelo was playing Rock, Paper, Scissors with Taylor and Samantha. Casey sat quietly next to April, who was talking with Angie about astrology, as Donatello held onto Angie and listened intently. Raphael and Vanessa sat next to each other, but were both lost in their own thoughts. Linda sat on Raphael's other side and would start small conversations with him that would only drift away into nothing. On the other side of the fire, Leonardo sat with his arms folded over his chest and his legs stretched out. Christina sat next to him, and chatted endlessly into his ear. Linda watched as Leonardo rolled his eyes and sighed heavily every so often, visibly tired of her cousin's blathering. It was obvious to everyone that Leonardo was drunk, even if it never passed through anyone's lips. Raphael stared at his brother through the fire, and Linda could feel the anger coursing through his body. Linda then realized that ever since she had arrived, Raphael had been watching Leonardo and her cousin with much interest.
"That bastard."
Linda heard Raphael mumble under his breath and she turned to him.
"What?"
Raphael then blinked and looked at Linda. " Nothin. Don't worry about it."
Linda quickly leaned back against the large pieces of drift wood that had been set around the fire pit. She then looked through the fire at Leonardo, and discovered he had been watching her. She then felt a stabbing pain in her heart as Leonardo grabbed Christina into his lap and kissed her deeply as she straddled him. Linda could feel her tears rushing back into her eyes.
" Fuckin bastard."
Linda again turned to Raphael, who had spoken louder that time, and saw he had disgusted smile on his face. He met Linda's eyes, then realized from her tears that she too had seen what his brother had done. The tears than ran faster down Linda's cheeks and, before Raphael could stop her, Linda stood up and ran towards the house. Christina broke away from Leonardo and saw her cousin racing up the steps. She turned around to face Raphael.
" What's wrong with her?"
Raphael shrugged his shoulders. " Dunno. Maybe you should ask him." He lifted his finger and pointed to Leonardo. Christina pushed herself out of Leonardo's grasp and chased after Linda. Leonardo watched her leave, and let out the breath he had been holding. It was then he noticed the several pairs of eyes that now rested on him.
" What the Hell are guys staring at?" His words slurred together as he stood up, holding onto the driftwood behind him for support, then he staggered across the beach and climbed the stairs.
"Hope ya fall and break ya neck!" Raphael shouted loudly over the crashing oceans waves.
" Raph, please, don't say things like that."
Raphael turned and stared blankly at Angie. " And why shouldn't I?"
" It's bad karma for one thing." Angie stood up from the driftwood and brushed the dirt from her jeans. " You just don't understand how badly Leo needs our help."
" Help?" Raphael scoffed at the word. " I ain't helpin that asshole."
"I'm going to take the kids for a walk. Are you coming with me, honey?" April asked as she pulled Casey up. He shook his head and the four of them headed down the beach.
" Leo has lost himself." Angie tried again. " He needs spiritual help."
" What he needs is my foot in his ass!" Raphael jumped up, stormed across the sand and pounded up the steep staircase. Angie shook her head, then moved away from the fire. She had only made it a few feet when Donatello joined her side.
" Do you not see it?" She asked Donatello without looking up. " Do you not see that your brother is in pain?"
" I see it," Donatello replied.
" He showed me everything, Don." Angie stopped and felt a sadness creep over her.
" When I touched his hand, I could see the pain and suffering that he is holding within him."
Donatello suddenly stopped walking. " Why are you on his side all of the sudden?"
Angie then stopped and crossed her arms. " You don't understand, do you?"
" Understand what?" Donatello asked as his voice rose. " The only thing that I am certain of is the fact that my older brother is turning into everything he always hated and my family is falling apart because of it!"
" That is why you must help him, Don!" Angie grabbed Donatello's arm. " Help your brother defeat his inner demons."
Donatello pulled his arm out of Angie's grasp. " No. Not this time. Leo did this to himself. He can help himself get out of it too." He then turned away and walked back to the fire. Angie felt her heart become heavy as her love's words echoed in her head, and it brought silent tears to her eyes.
I guess I am alone in my crusade.
Angie looked up the cliff to the house, then made her way across the sand, and she felt Donatello's eyes watch her every step.
"Linda! Come on! Talk to me! Please!"
" Go away, Christina! I don't want to be bothered!"
Christina took a step back away from the bathroom door and placed her fists on her hips. The alcohol that she had been pouring into her system was giving her a headache, and her cousin wasn't helping the pain that shot through her temples.
" I was going to talk to him! I swear I was!" Christina yelled to the closed door, then jumped back as Linda flung the door open. She blinked her wide eyes several times as she looked at Linda's tear stained face.
" How stupid can you be!" Linda screamed through her tears. " Why do you think I would be crying over that? Don't you ever think before you speak?"
Christina didn't know how to answer Linda and just shook her head back and forth.
" God, why don't you just fuck him and get it over with!" Linda screamed again, making Christina huddle against the wall behind her. She had never heard her cousin curse before, and the hatred that ran through Linda's words made Christina cringe even more.
"Linda-" Christina began but was stopped by Linda's raised hand, and she then heard what Linda had heard. Loud voices echoed from the living room through the foyer into the hallway they stood in, and Linda stepped out of the bathroom. She moved quietly across the foyer as her ninja training had taught her to do. Christina followed her cousin, though she wasn't as quiet as Linda had been, and they both stopped just beyond the doorway when the voices grew louder.
" Why don't you just admit it, Leo!" Raphael shouted. " I know damn well what you've been doin! I've been watchin you all friggin day!"
Linda then jumped over to the doorway, watching to make sure Christina didn't stumbled in her drunken state as she joined her, then peered around the corner into the living room.
" I have no idea what you are talking about, Raph." Leonardo replied as calmly as he could.
" Don't give me that bullshit!" Raphael pointed a finger at Leonardo's face. " Christina doesn't deserve to be treated like that!"
" Since when did you start caring?" Leonardo crossed his arms over his chest. " I thought you couldn't stand her."
" No." Raphael shook his head. " Now it's YOU I can't stand. I feel sorry for that brat now."
Christina wrinkled her nose at Raphael's words. " I'm not a brat!"
Linda placed her hand over Christina's mouth, then continued to listen.
" You know," Raphael moved closer to his brother. " Linda doesn't deserve it either, Leo."
Leonardo suddenly laughed. " Like Hell she doesn't! Since when did you start to care about her too? I seemed to recall a time when you didn't trust her and would always try to keep her away from me."
Raphael growled and clenched his fists. " Dammit, Leo! That was years ago! Unlike you, I've gotten over all that shit and moved on! I'd take her side now over yours any day."
Leonardo shook his head. " I see." He moved over toward the bay windows that overlooked the beach below and stared out across the darken waters. " You just don't understand. None of you do."
" All right! That's enough of that!" Raphael screamed in frustration. " I'm sick of you actin like the helpless victim in all of this!" He walked up behind his brother, grabbed Leonardo by the shoulders and turned him around. " Wake the fuck up and look at what your doin!"
Leonardo violently shoved Raphael's hands away then walked back to the couch. " What I'm doing is none of your business."
Linda heard a rustling noise and turned around to see that Donatello, Vanessa and Michelangelo had joined her and Christina in the doorway.
" What's going on?" Vanessa whispered to Linda.
" Shh." Linda placed her finger to her mouth, then turned back to the living room.
" Oh, so do you admit it now?" Raphael moved back over to Leonardo.
Leonardo growled loudly and turned to face his brother. " Okay fine! I admit it, okay?" His loud voice echoed against the high ceiling. " I have been using Christina to get back at Linda! There! I said it! Now are you happy?"
"What!" Four out of the five onlookers whispered at the same time. Christina said nothing and tried several times to swallow the lump that was growing in her throat.
Raphael shook his head. " How can you do somethin like that, Leo? How can you be so heartless?"
" Heartless." Leonardo repeated the word. " You're exactly right, Raph. I have no heart. I've enjoyed watching how jealous Linda becomes when I touch her cousin. It makes me sick to my stomach to do it, but seeing how hurt Linda gets makes up for it."
Linda narrowed her eyes and growled. She heard a snuffle behind her and turned back to Christina. She grabbed her cousin in a tight hug and felt the shoulder of her sweatshirt become wet from tears.
Raphael shook his head once again then leaned against the fireplace mantle. " I can't believe you. Ya know, I always knew that someday you were gonna fall apart."
Leonardo narrowed his eyes. " What are you talking about?"
" You've always been in control. Always been the level headed one." Raphael moved a few inches closer to his brother. " Now, look at ya. You're nothin but a useless drunken bastard who gets off on hurtin people." He crossed his arms in front of him and smile wickedly. " And you wonder why Splinter left."
" He went into the mountains, Raph." Leonardo said with an eye roll. " He goes every summer."
" Are ya sure about that?" Raphael laughed. " Or is it cause his little pet ain't livin up to his expectations any more."
Leonardo felt the anger in him begin to boil. " Shut up, Raphael."
" Man, could you imagine how Splinter would feel if he came back right now and saw his star pupil drunk off his ass? What do you think he would say if he knew what you were doin?" Raphael's laughter grew louder as he could see the fire burning in Leonardo's eyes.
"Stop talking Raph." Linda heard Michelangelo whisper.
"You know, I would love to see the look on your face when our father tells you you're nothin but a disgrace and a disappointment!" Raphael's laughter hit a high point, but was stopped suddenly when Leonardo screamed, bringing his fist to meet Raphael's jaw line.
"Raph!" Vanessa screamed as she watched Raphael fall to the floor. She ran into the living room with Donatello and Michelangelo right behind her. They stood around Raphael as he sat up and shook his head. Vanessa reached down to pick him up, but Raphael batted her hands away. He climbed to his feet, rubbing at his jaw bone and subconsciously wiping at the blood that leaked from the corner of his mouth. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it just as fast as his eyes went above his brother. Leonardo turned around to see what Raphael was smiling at, then found the answer when he saw a flash of a hand, then felt a stinging sensation across his face. He stepped back, and looked into Christina's tear filled eyes as he rubbed his cheek.
" How DARE YOU!" She screamed. " Nobody does that to me! NOBODY!" She felt another round of tears clouding her eyes and did nothing to hide them. " I thought you really cared about me, Leo! God, I was so naive to think that you were different!" She turned sharply on her heels and headed back through the doorway, grabbing Linda's hand on her way.
" Let's go home, Linda! There is NO WAY I want you to be with that guy! You deserve better than that!"
Linda turned around as Christina dragged her away, and gave Leonardo one last look of disgust, then they disappeared through the front door. Leonardo turned back to his brothers and Vanessa. Raphael continued to rub his jaw as the swelling began to set in.
" I hope you rot in Hell." Raphael said with an evil glare, then pushed past Leonardo and headed for the deck. Vanessa also threw Leonardo a look, then followed behind Raphael. Leonardo's eyes went to floor and across the tan carpeting then back up to Donatello and Michelangelo.
" You got something to say to me too?" Leonardo asked as he put his defenses back up.
Donatello glared at his brother. " I'm not even going to waste my breath on you." He moved around Leonardo and waited for Michelangelo at the doorway.
"Dude," Michelangelo shook his head as he walked past Leonardo and went back outside with Donatello. Leonardo then realized he was all alone, and that's when the tears he had been holding back began to fall down his face.
He slumped down onto the couch and placed his face into his hands. He sobbed uncontrollably for what seemed like forever before lowering his hands. He gasped and jump slightly as he discovered Angie was knelt down on the floor in front of him.
" It's okay, Leo. I'm not here to yell at you," She reassured him, as if she could read his thoughts. She reached up and grabbed his left hand, then dropped a small object into his palm, and Leonardo could tell from its smooth texture it was a stone. He studied the black symbol on the brown stone, which resembled the fork of a peace sign, then looked back up into Angie's eyes.
" It's a Rune." Angie said. " It's name is Algiz. It's for your protection."
"Protection from what?" Leonardo asked as he snuffled back more tears.
" You will see." Angie then grabbed both of Leonardo's hands and lower her head, then began to chant.
I am protected by your might, O gracious Goddess, day and night
Thrice around the circle's bound, Evil sink into the ground.
Angie again repeated the chant two more times, then stood up. Leonardo felt his tears dry up, and the blanket of fog began to lift from his drunken eyes.
" How did you know that?" Leonardo asked as he continued to hold onto Angie. " That's a Wiccan protection spell."
Angie smiled and seemed a little shock. " I think the question really is, how do you know that?"
Leonardo lowered his eyes, then searched around in his head to find the answer. How did I know that? I've never studied the occult.
You would be surprised by what you can learn when you open your mind to the world around you.
Leonardo's eyes shot back up to Angie as her words echoed in his brain. She smiled at him, then pulled him to his feet.
" Now, go and rest your body. You spirit needs time to heal." She kissed him gently on the forehead then movedto the doorway.
" Angie,"
She turned and looked at Leonardo.
" Thank you."
Angie smiled. " Do not thank me. Thank the stars above for helping me find you. Fate brought me here to help you." She started to turn away, but then looked back. " Remember Leo, you may be able to make the little choices in your lifetime, but it is a higher power that controls the big picture." Then, Angie was gone.
Leonardo looked back down into his palm and stared into the stone. He then suddenly felt very tired, and he headed up the stairs and down the hallway to his room. He opened the door, closed it behind him, then sat on the edge of his bed with his back to the door. His eyes became heavier as sleep finally took over his body and he laid down, curling himself into a fetal position and held on tightly to the Rune stone that still rested in his left palm. He closed his eyes and dove into the deepest sleep he had ever experienced, and that is where he remained for the next three days.