Part Five:
"How about this color?" Jestin asked hopefully. I didn't reply. I hadn't been talking much since a week ago when I had a little intervention with Daviel in a closet. I hadn't run off, argued, or anything... in Daviel's words. All I'd done was stick around Jestin, whom I had found to be something of a lonely teenager. I suspected Daviel only brought me here so she'd have a pal to play with.
This sickened me.
"Destin," Jestin said carefully, "Are you ok?" Yep, that was my new name. Destin. That way Jestin and I could be name rhyme twins. Let's go play in a twin parade while we're at it. It was actually somewhat my fault, though. I still refused to tell them my name.
I looked up slightly to see Jestin in a party dress. She smiled now that I finally looked at her. It was crimson like roses and went well with her hair.
I nodded curtly, "It's ok." Those were about as long of sentences they had been getting from me lately. They were lucky if they got a 'Nice to see you.' Everything I said was mainly one or two words at a length of time. My spirit, dear people, had been broken. I was a human doll. Yay.
"I want to go to a real party, soon. I haven't been to one in forever," Jestin said wistfully as though I cared, "What about you, Destin?"
"No," I stated dully. Jestin pulled out a light clear blue party dress.
"Here, try this on," She ordered, handing it to me happily.
"Ok," I merely responded without emotion. I walked to the closet, put on the dress lamely, and walked back out. Jestin squealed, just like she always did.
"That looks so wicked on you," Jestin announced happily, "It goes perfect with your eyes." Oh, wow.
"Thanks," I answered shortly. I sat down without putting on my other outfit. Jestin was in her dress up mood. I'd try on whatever she told me to, telling her everything was fine on her, and wait for her to tell me to try on another one. After a while Jestin sighed and sat Indian style on the floor. I blinked. This was a change.
"Ok," Jestin exclaimed boredly, "Ok, what do you humans do every day?" I suddenly felt momentarily bad for Jestin. Wait, no I didn't. She was a freak.
"Hang," I reply shortly.
Jestin looked confused. "Hang? You die? I don't get it."
I sighed, "Sit, talk with friends." Jestin smiled at the idea. I grimaced within myself. I happen to be the only person at hand during that moment, you see. Jestin hopped up to the bed and sat next to me.
"What are your parents like?" Jestin asked curiously.
"Dead," I stated... dead to me now. Jestin only frowned in response.
"That's sad. What about your friends? What are they like?"
"Have none," I replied dully. Jestin's frown deepened.
"Any other family?" She asked in a confused tone.
"All Dead," I sighed dramatically. To me. I should feel guilty for how I was treating Jestin, but my life was now destroyed. I was going to be rich. I was going to become a high paid doctor. I had everything planned out. Then the idiot Daviel came along to bring his wussy little sister a playmate. I mean, come on. Why not take Ruth? She had no future except spending money she didn't need. Jestin interrupted my mental ranting to say, "I know you're lying." I didn't reply.
"You want to know a secret?" She asked in a whisper. She looked towards her room door and then whispered, "The only reason why he didn't kill you in the closet is because of your necklace." Jestin pointed to my cross-linked choker. I reached up and touched it. "We can't touch crosses. He was going to kill you no doubt, but that necklace delayed him until he got his thoughts in order."
I turned to her with interest. "Then why aren't you telling me to take it off?" I asked curiously. Wow, my first full sentence. Jestin smiled, probably happy to find a way to get me interested in talking.
"Because... if you have that necklace on, it gives you more of a chance of surviving," She answered with a small snicker, no doubt thinking she was some form of a genius, "I know your ways. You're quiet for now because he threatened you with something, but you'll get over it. Then you'll open that mouth of yours again and he'll want to kill you."
Suddenly, Jestin led back on the bed. Her black hair spread around her head like a dark shadow looming behind her. "Are you sure this is all you humans do?" She asked with such boredom. I looked around for a moment, thinking deeply, and turned to look at her.
"How about we do something that kids do instead?" I asked dully. I noticed I addressed children in a way that suggested they weren't humans and didn't do human things. This was, of course, true so I didn't correct myself.
Jestin's eyes brightened and she shot up, "Like what?"
I shrugged, "Jump rope?"
Two seconds later and we were in the middle of an empty room. There were a pile of jump ropes on the ground. I had grabbed a glittering green one while Jestin had her black one. After a second, I started hopping over the rope. I had done this a million times before. It was a thing Oak used to love doing. He was a very athletic boy and always pushed himself farther than everyone else. Plus, Oak was very possessive and protective, like a good brother would be. Only he could pick on me.
I disagreed immensely. Only no one should have been able to pick on me.
After a minute, I started saying, "When you see a cow that has been choked. Or you see a house up in smoke. Or something expensive has been broke. Then you know that you've been pranked by Oak." I chuckled at remembering Oak's somewhat retarded chant about himself. Then I remembered how jealous of that I had been. He had made one for me because he felt in a good enough mood to be generous towards his little sister. So I continued saying, "When words cause you to need an I.V. Or they aren't sugared but are spicy. Or the eyes you see are cold and icy. Then you know that you have been visited by Ivy." I stopped hopping and kneeled over to take a breath.
I didn't even notice that Jestin was watching me. At least, not until she said, "I don't get it. Oak and Ivy? What's that mean?" Crap. At least she didn't know those are names.
"You see, poison Ivy and poison Oak gives people rashes sometimes. It's just a nursery rhyme my nanny taught me," I quickly lied.
"Oh," She hesitated, accepting this answer. I was a decent liar. I could think of a lie from anywhere. And I could reel it off as if it was nothing. "Well, let's do double rope now."
I shrugged, "All right." I grabbed another rope. Just as I was increasing in speed with these ropes, I saw Daviel walk into the room. It broke my concentration, which in turn broke my footing. I dropped one side of my ropes and it wrapped around and under my right foot. Ultimately, I tripped and fell back on my back... hard. I had knocked the wind out of me.
After a minute of not breathing, I suddenly gasped for air. Then I groaned at my arriving headache. "Oh, Dav, look what you've done," Jestin cried out in disappointment. Then she appeared over my head.
"It's not my fault she hasn't been educated properly on how to stand," Daviel snapped in annoyance. I sat up and didn't look at Daviel. Instead I looked at the ground. He merely ignored me. "I was just wondering what all the racket was going on about."
Jestin smiled eagerly, "We were jump roping! Wanna join us?" I wanted that about as much as I wanted to gain a life-ending disease.
"Sounds fun, but I'm going to pass," Daviel responded sarcastically, "I just thought you'd want to know that I was just talking to Zander. Nice talking to you." Daviel started to walk away, but within seconds Jestin jumped in front of him.
"You talked to Zander?" She inquired with obvious interest. Daviel shrugged, indicating a positive response. "Ooooh, what did he say?" I sat abandoned on the floor, not that I minded too much at all.
"Nothing much. Said hello here and he's thinking of visiting there…"
Jestin squealed and started shooting questions at Daviel. I snapped out of watching them and instead looked around. My eyes caught the image of a door in the back of the room. Oh, an escape opportunity! I looked back at the two siblings and started slowly spider crawling backwards towards the door. They didn't seem to notice my slow approach towards freedom. None-the-less, I felt my back being pressed against the cool wood of the door to freedom...hopefully.
I slowly stood up, not moving my eyes away from Daviel and Jestin. Then I grabbed the doorknob with my hand behind my back. Very carefully and extremely slowly, I turned the knob. Then I slightly pushed the door open. Luckily, it opened without sound! I backed out of the room and didn't even close the door as I crept into the next room. It was a guest bedroom, I was guessing.
"HEY," I heard Daviel call out furiously. Ah, they noticed my absence!
I had to distract them to make them search the wrong direction for me. I scrambled to the other door that would lead elsewhere into the house. Then I opened it and slammed it shut. With that, I turned around and quickly sped under the guest bed. Just as I hoped, Daviel and Jestin ran into the room and to the other door that I had slammed shut. They opened it and ran outside the room. I held my breath the whole time.
Then there was silence. I held my breath determinedly, counting the seconds in anticipation with my heart pounding in my ears. When no sound came to me for a full twenty seconds, I let out my breath in one blow. Just as I was thinking that I was safe, my arm was grabbed from behind me. I screamed as I was dragged out from under the bed, giving me major carpet burn.
Daviel grabbed my other arm and lifted me from the ground. Then he threw me on top of the bed furiously. Then next second, he had my hands pinned above my head and was on top of me. "What did I tell you about running away?" Daviel asked in a calm yet seething way that suggested very dangerous things.
I gulped and answered, "Not to?" Daviel glared at me for a minute, obviously not liking my somewhat mocking answer.
"That's it, take off that choker."
I laughed sarcastically, "No way!" Daviel tightened his grip on my wrists and I winced.
"When I let go of your arms, take off your choker," he ordered firmly.
I glared at him, "No." Daviel and I were now in an intense evil staring battle.
"Take it off," he growled.
"No," I replied.
"Take it off," he repeated, his voice rising dangerously.
"No."
"Take it o-"
"No!"
"You'd better take it-"
"Nope."
"Take it-"
"Never!"
"Take-"
"N-"
"TAKE-"
"NO."
"I'm telling you-"
"No! Never, nope, nada, no go, negative, neeeeeeooooooOOWW!" Daviel proceeded to pinch my arm extremely hard to shut me up.
"Take it off," he snapped threateningly. I was about to say no when he pinched me again.
"Ow, you jerk!"
Daviel grinned with malice, "Are you going to take the choker off, yet?"
I struggled against him and he pinched me again... yet even harder. "Ok, Ok!," I cried out in pain, "I'll take it off, just stop pinching me!" What? It hurt! I then continued to add, "As long as you promise you won't kill me."
"Ok, I promise," Daviel answered easily with a shrug. Then he let go of my arms. I hesitated and he started to pinch me so I quickly grabbed the back latch of my choker. I then started pulling it out of the metal latch until it was finally loose…