Chapter 4: Iellato
David sat down on the left side of the table, leaving the seat next to him for John. Jess sat on the right side, patting a spot for me to sit. Then lastly, Mrs. Darth came in through the kitchen with a big bowl of something, which I believe would be the soup. She sat at the end of the table which was farthest away from the door.
One thing that made me sad every time I came here for dinner was they never sat in the end table spot closest to the door.
They had saved that seat for their father, to protect over them while they ate. That was his spot where he had sat before he died, and they wanted to keep that his spot. Even if there weren't enough chairs to sit at the table, they would never use his chair. Someone would sit on the ground or kneel.
Dinner went and passed as quickly as I got here. Then Jess got up and waited for me to follow. I slowly stood up and stretched my arms.
"Dinner was great, Mrs. Darth." And it was I always left their house happy.
"Thank you, Hayden." Just as we were leaving David got up and called my name. He pulled on my arm and stopped me from moving.
"Yeah? David?" I was scared he was going to tackle me or something. He was at least twice my size, and very intimidating.
"Um, well how's your family?" He seemed nervous.
"Good I guess. Um, is there a reason you're bringing this up?"
"Not a big reason, I mean. Actually forget it." He started to walk away.
"Wait David. What did you want to tell me?" now he got me curious and I had to find out.
"Um, I don't think you'll want to know, you might take it a bit offensive."
"I'm sure I can handle it."
"Okay." He took a deep breath. "Your Dad said something to me, and it sounded like a warning. And I just wanted to know if you knew why in the world he would want to warn me." He was testing me to see if I knew what he was talking about.
This made no sense. What could he possibly be ranting on about this time?
"What are you talking about?" Was the most humanist answer I could give.
"Your dad said, 'You better watch out David, I know things that you couldn't possibly know about.' Then he glared at me and, well, he basically threatened me. And I was wondering if you knew what he was talking about?" He looked down and waited for me to respond.
My Dad? I stood there for awhile then David shook me, he looked worried.
"Um, you sure it was my Dad?" He nodded, "Then I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Oh, okay…Just wondering, you know. He sort of scared me." He was gone in seconds.
I looked for Jess. I saw her sitting on the top of the steps. I went up the steps to go meet her. She met me half way.
"What in the world was your brother talking about?"
"I have no idea, but lately he's been sort of well," Why did she pause? She gave me a meaningful look that I didn't understand. "Promise you won't get mad or anything?"
"Sort of what, Jess?" She shrugged and went on.
"Well, sort of scared of your Dad." She shrugged.
What could my Dad have said that for? Whatever David said he said. I thought about asking him tonight, but I didn't really want to get involved.
As the night passed I finally left Jess's house, and walked home. I was too preoccupied with my thoughts to notice the sound in the bushes. Then I tripped on a stone and fell to the ground. I quickly took a break from my thoughts, and that is when I heard it.
It was a growl just like the other two times.
My mind was running, screaming, and crying for help. But my body stood frozen on the ground. There they were, I saw the yellow eyes again, and they blinked and opened two times, and both times turning a new shade of yellow. The pupils were so huge that I almost couldn't see the yellow.
I quickly looked at the road, no signs of cars anywhere. I looked at the sidewalk, no one was coming. I tried to back away, but then my body stopped its self.
I really wanted to go over to the bushes, my body did, but my mind was still screaming for its life. I leaned closer to the bushes without moving my body. Now I wasn't tense in my body at all, I relaxed. I sat for who knows how long, and then I realized that I haven't blinked for several minutes.
Suddenly the yellow eyes blinked, and so did I. Then, I was filled with fear again.
I got up stumbling all the way and ran. I thought about looking back, but I was afraid I might see the eyes again. I thought over what had just happened while I ran, and then heard a sound in by me. I ran faster, it seemed-whatever it was-to be following me. I slowed my pace, and then something unexpectedly flew past of me. It was so fast that it just felt like a rush of wind. Maybe it was and I am going crazy after all.
I turned the corner and saw my house up ahead. I glanced behind me and once I saw nothing was there I practically sprinted to the door. I opened it and slammed the door shut. I saw my dad in a pair of sweat pants and a soaked T-shirt.
What could he have been doing? I decided to block out my recent experience from my mind and talk to my dad.
"Dad?" I asked breathlessly.
"Yeah…Hayden?" He was out of breath too.
"What have you been up to?"
"Oh, your Mother thinks I could lose a couple of pounds, she made me take a jog."
"Okay, well you do know she's only doing it because she loves you. And Dad," He looked up. "You could lose a couple of pounds." I laughed as I said this.
He smiled, but something was wrong. His smile used to mean something and now there was nothing behind it. He drank a whole water bottle in about thirty seconds. Then he turned around and took his brief case.
"I'm going out for awhile; I don't know when I will be back." He walked out the door, but in a way he looked like he was marching.
I walked down to the basement, which I haven't gone into for at least a year. We rarely ever go into the basement. I walked down the steps and stood clumsily, looking at the deserted basement. The walls were a faded color of what used to be dark green. The furniture was black and the TV was broken. There was a stained white colored carpet on the floor. And in the back there was an old office that no one uses.
When I walked into the basement it had an eerie feeling, and then I decided to go to the office.
I turned right and tried to open the door, but it was locked. How strange. It's never locked. I tried again to see if the door was just hard to open, but it was definitely locked. I was about to go upstairs to ask my dad if he locked it or my mom, but I just remembered that they were both gone.
I searched for a key everywhere. I sat down on the couch and thought. Why would it be locked? Is there a key? Where is the key?
Then I scanned the room and saw something that caught my eye. Right next to a pile of books was another "book". It looked like a book and I almost missed it, but then I saw the crease that would open it.
When I got to where the "book" was I sat down beside it. I looked at what it said, it was so fancy I wasn't sure if I read it right. It said, "Iellato" Whatever that meant. I think it was Italian or something. It had an intricate design on it. It was a black box with a bunch of connecting lines on the top.
I opened it and inside there was red velvet coating. There was nothing else in it…that was a disappointment. Then, just as I was about to close it I saw a very small string. It was barely noticeable. I pulled it and a flap came open. There I saw a silver key. I took the key in my hand and got up, I closed the box and put it back where it was.
When I was at the door I put the key in the hole and turned it. I heard a click and then the door popped open. It gave a squeak when it did. As the door drifted open I gave it a little push to help it move faster. It looked the same, but there was stuff in it. I looked around and found a lot of things were new.
There was a computer. There were papers all shuffled on the ground. And there was a map painted of Appleby on the wall, with a lot of little X marks on them. I walked farther into the room and looked closer at the X marks. There was one on my high school, Dave's Diner which was where I worked, my house, Jess's house, Karen's house, and the park. Weird, I hung out at all of those places a lot.
I walked forward and slipped ever a piece of paper. I picked it up and glanced at it, it had my school schedule on it from two years ago. I picked up a few more papers. One was my flyer for my band concert, one for my parent/teacher conference, and the others were also dealing with events at my school. I set them back down on the ground. I went over to the desk, only to find my name on a piece of paper, highlighted.
I heard a door open upstairs; it was either Dad or Mom who walked in. Should I stay here? Well, if someone locked this door, then they probably didn't want anyone in it. I hurried out the door, gently closed it and put the key back where I had found it. I all but ran upstairs and flew into the kitchen, slipping and sliding the whole way.
I walked in the living room as casually as I could. I saw it was my mom, so I went upstairs.
The rest of the weekend flew by. I spent Sunday at the park with Karen, and the rest of the day I spent with Jess, who came over my house. I had I told her about the room I found, but we didn't get a chance to go down there because both of my parents were home.
When I woke up I looked at the clock. It was six in the morning, great, school. I slowly got up and picked out my clothes. I had picked out a pair of jeans and my favorite purple T-shirt. I took my shower then I brushed my teeth.
When I walked down stairs, my mom and Dad were talking. I walked quietly, hoping I could hear what they were talking about. It didn't work, they heard me. My Mom spun around, and then she gave me a meaningful look and took a deep breath.
"Honey, we need to tell you something," It looked like she was going to have trouble telling me. "Well, it's about your father." I took a quick glance at him and then my mom stopped me before I could say anything. "No, your real father."
"What?" Now I was confused, maybe I was dreaming or something.
"Hayden, I'm not your real father." I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
