A/N: Life = Crazy, sorry! Hope you enjoy this long awaited chapter!
Chapter 22: Fade to Black
Six weeks later, I knew something was definitely wrong. Seth looked like a dead man, the bags under his eyes deep purple. He jumped at the slightest sounds. I hardly ever saw him, and when I did, he usually fell asleep. On the rare occasions where we actually got to talk, I learned only a handful of details. Jacob and Sam were having the wolves run patrols whenever they were out of school and work, with only a few hours of rest. Seth was using his resting time to be with me, and his school time to sleep, in class. I had deduced that they were tracking or guarding something, but I wasn't sure exactly what. I knew that Seth would tell me if I asked, but something told me I'd be much more frightened if I actually knew.
My ankle had healed miraculously fast. There was no spraining, and at the six week minimum healing period, I was already in a walking cast with instructions to use the crutches if I felt any pain. Which meant I was walking full time no matter what. I would be out of softball for a few more weeks, but I was thankful that it happened during the off season. My dad was overjoyed that I was okay and that there would be no lasting damage and I agreed wholeheartedly.
Mom was a different story entirely. She couldn't even be in the same room as me without finding something to criticize me about. It didn't help that she and Dad were fighting all the time. For some reason, she thought it was entirely my fault. I'd never met anyone as cranky as my mother. For the last month or so, I was totally ignoring her, and she ignored me unless she saw me. So I was spending a lot of time in my room since Seth was patrolling all of the time. It was almost Christmas and I felt like an outcast. Hopefully the coming of winter break in a week would mean more time with Seth.
I only foresaw one major problem with winter break only being a few days away. My dad had a business trip the second week of break, around the twentieth until the twenty-fourth. That meant almost a week of all Mom and no Dad. I was terrified. If Seth was still caught in this hectic schedule, I was stuck at home with Lily and Mom for the duration. Aimee was going to Texas for the whole two weeks. I hoped that Seth and the pack would find whatever they were looking for.
The day my dad was set to leave, I was seriously depressed. Mom and Lily were already treating me like a mixture between a stray dog and being completely invisible. Seth had been MIA for a few days, which he'd assured me at the start of the drama, just meant they needed him. I was lonely and knew I'd miss my dad. He was the only one who listened. As he drove away, a tear slid down my cheek.
Later that week, around the twenty-third, I was fed up with the way I was being treated. I was being forced to cook all the meals and take care of Lily while Mom went "Christmas shopping." But I doubted she was shopping for us. I put on a cheerful face for Lily, who still had visions of an elaborate Christmas dancing through her head. I set up our big box of art supplies and suggested that we make Christmas cards for our friends and family. She happily agreed, because she was nice to me when Mom wasn't around.
About half an hour later, it began to snow. It was around seven, so I put some water on to boil since Mom wasn't home yet. I watched the flakes fall gently and slowly pile up. Lily began to sniffle behind me.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Mom and Dad are both going to get stuck in the snow!" She wailed. I personally agreed that Mom might, so I decided to call her. She miraculously answered, so I pointed out that the snow was sticking and suggested that she come home. She sighed and whined like a teenager, but forty-five minutes later, she came. I was just serving Lily her macaroni and cheese with some broccoli. Mom looked at it disdainfully.
"Is that all you can manage to cook, Kayla?" She said, scorn lacing her tone.
"Yeah, Kayla, this is gross!" Lily quipped. But I saw the hunger in her eyes. She would have eaten it without complaint.
"I'm sorry, that's what I had to work with." I replied quietly.
"I don't care! You could have done better." She said icily.
I just sat down and resumed painting. I was making a card for Seth and it had taken forever. Two silhouettes sat on a log on a sunset drenched beach. Our first kiss. It was immensely important to me, so I figured it would be to him. I heard my mom come next to me.
"It looks like you just spilled paint on the page."
Tears sprung to my eyes. Painting wasn't my strong suit, so she could very well be right. But I knew that Seth would appreciate it.
"What a crybaby." She said before leaving the room. Lily came over.
"Here, let me help." She said wickedly. Then she spilled red paint all over the card. "There, all better!"
I froze, watching the red paint slowly slide from the sky down onto our silhouettes. I picked it up, not even caring that my hands and clothes were getting covered in red paint. I slid my flip-flops on and ran out the front door, into the snow. I was so numb, I didn't even care that it was below freezing. I just kept running, in my flip-flops and thin sweatshirt until I reached the beach. I knelt near the water and cried. The paint drenched the snow like blood, and my tears mixed with the snow until all I had was a piece of pink paper with a blob of black in the middle. Hours, and the only present I could afford, gone to waste.
I felt the snow pile up in my hair and around me. I watched as the paper slowly turned white with snow. I saw my now clean hands turn bright red. I felt and saw this but still I didn't move. Still I didn't feel pain. All I wanted was for the world to fade around me and escape this abuse. I couldn't wait another day for my Dad or Seth to save me. I couldn't live through the torture. All rational thinking had left me. I slowly faded into unconsciousness.
When I awoke, I noticed that I was finally feeling the intense cold. This meant I hadn't died. But the other thing I noticed was that an unfamiliar pair of ice cold arms was holding me, and we were speeding through the forest. I glanced above me and saw a terrifying face with dark red eyes and matted dreadlocks. A vampire, and not a good one. I tried to scream, but then I noticed that he had taken the liberty to bind and gag me. If I thrashed, his stone arms would just bruise me. So I just sat quietly, waiting for death.
A/N: Ooh, drama! And no, Kayla isn't suicidal. She didn't really want to die. She wanted to live, but she wanted to live free. Does that make sense? Anyway, leave me a review please! And don't forget to vote in my poll!