Darren
I burst from the forest. My breath ragged from running came out in laboured pants. At once the fragrance of oranges which polluted the air surrounded me. Each inhale of the scent my breathing slowed and anxiety which had built up in my veins drained.
Before of me was the most peaceful place I had ever seen. Row upon row of lush green trees laid out before me. They called me forward, pulling me toward the aisles. Upon nearing the first tree I reached out my fingers resting against the rough bark. Underneath my hand I sensed the life as it pulsated throughout the tree. 'This tree was young,' I thought, smiling to myself before turning to walk along the aisles of breathtaking trees.
The wind picked up my hair playing with the loose curls. I laughed as the strands tickled my neck. I felt so alive, so happy.
A petite white cottage formed in the distance. The window frames and door were a matching royal blue. Under each window a small flower garden held white and yellow daisies. Wrapped around the entire building a porch complete with its own couple swing protruded. Smoke rose from the chimney in puffy clouds, rising up into the azure sky. 'Home' my mind sighed as I neared the house causing my smile grow, that's right this was my home.
"There you are!" A voice called from behind me in a deep, musical tone I knew anywhere. A smile sprang it life on my face as his big strong arms came from behind capturing me. He spun me around to face him, a board smile gracing his lips. "I looked for you everywhere,"
"Sorry, I just couldn't resist the trees." I replied pointing toward the orchard. He laughed as he grabbed my hand, bringing me toward the house. Sitting just outside the door on the front step was a woven wood picnic basket. I smelt the fresh bread and fruit as the aromas seeped out of the container. I looked up at him, my eyes full of joy.
He returned my smile, his eyes shining. "Care for dining out with me for lunch, I found the best new place." My excitement was uncontainable.
"Always," I replied as I stared in his perfect hazel green eyes.
I awoke to my shoulder being shaken. I tried to fight the consciousness; the dream, and its happy feelings fade. "Come on Lilly. You got to get up, we're here," Darren said, his hand still shaking my shoulder. I gave up as the last of the dream left me, listening to Darren's command to wake. I sighed seldom were my dreams pleasant, and he had to go and end it, I grumbled to myself.
He moved aside as I removed myself from the vehicle. I looked at the place he had brought me. 'This is what he called a safe-house?' I thought to myself.
When one imagines the words safe-house they conjure up an image that's the exact opposite to this place. There was nothing safe about the termite ridden front deck, or the half rotten and peeled wood siding. The roof sloped in as if ready crumble any second. It resembled a tiny forgotten shack that would feature in a horror flick. The farther inside we got the worse things became. Trash built up in corners, the carpet was so grimy, and flat, not to mention the smell. Although you couldn't see them, the fragrance of rotting carcasses was a palpable force in the air. I used the neck of my shirt to protect my nose as I let Darren lead me through the decrepit building.
"Is this what you consider a safe house?" I asked my voice muffled by my shirt.
"Would you expect people to be hiding out here?" I supposed he was right. There was no way I would have thought someone were living here.
"You never told me your name," I sated. God knows how much he knew about me and I didn't even have his name.
"Oh my bad, I'm Darren." He replied leading me across a hallway toward a bedroom. This room was no better than the rest of the house. Darren crossed the room garbage crunching under his boots.
I watched him as he sauntered over to a large wooden wardrobe. His fitted leather jacket showed offed his broad shoulders and his dark acid washed jeans hugged him just right. The biker boots and driving gloves paired with something I couldn't quite place gave him a sharp dangerous edge.
The realization I had just checked him out hit me, causing my ears to flame red with embarrassment. I turned away distracting myself with attempting to find a sign that someone lived here. After viewing the moth eaten, mold cover mattress was on the verge of imploding in a cloud of poisonous smoke.
"Are you looking for Narnia?" I asked finished with waiting for him to finish searching the wardrobe, I wanted out of this hell hole.
From inside the closet came his deep laugh, "Not quite," he replied. Just then the whooshing sound of a sliding door spiked my interest. Avoiding the mattress I snuck in for a closer Darren where the wall should have been a passage with stairs lead down into darkness. A spike of anxiety shot through me as movie murder scenes flashed through my mind. Had he brought me here to kill me? I wondered, but instantaneously dismissed the thought. His actions spoke against him meaning me harm, but still I failed to calm my racing heart.
I didn't aware of who or what was waiting for me down there. Nor did I know enough about my escort to determine whether my assessments of his actions were correct. Backing away from the wardrobe I pointed into the awaiting abyss. "I'm not going down there."
He turned toward me, the shock evident on his face. "Why not?"
I didn't answer uncertain of what to say. If I told him the truth of my fears he would try to calm them with words I had no trust in. What good would come of that? I stared at him as I racked my brain for a response, but he beat me to the punch.
"The only safe place for you is down there. They founded this place for people like you. Nothing bad will happen, I promise." His gaze held mine, sincerity shinning in his hazel green eyes. I returned his gaze knowing mine was full of worry. My gut urged me to trust him, to follow him but my mind rebelled. My mind was torn between the two feelings.
Before I had sorted through the conflicting war in my mind a voice floated up the stairs. "Back so soon Dare?" Startled I turned toward the sound in time to witness the ascendance of the voices owner. Shock resonated through my body; the person who had emerged was…. Darren?
"Hey Travis," Darren greeted the doppelgänger. They're twins, my brain filled in for me. I had never seen twins before, at least not in person. "This is the new girl," he said gesturing toward me.
"So you're the one Ching won't stop blabbering about. Hey, I'm Travis," Travis said moving past his brother, and holding out a hand. "Please to meet you."
I pulled myself out of my shock and shook his hand, "Hi," the greeting came out meek and unsure. Something was off about this second Darren. My gut didn't urging me to trust him, in fact quite the opposite; I wanted to get as far away from him as possible.
His appearance was respectable. He looked far more cleaned up than Darren. Travis was wearing a knitted gray sweater and his face was clean shaven, he almost looked like someone you'd find at Starbucks writing poetry. Meanwhile Darren looked more like they guy you would find hanging around outside a bar near the motorcycles whistling at girls. At first glance Travis looked trustworthy, so why did I feel the need to run?
I didn't have time to inspect my emotions any further because Travis grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the open door in the wardrobe. I tried to fight against his grasped digging my heels into the floor. My attempts didn't even faze him; Travis was strong, freakishly strong. Fear snaked around my heart squeezing till I swore it would burst. I looked to Darren for help but all he offered was a small encouraging smile as he followed us to the stairs.
Darkness engulfed me as the door slid shut behind us. My breath caught in my throat at the moment of blindness before lights flickered on. Harsh fluorescent light flooded the stairs eradicating every last bit of darkness. With visibility restore Travis once again dragged me forward. His grip was too tight on my wrist, looking down I could already see the bruise forming under his hand. He tugged me forward his long stride had to keep up with. I whimpered as pain shot through my wrist at the rough action.
The descent was long, and I wondered how far underground we travelled. By the time we reached the bottom stair my wrist was numb and the fear that gripped my heart had dissipated. I no longer felt the desire to flee from Travis' presence, though that's not to say my uneasiness was completely abolished.
The dark abyss we descended to wasn't as scary as my imagination led me to believe either. In fact the place was rather homey. Dark laminate insulated the floors and the walls – although still cement – were painted a warm tan. a small cherry wood table even sat at the bottom of the stair holding fresh flowers. This place appeared totally normal. Besides being ten feet underground I laughed to myself.
At last Travis released my hand, and instantly I pulled it in close rubbing out the pain. "Welcome home!" He said opening his arms gesturing to the place. I took another look around noticing the unique pictures that hung on the walls.
Was this place truly safe? Could I trust these people? I silently pondered. My thoughts were still divided. It wasn't like I could turn around now even if I made it all the way up those stairs I had no clue where I was. I was stuck here for now.
Just then my stomach rumbled loud enough for everyone to hear. Reminding me that my last meal had been lunch the day prior. Embarrassment turned my ears red at the sound, which only to deepen in colour as Travis laughed
"Follow me, we'll grab a snack." Darren said his hand landing on my shoulder ushering me down a hall to the right.
"You guys do that, and I'll tell everyone our new guest arrived." Travis called as he walked off in the other direction.
Darren walked much slower than his brother allowing me to take in my surroundings. On every wall hung a picture; some showed happy scenes with bright faces, others held documents, the rest looked to be a child's artwork. I there was no order in the arrangement of the photos it seemed as though the designer randomly picked each piece.
It felt like hours passed in the span it had taken us to arrive at the kitchen. The hallways stretched on forever, with more branching off in every direction. The place was a labyrinth I would have gotten lost if Darren had not been leading me. Darren didn't utter a single syllable on the way, perhaps letting me take things in, but the silence didn't help sped things up.
When we finally reached the kitchen it felt like I had found utopia. The air was filled with the aroma of herbs and baked bread. The aroma wrapped around me my stomach letting out a rumble with the promise of food so close.
We weren't alone in the kitchen, my stomach alerting the room's current occupant to our arrival. The woman in the room was gorgeous, so tall with brown hair that cascaded down her shoulders like a chocolate waterfall. She had a figure I would kill for and she floated around with a grace I could never hope to master. Envy stabbed through me as I watched her head snap up in our direction.
"Hey Julia," Darren greeted her. A smile grew on her lips as she turned to us. The grin showing off set of perfectly straight white teeth. "This is Lilly." He introduced me laying a hand on my shoulder and pushing me inside the room. I waved at her meekly.
"Welcome Lilly, I'm just making diner. Should be ready in about fifteen minutes, we're having lasagna." She told me enthusiastically, my stomach rumbled back with the same enthusiasm. She chuckled, "Help yourself to a snack, but not too much you don't want to ruin your appetite."
"Thank you, I won't." I replied. I was thankful for Darren cause at that moment I didn't think I could move. It was as if a wall of awkwardness was holding me back, telling me it would be rude to trespass into her kitchen to eat while she was cooking. Darren was unaffected by the wall and went straight to the fridge. He pulled out banana, gesturing to the fruit as if asking if I wanted it. I nodded; the thought of the banana destroyed the wall. Bananas had been my favourite food as a kid, mom even used to call me her little monkey. I hadn't eaten one since she died, the orphanage never let me. I could already imagine how amazing it would taste as I walked over to grab the fruit.
As I took my snack from him as Darren removed a water bottle from the fridge, taking a long chug before returning the bottle to its place. A bit of the bottles contents fell out at the corner of his mouth. Darren whipped away the strange dark liquid before sending a thank you to Julia and directing us out of the kitchen.
I followed him down the hall for a few minutes enjoying my banana, letting my mind touch on the recipes my mom owned that included bananas. Disappointment filled me as the last piece disappeared. The snack hadn't lasted long enough, and I stared at the empty peel wishing more would magically appear. With I sigh I looked up to notice Darren examining me a bemused smile on his face
"What?" I asked him. The sound came out inaudible, and I was forced to swallow. "What?" I repeated when my mouth was clear.
"Nothing, you should record yourself eating next time. It's quite entertaining." He chuckled.
I frowned at him. "He'd act no different if it was his favourite food he hadn't eaten in ten years," I grumbled under my breath as my ears turned red. I didn't like being analyzed when I ate, exceptionally when I was devouring the food as I just did. "Where are we going now?" I asked hoping to change the subject.
"I'm going to show to your room before diner." He replied leading me up a beautiful u-shaped stairway with intricately carved handles.
"And where is that?"
"Not too far," he replied steering me down a new hallway. With each turn he took I felt myself growing more and more lost. I had been looking forward to time alone in a room to sort through all that happened, but now I was hoping he wouldn't leave. If Darren left me alone there was no doubt I'd be stranded until he came back for me. I didn't understand how he navigated this maze so effortlessly; if I ever thought of going someone alone I'd be lost in an instant.
Despite the overwhelming dizziness I endured the walk to my room went faster. Darren pointed out doors to people's rooms and hallways that lead down to different areas I'd want to remember. I forgot all of it as he said it, but figured I would have time to learn my way around.
"Here we are," Darren said bring my attention to the mahogany wood door identical to the other doors. I must place something on it if I plan to find this room againI thought to myself as I reached out to opened the door.
There was nothing memorable about the room. The walls were the average eggshell white, on the far left side sat a bed with tan covers and a small pine dresser beside it. The room was colourless it made the room creepy and uninviting. I needed to add to this room, I thought as I took in the space. But with what? I had brought nothing me all I owned now was my mother journal. Until that moment I hadn't realized just how much I lost. It wasn't like I had a lot before, but now looking around at this room the weight of all I'd lost crashed down on me. Turning around I hoped to distract myself with conversation to notice Darren hadn't followed me into the room. I looked around down the hall for him but found no trace of him.
Moving back into the room I closed the door behind me, loneliness filling me for the first time. My life had changed in such a short time; everything I knew – gone - every comfort I counted - on miles away, only uncertainty left. As I sat there with nothing to distract myself with I felt the emotion consume me. Lost in its poisonous embrace I wished Darren would come back and save me from this haunting sensation. If I left I would go insane lost in the endless twists and turns of this safe house and if I stayed here I'd be engulfed by depression.
I couldn't decide which was worse. So I laid on the bed holding my mother journal to my chest wishing I could go back to before I'd read her letter. I imagined what I'd be doing if I hadn't run away from the only home I'd ever truly known. Closing my eyes hoped to help block out the surrounding nothingness and sharpen the image of normalcy in my mind. I wished this pain would go away, I wished my mom was still here
"Everyone to the reading circle" Mrs. Pratt's calm steady voice called over the ruckus of playful children around me. I put my doll into its proper red bin and ran to the story circle. Reading time was my favourite part of the day. We got to sit in comfy, Styrofoam filled chairs on a beautiful rainbow carpet. Best of all the student of the week got to chose the classes story for the week.
I was just getting settled into my favourite plush purple chair when Mr.Megenbir's voice came in over the P.A. system. "Lilly Sanders to the principle's office, Lilly sanders to the principal's office." The class oh'd as I looked up worriedly. I wonder what the principle wanted from me I didn't remember doing anything wrong.
"Class calm down class," Mrs. Pratt hushed my peers, her hands pushing down on the air around her as though it would help her to lower the volume. "It's okay Lilly, go see what the principal wants." I stood hesitantly and walked to the door.
I made my way to the office my gut doing little flips as I walked. Something bad happened, I could tell. It was just like when we found out that my grandpa had passed away. "Please don't let it be anything bad, please" I whispered to myself clutching my hands together for comfort.
When I arrived I knew something horrible most definitely awaited me. The office lady, Mrs.Marsen,a woman who usually exuded happiness, was mellow and her brown eyes held nothing but pity. "Right this way Lilly" She ushered me into the room. I took a seat in front of the desk, my feet dangling off the too tall chair. I enjoyed that part of being small, the weightless feel I got from hanging my feet freely off the edge. "He'll be right with you." I swung my legs back and forth as Mrs. Marsen closed the door. I looked around the office taking in the familiar mahogany desk topped with the gold plated name tag that read Mr.Megenbir. Sitting in the chair next to me was an older woman with long dark black hair and a menacing aura. Her face lacked all emotion; I doubt she realized I even sat down. Her face looked as though it had been painted plastic. I was tempted to stand up and wave my hand in her face to see if she were in fact real. While I contemplated this Mr.Megenbirwalked in. He looked around the same age statue lady and as grandpa would have been.
"Hello Mrs.Enright, Lilly" He said nodding to each of us as he made his way behind his desk. His expression was grave, and my heart sink. "Lilly, this is Mrs.Enright. She works for Social Services; do you know what that means?" I shook my head slowly. My gut was screaming at me to ignore him. You don't want to hear the rest it cautioned. "A Social Worker is someone who helps children when something happens to their mommy and/or daddy," He spoke slowly making sure I understood what he was said. I nodded; I understood but didn't get why she was here. The feeling of dread built in my stomach making me fidget.
He waited too long to continue and my impatience got the better of me. "What is she doing here?" I asked.
He took a long shaky breath and shared a glance with the statue lady. "I'm sorry to say Lilly but a fire broke out at your house earlier today and..." He paused again as if the words made him physically sick. "Your Mother, she perished in the fire along with most of your belongings."
The words didn't sink in at first and I felt confused. What did he say? His words didn't make sense? Mrs.Enrightnoticed my confusion and spoke up. "Your mom is dead, the fire killed her." My eyes grew stretching their sockets. Impossible, I looked between the principal and the strange lady, she was joking right? It wasn't a funny joke, not funny at all
"No." I screamed at her jumping from the chair "You're a liar!" I pointed a finger at her. I expected her to admit it, just like I did when mom confronted me. She didn't confess, in fact her face which had been feigning concern was now blank. She almost seemed aggravated. I looked toward Mr. M's face and this time I saw concern and pity. "You're both liars!" I screamed at them "And I'll prove it to you!" I ran out of the room. Mom! I felt my mind scream. I'll show them, she isn't dead, she isn't!
I bolted awake screaming the only thing stopping my limbs from flailing about was the weight holding them down. Tears stung my eyes the pain as raw and real as it had been that day. The weight that had been holding me steady released me and I was able sit up.
I looked to the person sitting next to me; the picture blurred my incoming tears "Darren?" I said my tears a thick tone in my voice. Before I was able to stop myself I had clung to him bawling, my tears ruining his shirt
"Lilly? What's wrong?" He asked. I didn't respond I just held onto him. Darren didn't push me away; instead he rubbed my back tried to comfort me a gesture obviously foreign to him.
He let me cry myself dry without interruption. When my emotions were finally containable I moved away from him wiping at my eyes. "I'm sorry," I hear the tears in my voice. I felt so embarrassed that I let my emotions grab a hold of me like that.
He waved off my apology, concern written throughout his expression. "Are you alright?"
~Sorry about the length guys. Guess it kinda got away with me. I promise the next one will be a bit shorter (closer to 3,000 v.s. 4,000). I realize its been awhile since my last update, so for those who've stuck with me, thank you :D