Love Is Wicked: Eclipse
Chapter 7
When you are blissfully in love and having an amazing time with the girl or boy of your dreams, often times memories of reality escapes you. Not until it hits you in the face do you remember to be in love in reality as oppose to being in love while your whole heart and mind is on another world.
Well maybe you've never experienced that exactly but you have to admit that sometimes, being in love for a moment can erase all your worries. Like I said, for a moment. Well that was what happened to me. Haven tasted Serena's body, felt her softness under me and gaining an insight into who she really was, her past and her worries, I was blissfully unaware that I had just skipped a whole day of school!
After we woke up, which was around four, we decided to go out to eat it. After that we went to the amusement park to enjoy some of the rides. Serena was still herself but she was softer somehow. Her remarks didn't make me nervous or unsure and her smile was brighter and her every touch suddenly had a great importance to it in which I had missed before. Her eyes were dancing and her hair was left down. It was very beautiful, flowing down her back to almost the floor in a river of silver moonlight. It attracted so much attention, some attention more wanted than others. I had to restrain myself many times from doing body harm to the fools who kept coming at her to flirt or to just 'innocently' suggest another toy for her 'pleasures'. Serena would laugh with them but she made it perfectly clear that she wasn't interested. Before, I would have thought she was flirting back with them and playing hard to get, but haven come to understanding her today, I noticed things that I would not have otherwise notice. Uncomfortability. She was good at playing the games but she was uncomfortable when surrounded by guys or girls. The crowd bothered her but she was most annoyed when guys came to flirt with her. It was subtle that even the sharpest of person would have missed, but I noticed it through the tightening and deepening of her eyes, the breathless edge to her voice I had mistaken for a sexy drawl and the close proximity she kept to me.
I wondered how I had missed all of this. Her tough attitude was just a front, a persona as she had said, created to hide herself. She feared for herself because she was very aware of her own beauty and she was also very aware how the male population viewed her. Think about it, she had an ass; breasts and a flawless, smooth skin that would make even a blind man look (I'm sure you know what I mean). And her voice was so silky and light or deep when she is driving someone purposefully nuts. She knew she stood out like a candle in a dark room and men flocked to her as if she was the only woman on earth. She had personally experienced men going out of the norm to claim her as she told me later that day, so she always had to be careful and be strong. She had later learned to pretend to not care. In pretending not to care, the kidnapping and the plays on her fears reduced tremendously. Problem is, she said, that when you learn something and practice it so often, it becomes a habit or addiction you cannot break so easily.
She said, "That is the difference between me as Serena and me as Serenity. When I am being Serenity, people see me as sweet, innocent, made of money and weak. This image gives people the idea that they have to protect me and they can only do so by owning me. But as Serena, I am the tough, rebellious, bitchy girl who would open her legs to anyone just to get what she wants and would take shit from nobody. Often times, it is Serena that walks the earth. Sometimes I even forget I am Serenity, or that Serenity was before Serena."
I felt honored as she opened up to me because I knew she didn't do that with just anyone. By seven, we arrived at the drive way of my house. As soon as she turned off the engine, she fell back on her seat with a sigh and turned her face to me with a smile.
"Have fun?" she asked.
"More so than I have ever had in all my life." I admitted. I touched her face and hold her cheek. I have never felt a skin like that, so smooth and flawless and perfect.
"Why do I feel so much for you? It's driving me nuts! I feel that my heart is going to burst out of my body!" I said honestly. I wanted her, not in sexual way. I just wanted her. Love, lust, infatuation, need, want and desperation fused together in me, in my heart, soul, mind and body and they were all pointed at her. She was the only one who could quench this unrelenting thirst within me. A thirst that only came to my knowledge when I first saw her at her house and when she winked at me. I knew then things would never be the same, and they haven't. Haven met her; I now truly know the meaning of happiness. The meaning of love and there were no words to describe it. She was my soul mate; I knew it and I believed it. I only hoped there was a way to show her and make her believe it as well.
I moved my face toward hers and she met me halfway in a passionate kiss. She held my cheek as I held hers and our tongue and mouth plunged into each other, dancing, flirting and passionately infusing each other with our presence. I wanted to mark her as mine and whether she thought the same thing or not, her lips devoured mine in equal passion.
"Darien, is that you?" Amy's voice reached my ears and I stopped, only then realizing my body had rose and was nearly on top of Serena with her head pressed to her window. I moved back and saw my mother at the back of the car. I was glad Serena's car glass was dark, hard to see in from the outside but able to do so from inside.
"Answer her." Serena whispered, her voice breathless. I also realized she looked thoroughly kissed and inwardly I felt a tiny victory. She leaned up and wiped my lips. I kissed her hand before she withdrew it. I opened the car door and stepped out before taking my eyes off of her. When my head was completely out of the car, I looked at the back of the car where Amy was standing. She ran to me and I caught her in a hug.
"Oh thank God!" she said then quickly stepped back.
"Your mother is pissed!" she said. I blinked.
"Why?" I asked dumbly.
"Why!" Amy screeched, her eyes wide. I run through my head things my mom would not be happy with, there were many and all involved Serena.
"School." I said and my eyes widened. Mom was definitely pissed. I could mess around all I wanted but messing around with school and my education was the only exception!
"Oh hell." I muttered and Amy nodded. She knew I was dead. Serena came out of the car.
"What's going on?" She asked.
"Your family is here." Amy answered before I could say anything.
"What?" Serena and I said and looked at her in alarm.
"I want to tell you guys now to run away and come back ten years later but that might not help the situation." Amy said, real fear in her eyes. Fear and worry ignited in me. I looked at Serena, she saw my worry and rolled her eyes.
"Let's go in." She said, taking the first steps.
"Is she insane?" Amy whispered.
"Apparently." I replied.
We followed her around the house to the entry way where she stood aside and waited for me to open the door. I knew she wasn't waiting for me to open the door out of fear, but this wasn't her house so she was being courteous. I took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly and sent a little prayer for mercy to Jesus.
I opened the door and all eyes turn on us. Too many eyes to count. I saw my mom, Rei whose eyes widened as they landed on me, Troy, three police men and the rest of Serena's family with the exception of the father. Andrew was here as well with his little sister Elizabeth and some of my old friends, Molly and Melvin. Lita, Amara, Michelle, Alan and Ann were here as well. Ann was smirking and Bret was also here. Amy's mother was here as well. Even some of Rei's friends, Mina and a few more were here.
What the hell? Had someone died or something?
Serena walked past me and Amy followed before I went in completely and closed the door. For a minute, no one said anything and I could not bring myself to look at my mother.
"Where have you been?" Mother asked calmly. Understand something; my mom gets angry two ways. One is more deadly than the other. One way you know when my mom is angry is when she is screaming, her eyes flaming and cursing you out. That normally means she fighting herself between worry and anger and the result is her explosion. Then the other anger is when her voice is calm, her actions calm but inwardly she is seething with wrath. This is her most deadly form of anger, often times it is not turned on me but once it is directed on me, I would always wish to be buried
"We were at my family's hotel." Serena answered before I could say anything. Truth was I was about to lie. Saying something like that would get both her and I killed! I looked at Serena and she was just as calm as my mother.
"The whole day?" Mother asked. I swallowed, her eyes were dark. God please, calm the storm! I prayed.
"No, not really." Serena said and sat herself on the handle of the couch. It was driving me mad how calm she could be when I was panicking.
"We went to the amusement park too." Serena finished and I sighed in defeat. We were doom and nothing could save us.
"Darien, what day is today?" Mother asked, staring right at me. I sighed.
"I'm sorry mother." I replied.
"Imagine my worry when at eleven, Mr. Crawford called me asking if you were ok only to learn that you were not in school. I went all around searching for you and even enlisted the police help. The only reason why they helped me is because of a friend of mine who is a police woman and knows you just don't take off like that so waiting the normal 48 hours could not comply. And all this time, you were in a hotel and at the amusement park?" Mother said, her voice so calm. I sighed.
"I came to pick him up in the morning to school. He was sleepy because he had not been able to sleep until five am. Halfway to school I saw how tired he really was and he had fallen asleep in my car. I decided it was no good to have him in school if he couldn't keep awake and since we were closer to my family hotel, I just took him there to rest. And since I'm not a morning person, while he slept I did so too. We woke up about four, went out to eat and went to the amusement park and finally came here." Serena answered before I could say my apology.
"You expect us to believe that you could sleep from like 8 in the morning until four?" Selene, one of the twin sisters said. She was the one with the air of authority that separated her from her twin sister.
"I don't expect anything of or from you. Never have, never will." Serena answered.
"So, you guys just slept in the hotel the entire time?" Bret asked, his voice emphasizing stress. My eyes narrowed at him, I knew what he was getting at.
"It seems you are hard of hearing." Serena answered. "Yes, we just slept as hard as it is to believe. Of course I wanted more but being morally obligated to live a virgin life until marriage, Darien wouldn't have us do anything." She finished with a pout that even I believed that was all that happened. Which it was but it definitely wasn't moral that kept us from making love. From the corner of my eye, I saw mother sigh. I wonder what that meant.
"No reason excuses your behavior today, I hope you know that Darien." Mother said. I nodded.
"Isn't that kinda harsh? I mean would you have your son at school falling asleep in class than to be sleeping it off? Besides, I will bet my life on it that this is the first time it has happened." Serena said.
"First, because of you!" Mother snapped. This I wasn't expecting.
"Mother!" I said in shock and anger.
"Don't mother me!" She said standing up, the flame of anger in her eyes rose to dance angrily. "You've gone to a hotel with a 20 year old woman who is notoriously known to sleep with any man for any reason! What the hell do you expect me to think? And if that's not enough, I have decided to believe that nothing of sexual activities transpired between the two of you because I raised you better than that! Don't you dare defend her to me you fool! Is this your normal behavior? Cut class to go sleep in a hotel? And you went to a club! When in all the years of raising you have I ever allowed you to do something like that? And all this happened because of her! So don't you dare defend her to me!" she screamed.
"Maybe that was why he was so gullible to my manipulation. After all, he's never known what real fun is. I can just imagine the poor boy growing up and cooped up in a small corner only studying while all his friends and people his age are outside playing. While that makes him smart Mrs. Shield, it makes him a very easy target to manipulation. It's like offering freedom to the slave." Serena said.
"And what freedom do you offer my son? Sex? Destruction to the bright future he has? Disobedience? Disregard for his mother? Moral corruption? Do you know the hell I've gone through to bring my son up the way he is?" Mother snapped at her and Serena sighed.
"You make it look like I'm the bad guy. Believe it or not, it is your son that might yet change me." Serena said.
"Go find one of those Jesus jokers. My son is not your savior!"
"You're taking this totally out of proportion." Serena said.
"Serena." I said, my voice filled with warning. She turned blazing eyes on me.
"If you're going to stand there and take all this in like a fool, that's your business but don't expect me to play the fool with you!" She snapped at me and I blinked. This was the first time Serena had ever been mad at me and between her and my mother, I didn't know whose anger I couldn't handle.
"Serena, your conduct is getting overbearing. Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is for our family when people see Police walking in and out of your father and my office?" Serena's mother said, her voice tired. It made me wonder if she was as bad as Serena made her sound.
"Ahh, were you troubled. Oh dear, we can't have that. It's not good for your image." Serena said, heavy sarcasm drenching every word like one gallon of milk on a one cup of cereal.
There was absolute silence. Time to intervene.
"Mother, I am really sorry for the way I have behaved today. It will not happen again." Serena looked at me sharply. There was almost a hurt look on her face and I felt bad about it but it was better to placate my mom now than to fuel her.
"And Mrs. Star, I am really sorry for the inconvenience our willful behavior has caused you. Though I hope you eventually see that Serena is more than the troublemaker you seem to see her as." I said. I don't know if I was scolding or apologizing.
Serena's phone rang.
"What?" she said, her voice edgy. Then she blinked and sighed
"I'm sorry grandmother; you just caught me in a bad mood. It's alright, just a bunch of fools getting on my nerves. But its fine, everything ok?" she listened for a minute and her eyes flamed! "What? After everything we've done for them?" she listened again. "Bastards!" and again she listened and we tried to listen but her phone was very silent. Her expression though was furious. "It's alright grandmother. I will be there by the morning. I'm going home now, I will fax you the information." "Understood. As of this moment, cancel all transactions with them." "Ok, ok. I will see you soon. Bye." She said, sighed and hanged up. She stood up and came to stand by me.
"Sorry hon but I've got to go." She said. She leaned up and kissed me on the lips and walked past me to the door. I saw the shock reflected on all their faces. Even I was a bit shocked, I hadn't expected her to kiss me in front of everybody.
"I'll see you later k?" she said.
"No, you will not. Stay away from my son!" Mother screamed. I turned to look at Serena who had the door opened and was looking over her shoulders with a cat like smile.
"And who is going to stop me? You?" She said and walked away. The door softly closed behind her.
"Officers, I want a restriction warranty on that girl from my son!" mother said to the policemen.
"Mother!"
"Shut up!" she screamed back at me.
"Not without his consent ma'am and not without a reasonable reason." One of the officers said.
"I am his MOTHER. That is the only consent you need!"
"I'm afraid if he is over eighteen…"
"He is only seventeen years old!" mother said.
"Eighteen in a month!" I corrected.
"Well until then your mother is still the deciding factor. Now even still, we need a reasonable reason to give out such a warranty." The officer said again.
"Did you not see what had just happened! She is a grown woman frolicking with my son."
"There is no evidence to support that claim."
"They went to a hotel!"
"Yes but unless he or she give evidence that they did more than sleeping, there is nothing we can do that doesn't go against the law." The police officer said again. At the word sleep, I knew he didn't believe it, that all we had done was sleep. Mother turned to me.
"Did you not do anything at all?" she asked, her eyes employing me to admit it or something.
"No mother. We didn't." I said.
"Don't lie to me!" she snapped.
"I am not!" I said.
"Mrs. Shields…" Lita said rising to her feet. "Serena may seem like a bad girl, and she may be notoriously known for sleeping around, but she is equally notoriously known for being blunt and a truth teller. If she said nothing happened, I employ you to believe it. Serena does not lie."
"That is the truth." Michelle said as she and Amara rouse up too.
"Good day then." Amara finished off and we watched all three of them leave the house.
"Mrs. Shields…" Troy said as he also rose up. "My sister maybe many things, but one thing she is not is a liar." He too walked out and Amy shyly followed after him. I was hoping the rest will up and out too but they didn't.
"Darien, listen to your mother and do as she says. My daughter will only be a stumbling block to your future, which as I understand it, your quite the talented student." I could not believe what Mrs. Star was saying. It brought to home what Serena had said this afternoon about her. Did she hate Serena so much that she would say something this awful about her?
"Mrs. Shield, I beg you and everyone else to let my future be MY future." I said through gritted teeth.
"Over my dead body. If expect your future to come from this stupid course you are starting to follow, you can count me out! I didn't bring you up single handedly only to watch you destroy the very life I bled and sweat for you! Do you hear me!" Mother yelled.
"I am not destroying anything mother! I am just in love with Serena, is it too much to ask to let my heart be?" I retorted.
"Love is one thing and lust is another." Selena said. I glared at her.
"Don't presume to know what and how I feel!" I snapped at her.
"Watch your tongue." The silver haired piano man said coldly. I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Why, because your sister is so fragile that a little voice raise and she will fall apart?" I said slowly with a sarcastic drawl I was sure Serena would appreciate.
"If you cross me, you will find I am not as merciful as the rest of my family." He said, the threat real.
"Oh I'm sure of you having no mercy. Neither does any member of your family except Troy."
"Don't speak about my family as if you know us!" Their mother snapped.
"Ha! Hit a nerve right? That's why a child of twelve had to pay for crimes she did not commit at your hands. You've been treating Serena like a terror since you adopted her only because of what her mother had done. You forgot that what her mother had done had hurt her as well. But all you can see is your own sense of betrayal and anger. And you made sure she knew she was unwanted in your family. So yes, I do believe there is no mercy in any one of you!" Those who didn't know what I was talking about looked from Mrs. Star who was glaring at me to me who was glaring back at her.
The guitar guy stood up.
"Darien, we came here to warn you to be careful of ruining your future by messing around with Serenity. We've warned you. If you are to get hurt or something bad arises from this affair you're having with my sister, you can be sure none of us will be of any help to you. And while you are at it, leave my brother Troy out of you and Serena's business. With this said, we will take our leave now." He said and stretched his hand out to his mother. The lady took it, looked at me one more time with pity and walked out after her son with the rest of the family following.
"Everyone else, get out!" Mother yelled and the rest quickly picked up their belongings and followed them out. Even the police officers seemed afraid of mom. They too left. Rei was the last to leave but not before saying, "They are saying this for your own good. I've known Serena my whole life. She is a devil in disguise."
"Whatever." I said and she shook her head and walked out.
"Listen to me Son; I will not tolerate any affairs between you and that girl."
"Mother!"
"I am warning you for the last time, any association with her will make me do something that will put me in prison for the rest of my life. Stay the hell away from her!" I knew she meant every word she said.
"Now, go to your room and get out a piece of paper and pen and write down what you did all day. After that, take out another sheet of paper and write down why doing something like that will make me angry and sad. And take out another sheet of paper and write down all that you wouldn't do again including hanging out with her and why it is better not to involve yourself with her."
"Mom."
"I'm being very calm and lenient right now. Do not infuriate me any longer Darien, or you will make an enemy out of me. You have an hour to leave those three full paged papers on top of the dining table. You will also go without dinner tonight. I was too busy worrying about you to cook anything." She said. I stared at her in astonishment. Finally, I sighed and walked to my room. Not that she was punishing me, she was also punishing herself. Whenever she punished me, she always punished herself and if she can take that punishment, then it means I can too. Since she had not cooked and I couldn't eat, it meant he couldn't eat either although she could quickly whip up something for herself. I thanked God and Serena for the food we ate before returning home.
In my room, I struggled over writing the papers she had requested. I wanted to total opposite of what she had asked but I knew that was no good. Instead I did as she was told, wrote down reasons I knew would make her happy to not hang out with Serena. I hated myself for every word I wrote down. On the paper that I had to write what I had done all day, I made sure to write about Serena's past and her two personalities, hoping that might make mother understand that Serena was not the girl they all saw her as.
After I finished, I went and placed it on the dining table as she had requested and returned to my room. I wanted to call Serena, but the phone was in the living room and calling her would not make mom happy. That was excuse number one; excuse number two is that I was afraid to call her. At the end, what I had said hurt her, I saw it. And mother had told her to stay away from me. I was afraid to call and have her tell me that she didn't want anything to do with me. In the end, I just took a shower and lay on my bed reviewing everything that had happened. I tried to sleep but I couldn't. I got up, took out my books and hoped that studying would calm my nerves.
It did somewhat and eventually around twelve, I got tired enough that I felt sleepy. On the bed, the last image I had was of Serena's hurt face before sleep claimed me.
Early in the morning, I woke up sweating from a dream in which Serena had left. I rushed out of my room to the telephone in the living room and dialed Serena's number. It went straight to voice mail. I didn't say anything and hanged up. I walked back and forth in worry. Ten minutes later, I called her phone again but this time a voice came on that said the phone was out of range. I sat down with a sigh on the couch and dropped my head in my hands. I don't know why but I felt such a great panic in me. Eventually I tried calling again. I think I called like ten times but the results were the same, phone out of range.
I sighed in frustration. I eventually looked up and mother was standing there, watching me with a guarded expression. I looked down and she walked. I called one last time before finally giving up and walking back to my room.
The morning was not looking hopeful at all.
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