Drinking Life (Keeper of the Water Book 1) (9 page)

“You’re suspended the
rest of the week
?” my mother yells. I know I should feel bad or guilty or whatever but I don’t. In fact, I cross my arms in defiance. Who is
she
to lecture me about
anything?
If she was my
real
mother then it might be different, though I resist the urge to say this. “How could you be so foolish? Do you know how much that smashed back window costs? Hundreds of dollars.”

I still say nothing, give her no response. At least until she hits below the belt.

“I might have expected this type of behavior from Cassie but not you. I guess the two of you aren’t as different as I hoped,” she adds.

I can’t stay silent any longer. “
Should
Cassie and I be alike for some reason?”

My mother is taken aback. She can’t hide her feelings very well, yet another indication of her guilt as far as I’m concerned.

“I don’t want to talk about this any longer,” she says and storms out of the house.

Even though
I
was the one who got in trouble, I’m fuming. My father walks inside moments later. Whether Mom is my real parent or not is still not totally known; I
know
my father isn’t
really
my father so if he tries to give me any grief, I
won’t
be able to hold back any longer. Though he wears a frown, he does not look angry, more like concerned.

“She already yelled at me enough,” I tell him.

Dad nods. “I know that moving around has been tough but you seem to be different recently. Is everything okay?”

Wow, where should I begin? Anything that
could
go wrong in my life has, starting with him. But I’ve spent so much time thinking about it all that I don’t want to waste my breath talking about it, too.

“I’m fine,” I lie. “Can I go now?”

He looks sad, which turns my rage into guilt. I constantly have to remind myself that none of this is my fault. Dad nods and I stomp toward the door.

“Nia,” he says. I stop in the doorway and turn to him. “I know life will change for you as you get older but I will always be here for you. Somebody very special was once there for me in my greatest time of need and I always want to be that person for you.”

It’s rare that he ever mentions his past but now I know why that is. I nod at him before pushing open the door and walking outside. I need some way to channel my anger and head for the garage behind the trailer. I grab my new bow and immediately feel better. Anger and weaponry aren’t always the safest combination but I treat my bow with the utmost respect and safety. I don’t care how angry I’d ever become—I would never mishandle my bow, especially not my new one. I’ve had it for four days already but only shot it that first day with my father. At least I’ll have all week to practice with it…

As I set up the large target, I see Celeste walking toward the woods. I call out to her but she doesn’t seem to hear me. I have the feeling she’s trying to avoid me like she did all weekend. I call her name again and jog after her. She can ignore me no longer.

“I would tell you not to run with that bow in your hand but for some reason, I think you can handle it,” she says.

I stop and close my eyes. Her words joggle a thought in my mind, a memory that
feels
strong but I can’t quite remember. This isn’t the first time I’ve felt this way recently and it frustrates me that my mind is becoming foggy. Celeste doesn’t seem to notice. We walk toward the shooting range and she grabs one of the old bows from the garage.

“You’re getting in trouble at school now?” she asks.

Her voice does not have the slightest tone of accusation in it. But I still feel worse about getting in trouble when I talk to her about it than my mother. It’s as if Celeste has a right to question me.

“I was sticking up for myself,” I explain, thinking she’ll understand why I acted the way I did.

We’re still farther away from the target than usual but Celeste suddenly stops and fires an arrow from an odd angle. I’m about to tell her there’s no way she could hit it from this far when I realize I’ve never seen her shoot before. I can’t believe this is the first time I’ve realized this. But I can tell from a single glance that she has perfect form. I’m impressed, but not surprised, when the arrow hits dead center on the bull’s-eye.

“Just because you
can
fight and stick up for yourself doesn’t mean you
should
, at least not against foes who don’t need to see your talents,” she says. “You are a very special girl, Nia. I’ve known you for a long time and have always seen greatness in you. Always try to keep peace unless you’re forced to do otherwise.”

I nod, taking solace in her words. It’s the exact thing I wanted to hear from Mom, though maybe I heard it from my
real
mother instead. The more time I spend with Celeste, the greater the connection I feel between us. If anyone will tell me the truth about my real parents, I’m convinced that she will. I open my mouth to ask but she speaks first.

“Do you know where Cassie is?”

I sense her worry for the girl and part of me feels it, too. But the mention of her also stirs the anger within me again. Even if Celeste
is
my real mother, it’s obvious who she most thinks of as her daughter. I’m starting to get tired of people always choosing her over me.

“I don’t know. Regardless of what some people think, I’m not Cassie’s bodyguard,” I say, unable to hide my bitterness. I’m not one for seeking revenge but the thought of Cassie and John together brings out the worst in me. “She’s probably with her new boyfriend.”

“She has a boyfriend?” Celeste asks.

I don’t know if it’s true but if Cassie is going around tell people that Jeff is
my
boyfriend, it’s time I give her a taste of her own medicine.

“He drives a motorcycle, one of those little fast ones,” I say. “And he’s older than her, too.”

I want to worry Celeste just enough to get Cassie in trouble later but I think I’ve gone overboard. Her face turns pale with panic and she tosses the bow into the garage as she heads home without another word. I fire a couple arrows—even split the one Celeste shot—to help ease some of my frustration. But it doesn’t help the way I hoped. I give up and go to my room, where I silently brood for the next hour. I’m starting to get the feeling that I
relish
being miserable. I’m finally snapped out of my misery when the sound of a motorcycle drifts into my open window. Minutes later, I see Cassie walk down our dirt driveway, her perfect hair now tousled and windblown.

Before I have the chance to lose my cool from jealousy, Celeste rushes from her house and approaches Cassie.

“Who drove you home?” she asks. Amongst the silence of the surrounding forest, their voices easily carry up to my room.

“A friend,” Cassie says.

“I thought I told you it was safest to drive home with Nia,” Celeste says.

“You did. But guess what? I got home in one piece so get off my back!”

Cassie tries to stomp away from her mother but Celeste reaches her breaking point. She grabs her daughter by the arm and turns her around. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. By no means does Celeste hurt her but it’s the first time she truly shows Cassie who’s boss.

And I can’t help but feel awful that I caused this. I want to rush down to Cassie’s aid but know Celeste would never do anything to hurt her no matter how upset she might be.

“You were riding a motorcycle with your new boyfriend, weren’t you?” Celeste demands to know.

Though I’m the one who gave her the information, it still stings to hear the words ‘new boyfriend’ in reference to Cassie and John. I was clinging to the hope that John wouldn’t fall for her but the fact that she got a ride home with him is not a good sign for me. I barely know John myself but she doesn’t seem like his type. Still, I guess there’s the whole ‘opposites attract’ thing. Maybe I’m just feeling sorry for myself but it’s like destiny for the two of them to end up together while I’m left out.

It doesn’t take long for Cassie to agree with that sentiment.

“I see you’ve been talking to
Nia
,” she says, glancing up toward my room. I quickly duck down but don’t know if she spotted me. Either way, that doesn’t stop her from being brutally honest. “She’s just jealous because John likes
me
, not her. Like always,
everyone
likes me instead of her. John thinks she’s a freak like everyone else does!”

Cassie sure knows how to dig in that knife. But I can’t blame John for thinking this way. So far, he’s seen me fight an entire lacrosse team, stalk him to his house, almost kill his neighbor, make out with a nerd
and
smash a car window straight-up Hulk-style. And that’s not even counting the way I ticked him off by mentioning his cinderblock shed.

“Don’t you
ever
say that about Nia!” Celeste yells. “She’s had to put up with more of your crap than you could ever imagine. You should consider yourself
blessed
to have her by your side despite how cruel you’ve been to her.”

“Whatever, you’ve always liked her better than me even though
she’s
the troublemaker. Have
I
ever been suspended for a week?”

I glance back out to see Cassie pull her arm free and march into her house. With so much tension in our little neck of the woods—and since there are no tours scheduled—I stay in my room the rest of the day, not even coming down for dinner before falling asleep for the night…

- - - - - - - - - - - -

It’s dark but I can see that I’m in the middle of the woods. But I am not alone. Encircling me is a ring of women, intimidating women who are tall and strong. I try to focus on their faces, try to recognize any of them, but they stand in position so they’re shrouded in light shadow. Two women directly in front of me are familiar but they’re from a brighter time, a grassy place…

I can feel every set of eyes staring directly at me but I don’t feel in danger. In fact, it’s just the opposite. These women watch me not out of anger but out of love—at least most of them. A few are shrouded in deeper darkness and I can tell this is no mistake. I can sense the blackness in each of their hearts, especially when they look at me.

The only illumination comes from a small water source just in front of me. It’s as blue as a cloudless sky and glows in an unnatural way I’ve never seen from water. It almost seems to pulse, to breathe, to exude life and energy. I don’t know what it is or where it is but I can
feel
its importance,
feel
the way it pulls me toward it. Standing in the middle of the water is an old woman. Her face displays the wrinkles of someone a hundred years old but she does not look frail, does not move slowly. But just like with the other women, I have trouble focusing on the old woman’s face. Still, there’s no doubt that I know her well.

She talks but her voice sounds far away; my dreaming self only picks up snippets of what she says, as though I’m trying to listen through a heavy door.

“… -ponsibility of protecting Mother Earth,” I hear the old woman say. The harder I try to concentrate, the less I hear. “…difficult way of life we live…”

Her words are very profound and, somewhere deep in my soul, I know they have great significance. Unfortunately, they have little meaning in my mind now.

“…anyone has something to add, now is the time,” the old woman says, slowly looking around the circle women. The impending silence is a show of acceptance that swells my heart with love… until she faces those standing in total darkness.

“She should be cast out,” a voice says clearly through the darkness. “She will only bring trouble.”

The naysayer steps forward into the light but just before I see her face…

My eyes snap open and I sit up in bed. This time, details of the dream linger in my mind. I can feel them threatening to fade away but I concentrate on the images I remember: dark woods, darker women, a bluish glow, extreme hatred aimed at me from one person. I still don’t know what any of it means but I do not forget this time.

Tall grass… a buffalo’s head turning in my direction… an old bow… two women approaching. Details of my forgotten dream from several nights ago suddenly pop into my brain as though someone turned on a light bulb in the darkness of my mind. I don’t know what the dream means either but it can’t be a coincidence that strong women appeared both times. I try to come up with links between the vivid dreams but nothing makes sense. I can’t identify either of the places or any of the people. Maybe the only connection is that I’m going crazy for trying to figure out a mystery that has no answer.

I lie back down on my pillow and close my eyes. Being awake obviously isn’t helping me figure this out so hopefully I’ll dream some answer. But my mind is in overdrive and won’t slow down enough for sleep to consume me. I stay awake long into the night and watch the sun rise over the Lehigh.