Entrelacen (7 page)

“The darkness is what some would
call evil, the devil's children so to speak. In
actuality, those who are considered "the
darkness" were once protectors who
decided they didn’t want to be servants to
a higher power. In every generation, there
are a few children born with great power.
This power could cause unrepairable
damage if the darkness were to gain all of
the children’s allegiances.

Each person is created like a yin and
yang, an equal balance of white and black,
but it’s the person who decides his or her
own fate. Each individual is given the
choice of whether to go towards the good
or the evil. It’s your choice. Logan, you are
one of those children. If the darkness is
seeking you out and being this aggressive,
it’s because you hold the key to their
whole mission.” Her voice sounded
defeated, like she had already lost.

“Agatha is going to be very
important in your life when the time
comes. Don’t be afraid. You can handle
this. I have faith in you Logan. You can
beat them.”

Agatha? How did our neighbor fit
into this equation? I walked away and
tried to process all of this. Is it possible
that I was a mistake and was never
meant to be born? It felt like I was being
torn in two. Everything inside of me was
telling me that there’s more to this than
what my mom told me. I had this feeling
that something big was about to go down.
My life was going to change drastically.
The very essence of the world was going to
shift, and the balance lied with me.

Does that sound cocky? Yes. I know
it does, but I knew that if I took the
wrong path, it could be very bad for all of
humanity. I just wondered when all this
would take place and what I would have
to do.

Ah hell. I knew something bad was bound to
happen. I was telling Brian that everything had been
going so good. I kept wondering when the other shoe
was going to drop.

“It’s crazy Brian. Matthew is doing awesome.
He just got the surgery to remove the extra toe.
Christmas is around the corner. It’s all going so good
for me that I think something bad is coming. I can feel
it.”

“Is it too hard for you to be happy? Come on
April, maybe the other shoe won’t drop.”
Well, the shoe met the floor.
My dad and his wife were about to unleash
some big news
“So what’s this news?”
“I’m pregnant!”
I was looking at them and getting more and
more furious. What the hell were they thinking? They
didn’t even take care of their one little boy as it was.
How could they be on the verge of having another?
My therapist told me to count to 10 before saying
something when I'm angry. That’s what I did. I
counted to ten and took a deep breath. It was time for
my infamous poker face to make an appearance again.
I hadn’t had to use that technique in a while, but it
was like riding a bike. Once you’ve mastered the
ability, you never truly forget.
“That’s great! When are you due?”
She looked so happy, like this pregnancy was
great news. “I’m due in August.”
I was having a total mental break down. How
did they think this was okay? They lived in a tiny
room with no bathroom or running water in my
grandparents' backyard.
I had nothing else to say that was nice, so after
a moment of silence, my father said that they were so
excited.
Shortly after they left, without Matthew by the
way, I was sitting on the couch staring into space
when my phone rang.
“Hello?” I was so out of it that I didn’t even
look at the caller ID.
“Hey April, what’s up?”
“Oh hey Marie. What are you doing?”
“Nothing. Is everything okay?”
Something must have been wrong with my
voice because she never asked me that. So I told her
what happened.
“So my dad and the bimbo are pregnant
again.”
“NO WAY! Are you serious? What the hell are
they thinking?”
“Girl, I have no idea.”
The call didn’t last long. After we hung up, I
started feeling a little bit better. That’s one thing I
always loved about talking to Marie. She seemed to
put a positive spin on bad things. I needed a lot of that
because I saw nothing good about this situation.
Things seemed to go by very quickly. It’s like
before when problems arise, or when I started to feel
stressed, time speeds up blocking out the chance to
care. Before I knew it, I had a little brother named
Lee. Soon after he was born, my mom, Brian, and I
got on a plane to Las Vegas for a much needed
vacation. Brian and I shared a bed. We still hadn’t
become anything more than friends, so we weren't
planning to have sex or anything. He was planning on
playing poker late at night a lot, which would leave
the bed unoccupied. Why waste a perfectly good bed?
Okay, maybe I did have a hidden agenda. I told him
that he could make me move to my mom's bed when
he got back at night, but I hoped he wouldn’t do that.
Deep inside I was hoping he would try to turn
our friendship into something more during our trip. I
woke up to him sleeping right next to me, every night.
That meant he had feelings for me, right? Why else
would you sleep in a bed with someone?
It was the last day of our vacation, and he still
hadn’t tried anything. I was furious and felt deflated
and more insecure than ever.
He doesn’t like you
April. He feels sorry for you. Who would want
someone like you? You are nobody, and you’re always
just going to be the friend. I don’t know what you were
thinking.
We left Las Vegas and made our way back
home to Texas. I don’t think I mentioned that I lived
in Texas, have I? Yeah, well nothing important
happens there. I swear it’s just a black hole.
I started to have an itch after a few weeks, so I
went to have a serious conversation with my mom.
“Hey. I was wondering if you would consider
moving.”
“Why? What’s up?”
“Would you totally be against moving to
Vegas?”
I must have had a look on my face because it
took her a while to answer, so I continued talking.
“I mean you have family there, and I don’t
really have anything keeping me here other than my
brothers. If I keep taking care of them, Tiffany and
Dad are never going to learn. I want to start
somewhere new, where no one knows me.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“I’ve been thinking about moving for a while,
so okay. We can move soon.”
I was so excited. We started saving money and
looking for houses. We were just so blissed out and
chipper. I bet you are wondering what my rush was.
Well let’s just say I was running away. Brian was
doing his own thing. By that, I mean he got a
girlfriend. It hurt, but I wasn't surprised. Brian was
good looking, sweet, and thoughtful. He was far from
perfect, but that’s one of the things I loved about him.
He never tried to be anything other than himself. I
envied that. I used to have this idea of who I was
going to be and what I wanted to accomplish in life,
but it didn’t happen the way I hoped it would. I’ve
spent so much time being what everyone wanted me
to be and doing things they wanted me to do. I was
tired of pretending to be someone that I wasn't. Why
not start over somewhere else? So that’s what we did.
It took us about a year to get everything ready and
save enough money. I spent some time surfing
Myspace during that time looking for new people that
I might hit it off with. Then I got a friend request from
this guy in Vegas.
The week I was there on vacation, my mom
and Brian were gambling, so I went off on my own to
find the restroom. While walking I was texting
someone on my phone and not paying attention to
where I was going. Bam! I stumbled into some guy. I
looked up, and my breath was taken away.
“Excuse me.” I tried to move around him, and
he stepped back in front of my path again.
“Hi.”
His voice was deep and a little raspy. It caught
me off guard. I stared up at him deliriously. He was so
tall I had to look up to see his face, and when I did I
noticed his amazing blue eyes. I must have been
ogling him for a long time because he got this sexy
smirk on his face. I shook my head to clear out the fog
that had rolled in so I could form some sort of words
and not look totally stupid in front of this hot guy in
front of me.
“Hey.”
“Tourist, right?”
“Umm yeah. Is it that obvious?”
“A little.”
There was the smirk again. How did he expect
me to focus if he was going to be looking that sexy?
“Not to be rude, but is there something that
you wanted?”
“Yes there is.”
I wait for him to say something, and when he
doesn’t add anything further, “Okay. Would you care
to share?”
“Your name?”
“You want to know my name?”
“Yes.”
“Really? You got in my way just to ask my
name? It’s April, and if you will excuse me, I need to
go in there.”
Pointing in the direction of the bathroom, I
made a quick escape while his attention was diverted.
I made it into the bathroom to handle my business,
texting my friend as I was walking out to tell her what
just happened. Then, what happened? I ran into a solid
chest again! I sighed and looked up, getting ready to
apologize. I really needed to start looking where I was
going.
“We have to stop meeting like this.”
Ugh, really? Did he seriously just try that line?
“Does that line usually work on girls?”
I was surprised to see a slight blush tinting his
cheeks. He chuckled softly, looking embarrassed.
“Actually you’re the first to call me out on it.”
“Ah. Well as fun as this has been…”
I trailed off, hoping he would get the idea.
Apparently he didn’t because he continued talking.
“My name is James, and I’ve been watching
you hang back from that guy at the table. Is he your
boyfriend?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but no he’s
not.”
“Good. Hopefully I’ll see you around before
you head backhome.”
“Doubtful, but have a good day.”
I walked away quickly, straight to Brian who
had his head turned with a strange look on his face.
“What?”
“Who was that guy April?”
“I don’t know. Some local who introduced
himself. Don’t worry about it. He seems harmless.”
“Hmm.”
As the memory faded, I was sitting there
looking at the friend request from James himself.
How did he find me? It’s not like he even knew my
last name. Deciding to be the new daring April, I
accepted him. It couldn't hurt, right? At least I would
know one person in Vegas, one extremely hot friend.
We hit it off so well that we started talking every day.
It’s really crazy how much we hit it off considering
we had only seen each other once. I didn't know
whether this was going to become a friendship or
something more, but I decided to let it play out. What
better way to get a fresh start than to begin a new
relationship?
“It’s Our Choices, Harry, That Show

It had been a month since Deandra
moved and about two weeks since I had
my talk with Mom. The one good thing
that came of our talk was that she started
to be around more than usual. In a way, I
was happy because I really missed her. It
used to be us against the world. Ironic,
right? At the same time, I felt like she was
only around because she was trying to
protect me. I know that’s what parents
do, but this was bigger than the both of
us.

Since I saw the guy in black
standing outside my house, I kept looking
over my shoulder. It was like when we
were on the run from my dad, always
worried and never able to sleep well. It
was a little different this time though.
Instead of fear, I felt intense anger. It was
something I needed to work on. If what
the man said was true, this anger would
only speed up the process, and I didn’t
need that.

I was so confused with everything
that was going on. I thought time would
help me, but I was so utterly lost, it didn't
matter. Between finding out about my
family’s history and the constant battle
raging within me, I just felt like the world
was crashing down on me.

I started avoiding everything. Unless
it was going to school, which I had to, I
would stay home. I figured if I stayed at
home I would have less anger; less anger
meant a longer time frame. At least I
hoped it did. I missed Deandra crazy. With
her here, at least I would have had some
company and not been so bored. I had
watched so many movies that I started
making my way back through the ones I
had already seen.

“Logan, your t
ask isslowly
approaching. You’re going to have to be
strong. You cannot dwellon the past; you
cannot change it. You must let it gowhen
the time comes and fight against it.”

“Who are you? The last time I was
able totalk inside my head withsomeone
was when the guy inblack wasoutside my
house. He told me Iwas theirs. Whoare
they?”

“
We’renotlike the man you speak
of.We’rehisopposite, andwe speak to
you in your dreams. You’re destined to
helpsomeone whoisimportant,but only
if you choose to.”

“
Wait. What doyoumean when you
say I’m destined to help someone? Who is
it?How doIknow if the pathIdecide on
isthe rightone? When willImeet this
person?”

“Logan many fights are ahead of
you. There are tasksyou must facebefore
the pathwillbe revealed toyou. We
cannot say more. We’ve already interfered
toomuchfor the bothof you. You will
know when the time is right.”

“Who are you?”
“We’re everything Logan. We’re the
grassyou are standingon,the air that
feedsyour lungs, the sunthat shines, and
the rain that falls.”
“So you are basically the universe,
right?”
“Yes. Be strong Logan. Do not doubt
yourself. You are important.”
I sat up and looked around. The
credits were rolling on the screen from
the movie I thought I was watching when I
was actually falling asleep. I had this odd
sensation of calmness sweeping over me. It
was like the dream came into reality.
Maybe it was real. Did that mean I spoke
to the universe? I finally had a spark of
hope.
It was a new day, and I felt great. I
got up to put on some basketball shorts
and a black beater. I put on my Nikes,
grabbed my iPod, and headed out for a
long run. I wasn’t going to let whatever
was coming change me. I had to be strong.
That was the one thing everyone kept
telling me. Stay strong. Starting then, I
was going to get ready for whatever came
my way. Four miles later, I was walking
back in the front door when I heard the
phone ringing.
I picked it up, “Hello?”
“LOGAN! What are you doing?”
“Hey D. I just got back from a run.
What are you doing?”
All I could hear was laughter,
“What’s so funny D?”
“I’m sorry. I thought you said you
just got back from running, but that can’t
be what you said because you don’t run.”
“Wow! Thanks for the support,” I
bite out sarcastically. “Actually I did go
running. There are some things going on,
and I’m just getting ready.”
“What do you mean? What are you
getting ready for, and why haven’t you
called me to tell me something is going
on?”
Crap! Why couldn’t I just keep my
mouth shut? She would worry after me
saying that.
“It’s nothing major, I promise, but if
something or someone, like my dad comes
after us, I want to be ready. I don’t ever
want to feel as helpless as I did that day.”
“Oh okay. You had me worried. You
have to call me if something is up. How
am I supposed to help you get through
things if you don’t tell me about them?”
“I’m okay, really. You don’t have to
worry. If something major is about to
happen, I’ll call you. How’s everything
going with you?”
“Well that’s actually why I’m calling
you. So I might be coming down next
month to spend Christmas with dad, so
get ready to go out and have some fun!”
“That’s great D! How long will you
be here?”
“Well, break is for two weeks. I’ll
spend the first part with mom and the
rest with dad, so about 8 days, unless
mom gets tired of me and sends me
sooner.”
“Good deal. I don’t think we’re doing
anything, so I’ll be here.”
“Are you sure everything is okay?
You sound off.”
I should’ve known she would be able
to tell something was wrong. I hated lying
to her. She was my best friend, but I
couldn't tell her the truth. I thought that
might be breaking some kind of rules.
“Yeah. Everything is fine. I've just
been having those nightmares again. My
birthday is coming up soon, and they
come back full force as it gets closer.”
“That’s right. It’s about three
months away, right?”
“Yup, February 16.”
“Well I won’t be able to be there for
your birthday, so we can celebrate early!”
“Sure thing. Hey Mom just got
home, so I have to run.”
“Okay Logan. Be safe, have fun, and
call me if you need anything!”
“Alright. Bye Deandra.”
“Bye.”
It was getting harder and harder to
keep everything a secret. I didn’t know
how much I was allowed to say. Plus, I
didn't want to put anybody in danger.
Maybe it’s better to keep it to myself. Lies
were starting to pour out of my mouth
like its water. Oral diarrhea, I hated it.
Lies are like spider webs. You keep
weaving and weaving, but eventually
something gets tangled. It’s usually the
liar.
I was going to be eighteen soon, and
I already felt like I was thirty. Everything
was starting to take a toll on me. I was
being deceitful and not getting any sleep
from the nightmares and dreams from
the Universe. It’s like my body was
rebelling against itself. I couldn’t catch a
break. I was hoping when that my life
would change once I met Deandra a year
and a half ago. This was more than I had
bargained for.