Chapter One

 

CHAPTER ONE

 

From the view of my bedroom window, all I could see were the stars and full moon that brightly illuminated the sky. Most nights like this didn’t mean a thing to me but there was just something about this one that put a knot in the pit of my stomach. For once, I had no idea what was going on. Normally whenever I would stare out at the dark night sky like this, I would feel at one with the universe but not this night. With everything inside of me, I tried my hardest not to blame it on the fact that my birthday was tomorrow. Actually, my birthday was less than thirty minutes away.

As I sat there looking out my window, I heard a knock at my door followed by the words, “Rebecca?” I knew at once that it was my mother. Okay, not really my mother but the woman that I had come to know as such. That is, until I was sixteen. I’ll never forget that. Maybe that’s why I tried not to blame the knot in my stomach on the fact that it was birthday.

“Yes, ma’am,” I replied as she opened the door to my room slowly. I didn’t hate her, I promise. I just didn’t see how she could lie to me like that for so many years. My father as well! For some reason, I tried to make myself believe that he wanted to tell me all along. I didn’t know why I tried to stand up for him and not my mom. Maybe it was because he was the one that I was always closer to. Wouldn’t you normally think that would make me madder at him though? I don’t know.

“Your father and I have a present for you for your birthday that we’d like to give you now,” she told me as she stepped into the room. As she did, I could see my father behind her. From the look in his eyes along with the fact that he was the one behind her and not vice versa as it normally was, something told me that he hadn’t wanted to do this. That made the knot it my stomach get ever larger and heavier.

Slowly, they both walked into my room. After my father was inside, he closed the door behind them. They then made their way over to my bed. As they did, I got up from my chair that was by the window and went to sit beside them on my bed. “Just remember that you’ll be eighteen in just a few short minutes. As soon as you do, you don’t have to stay here for even a second longer than you want to,” was the only thought in my mind.

Once we were all sitting down on the bed, the knot in my stomach was getting to be a real pain. Nothing that I told myself seemed to dim it down in even the slightest way. After a few moments of silence, my mother took a small, square shaped box from her pocket.

In the mist of the silence, the sound of sirens suddenly came to my ears. Living in a small town such as Rose Dale, it brought suspension to me. Something hadn’t felt right all night but this made it even worse. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something horrible had happened.

Then, almost as if she didn’t know or either didn’t care that I was worried, my mother placed the box in my lap. I had completely forgotten about it until that moment. Slowly, I picked up the white box from my lap. As I did, my mother began talking again. “We really hope you like it. I wasn’t exactly sure what to get you for your eighteenth birthday.” Not sure if I even wanted to know what it was, I slowly lifted the top of the box off. After doing so, I could see the beautiful silver bracelet with blue gems on it that was inside on the box. Instantly, I was drawn to it.

“Mom… Dad… It’s so beautiful,” I started to say as I picked it up gently with my right hand. “I really don’t know what to say. Thank you so much.” After saying so, I used my left hand to put it on my right hand. It fit perfectly on my small wrist. I then leaned over to give my mom a hug. “Thank you,” I whispered in her ear. Then I stood up and sat down in my dad’s lap, giving him a hug after doing so. “I love you so much, daddy. Thank you,” I told him softly.

“Anything for my baby girl,” he told me in a quiet voice as he squeezed me tightly. Being in his lap like this brought back memories from when I was younger. Getting up and sitting in his lap had always seemed to make things better and it did so now as well. For a split second, I forgot all about the sirens that I had heard just a few minutes before hand.

After a little bit, I slowly got up from his lap and walked back over to my window. Doing so reminded me of the sirens. My mother didn’t think anything of it but I could tell that my father knew something was bothering me. I heard their footsteps after a few minutes. Then, I felt my father’s arms wrap around me from behind. “What’s bothering you?” he asked me as I heard my mother open the door and walk outside.

“I’m not really sure. I just have this feeling that something is wrong,” I replied to him in a quiet voice. Something about just telling somebody about it made me feel a little better. Not seconds after that, I heard my cell phone begin to ring. My father took that as his cue to leave, shutting the door behind him.

After he left, I quickly walked over to my desk where my cell phone was. Every part of me thought that it was Nate calling to wish me a happy birthday. That is why I was completely surprised when I looked at the phone and read the name Isabella on it. “Hello,” I said as I opened the phone.

“Rebecca! Did you hear those sirens a few minutes ago?” was the reply from Isabella.

“Yes, I did! I’ve been worried about it ever since it happened. Please, tell me that you have information about it,” I almost yelled back into the phone.

“I have information… But it’s not good… It’s about Nate…”