Page 10 of Wings of Destiny

I snuck around back and kept to the shadows as I tried the door. No one would’ve been home; it had been put on the market the day Seth had gone to live with his uncle after his mom had died. That was the only family he had left. Something we’d bonded over; I only had my dad, and it was just him and his mom, until she passed and discovered he had an uncle he’d never met. It was a quick move. So, part of me hoped that the landline was still up and running.

I sighed in relief as the handle clicked open; the door was unlocked. Nerves twisted and strangled my insides as I walked in. It was dark with no furniture in sight. I didn’t try the lights for fear that the men who broke in at my house might see it. I felt around the empty space, my hands patting the textured walls as I made my way to the front room where I’d be able to see out the front bay window and hopefully find Seth’s old landline. I was in luck.

I picked it up, hearing the dial tone.

Yes!

I punched in the number for the cops, my voice trembled. “I think there was a break in down the street. It sounded like there was a bunch of screaming and there’s a car out front I don’t think I’ve seen before.” I rattled off the address and gave a fakename. I didn’t want to risk anyone knowing I was alone, or that my dad abandoned me. A few minutes later I heard sirens as they barrelled through the neighborhood, stopping right in front of my lawn and blocking the intruders’ car. I hunkered down and watched as several cops dragged the guys out of my house. The one I stabbed had a rag stuffed against his face, yelling. The officers shoved the two men in the back of one of the cruisers. One cop went back in, gun drawn, while two others stood guard.

Probably making sure no one else is in there.

Once the cop stepped back outside, they cleared the area and left. I waited with bated breath for what felt like hours. I searched the deserted street from the shadows of the abandoned room to make sure the coast was clear before I ran back over to my tainted childhood home.

I rummaged around, keeping the lights off in case any neighbors peeked outside to see what the commotion was. I made it back toward my room and shuddered at what had almost happened. I forced the foul memory of the man who stuck his tongue down my throat to the furthest edges of my thoughts. I needed to focus.

I crept to my bed, lifted my mattress, grabbed the cash my dad left me, and shoved it in my pocket. I snatched my now empty backpack off the floor. They’d clearly dumped it and gone through it but found nothing by the looks of it. I shoved a few days’ worth of clothes, my ID, schoolwork, and some other necessities in my bag, including my notebook and the locket my dad gave me for my birthday the year prior. I gripped it to my chest as the tears began to fall.

Why?

Dad, why is this happening?

I shoved it in the inner pocket of my bag and zipped it up as I dragged myself out of my periwinkle colored bedroom, down the small narrow hallway lined with photos of my dad and I, and outthe front door. I looked back at my house as I left, my shirt wet with salty tears.

My childhood home.

Home.

I have no home. Not anymore.

All the winters Dad and I would try and fail to build snowmen and forts flashed through my mind. We’d give up and turn to snowball fights instead. Seth would come over and he’d join in too. His mom would make her special hot chocolate afterwards, her own secret recipe she refused to share with any of us. The summers Seth and I would run around the woods from sunup to sundown, coming home covered in dirt and mud laughing like crazy; our parents shaking their heads at us as we’d trample through our houses and leave the muck in our wake.

A sad smile lifted the corners of my lips at the memories, the realization sinking in. A chip of my already broken heart fell.

That chapter of my life was over. The innocence was gone.

“Erin?” Seth’s face was covered in concern.

“Sorry, I zoned out. Go on.” I shook my head in an attempt to clear it and met Seth’s saddened eyes. He looked at me with understanding as if he knew I replayed what had happened to me. He placed his hand over my shaking coffee mug and set it on the table. I squeezed my empty hands together in my lap to try and control the tremors.

The huskiness of Seth’s voice cracked as he spoke. “I’m sorry. I know I wasn’t there. I wished so many times that I was. I would’ve been able to stop…” He trailed off, regret and pity lurked within the oceanic depths of his irises.

Don’t look at me like that. I can’t take the pity.

I can take care of myself. I’m fine.

I’m always…fine.

When I had written to him months after the break-in, I finally told him about the attack, what had happened, and that I moved and wasn’t going home. He’d offered to have me come out and live with him and his uncle. I promised that I’d be fine. I was old enough to get a job at that point, under the table at least. So that’s what I did. And shortly after I found a job, I moved into a little apartment downtown. The owner didn’t ask questions. She looked at me as if she knew I was running from something. I hadn’t known how or why and decided that she had probably seen her fair share of trouble. Hints of mischief swirled within her eyes. It helped that I paid a whole month’s rent upfront.

“Seth, it’s okay. You didn’t know, you couldn’t have known.”

He sighed. “It’s not okay though, Erin. I didn’t tell you the full reason why I moved, why I left,” I looked at him, question in my eyes. “It wasn’t just because of mom. There was more to it.”

I waited.

He took a deep breath. “My mom, she didn’t die the way we were originally told. She died protecting me. Us,” my breath caught. “Way before I was born, she was a warrior. Her whole existence was focused around protecting people. Protecting them from what they couldn’t see with their human eyes.”

Seth paused.

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