post

Bright Thunder – Part 8 – Final Week

I walked home quietly with Chance and Emily, ignoring the umbrella he held out to me until I remembered that I was going to his house. I didn’t need to drip all over his floor.

They lived in an apartment building the school rented to out of town students who went to the academy.

“When our parents were killed the people who own the school decided to award us with housing and schooling. We don’t really have any family, any close family at least, so we didn’t really have any other choice.” Chance explained as we walked up the stairs to the apartment, “Our parents were killed during a protest they weren’t even a part of. The protest, made up of New Territories, was turning into a riot and the police, mostly Ancient Stars, shot into the crowd. My parents were on their way home and they were shot. The Ancient Stars needed something to make them look better so they helped us out. We live in our own apartment and we go to one of the best schools in the country for no cost. We get a weekly allowance to buy food and clothes. It’s an easy life, probably easier than we had before they died.”

He unlocked the door to their apartment and I had the strong urge to tell him about my parents. But he was already worried enough, he shouldn’t have to worry anymore. And why was he so worried? There was no reason for him to care about me.

“Why don’t you and Em chat while I cook something up?”

“I can help you.” I blurted out as the door closed behind me, “It would make me feel better if I at least helped.”

He smiled and nodded, turning on a light. The apartment was fairly large, with the kitchen and the living room taking up the front room. I could see a hallway on the far side of the room with three doors.

“Nice place.” I didn’t know what else to say.

“The rich can afford to get nice things for other people. I’m sure it is nothing like your grandparents’ house.”

“No.” I frowned, “But I’ve never really liked big houses. My house was smallish but right on the ocean, it was beautiful. A kitchen and dining room, living room, two bedrooms, and a bathroom. I loved it there.”

I looked through one of the windows blissfully, trying to pretend I was back home. Back at the ocean I loved so much.

“You’ll be able to go back there once your parents come back from work, right?”

My head flicked up, I had forgotten he didn’t know about my parents. I kept forgetting.

“Oh, yah, of course. I just miss it.”

“I get it, can you cut this up?” He handed me a cutting board, knife, and a pepper.

“Of course.” I took it and laid the cutting board down, feeling more at ease doing something I knew so well. I helped my parents make dinner since I was old enough to hold a peeler. If I tried hard, or maybe if I stopped thinking, I could pretend Chance was one of my parents and everything was back to normal. Back to how it should be.

“Amaya?”

I looked up as I grabbed the glass container Chance had put in front of me, “What?”

“I asked you if you knew where you were staying tonight.”

“I don’t know. I don’t think I can go back tonight.”

“Can you tell me what happened?”

My hand tightened around the glass cup and my teeth clenched as I remembered her words, “She called my mom a whore.”

Chance stopped cutting and my hand only tightened more around the cup. Chance was about to say something, but before he could, the glass shattered, some of the shards sticking into my hand. I also took a step back while knocking the knife onto the ground and, because I was stupidly unlucky, I lost my balance. The knife, by some dark miracle, fell just right so that I cut my arm.

“Amaya!” Chance kneeled down next to me, I had picked myself up into a sitting position, and grabbed my hand, “We need to clean you up.”

“Is everything okay?” Emily asked, rushing over.

I tried to push Chance away, “I’m fine, if you have some bandages I can just go clean up.”

“How do you plan to wrap your arm with only one hand?”

I looked off to the side, letting Chance stand and then pull me to my feet. He lead me into the hallway and then through one of the doors into the bathroom. He sat me down on the toilet and started looking through the medicine cabinet. He pulled out some medical tape, a bundle of bandages, and a box of Band-Aids.

“Let me see your hand.”

Obediently I held out my injured hand, which he took gently. He pulled out the few big pieces of glass in my hand then ran my hand under warm water. I tried not to pull my hand back as he finished cleaning the cuts with antiseptic.

“How could she say that about her daughter-in-law?” Chance was carefully putting a large Band-Aid on my palm. The gentleness of his hands made it obvious that he had been acting as a parent for a long time.

“Isn’t it obvious? My Ancient Stars dad married a New Territories girl, she got pregnant with my grandparents’ only grandchild, then the two of them left without a word. My parents cut off all communication with their families. I doubt my mom’s family blames her for all this anymore than my dad’s parents blame him. I guess they think that the only way my dad could be seduced by a lowly New Territories girl is if she were–” I couldn’t say anymore, I just couldn’t.

“I need to wrap your arm now.” He told me, gently pushing my sleeve up.

I clamped my hand around his, stopping him from pushing up my sleeve.

“Amaya? What are you doing, I need to wrap your arm.”

“I think I could…” I trailed off and released his hand, letting him slide my sleeve up.

He tried to stifle a gasp as he saw the scars on my arms. I couldn’t look at them but I knew I was safe. He couldn’t see the other scars, the ones the gravel scars hid. I could lie so easily about those, I had done it before.

“What happened?”

“This summer I was running and fell on some gravel. I sort of skidded and got pretty banged up.”

“Not those, the scars under them.”

My whole body froze as I looked at my arm. He shouldn’t be able to see those scars, they should be hidden under the ones from when I fell. When I looked at my arms I saw that the cuts from falling, which I thought would be permanent scars, were actually fading. The scars from the knife were now more noticeable, but still hidden enough that I could pretend they weren’t there.

“I– I don’t know what you mean. Can you just finish up? I bet Emily is getting hungry.”

He looked away from me, biting his lower lip. He knew I was lying, he could see the scars, but he also knew I was lying for a reason and, at least for the moment, he was willing to leave me be.

 

Well, this is the end. I know this has been a confusing ride for your guys but thanks for commenting anyways. Eventually I will be putting this story up on wattpad.com, where I am currently putting up Lightning Struck, which is the story I wrote last semester for my blog. I know I don’t have a proper ending for this blog but this isn’t even halfway through the story so…

Again, thank you so much for reading!

–K.E. Van Develde

Comments

  1. Alex Bunney says:

    I’m glad you’re putting your blog/story up on a website and think you should definitely include it in the websites we’re going to make for this class. It has been very interesting to read and it’ll be awesome for you to continue on the story even though the blogs for class are finished.

  2. Diane Cascioli says:

    This is really sooo interesting (especially the part at the end about the scars), and it’s great that you’re going to continue it and put in online for people to see. Let me know when it’s on the site because I definitely want to read the rest!

  3. Sarah Nicole Galang says:

    I think its really cool that you’re following up with your story and posting it online for other people to see. Even though I only read in bits and pieces, I can tell that it can definitely gather some interest. Good luck!

Trackbacks

  1. middle grades integrated curriculum certification florida

    Bright Thunder – Part 8 – Final Week

Speak Your Mind

Skip to toolbar