BlackMoon Beginnings (10 page)

I think about the library and after a couple
of seconds, I feel a tingle in my stomach. I feel like I am on a
roller coaster and have just gone down the first giant drop. I
scrunch my nose up; it feels weird. “I don’t really like this
feeling.”

David laughs at my reaction. “You get used to
it. Now, which way is the pull telling you to go?”

Walking down the hallway, I notice that the
pull gets stronger the closer I get to the room. I feel like there
are a thousand butterflies in my stomach, pushing against my skin,
trying to break free. After many twists and turns, I stop in front
of two large doors. Golden doorknobs decorate each door. David lets
go of me and walks to the door. Before opening the door, he turns
towards me and says, “Close your eyes.”

“Why?”

“Just do it.” I automatically think of my
favorite Disney movie when I was younger,
Beauty and the
Beast.
Only in this scenario, I am surrounded by beauties and I
feel like the beast.

I listen to him and hear two doors being
pushed open. A small gust of air blows strands of hair into my
face. I feel hands wrap around each of my wrists and David slowly
pulls me into the room. After taking a couple of steps, he lets go
of my hands and walks behind me, placing his arms on my
shoulders.

“Can I open my eyes now?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

I open my eyes and gasp in delight. I take a
few more steps further into the room and look around. The library
has two levels. The bottom level looks to hold more modern books.
Two rounded wooden staircases with heavily ornamented banisters
align the right and left walls leading up to the second floors. The
second level appears to have older books. Directly in front of me
is a large fireplace, extending upwards the entire height of the
room and in front of that are two couches and small side tables. To
the left of the room, next to the stairs, are two computers. The
walls have deep green wallpaper decorated with golden swirls.

“Oh my. This room is beautiful.”

“Claire is the only one that really comes in
here anymore. She loves books.”

“I used to love reading. I haven’t read a lot
since my mom passed. But I love just sitting in a library.
Something about the smell of old books is comforting to me.” I walk
towards the stairs and slowly ascend. David follows behind me. At
the top, I walk to the nearest bookshelf and run my fingers across
the binding of a row of books. Many of them are adorned with a
sturdy canvas cover, but some of the larger ones are leather.

I feel tears start to swell up in my eyes. I
don’t know why. I hadn’t cried in over a year and now I seem to cry
a lot. I wonder if it had anything to do with coming into my gifts.
My magic is correlated with my emotions. Dang it, it’s like going
through puberty all over again.

Something about this place…I don’t know how
to describe it. It is relaxing and quiet and I instantly feel safe
here. I wipe the tears away and turn towards David. Without saying
anything, I walk up to him and wrap my arms around his waist,
giving him a hug. His body tenses against mine initially, but after
a couple of seconds he relaxes and hugs me back.

“Well, if I knew this was going to be your
reaction, I would have shown it to you earlier.”

“What’s going on here?” I feel David stiffen
again as he turns and looks at Colton. He slowly drops his arms and
pushes me back. I don’t understand the sudden change in
behavior.

“I was showing Ryanne the library. She
apparently has a thing for books.”

I hear them both continue to converse in
harsh whispers, but my attention is elsewhere. I grab a step stool
from the corner and place it at the bottom of the third book shelf.
Stepping up, I reach up to the top shelf and pull down the
book.

“Is this what I think it is?” The whispers
stop behind me, “Is this a first edition of Pride and
Prejudice?”

Colton walks over to me, “Probably, Claire
collects books like that.”

With my best British accent imitation, I say,
“‘
I have no pretension whatever to that kind of elegance which
consists in tormenting a respectable man
.’ That’s one of my
favorite lines. This book is worth a lot of money. I can’t believe
I’m actually holding a first edition. Oh my goodness, it’s in
excellent condition.” I start rambling. I stare at the book in awe.
It is amazing. I am more excited now than when I found out that I
had magical gifts. That’s not a very good example because I wasn’t
very excited then, but whatever.

Standing on the stool, Colton and I are about
the same height, but he is still slightly taller. He steps behind
me and leans forward, reaching for a book on the top shelf. His
chest brushes against my back. I bite my lip to keep from making
any noise as his breathe hits my neck. I watch his hand as it moves
upwards and grasps onto a dark clothed book.

“This one is one of my favorites.” He says
lightly and hands me the book.
The Adventures of Sherlock
Holmes
by Arthur Conan Doyle.

“You read? I’m sorry, but I wouldn’t have
guessed that.”

With a shrug, he says, “‘
Life is
infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of a man could
invent
.’ But don’t go spreading that around. I wouldn’t want to
ruin my reputation.”

“Who would I tell? You two are the only
people that actually talk to me.” I turn my attention back to the
books, refusing to acknowledge the looks they both give me.

David walked over to me and puts his hand on
the small of my back. “Would you like to see the rest of the
house?”

“Maybe some other time. I want to look around
here a little more.” Colton hisses something to David, but David
just laughs. Removing his hand from my back, David winks at Colton.
What is going on between them? Both brothers turn away and start
descending down the staircase, quietly whispering to one another. I
put the books back on the shelf, not wanting to damage them, and
walk down the other set of stairs, running my hand along the
banister as I go. At the bottom, I walk past Colton and David and
head over to the newer section of books. I see many books that I
recognize and some that I don’t.

I grab a book that has a collection of the
Grimm Brother’s Fairy Tales and head over to the couch to sit down
and read.

I am dreaming about the man in the woods
again; the man that grabs me and drags me into the forest,
surrounding me with darkness. I try screaming, but nothing comes
out. I can hear my name being called, but I can’t call back,
because the man is covering my mouth—preventing me from make any
noise. Though muffled, I can hear my name reverberating through the
darkness.
Ryanne. Ryanne. Ryanne.

“RYANNE!” I open my eyes and slam them shut
once light hits me. Disoriented, I open them slower this time and
see Colton standing over me, shaking me, trying to wake me up.

“What happened?”

“You fell asleep,” Colton says. “You started
mumbling something and then you started screaming. What were you
dreaming about?” I sit up and recount the whole dream, not leaving
out any details.

“Why didn’t you tell us this before?”

“I only had the dream once before and didn’t
think anything of it. I thought it was just a nightmare, you know?”
I pause, and then go on, “I noticed something this time though. I
think the man that dragged me away was the same guy that attacked
us today.”

Colton looks at David, “We have to tell
Claire.”

“She’s at the shop; we’ll have to wait until
she closes.”

With a defeated groan, Colton runs his hand
through his hair. “Fine. Have you had any other dreams that may be
visions?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Ok then. Just tell us if something happens
again.” I nod, not trusting myself to say anything. An
uncomfortable silence descends on the room. I can feel their eyes
boring into me as I look at the carpet.

The Grimm Brother’s fairy tale book is lying
on the floor. I must have kicked it off the couch during the dream.
Reaching down, I pick it up and push myself off the couch. Walking
over to the shelf, I place the book back where it belongs. When I
walk back towards the couch, both guys are standing up, talking
quietly again. When I stop in front of them, they quit whispering
and turn towards me. “Are you hungry?” David asks, “We can order
pizza.”

Without waiting for a response, David takes
out his cell phone and starts walking down the hallway, ordering a
pizza at the same time.

I looked to Colton, “He has the pizza place
on speed dial.” I meant it as a question, but it came out as a
statement.

“Food is very important to him.”

We follow David down the hallway and back
into the living room. Passing through the doorway, I hear the faint
sounds of my phone ringing. Rushing past Colton, I grab my bag and
pull out my phone, checking the caller I.D. It’s Jane. I answer the
phone and glance around the room, looking for somewhere to go for
some privacy. Colton points towards the kitchen. I silently thank
him and walk away.

“What’s up Jane?”

“Hey, Ryanne. Nothing. Just wondering how you
were doing?”

“I’m doing fine. How are you? Are you still
at Ross’s?”

“I’m great, Ry. Thanks for asking. Yes, I’m
still at Ross’s house,” she pauses. I can practically hear the
excitement on the other end. “I think he is going to propose to me
soon! I can feel it. Oh, are you okay by yourself? Do you need me
to come home?”

“No, no I’m fine Jane. I’m an adult now. I
can be on my own. Stay with Ross. I’m really happy for you! That’s
so exciting.” I am a little disappointed, but grateful at the same
time. This will allow me to spend more time at Claire’s and train a
little. We talked for a little while longer and then said our
goodbyes.

I walk back into the living right as the
doorbell rings. I sit down next to David on the couch. He reaches
out and put his arms around me. He is definitely flirty, but in a
friendly way. I am at ease around him. I lean into his side,
relaxing. Colton pushes himself off of the couch and walks to the
front door, grabbing cash off the table in the process. I hear the
sound of a door opening and Colton talking to the delivery man.

“Sup, Colton? How’s summer going?” I tense
when I recognize the voice. Adam is at the door. David glances down
at me, wondering what is wrong.

“Pretty good so far. We’ve only been out of
school for a day, man. Not much has happened yet.”

“True.” Adam gives the pizzas over to Colton
and continues, “So I heard this rumor that you were seen leaving
the school with that freaky girl, Ryan.”

“Don’t call her that and her name is
Ryanne.”

“So it is true. Seriously, dude? You remember
what I said about her right? If you want a hook-up, I know some
girls. You don’t need all that baggage. She’s not even that good
looking.

I hear the sound of a punch being thrown and
someone grunting in pain. David jumps off the couch and rushes
towards the front door. I follow shortly after. Standing in the
doorway, I can see Colton and Adam swinging punches at each other,
trying to get a hit in. Adam has blood dripping from his nose,
while Colton appears uninjured.

David runs up and grabs Colton from behind
and pushes him behind him. Pointing at Adam, he says, “You need to
leave.” David turns around and starts pushing Colton towards the
door. Both boys stare at Adam as they walk away.

Adam lingers in the driveway. Slowly, his
eyes travel over their heads to the doorway, widening a little in
surprise when he sees me standing there. His eyes run down the
length of my body, before returning to my face. With a scowl, he
says, “She’s not even worth it.” Colton tries to walk back to him
again, but David puts his arm out stopping him.

“Don’t.” It’s David that makes a move this
time. He deftly walks up to Adam and punches him square in the jaw.
Adam spins around before falling to the ground, where he remains
writhing in pain. David turns around, leaving him there, and walks
into the house, grabbing my upper arm and pulling me after him.
Colton follows suit and loudly slams the front door. Once in the
living room, David lets go of me and starts pacing. “You just
attract trouble don’t you?” He tries joking, but his anger is still
visible.

Colton walks up to me and says, “I’m so
sorry, Ryanne. Don’t listen to anything he said.”

I wave him off, “I’ve heard worse.”

“What’s his problem with you anyways?” I pale
at his question. Seeing my response, he asks softly, “Ryanne, what
did he do to you?”

I lean against the doorframe and look across
the room at the window. It is starting to rain. “I’ve never told
anyone this before.” I pause, collecting my thoughts. “It happened
right after school ended last year. I was walking home from the
park, when I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around and he was
right there. I just continued walking, trying to ignore him. He’d
never been nice to me—always had some sort of cruel or derogatory
comment to say. He ran in front of me and then suddenly stopped,
causing me to run into him. I apologized and tried to walk around
him, but he moved to block my step.

“I looked up at him and asked him to move and
he said no. Then, he pushed me back into a large tree and pressed
his body against mine, telling me that if I screamed, he would hit
me until I shut up. He stepped on both of my feet, so that I
couldn’t try to run away.” I start blinking rapidly, trying to keep
the tears at bay.

“I tried pushing against him, but he didn’t
budge; I wasn’t strong enough. I yelled for help once, but he
slapped me across the face. He hit me so hard that my vision
blacked out momentarily. I wanted to cry, but I didn’t want him to
see me cry. He put both his hands on my waist and one went up under
my shirt and the other crept under my shorts.”