Dark Light (The Dark Light Series)(59)

“You never know,” I remark. “Stranger things have happened.” Seems like strange has been a reoccurring theme lately.

“Well, I gotta get inside. Might be able to catch dessert with the parents.”

“Dessert? Good God, girl, where do you pack all that food in with your figure?!” he laughs. I shrug my shoulders; what figure is he talking about?

“Growing girl,” I smile. And with that, we hug goodbye before I skip to my front door.

When I enter the living room, Chris and Donna smile brightly at me, both surprised to see me home so early on a Saturday night. They’re watching a college basketball game; well, Chris is watching and Donna is reading. I love seeing them like this- content, comfortable, normal. I would kill for normal right now. I fight the invasion of sorrow and self-pity creeping into my heart and give them each a kiss on the cheek. They’ve been so good to me, considering what I am. They’ve loved me unconditionally and have never tried to mold me into something they knew I couldn’t be. They have always been, and always will be, my parents.

I pull my cell phone back out when I get to my room. I still haven’t answered Dorian’s text and I know I shouldn’t be rude. But tonight, I need to take some time for myself. Some time to sort out my own shit before I bring somebody else into the fold.

Dorian has been amazing, a welcomed distraction. But is it fair of me to surrender my body to him and pray that my heart doesn’t follow?

To Dorian, 8:47 P.M.

-Raincheck? I’ll be in touch.

I turn my phone off and plug it in to charge. After a hot shower, I throw on a pair of comfy pajamas and settle in for the night. The past week and a half has been a whirlwind of emotion. I need time to process.

Ding! Ding! What the…? I know I turned my cell phone off. I sigh and reach over to check my message. Probably a salacious text from Dorian. Oh well, his needs will have to wait for now.

Unknown, 9:35 P.M.

-Align with the Dark or Die

What. The. Fuck.

I look around my room wildly, not quite able to move my legs yet. How did someone get this number? How did they find me? Oh my God, have they been watching me all night?

As soon as I regain my faculties, I bound to my bedroom window, scared out of my mind at what I might find. There’s nothing, no one in my backyard. The window is securely shut and locked. I scurry to the living room to my parents and they both jump at my alarmed expression. I don’t know what to say to them, how to explain the terrifying messages I’ve been receiving. I can’t do this on my own. I don’t know what possessed me to think I could. Everyone needs help, myself included. It’s obvious that I’m not as strong as I thought I was.

“Well, what is it, sweetheart?” Donna finally says. How the hell do I explain? I look down at my cell phone, still captive in my rigid hand. Reluctantly, I extend it towards them, holding my breath as they glance down at the message on the screen.

“What is it that you want us to see?” Chris asks after a few moments. They both look back up at me, clearly puzzled. I step forward and grab the phone, unsure of why they’d need further clarification. It’s right there in black and white.

Unknown, 9:35 P.M.





It’s blank. Completely-freakin'-blank.

What the hell just happened here? I want to tell them what I saw; want to prove to them that I’m not going crazy. The message on the windshield, the text, the ghostly assailant in the parking lot. They would believe me. But then what? What could they possibly do other than worry themselves to death to protect me? They are defenseless, just like me. And it is selfish of me to expect them to risk their lives when they’ve already done so much. They took me in. I can’t repay them by involving them in this any further.

I shake my head fervently. “Nothing. I thought I saw something but it was nothing. Just been having trouble with my phone.” I turn on my heel and retreat back to my bedroom, despite my parents’ pleas to stay and talk.

If I am the Dark, maybe this is me creating this turmoil. What if this is all in my head? The parking lot phantom…what if that was just a manifestation of the evil inside me? What if it is calling out to me, urging me to embrace the darkness that already flows through my veins? I thought the messages were a demand. Could it actually be a proclamation?

And the most disturbing factor of all…..

The string of dead innocent girls. Could I be that evil? That cold and calculated?

That Dark?

**********

“Hey Kiddo, can I come in?” my dad calls out, rapping on my bedroom door.

It’s well into the day and I haven’t surfaced, missing both breakfast and lunch. I even called in sick for my shift at the mall. I haven’t been able to face them since last night and I am genuinely afraid of what I could be capable of. If I ever hurt them, I could never live with myself.