The Revealing

Friday, October 3, 2014

The day of our return arrived. I offered to drive, but Toby said he didn’t trust a woman with his car. I laughed when I saw the pickup with a rusty paintjob.

“This isn’t even classified as a car.” I smacked the top of it.

He pretended to look offended. “Excuse me, but not all of us have money. And the rust adds character.”

I laughed again and hopped into the front seat. Thankfully, there was a back seat. Peridot was already snoozing in the back seat with a teddy bear that Toby had gotten for her. She hadn’t put it down since he had given it to her. I smelled obsession. I was going to have to sneak it away ninja style so that I could wash it. When Toby sat in the driver’s seat, the car wiggled a little.

“Are you sure this thing won’t fall apart while we are driving?”

He smiled at me with perfect white teeth. “If it does, at least you will have an interesting story to tell.”

I laughed but only half-heartedly. He hadn’t exactly answered my question. He started the car, and I rolled down the windows. It smelled like Toby in the car. It was an earthy smell, one that reminded me that he worked outdoors. Even with the windows down, the truck was still kind of hot and stuffy. I didn’t roll my window down all the way, courtesy of Peridot sleeping in the back seat. We decided to leave early so that we could get there by maybe three or four.

Toby still hadn’t told me where we were, but he did tell me we were 10 hours away. That gave me a good area to work with. He turned on the sound system, playing the CD that he was last listening to. It was country music. He began singing along, and I shushed him, reminding him that Peridot was asleep.

He shrugged. “That girl could sleep through a hurricane. My singing is just a few notches quieter.”

I still glared at him.

“What? You don’t like country?”

“I love everything. Except rap—not really my type of thing.”

He smiled and then laughed and turned the volume up. I leaned over and turned it back down, and he pouted like a big 5-year-old, dramatically sticking out his bottom lip to add effect. He even brought out the puppy dog eyes. I rolled my eyes as he hopped up and down. I sighed, leaned over and turned up the stereo two notches. I smiled at his enthusiasm. Plus, his smile was as contagious as the flu.

The song he chose was not one of those whiny, sad country songs. It was one you had the urge to dance to. It was an itchy song that made me want to sing along. It was repetitive, so I got the hang of it. At that point, I realized that Peridot really could sleep through a hurricane, and I hung my arm out the window, tapping the side of the truck to the rhythm. Toby got excited and sang along louder with me. We both laughed.

When the song was over and the next one was getting ready to play, I had the biggest smile on my face. I could feel my cheeks burning—not from embarrassment but from the exertion of dancing on my seat.

“You can really sing country, you know that?” Toby was staring at the road as the next song came on. This one was a heartbreaker song.

I put the volume a little lower and looked over at Toby. “Thanks. I don’t normally sing like that.”

He laughed. “Like what? Well?”

I shoved him lightly. “No, carefree and without worry. Especially since recent worries have piled up.”

He smiled. “Well, I’m glad you can be that way around me, and I promise I will try my best to give you the worry-free life that you deserve.”

In awe of the possibility, I nodded and looked out the window. A worry-free life. I guess that means he plans on shielding me from every possible problem that might surface—shielding me from problems like Damian. I guess the worry comes with the territory of him. In that case, I don’t want a worry-free life.

We had been driving for quite a while, and Peridot had woken up. She sang along with us as we drove on the seemingly endless highway. Since I wasn’t the worst singer ever and Toby wasn’t bad either, we actually sounded good together. After a long time of driving, Toby turned off the highway. I was glad when I saw him pull up to a gas station, because my bladder felt as if it were about to explode. Toby filled up the tank and then went inside to pay for the gas and buy some snacks.

After our bathroom break, Peridot crawled back into the truck, but I just leaned against it, waiting, soaking in as much fresh air as I could before we started driving again. Toby came outside holding three bags full of snacks and goodies. Also, he had something even better—a meal from the fast food place attached to the gas station.

“Is that all necessary?” I said.

He handed me two bags and said, “Do rainbows exist?” I raised an eyebrow, and he added, “We could sit around asking stupid questions all day, Angel, or we could get back on the road.”

I laughed. I sat in the truck and looked through the bags as Toby started the engine. There were three burgers and some chicken nuggets in one bag. In the other, I found a plethora of candy bags and three jumbo chip bags.

“What are you trying to do—give me a heart attack?” I smiled, looking at the treats in the bag.

“I don’t know what you like, so I got three of everything.”

My heart did a flip-flop inside my chest. “Thanks, Toby.”

I grabbed the burger without cheese and took a huge bite. I was hungry. I offered the smallest burger to Peridot, and she grabbed it and began stuffing her face. Toby ate his slower and with one hand. Then he said to me with a mouthful of burger, “Reach into that bag. There are drinks in there, if you’re thirsty.”

I reached in and grabbed a bottle. I pulled out a water. I picked up the bag, hoping for something a little unhealthy to kill my cravings. Happily, when I opened the bag, I saw a Diet Coke. I snatched it before anyone else could. There was also a regular Coke, a ginger ale, an iced tea, orange pop, purple pop, root beer, and a 7-Up.

“Jeez, you really went all out, didn’t you?”

He smiled. “I don’t like to have someone disappointed. Plus, we still have a long way to go.”

I opened the Diet Coke and took a long sip. I felt the cool drink pour down my throat and land in my stomach.

“I want some!” From the back seat, Peri was extending her neck.

I handed her the bag of drinks. “You can pick which one you want.”

She grabbed the orange pop. Then I leaned over and grabbed some candy out of the bag. Peach-flavoured gummy candy—my favourite.

“The only thing that really sucks about gummy candy is that it sticks to your teeth,” I said.

Toby held out one hand to me, and I poured some into his hand. We spent the next hour playing the alphabet game with countries as our category. We finished the game with an argument.

“Zizawan is not a country, Toby!”

He smiled a lopsided smile. “It could be.”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, it’s not.”

Toby laughed. “It exists in my mind.”

“That doesn’t classify as a real country.”

“You never actually stated that imaginary countries could not be used, so technically, they should count.”

“I also never stated that they could be used. If you’re going with that argument, you need better backup, Toby.”

He laughed. Peridot interrupted, saying, “Let’s play I spy!”

I sighed an aggravated sigh. “I’m going to go crazy. We have been driving for too long!”

Toby laughed again. “I’ll play with you, Peri. I spy with my little eye something brown.”

No one was listening to me, so I just hugged my knees and looked out the window. After five minutes, Peri yelled and got my attention. “Nothing outside!”

Peridot couldn’t guess what he was spying.

“Sweetie, it’s not outside.”

She heaved an angered sigh. “I guessed everything brown in this car! What is it?”

He chuckled. “I’m not telling. The point is, you need to guess.”

She was so frustrated that it made me laugh. “Is it my hair?” I joined in.

“You’re not playing!” Peridot wanted the victory to herself.

I put my hands up, surrendering to Peridot’s wrath. “Okay, okay. You just seem to be struggling.”

“Toby!” she whined.

“Okay, fine. Since you’re obviously a beginner at this game, I will give you one free card.”

She clapped. “Yay! Now, tell me!”

He paused for suspense, which was clearly killing Peri. “It’s the colour of Obsidian’s eyes.”

My eyebrows shot up in surprise, and my cheeks burned.

“What! That was so easy. How did I not guess that?” Peridot said.

They continued road trip games, and I fell asleep. Toby, gently nudging my arm, woke me. “Wake up, Angel. We will be there in like two minutes.”

I already recognized the forest outside the mansion. Then I started to hyperventilate. I was not ready for this. Toby noticed immediately. “Peridot, she’s freaking out again!”

I saw Peridot’s little hand try to reach me to control my emotions, but I pulled away. I couldn’t breathe, and I did not want to have a false sense of calm from Peridot’s gift. I started frantically trying to take off my seat belt. Toby intervened. “Obsidian, calm down! You wanted this, remember? You’re ready; you’re just nervous.”

I couldn’t hear what he was saying over the rushing blood in my ears. “Well, I don’t want it now!” I gasped, finally getting the seat belt off, and I went for the door.

“Are you nuts? The car is still moving!”

I didn’t care; I needed to breathe. I opened the door just as Toby screeched the car to a stop. I tumbled out of the car, scraping my knee and my cheek. The palms of my hands had little pebbles in them. I got up and ran—fast. I could hear Toby calling out, but I was too far away. Then I smacked into something hard. I looked at it.

“Damian.” I breathed his name.

He looked at me with bewilderment in his eyes. “Bunny.” He let out the breath he’d been holding for what seemed like the entire time I was gone.

I fell to my knees, and he followed, holding me. He held me as if I were the only thing holding him to this earth. He held me as if, should he let me go, I would disappear again. What had my life turned into that people had to worry about another vanishing act from Obsidian?

“I missed you.” His voice was rough. He pulled me to him.

I pulled away, to my surprise and his. “Damian, how? How could you miss me?” My voice raised a notch in volume and an octave in pitch. “Why do you miss me? If you’d never met me, Carson would be breathing right now!”

His eyes focused on my glistening ones. “He would be alive—that’s true.” He paused, and his comment stabbed at my heart. “However, you wouldn’t be, and I don’t want to live on a planet without you on it.”

Those were the words I’d needed to hear. He pulled me in and kissed me so hard that I could feel a tingle in my toes. I kissed him back, answering his thirst, a thirst we equally possessed. I would never believe that I was Toby’s opposite, not when Damian could make my heart soar and Toby could only make me fly. Damian pulled me to my feet just as Toby caught up to me.

“Obsidian! Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Toby ran over to me despite Damian tensely standing beside me. He picked up my hand to sense my emotion—something he’d picked up from Peridot, no doubt. Then he blushed.

Damian put a hand on Toby’s chest and shoved. Toby didn’t go as far as I expected. “Back off, farm boy. Of course she is safe; she is with me. I wouldn’t let anything happen to her.” His stern voice had dominance in it.

However, Toby was confident that I was his opposite. He stood his ground. “Oh? So what happened about two weeks ago, when the elders basically drained her of almost all her blood? Is that what you call safe?”

Toby stood taller as Damian remembered losing me all over again. Damian’s face contorted and grew dark. I put my hand on his chest, trying to calm him down, but the touch only seemed to make things worse. He looked at me. I had never seen him so angry. He was angry not at me or at Toby but at himself.

“Damian, calm down. I’m here now,” I said.

He breathed deeply, closing his now-glowing green eyes.

Toby stepped forward to me. “Come on. Let’s get you to Willow.” He took my hand.

That pushed Damian over the edge. He threw a punch, but Toby had been expecting it. He’d felt Damian’s temper rising with the new gift he’d developed. He dodged the punch easily. Damian threw his body at Toby’s waist, this time tackling him to the ground. Damian, on top of Toby, threw another punch. Toby grabbed his fist and twisted it, flipping him over and off of him. Damian was older than Toby and most likely stronger, but Toby was calm, and Damian was fighting angry and disorientated, which made him sloppy. Toby flipped him onto his back, pinning him within 10 seconds. Damian’s face was red with rage and exertion.

“Stop!” I screamed.

They ignored me and continued fighting. Willow ran over. The house was closer than I remembered. The boys’ tussle was within earshot of the mansion. Mason came along with Willow. He got between the two and grabbed their ears as if they were schoolboys. They stopped fighting, wincing and jerking away.

“What are you guys? Fifth graders?” Mason shoved them forward toward the house. “Let’s go! We don’t need any more attention out here. We don’t know who might be listening.” He shoved them again and then lifted Peridot into his arms as she embraced him.

Toby and Damian rubbed the sides of their heads. I wanted to laugh, but this was probably not the right time.

“What about the car?” I said.

“Toby drove it to the parking lot and found us to tell us that you’d run off. Then we went to go look for you. I honestly don’t know how he got to you first,” Mason said.

I did—it involved wings, flight and an eerie, invisible connection between us. He had probably brought Peri to defuse my temper but had picked up the ability from her anyway. Who knew my temper would be the last thing on a long list of problems Toby would have to deal with when he got there? I did. Damian was always territorial, even with Carson.

My heart ached to think of Carson, but there was no point in grieving now, especially when I’d just calmed down. Willow linked arms with me. I felt my grief lessen a little, knowing she was with me. We walked in silence for about five minutes. Then we saw the mansion. Toby did too, and his eyes widened. It shocked me that he could see it without Lisa’s assistance. Then my mind quickly made the connection. “Where is Lisa?”

Mason turned toward me, because Willow would not be able to answer. A sob burst through her lips. My eyes watered. “Where is she?”

“Gone.” That was all he said.

Gone. That one word brought on a world of pain. Toby turned on reflex when I stumbled to the ground, tugging Willow along with me. So much death surrounded me. “Everyone around me dies!” I yelled.

Everyone was silent, worried about saying the wrong thing and setting off the emotional atom bomb inside me. Toby was the first to speak up.

“It not like we live forever. Obsidian, it’s a part of life.”

That was true, but I argued, “The elders didn’t have to die, even when the time came!” I was speaking through deep sobs.

“They cheated. They got what was coming.” Damian’s voice was hard and cold as he spoke the truth. He looked at Toby. “They did get what was coming, right?”

Toby’s voice was just as cold as Damian’s was. “Every last one.”

Damian smiled.

I stopped crying and stood up. This would be a week of mourning for my parents, Carson, Car and now Lisa. I would mourn the Carson I knew from my childhood and the Car I knew later in my life.

We got back home, and I walked upstairs to my room. Mason guided Toby to a room for him. I slept and had a dream about Carson dying, the same nightmare I’d been having since that day. I figured it would haunt me forever.

The next morning, I looked in the mirror. My eyes had big purple bags underneath them, and they were swollen from all the tears I’d shed the night before. Willow came in quietly. I sat on my bed, and she sat next to me.

“We didn’t want to tell you this yesterday because of, well, you know, everything, but Carson might not be dead.”

My eyes widened. My heart picked up speed, seemingly beating faster than humanly possible, hammering on my rib cage.

“Sometimes if we haven’t found our opposite or we still have a job to do, we come back. Only sometimes. But when people come back, they aren’t always, uh, the same.”

How could Carson be any different? I wondered.

“Sometimes when they come back, they aren’t good.”

My heart began to slow and drop. “Is it like the elders? Did he get infected by them or something?”

“No. The elders drain people and wear their bodies when they die. So the person they are is most likely one of their victims. Carson will still be Carson. It’s just that there is a possibility that he could be bad. We have him in the Room. It’s a place just in case we need to do something drastic.”

My mind began to move quickly again. “What is the chance that he will be not good?” I couldn’t bring myself to say the words bad or evil.

“Very high.” She sighed sadly. “But there is always hope, right?”

I ignored the false-hope line. “How will you know if he isn’t good?”

She looked at her feet and then answered, “His eyes. They will have changed colour.”

I jumped to my feet. “Okay, let’s go. Is he awake yet?”

She pulled me down back to sit beside her, tethering me. “We don’t even know if he will come back yet. His body hasn’t disappeared yet, but it also hasn’t healed. Mason thought he saw it correcting itself yesterday, so that is why we are telling you this.”

There was a commotion in the hallway, and Mason’s voice called to us from somewhere. Willow got up and ran out of the room, and I followed, easily keeping up with her pace.

“He healed! He’s moving!”

Mason’s voice was clearer now, and we picked up speed. All I could think about was Carson’s eyes. Please stay purple. Please, please, please, purple.

We walked into the Room, which was basically a metal box with a two-way mirror straight down the middle. Carson was lying on a table on the other side of the mirror. He sat up with his head facing the wall across from him. From what I could see, his right eye was a beautiful bright purple. We all cheered; however, the merriment did not last long, because when Carson turned his head to look at the mirror, we saw that his other eye was red. My heart felt as if it dropped through me all the way down to the floor. His eye was a violent red like the colour of blood—a red that came with evil.

“What does this mean?” I gasped after saying aloud what everyone was thinking.

Mason said, “It means we wait and see what side he is really living in, what his choice will be. He has evil in him, but he has every ability to choose good. It’s easier for him to choose evil, but he can choose good. He is going to have to struggle with that for the rest of his life.”

Silence filled the room as Carson stared at the mirrored glass.

“It means we wait for his choice,” Mason added. “This is in his hands now.”

So I guess now we wait.