Keeper of the Innocents

by Kristy Centeno

  I knew he was somewhere behind me, shadowing my every move but I didn’t stop to look at him until my hand was on the doorknob. I turned slightly to my left and came face to face with him.

  “It’ll be okay, Demi. I promise.”

  It was hard to fathom how he could keep a promise like that, but I figured it didn’t matter. I had to think of something first.

  “I’ll figure something out.” That was my promise to him. When he didn’t respond, I opened the door and hurried out before I could break out in tears again.

  Chapter Twenty

  A Secret Promise

  Mom was waiting for me as I opened the door to our apartment. I’d figured as much already, but due to the many fears, uncertainties, and my overall distracted mentality I was in, I wasn’t in the mood to talk. Especially not after her phone call, which I knew had nothing to do with an emergency, but was more of a way to control me. I honestly didn’t know what was up with her. She had never called me while I was on a date before.

  “I’m here, Mom. Are you happy?” I blurted. “As you can see, I’m still alive and relatively unhurt.” Physically, anyway. My heart had taken a serious beating.

  Mom tossed a stern look at me from the couch she sat on. “You’re here and you’re safe. That’s all that matters to me.”

  “Why are you acting like this?” I dumped the backpack on a chair as I glared at her. “You knew who I was with. That phone call was pretty much a giveaway, but why would you bother? I mean, do you still think of me as a little girl? I’m not. I am fully capable of running things on my own.”

  “I’m just acting like your mother, Demi. I worry. It’s natural for me to concern myself over my child’s wellbeing, especially when she goes out with someone who has the potential to seriously hurt her.”

  “Then why did you let me go? You knew or suspected…why did you allow me to go?”

  Mom hesitated. “Demi, Rhyzel is not—”

  “Don’t! Don’t give me this lecture. I guarantee you that whatever it is that’s on your mind, I’ve gone through it myself a hundred and one times already.”

  “I guess it’s futile for me to say the best thing you can do is forget about him.”

  Forget him? How? He hadn’t died yet and I was already having trouble accepting his destiny.

  “Pretty soon you won’t have anything to worry about, Mom.” I didn’t wait for a response and marched straight into my room, closing and locking the door as I went in. I tore out my hair pins and tossed them on the bureau and proceeded to take my sandals off.

  The moment I was free of all accessories, I jumped onto the bed and let go of my emotions. For the first time in years, I sobbed and sobbed until I thought my eyes would pop out and the pain in my heart would eventually split it open.

  The vision of Rhyzel’s impending death was too fresh, and as a result it kept replaying itself in my head over and over again. I didn’t know how to help him or how to save him. And it hurt me even more because I knew he didn’t want me to move a finger in his defense.

  During my first visit to his apartment, he’d wanted me to kill him. I could see it in his eyes. I could read his body language. He’d wanted his torment to end. Apparently, he was going to get his wish, but not by my hand.

  Rhyzel had known all along the end was near. He probably wanted me to do him the favor instead of letting him suffer at the hands of some evil creature and I had failed to do that.

  This thought consumed me completely as I drifted off to sleep.

  ***

  Rhyzel groaned loudly as the huge beast from my recurrent nightmares embedded a long, hook like blade into his chest just below the heart. I screamed and ran toward him, trying to stop the imminent end to his life, but as I reached them both, the beast whirled around, grabbed me by the neck, and lifted me off my feet. His glowing red eyes glared at me as he said, “You can’t save him.”

  “NO!” I screamed. My only concern was centered on Rhyzel, but the beast had a good grip on me and wouldn’t let go. I needed to save Rhyzel. He was dying and needed my help. I glanced down, searching for him, and found him gasping for air, blood pouring out of a wound in his chest, his gaze settled on my terror-stricken face.

  “I’m sorry, Demi.” He choked out the words just before his eyes rolled back into his head and he exhaled one last time.

  “Rhyzel!” I fought back, kicking and punching as hard as I could, but the beast held on tight.

  “You’re not meant to save him,” the beast’s voice roared, sounding more like a freight train than an actual creature.

  Full of fury and desperation, I continued my assault but only managed to exhaust myself. There was no way I could win a fight against the beast. He was much too big and bulky and powerful.

  With all my abilities, I couldn’t save the one person I wanted to save. Even with my Keeper nature, even with my gifts, Rhyzel was meant to die and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

  ***

  I woke up with a start. My entire body shook. After reliving Rhyzel’s death from another perspective, I was absolutely overwhelmed with emotions. My chest hurt, my head hurt, my soul ached. How could I go on knowing that Rhyzel had days, maybe hours left to live?

  How could I spend time with him and pretend nothing was amiss?

  I glanced around my room, feeling as if I’d lost something or was lost myself, but everything was in its usual place and I realized I was the only one misplaced. I’d woken up aware of events to come and I felt as if the world I lived in was no longer mine.

  Even though my heart wasn’t in agreement with my brain, I managed to find the courage to force my tired body out of bed and search for my cell phone. I didn’t have to look far since I’d plopped into bed with my cell still in my pocket. I took it out and studied it, finding a message from Evan asking me if I’d be up soon.

  I blanched as soon as I read it. I’d overslept and it was almost eight in the morning when I should have been at his apartment by seven thirty. Frustrated, I rummaged through my closet, picked out an outfit, and hurried to the bathroom, where I took the fastest shower in history, got dressed, and ran out the door to Mina’s apartment in record time.

  Evan opened the door after the second knock and thanked me for showing up, even though I was late. I apologized profusely for oversleeping and watched him walk out a minute later.

  Mom and Dad hadn’t left for work yet and since I’d made plain my feelings about her lack of faith in me, I didn’t want to come face to face with Mom and have her know I’d be seeing Rhyzel again shortly. I simply avoided an awkward situation by staying at Mina’s in the meantime.

  I didn’t know how she’d find out in the first place and there was a chance that one good look at me would reveal the truth again, so keeping a wedge between us seemed like the best course of action.

  I found Renee sitting on the floor in her bedroom, playing with her Barbie doll house. Evan had already gotten her dressed in a mismatching outfit and had even gotten a barrette in her curly locks.

  “Hey, Renee,” I greeted her as I walked in. “What are you doing?”

  Renee glanced up and smiled as soon as she spotted me. “I’m pretending these are us.” She picked up three blonde Barbie dolls and held them up for me to see. “You, Mina, and me.”

  “Oh, yeah?” I sat on the edge of her twin size mattress. “And what are we doing?”

  “Making up.” She placed the Barbie's inside a pink corvette. “We’re friends again.”

  “Um, I see.” I watched as she pushed the car forward and then pulled it back. “Is Mina still mad at me?”

  Renee shrugged. “I don’t know. She’s not really talking much.”

  “Is she home?”

  Renee stood. “She left early this morning. Evan was really mad.”

  Knowing the usual problems plaguing this family, I thought it better not to ask.

  “What would you like to do today?”

  “Play,” Renee responded without hesitation.<
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  “That’s great because there’s a particular park I hope to take you to today.”

  “I love parks!” Renee clapped her hands in excitement.

  “We’ll have company, though. Are you okay with that?”

  “Who’s going with us?”

  “Rhyzel.” When the name seemed to ring no bell, I added, “The guy from Linda’s Café. The one who made me angry.” The one who’d changed my world in a matter of days and had challenged everything I’d grown up believing.

  “Oh.” She grinned at me. “I like him.”

  I forced myself to smile, too. “So do I.”

  “I saw him this morning,” she said as she jumped onto the bed next to me.

  “This morning?” I grabbed onto Renee’s tiny hand. “When?”

  She folded her legs underneath her. “When Evan ran after Mina. Evan told me to stay behind but I…didn’t listen.” She grimaced. “But it’s a good thing I didn’t or I wouldn’t have seen your friend.”

  The fact that she had disobeyed an order from Evan concerned me. Renee was good at following rules, but she had put herself at risk by following her siblings out.

  “Why didn’t you stay here like Evan told you to?” I asked. “You know better than that.”

  Renee stared at her feet. “I was scared. I’d never seen Evan so mad.”

  He had to be in order to follow Mina on her way out. Normally he didn’t bother making a scene.

  “Evan was yelling at Mina to come back, but she didn’t listen,” Renee continued. “They ran all the way to the first floor. That’s where I saw your friend.”

  “Where exactly was he?”

  “Going up the stairs.” She looked up at me. “He told me a secret.”

  “Oh?” My ears perked up even more after that. “What did he tell you?”

  Renee’s expression took on a more serious look. “I can’t tell you. He made me promise not to tell you until after he was gone. Is he going somewhere?”

  My heart constricted at her naïve question. “Um, well, I guess he is.” It took a lot of effort for me to respond with a detachment I did not feel, but Renee was too perceptive for her age and she would know if something was wrong. “What else did he say?”

  “He told me that I needed to tell you something. A secret he has and can’t share with you now. But that I should only tell you what it is after he was gone.”

  All kinds of crazy scenarios played out in my head, but in the end nothing conclusive stood out. What could Rhyzel not want me to know until after he was gone? What was he hiding?

  “Can you give me a hint?” I asked.

  Renee scrambled out of bed. “No. I made a promise not to tell.”

  “I can respect that.” But the curiosity was killing me. In the middle of our conversation the night before, I had revealed that Renee was my charge, so he knew that much, but why had he chosen her to tell that which he could not reveal himself? Was there more to it all? Or was I just reading too much into his actions?

  He could have just taken advantage of the situation to tell Renee something he thought she could break to me. Perhaps, in a much gentler fashion. But why? Because he didn’t have enough courage to tell me himself?

  I was confused. Very confused.

  “Demi, would you play with me?” Renee sat on the floor next to her pink corvette.

  I nodded my response and joined her on the floor.

  With about forty minutes to kill, I made myself comfortable and invested my time in a game of doll house. I put my best effort in being a good babysitter. Laughing when one of Renee’s behaviors or childish remarks required it, smiling when a laugh became too much of an effort, and cooperating when she needed a partner in a new game.

  Renee was a very imaginative child and her games normally required a lot of role playing. At eighteen, I’d outgrown those kinds of games a long time ago, but Renee was a child with no mother, a careless sister, and an extremely busy older brother. If I didn’t take time to be a child she could play with, Renee’s life would be even harder.

  In the end, any time spent with her served to remind me no matter how much I disagreed with my own mother over her overprotective behavior at times; she had always been a great mother.

  As down as I felt, Renee’s happiness meant too much to me, so I played my part. I filled in the role of sister Mina refused to take on, and I made her laugh. Being with her did bring some measure of comfort to me. I was distracted, if only for a little while.

  When the time came for us to meet up with Rhyzel in his apartment, I took Renee’s hand with nothing but trepidation. Yes, I was excited to see Rhyzel again, but there was so much more behind my excitement. My emotions were very raw and I was afraid that seeing him or being so close to him would bring out the worst of them.

  Worse yet, I was terrified that touching him would spark another detailed vision like the one from last night. I wasn’t sure I could hold it together with Renee nearby.

  I inhaled and exhaled softly as I rapped on the door and waited for Rhyzel to open. When he didn’t open by the third knock, I began to panic. What if his lifeless body was lying in his bedroom or in the middle of the living room?

  I shook the image away and concentrated on keeping calm.

  About a minute later the door swung open and Rhyzel stood behind it, alive and handsome as ever.

  “Hey,” he greeted me, his eyes so hot and intense they began to change colors.

  “Um, your—” I pointed to the round orbs on either side of his nose. “They’re smoldering.”

  Rhyzel squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head a little. “Sorry.”

  “What are you two talking about?” Renee looked up at Rhyzel and then at me, frowning.

  “Nothing.” I glanced down and gently tugged on a curly lock. “It’s an adult thing.”

  “Evan always tells me that after he and Mina fight.” She pouted. “Why are adults always talking about stuff that doesn’t make sense?”

  Rhyzel opened his eyes and laughed. “We’re complicated creatures. You kids have all the luck. You don’t have to worry about anything.”

  For a moment there I was completely hypnotized by the sound of Rhyzel’s laughter. I wanted to cherish it, really. I had no idea when his last day would be. I only knew it would be soon, so I had the need to enjoy and memorize enough of him to last me a lifetime.

  “You should just concentrate on being the fabulous little girl you’ve always been, okay?” I released the lock of her hair I’d been tugging on and turned my attention back to Rhyzel. “Can we come in?”

  “Sure.” Rhyzel took a step back to allow us access to his home. Renee and I walked in and waited as he shut the door. “Renee, would you like to watch something on TV?” When she nodded, he picked up the remote control and turned the TV on.

  “Can I watch Disney Channel?” she asked. “It’s my favorite channel.”

  “The Disney Channel it is.” Rhyzel motioned for her to follow him and patted the couch with one hand. “You can sit here.”

  If Renee was uncomfortable around Rhyzel it didn’t show at all. She ran toward the couch and made herself comfortable while he clicked on the channel she picked. Once the Disney Channel came on, Rhyzel set the control back down on the coffee table and turned to me.

  “Did you tell her where we’re going?”

  I shook my head. “No. Not yet.” My eyes wavered as I took in his amazing profile.

  “What is it?” he asked as he strolled toward me. “Did you sleep okay?” He took my hands in his. “There’s so much going on I can’t make everything.”

  I hated that all he had to do was touch me to know what I felt. I couldn’t hide anything from him. He could pick up on it all.

  “Not really. I…it was horrible.” My voice almost broke, but I fought back the urge to break down. For one thing, it wouldn’t do any good. Second, Renee was nearby. And third, Rhyzel didn’t need me to act like some crybaby. At least I didn’t think so. “I’m sorry.”
>
  “Don’t apologize.” He squeezed my hands softly. “I should have kept my distance.”

  “Distance?”

  “If…maybe, if we hadn’t gone on that date…” He didn’t finish. I looked at his eyes and noted their subtle color change.

  “I saw what I saw for a reason. Whether now or later, if I was meant to see it, nothing that you would have done would have stopped it.” The heaviness in his eyes was unmistakable. It was easy to see that Rhyzel was as affected by the unknown as I was. But he was better at hiding it than I was.

  Rhyzel kissed the top of my head and then took a step back, releasing my hands. “Would you like something to drink?”

  “I guess some water would help.” I walked past him and addressed Renee. “How about you? Are you thirsty?”

  Renee spared a glance in my direction and bobbed her head up and down. “Juice?”

  Rhyzel stepped in next to me. “Apple or orange?”

  “Apple,” she replied before turning her attention back to the TV.

  “We’ll be right out.” Rhyzel took my hand and towed me to the kitchen. “So what’s the plan?” He pulled out a chair for me.

  “Well, we can’t ride on your motorcycle.” I sat on the chair and folded my hands over the table. “I was thinking we could take the bus or a taxi.”

  “You want some ice with your water?” He moved behind me.

  “That’d be nice.” Ice cold water could help calm my nerves some.

  “Did you eat already?” He placed a glass of water with three ice cubs in front of me.

  “No. I skipped breakfast this morning, actually.” My stomach hadn’t felt right. Or maybe my nerves hadn’t allowed me to concentrate on food.

  “We can grab a bite to eat at the diner that’s across the street from the park,” he suggested, standing next to me with a small plastic cup filled with apple juice in his left hand. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to take this to Renee.”

  I reached for my glass and took a sip. The cool water was refreshing but it did nothing to help calm my nerves. I was as sad, jumpy, and upset as I had been upon waking up. Seeing Rhyzel really didn’t help much. Not when I knew what his future held.