BlackMoon Beginnings

by Kaitlyn Hoyt

CLAIRE, DAVID, AND COLTON ALL just stare at me. I understand that I just went on a rant, but what did they expect? Did they think that I would just accept everything they said, and take it like a champ? Psh, no. I freak out. I don’t like change. Everything they just told me would result in a giant lifestyle change. They think that I’m this awesome girl who is supposed to bring an end to this freakishly long war? Well, they’ve got another thing coming. I’m not that person. I don’t want to be responsible for their debacle.

  “Ryanne,” Colton says. “Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing.”

  “That’s from Transformers, Colton. I’ve seen the movie.”

  Shrugging, he tells me, “It still fits.” I probably would have laughed at the movie reference had the voices not started up again. It’s strange to know that these are actually someone’s thoughts. She’s taking this better than I thought she would. I wonder if there is any food in the refrigerator. I haven’t eaten in a while. She just needs some time. It’s a lot to take on.

  “Oh, no. Not again.” I close my eyes, and concentrate on pushing the thoughts back. Following Colton’s instructions, I’m able to get a handle on them rather quickly this time. When I feel them lock in place, I open my eyes back up. Everyone is still staring at me. I wish they would stop doing that. It is too much attention.

  I stifle a yawn, realizing for the first time how tired I actually am. Exhaustion is finally setting in. My eyelids feel like they weigh a ton, and my body is starting to feel very sluggish.

  Claire speaks to everyone in the room. “That’s enough for today. Why don’t we all get ready for bed? Ryanne, you should probably stay here for the night. Tomorrow, we can work on getting your gift more under control. Do you need to contact anyone?”

  “No, Jane is away for the week. I would have been home alone anyway.”

  “I’ll find some clothes for you to wear for the night.” Turning toward Colton, she says, “Can you show her to the guest bedroom?”

  “Yeah, follow me.”

  I get up slowly, hoping the dizziness won’t make another appearance, and follow him. “So, I probably should have asked this earlier, but where exactly am I?”

  “In our house. Well, Aunt Claire’s house.”

  “No, I know that, but where in town is this exactly?”

  “Oh, you know the large patch of woods a little ways behind the bookstore?” he asks, still walking.

  “Yeah.”

  “We’re in there.”

  I give him a sideways glance, wondering if he is being serious. When he doesn’t say anything, I reply, “So, we are in the woods, behind the bookstore?” He nods in confirmation. “Far enough in, so that if you guys tried to kill me in my sleep, no one would hear me scream?”

  He smirks. “Yep.”

  “May I ask why?”

  “So no one will hear you when you scream,” he nonchalantly states. I stop walking. I know that my mouth drops. Shaking his head, he laughs. “It’s because, sometimes, our magic gets out of hand, and we don’t want everyone to find out about us. It could cause a lot of problems, so we live in isolation.”

  “I love the woods. I go and sit in the woods behind Jane’s house all the time, just to think or draw. It’s relaxing.”

  He looks at me strangely, his expression unreadable. He stops walking and opens a door to the right. “This is the guest bedroom.”

  When the door swings open, and I see the expansive room, I immediately back away from the door. “I can’t stay here. It’s too much. I can just sleep on the couch. I don’t mind.”

  Colton reaches out, grabs my arm, and drags me into the room, barely putting any effort in, even though I am trying really hard to remain outside. “You’re going to sleep here tonight. Claire wouldn’t let you sleep on the couch. It’s not proper for guests.” He does a perfect imitation of Claire’s voice like he’s heard those words a handful of times before. It’s a little creepy how good it is.

  “This room is twice the size of my actual bedroom. I don’t need anything this extravagant.”

  “I know. That’s why I gave you the smaller of the guest bedrooms.” The smaller of the..? I can’t imagine what the other rooms look like. I haven’t seen anything but the living room since I’ve been here, and I didn’t really pay attention as we were walking.

  Colton starts walking around the room, as if he is looking for something. He walks over toward the large bed in the middle of the room, and flips the covers down. I watch as he walks toward the window, checking to make sure they are locked. He is wearing a tight black shirt again today that fits him like a glove. Biting my lip, I try to look away when it rises slightly with his arm movements.

  With the windows secure, he then walks into the bathroom adjacent to the bed on the left side of the room. Wait, what? There’s a bathroom here too? I knew it. They are definitely rich.

  “Okay, it looks like everything is in order. Claire should be up any minu…”

  Claire strolls into the room. “Ryanne, I had a little trouble finding clothes to fit you. You’re a lot smaller than me, but this will have to do.” She turns toward Colton. “Sorry for interrupting you.”

  He bats his hand toward her, but doesn’t look away from me. “It’s fine.”

  “Look, Claire.” I turn and look at her, making sure I have her attention. “I appreciate everything you’ve done, but this is too much. I can just stay on the couch. I’m the one intruding.”

  “You are not intruding. And it is not proper for guests to sleep on the couch. You’ll sleep in here.”

  Colton reaches his arm behind his head, and looks across the room before mumbling an I told you so. I glare at him, but don’t say anything. It doesn’t look like there is any way I am going to win this battle.

  “You look exhausted, dear.” I try to hide my yawn, but she sees it anyway. “Why don’t you get changed and go to bed? In the morning, we can start working on controlling the voices, as you call them, a little better.”

  She and Colton both walk out of the room. Claire is out of sight first, but Colton lingers in the doorway. With a smile, he says quietly, “Goodnight, Ryanne,” and disappears too. I stare at the door for a few seconds after they’re both gone before I look back at the room around me.

  What on Earth just happened?

  I grab the pile of clothes Claire gave me and walk into the bathroom. The bathroom is also large. It is just slightly smaller than my bedroom at Jane’s. A spacious shower encompasses one whole wall of the bathroom. The toilet and marbled sink are located across from it. A small chandelier hangs from the center of the ceiling. A girl could get used to this. I quickly change out of my clothing and into Claire’s. The shirt is too big, reaching down to my thighs, and the pants are too long. I have to roll the waistband and the bottoms up to even walk.

  I step of the bathroom and back into the bedroom, heading toward the bed. At the rate I am walking toward it, one might fear that it would come to life and eat me. The bed is high. I have to jump a little to get into it, but it is the softest and most comfortable bed I have ever been in. I get under the large white duvet cover, pull the blanket up to my neck, and snuggle into the pillow. The smell of lavender fabric softener invades my senses, causing me to smile as my eyes close. I’m already falling asleep, when I realize I had forgotten to turn off the bedroom light.