Darkness Rises_Book 1_Prelude To Insanity

by Timothy P. Carnahan

  “So what do you want to do?” she asked him making no hint that she read any of his journal in the short time he had been in the bathroom. ‘Maybe she didn’t see it,’ he mulled over in his mind, ‘yeah and maybe she’s just trying to be nice because she feels sorry for you.’ When he didn’t respond she snapped her fingers in front of his face as if trying to pull him out of a daze.

  “You’re sure you’re ok?” she asked causing him to snap away from his internal dialogue.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Just got a little dizzy is all.” He replied feeling like a jerk for lying to her but, in the same instant, he didn’t want to scare her off on the first day of summer.

  “So what do you want to do?” she repeated smiling at him with what he considered to be the prettiest smile in the world. He thought of a million answers to say to her, the obvious ones he quickly discounted and many others he decided against because they sounded dorky even to him.

  “Oh I don’t know you’re the guest, what do you want to do?” He retorted trying to sound as confident as he could but from her knowing smile, he could tell she was playing with him, if only a little.

  “Well,” she paused looking at his television set, “I see you have a Nintendo. Have any good games?” She asked and Cole was more than a little astonished. He didn’t expect her to be the video game playing type but Nintendo he was good at and it was something he knew well.

  “Yeah sure, tons of them,” he replied a little more giddy than he would have liked to sound but, she didn’t seem to mind that he was acting like a kid who just got the treat of his life.

  Hours went by and Cole could swear he found his match in video gaming. Laila was quick to learn button combinations and beat him several times in Mario Kart. The two of them sat and played against one another joking the whole time about life and other nuances. It was as if they had been close friends for years and Cole found that he truly was having the time of his life. She told him of her home life and how her parents had been married for over twenty years and he told her about his own family whose story wasn’t always a pleasant one but, she listened intently all the same. He shared his perceptions about her stories and hopes for the future and she shared her opinions about his. She was never condescending and Cole didn’t feel compelled to shy away from her quite as much when her hand would brush gently against his for a split second. Unusual for his nature, he didn’t question her motives for being there with him, instead, he accepted it as something he could never explain and decided that he really didn’t need to. Occasionally he would bring his hand to rest on hers and like him, she didn’t shy away or try to pull away. They paused when they heard the front door open and listened. His mother had finished her work day and entered the bedroom not expecting to find Cole with an attractive girl sitting with him on his bed and playing video games. During the brief moment that his mother had come in, Cole introduced Laila to her and told her he would explain the damage done to his face later. Although he hadn’t expected her to accept the half-hearted answer about his face, she did, and for that, he was grateful. A couple more hours went by and the evening began to cast shadows across his room before Laila put down her controller and rubbed her hands.

  “God, how long have we been playing?” She asked noticing the fading light through the westward facing curtained window. Cole shrugged, he knew he would have kept playing all night if she had wanted to but just as he was about to respond, her backpack started to play music. “It’s my parents,” she said answering the unspoken question for him. She retrieved her phone from the backpack and answered. He attempted to ignore the conversation she was having with the lady on the other end of the phone but he could hear her mother laying into her about being out so late. After a couple of minutes of her sitting silently on the phone making gestures with her hands like a yapping dog, she finally hung it up. “Well I have to go,” she said seeming somewhat reluctant. Normally he would have told her to have a good night and let her be on her way but, he found himself asking her if he could walk her the mile or so back to her house and before he knew it, the words were coming out of his mouth.

  “I’d like that.” She said smiling softly at him. For the first time, he felt his life finally had a purpose he wanted to accept. He stood up and extended his hand out of courtesy which she took and he helped her to her feet.

  As the two of them walked in the fading light of day she stayed closer to him than he expected she would. She joked about being afraid of the dark and that she was glad that he was walking with her however he spoke with the utmost truth when he told her that he too, was genuinely afraid of the dark.

  She laughed and he took it in stride, “kind of strange,” she said jokingly, “that you’re afraid of the dark. Maybe I should walk you home,” she teased playfully.

  Normally Cole would have been embarrassed but he found that coming from her he didn’t mind. “Nah, I’m sure I’ll manage,” he replied quietly. Whether he was afraid of the dark or not, it didn’t matter and probably wouldn’t matter on the way back anyway. Nothing could ruin this perfect start to his summer vacation. Eventually, she reached over and held onto his hand as they walked the last half of a mile to her house.

  “Well, this is it.” She said pointing to the two-story house they had almost passed. He knew where she lived. Her home wasn’t a big secret to most people who knew her. Maybe it was the walk, maybe she felt the same way about him he thought and he entertained the idea briefly. “Thank you.” She said looking down at the ground, their hands still knitted together.

  “For what?” he asked thinking she had meant the walk home but not wanting to sound presumptuous.

  She sighed deeply and looked up at him, “for really standing up for me. Most people just laugh it off when he calls me names and no one ever does what you did so, thank you.”

  He nodded and replied, “Don’t thank me. You don’t deserve to be treated like that.” Laila’s eyes bore into him as if accepting that truth for the first time in her life and unexpectedly she leaned forward and kissed him softly. Cole was so stunned that he couldn’t move but still, she held her lips lightly to his before stepping back and turning for the steps leading up to her house. Cole stood in the subtle glow of the porch light, watching her as she turned and waved a sweet simple wave to him before opening the door and walking inside.

  Cole smiled after Laila shut the door behind her. He wished he knew how to feel but, inwardly he questioned his elation. There she was, the girl of his dreams; the girl he would give anything for; walking inside smiling from the time she had spent with him. He looked down at the pavement and began to question if she had spent the afternoon with him out of pity or if there really was something that she felt for him. For a few short moments, he remained in place until he heard muffled voices inside the house and decided that he didn’t want Laila, or her family, to think of him as a creepy stalker type so he began to walk. Even though it was dark, the summer air shared a warm breeze that pushed against him gently as he followed the back alleys to his home. On any other night, he would have stuck to the well-lit streets that ran through the main parts of town but, he wanted to be alone with the moment and his thoughts. He picked his way carefully along the lightly-graveled roads that served as the alleys of Los Olivos. They could hardly be called alleys being that they were better suited for foot traffic than automobiles. He’d been through them countless times during the days on his bike or walking but he had to tread carefully to avoid twisting his ankle in the few potholes he couldn’t readily see in the dark. Still, he allowed his mind to wander and found, on more than a couple of occasions, that he would reach to his lips and touch them in disbelief of how perfect her lips had felt against his in the short span they had been together. Today had been a perfectly strange day indeed. He would have never imagined that a girl like her would be into video games but life was full of surprises and today, he got more than he could have asked for. He stopped abruptly and sighed thinking of how he had stood there dumbly when she kiss
ed him, how he had been unable to respond and how he didn’t think to ask her if she wanted to hang out again. “Stupid, stupid, stupid,” he said quietly to himself trying to figure out a way that he could see her again without seeming presumptuous. When he realized that the opportunity was lost to correct the situation he slumped his shoulders and continued to walk home in stoic silence.

  CHAPTER 2

  Laila Hardcastle didn’t talk much about her home life nor did she bring people over to her house instead, keeping her life a secret from almost anyone that would get close enough to know her. Her father, John Hardcastle, was a heavy drinker and barely acknowledged that he even had a daughter after 5 P.M. on any given day, preferring to pass out intermittently in his recliner after work. However, this day it was well passed 9 and he was sitting at the foot of the stairs when she opened the door. Her mother, Gina, wasn’t downstairs so she stopped momentarily.

  “Where’s mom?” She asked him in passing not really wanting to give him much thought in his current stupor. He didn’t answer her. Instead, he lulled his head to rest his chin on his knees. Disgusted, she walked passed him towards the kitchen sighing heavily as she went. Dinner had been put away, not that she would have found it appetizing from the look of the cookware that littered the sink but, her stomach growled to her anyway. Rather than attempt to rummage through the leftovers from dinner, she grabbed a bag of chips and began to walk toward the stairs. Her father was standing now, blocking her access to the second floor. She could tell by his eyes that he wanted to say something but, whether influenced by alcohol or his uncanny inability to understand women he seemed to be at a loss for words. “What’s up Dad?” she asked quietly not wanting to agitate his obvious disposition. With reflexes that most onlookers would have sworn impossible for the large man, he grabbed both of her wrists so tightly that she dropped the open bag of chips to the floor and let out a quiet whimper of protest. He brought his face to within inches of hers and held her with his sharp blue eyes. She tried to turn away, to look anywhere else, the foul odor of whiskey and cigarettes wafting from his breath assaulted her senses and she thought that she could throw up at any instant. He released one of her wrists and she felt the left side of her face sting intensely as he smacked her with a thick calloused hand.

  “You’ll look at me little girl,” he hissed at her through pursed lips. Tears welled up in her eyes and she stood feeling helpless. “Now,” he said in what seemed to be a more controlled manner. He let go of her other wrist and brought his hand up to hold her chin so that she couldn’t turn away again. Not that she would have, she knew doing so would only be asking to be hit again. “Where have you been?” he asked her gently with the same tone that she would expect to hear from a concerned father.

  “At a friend’s,” she replied solemnly knowing her father’s attitude towards her hanging around boys at fifteen.

  He echoed her words, “At a friend,” he said chuckling before falling into a sickly coughing fit.

  “Yeah, a friend’s. Can I go upstairs now?” She asked a little more sharply than she intended to. She realized that she had thrown her hands up to block any incoming attack before the assumption consciously registered though, none came.

  “After you clean up your mess,” he replied pointing at the bag of chips on the floor. He acted as if he hadn’t struck her and the ‘mess’ was simply an unfortunate, but easily rectified accident.

  “Ok, dad.” She said sheepishly keeping her eyes level with his. He looked at her a moment longer before stumbling around her to make his way through the dining room and into the living room where he promptly fell heaped in his recliner. She watched him as he went but he didn’t look back at her nor did he say another word. She dropped to her knees, scooping the mess of chips back into the bag as quietly as she could. Occasionally she would look over her shoulder to where her father was chugging on a whiskey bottle but, as far as she could tell, he paid her no more attention. When she finished cleaning up the mess, she threw the bag of chips in the trash feeling more than a little disappointed. Her face throbbed warmly where she had been smacked but, she felt a sense of relief pulse through her when she realized how much worse it could have been. ‘At least it won’t leave a bruise’ she thought sourly as she made her way back to the staircase. Laila took one final look back at her father before making her way up the stairs. She knew she didn’t hate him but she wished secretly that she could show him how it felt to be overpowered and afraid of the people you love. Her parent’s bedroom door was closed and she was relieved that she wouldn’t have to explain herself to her mother, who was probably asleep by now. She was the only child who lived in the household with her parents since her brother Jack had left for the marines nearly a year ago. She missed him from time to time but found that sometimes it was easier to maintain her own life without him constantly keeping an eye on her. Such was the way with older brothers. Still, before he left, her father had been more lenient with her, usually taking the brunt of his anger out on Jack. She pushed her way into her room, avoiding turning on the light and collapsed heavily on her queen sized bed where she began to recall the day’s events. Geeky Cole, she smiled to herself when she thought of how she referred to him. She had known that he liked her, had known for the past couple of years, however, she had never expected that he would get so worked up over Stephen, or anyone for that matter, insulting her. She looked at her nightstand noticing that it was almost ten o’clock and wondered why no one ever gave Cole a chance. After spending the whole afternoon with him she found that she was actually fond of the company he brought to her. She thought more about Stephen, who had been her boyfriend for the past year and a half and questioned why she still put up with him. He was a jerk from the beginning, using brawn to take what he wanted. Laila remembered back to when they had first gotten together and asked herself why? Rationally she knew that being a semi-popular girl had ultimately made her decide to date one of the most popular guys in school, however, over time she realized that she stayed with him as a point of status rather than for any real feelings she had for him. Though she had been upset when Stephen had told her that he would be heading out of town for two months the day summer started to stay with his mom in Houston, Texas, she now regarded it as an opportunity to explore new avenues. She wasn’t ready to make any decisions nor did she feel particularly pressured to. Instead, Laila found herself easily falling to sleep’s promise of new hopes and dreams. Before all thoughts had dwindled from her mind she whispered gently into the night, “Thank you, Cole,”

  CHAPTER 3

  The next day Cole sat alone in his room occasionally glancing out of his window facing the street as the world passed by. He knew the summer was going to be relatively short for the kids that looked forward to the free time they would have but, he dismissed the notion that he was going to share in their enjoyment. He decided against telling his mother much about Laila when she probed him about her being there most of the day before. He knew she would make a big deal out of him having a girl in the house if he so much as hinted to the fact that he liked her and was well aware of her inability to keep her mouth shut when things needed to be kept secret. Upon Cole’s return from Laila’s house the night before his mother had questioned him about the bruises and swelling that adorned his face. He had told her that he was in a fight with a bully at school and that everything had broken out for a reason that he could not readily determine, however, she hinted that she believed Laila had somehow been involved since she had come over for the first time the day before. Attempting to persuade her, Cole explained that she had just felt sorry for him and had brought him his backpack as a sign of good faith. His mother let the matter drop at that but now he sat waiting, hoping inwardly that Laila would decide to come by again. He continued to berate himself for not making any plans with her the night before and thought that maybe he should take the initiative and seek her out. The thought quickly diminished when he realized how absurd he would feel if she really had been there only to make
sure he was alright. It was nearly three in the afternoon and he decided that he had to do something lest he would sit alone in his room all summer moping.

  * * * * *

  “Another day,” Laila thought as the sun peered through her east window. Her dreams had been filled with promises for the future that she could only hope came to fruition but, she only remembered them vaguely. Cole had been part of those dreams, surfacing as a protector when she needed him but he, regardless of why, had been part of those dreams. She wondered how he felt about her coming by the day before. Whether she had known that he had feelings for her or not, she was sure now after glancing at the single page that he had written on his desk stating that he adored her. He had a good heart with good intentions though he needed to improve his self-esteem. She promised herself that she would not ignore him this summer like she had for so many summers prior. Thinking about how awestruck Cole had seemed when she had kissed him made her giggle. ‘I have to ask him if that’s his first kiss’ she thought to herself smiling. She hurried downstairs and fixed herself a small breakfast which she ate quietly. Both of her parents had already left for work. She thought about how unhappy her mother seemed with her dad and wondered if she was doomed to end up like the two of them when she had matured into adulthood. ‘No.’ she protested in the belief that she had seen too much despair in her life to continue the cycle when she decided to marry herself. Stephen was much like her father, with his attitude and demeanor towards her but, the only thing that separated him from John Hardcastle is that he never dared to strike her. She thought about how he treated her, the name calling had begun about six months after they had started dating and she wondered how much further he could actually go. Cole didn’t seem that way. ‘Or could he eventually turn out to be that way and I don’t know it?’ she considered the threshold that most guys in her life had seemed to cross. She pondered this reality for a few moments longer and decided that she wanted nothing more to do with the disheartening thought, instead grabbing for the remote on the table next to her. She would watch television for the day and evaluate more when her mind was ready for it. For now, she wanted to enjoy the fact that someone had treated her with more respect than she could have expected and television would keep her mind from wandering. Later she could venture out and experience the first day of summer on the town but, for now, the morning was hers and hers alone.