SELENA ROSE, DAUGHTER OF THE MOON
Rhiannon Futch
Copyright © 2019 Rhiannon Futch
All rights reserved.
ISBN-13: 978-1-7341002-0-4
For Brighid, the best puppy that ever lived.
I miss you girl.
1
May 10, 2003
She flushes the toilet and drags her hand across her face. Moving to the sink she washes her face then brushes her teeth to get rid of that foul taste. Thankful that this only happens in the morning, she takes the band from the end of her hair and lets down her braid from the night before. It is a recent practice, but it has kept her long, black hair vomit free. Looking in the mirror she sees the color returning to her skin. Being pale under her olive skin was not a flattering look.
What am I going to do? Gabriel just left for basic, I can't even tell him for another 6 weeks. I have to tell my Dad. He will be cool with it, right? Dad will understand and we can carry on until he gets home. He always said he would help if I got in trouble. This is a lot of trouble...
Hours later, "Dad, I need to talk to you in private."
"Ok, let's go outside, I’d like a look at the garden anyway."
They amble out to the garden, row upon row of vegetables lovingly tended by the gardeners set against the backdrop of the Appalachian mountains. Selena looks up at the hat protecting her father's copy-paper white skin. It has always amazed her how white he is and how he burnt so often. He healed himself every time he burned with a magic cream he bought from a fellow magic worker he met on one of his many business trips. She sometimes wondered how it was possible for someone so pale to be her father...
"So what's up kiddo?"
Looking up her father Selena decides to jump right into the fire, "Dad, I'm pregnant. It is Gabriel's. He just left for basic, and he doesn't know yet. But when he gets back..."
"NO," he says, two red spots blooming on his sour cream white cheeks," when he gets back you won't be pregnant. You're going to go have an abortion and we will forget this ever happened. You are not to see him again. I've tolerated you dating this boy because I thought it was some phase. I thought you would slum for a while and then you'd come to your senses and see that he is not worthy of you. His bloodline is beneath you and you cannot tie yourself to that. You would dilute our blood with that? That half-breed boy? I can’t believe this." Apophis drinks deeply from his rocks glass, emptying it of the expensive bourbon he prefers.
Selena snaps her mouth closed and then opens it again to berate him, "What? What are you talking about? Half-breed? That is atrocious, I can't believe you would be so horrible as to say something like that!"
Apophis points at Selena, "You heard me. This baby would be a half breed like her father, she would never be one of us."
"No. I won't do that. I will not abort this baby just because you have these messed up ideas about lineage and who is beneath who. I don’t deserve him! He is good and kind and he will be a great father. I am keeping my baby with or without your approval and that is my final word on the matter."
"You will, or I have his ass thrown in jail for rape." Selena rolls her eyes at him,
"You can't do that Dad, I am an adult and it was most assuredly not rape."
"Well, you sure as hell won't be staying here! You will not be breeding little mongrels in this house!"
Selena's heart breaks into a million pieces. Her father is the only family she has and now even that is gone, "Fine! I'll leave! But I am not aborting my child just because you are stuck in the past! I can do this, and Gabriel will be thrilled. We'll just be starting our family early. And who the fuck calls having a child breeding? You make it sound like I am a prized bitch that you plan to breed with some perfect lineage. Gross Dad. Gross."
Suddenly his hand hit her face and she flew back. Tears ran down her face as she got herself off the ground and turned toward the house.
"You leave here and don't come back till you get some sense!"
In her room, she packed a duffle bag with personal items and thanked all her lucky stars that she had been saving money in an account for a long time. Her father was very generous with her in that regard so she had never been without while still having a substantial amount stashed away. According to her last statement, she could get by just fine for a few years without running low as long as she was reasonable. Selena looks around one last time, picking up purse and duffle she walks out leaving the door open behind her. She heads down the drive and to her truck. It wasn't new by any means, but it had felt right when she picked it out and the Frontier was a good running truck. When she got to the end of her drive she called her friend Linnette and asked if she could stay for a while. Hanging up the phone, she pulled out of the drive and looked back at the house one last time to see her father glaring from the porch, drink in hand.
4 weeks later, June 2003
Gabriel pulls up to her father's house. He knocks on the door and waits to be admitted. The butler comes to the door and asks him to wait there before shutting the door again. Selena's father Apophis comes out looking very sad. "Gabriel, I hate to be the one to tell you, but Selena is out with someone else. After you left she started dating everyone. Turned into a slut. I don't know what happened to the girl I raised. Real skeezy dudes too. She is barely home these days."
"What? No. She would never do that! She loves me, she said she would wait..." He hangs his pale head, spikes of blond pointing at Apophis as Gabriel fights heartbreak and anger.
Apophis smiles slyly as his eyes glow a bit and he makes some slight movements with his hands while saying, "Sorry pal, women are backstabbing liars. You should just forget about her. Move on with your life."
Apophis manages to look appropriately sympathetic until Gabriel gets back in his car and starts down the driveway. Driving through town Gabriel spots Selena in a cafe with a group of people. He swerves into the lot, throws his car in park and runs into the cafe leaving his door open and the car running.
"How could you?"
Selena looks up, so thrilled to see him that what he said hasn’t registered and she moves toward him, arms out to embrace him. The group of friends with her sit in silent shock at his accusatory words.
He throws his hands up to block her, "Don't come near me, you make me sick."
"What? What are you talking about?" Selena crosses her arms in front of herself, suddenly cold and bewildered.
"I went to your house, your Dad told me what you have been doing while I was gone. You sorry bitch! Couldn't even wait for me to get back? Had to go spreading your legs for everyone in town? I bet it was one of them!” Pointing at her friends, “I’m through with you!” With that, he turned and left before she could even close her mouth.
Her friends recovered from their shock first and crowded around her, hugging her and telling her it would be all right. She dissolved into a puddle of tears. She had been waiting for him all this time, they were going to handle this together!
Oh Goddess, my father was right about Gabriel. How could he come storming in here lying like that? Where would he get the idea that I was sleeping around on him? Now what am I going to do?
At that moment she felt her baby move for the first time, and she knew. She knew it would be hard, but they would manage. She would find a way for her child.
2
5 months later, October 28, 2003
She lay in her bed, holding her new daughter. The midwife is quietly tidying up after the birth while she stares in wonder at this new life she has created, the tears start once again. He doesn't even know he has a daughter. He doesn't even know that I was pregnant. Why wouldn't he even stop to hear me?
Selena murmurs to he
r new daughter, ”Don't you worry sweetling, Momma is here for you, always. We are going to be just fine. We don't need him anyway."
"Are you ready for a bathroom visit? Do you need help getting up? " The midwife inquires, as she moves back into the room.
Remembering the things that the midwife had explained to her before she went into labor she smiles and says, "Time for a test run?" she laughs as she sets the babe in a basket near her on the bed. She eases herself out of bed as the midwife reaches over to give her hand.
"Ooh, this hurts! How long did you say it would be sore like this?"
"All depends on you and your body. Some are sore for longer than others, some for not so very long at all. You just listen to your body and if anything feels off you let me know. It is likely you will heal quickly, you're young and strong. It should help that you're breastfeeding."
"Thank you so much. I don't know what I would have done without you. That doctor scared the hell out of me the one time I met him." Selena sits on the toilet and pees, on and on. Wow, I didn’t even realize I had to go…
"All through? There now, just use that peri bottle to rinse everything, then we'll get you into these very attractive diaper-like underwear complete with giant pad and you will be set for the night. Is your friend coming back? Or will someone else be with you?"
"Yes," she lied," she will be back shortly, she just stepped out to get us something that doesn’t need to be cooked. We will be fine. I will get everything over here near the bed and I won't need to get up much before she gets back. There is a phone, there on the bedside table. We will be fine."
"Right then, I will just get some food put together for you and do a few more things before I go. You are to call me if you need anything. Anything at all. You hear me? Anything."
"Yes," she smiled in gratitude, "I promise."
3 months later, end of January 2004
Selena is just finishing up bagging a tea for cramp relief for Linette when she hears someone else at the door. Wandering over she murmurs, "Who do you think it is sweetling?" looking down at the babe nestled against her in a sling.
Peering through the peephole and she sees her father standing on the other side and jerks back from the door as though slapped.
She opens the door with the chain still engaged, “I thought you didn’t want anything to do with us?”
“I didn’t.” Apophis drags a hand through his pale white hair, “I was really mad that you had thrown your life away like that, thrown away all our plans. I wanted you to stay my little girl and not the mother to a half breed child that would never have half the potential of its mother. And I knew Gabriel was not worthy of you and would cut out at the first sign of responsibility coming his way. I should have been more understanding. I wasn’t, but I would still like to be part of your life.” He smiles hopefully at his daughter but looks around at the other apartments knowing his suit and paleness make him stick out.
Selena pushes a stray hair back in the direction of her messy bun, “The only reason she won’t know him is because you lied to Gabriel. Why would you say those things about me Dad?”
“What things? I don’t know what you’re talking about. I never lied to Gabriel! I haven’t seen him since before he left for basic.” He sees curtains twitching in the window of an apartment off to the left in his peripheral vision.
“What? You haven’t? Why would he say you did?”
“I don’t know, but, your neighbors are beginning to stare. Can I come in? Maybe see the baby?” He wears the most earnest of looks he can manage, hoping to persuade her.
She frowns, “Yes, I guess you can. We aren’t through here, I still want to talk about this. But I would love for you to meet Kya.” Closing the door she unhooks the chain and reopens it, stepping back to allow him entrance.
Guiding him to her kitchen table they sit and begin to talk, to patch up what went so wrong when he said those terrible things to her. By the end of the visit he has held little Kya and talked to Selena about maybe coming back home. As she shuts the door behind him, she feels like maybe things will be ok. Her dad is coming around and she just might move back. But she really loves having her own little place. As much as she loves her dad, he really hurt her when he kicked her out and didn’t even try to come to find her until well after Kya’s birth. She would have to think long and hard about this instead of making rash decisions, after all, she has Kya to think of now.
Moving day, March 1, 2004
"Is there anything left in the house?" Linnette asked as she prepared to shut the door to the box truck.
"Not a bit, everything is out and the place is sparkling."
She shut the front door and placing her hand on the door offered a quick prayer of gratitude and goodbye to her first apartment. Turning away from the apartment she moves toward her little car.
As she puts her little sweetling into her seat Linnette hops into the box truck shouting, "I'll see you there!"
"Ok, be safe!"
As she drives over to her new house, a lovely little house out in the woods, her mind is turning things over.
She has a new puppy being trained for her now, it would be making visits on a regular basis to get to know her and train before it moved in with her in a few weeks. Her heart was still a little broke, but it would heal. The Goddess would help her with that, as she had been all this time. Her remedies were flying out the door nearly faster than she could make them. She has just bought a house with a combination of the money she had been saving and the huge chunk of money her father had gifted her for the birthday he missed back in November. She had walked into the 4 bedroom house with the little fenced area out back and knew it was the one. It needed painting and to be lived in again, but the house felt good and that was the most important thing for a witch like her.
Arriving at the new place she feels a deep sense of peace descend upon her.
"Come on sweetling," as she lifts little Kya out of her seat, "let's go sort our home."
3
Four years later...
Kya is running through the house, a happy four-year old making Selena smile while blending teas and casting little spells on them. This one for health, that one for a harsh period, and a salve for a rashy bottom. Along with so many more herbals, it seems like all I do these days is run after Kya and make magical herbal creations. Life is good. So what if it's a little lonely at night? Love will find me…Then she hears a voice in her head saying, "if you ever leave the house..." Yes, Goddess, I hear you.
"Come on Kya, let's go to the park!"
Kya runs toward the truck with glee as Selene throws a kerchief over her hair, securing it with a quick knot and a couple of bobbies. By the time Selena and her bag make it to the truck Kya has buckled herself into her seat and is happily playing with a truck toy while she waits.
At the park they find their friends; Linnette and Hayden with their little one Aspen and their nieces, Dwayne and his little one Nathan. As the children play together Linnette asks Selena if she would mind taking their child and Dwayne's home for the night. She and Hayden want a date and have a friend that might hit it off with Dwayne, who has been alone since his wife passed during birth. "Sure! I love the kiddos. They are welcome! You guys have fun!" Selena laughs, "And don't forget to put the seats in my truck!" as they run off, with Linnette scooping up her nieces on the way to the parking area.
Selena lets the children play a bit longer and then calls them to go. As she is getting everyone settled into their seats she freezes. His presence hasn’t been felt by her in so long. She looks up and there he is, 2 spaces away. Just getting out of his car. He's looking at her! Of course he was looking at me, my truck is the only one at the park. No way this is a coincidence. Shit! What now? Her heart is racing, her brain is in flight mode, she needs to get out of here before he sees Kya.
Selena casually closes the truck doors and starts toward the driver's door. And he is walking toward her. Shit!
Shit.
Shit.
/> Her hand was on the handle when she heard;
"Selena"
Resigned, she turns to face him and works to hide her surprise at his appearance now that he was closer. He still had the crew cut icy blonde hair, but now his skin was a sickly pale color and he was not in fighting trim any more by any stretch of the imagination. What the hell happened to him?
"You made it pretty clear last I saw you that you did not want to see me, Gabriel. Why are you trying me now?"
"I'm on leave, and I came home to visit and I was looking for Dwayne. I saw you here and thought maybe we could bury the hatchet. Are all those yours?" He asks, gesturing toward the truck full of watchful children.
"No, just the one. Don’t you recognize Nathan and Aspen?”
"So you found someone else then..." His face shadowing.
"No. I didn't find anyone else, I just have the one child." SHUT-UP SELENA WHAT ARE YOU DOING? "Listen, I need to get these kids home, it was nice seeing you. I hope all is well for you." as she turns, opening the truck door.
Gabriel’s face had grown suspicious as her speech got faster, and now he took a step toward her and put his hand on her arm.
"What are you hiding?"
"Nothing,” she looks down at his pale hand on her light brown arm, “and you need to remove your hand from my arm before I do."
He takes his hand off her arm but continues to press her, "Selena, you can't lie for shit. Out with it."
Oh Goddess, help me get through this...
Selena rests her head on the roof of the truck and mumbles, "My daughter is your daughter as well."
Gabriel’s jaw dropped. He never expected that as he thought she would be dating one of his friends or something and not want to tell him that... He never thought for a minute...peering in the truck at the girl with his eyes, "Wait, you would have had to have had to have been pregnant when I left for basic."
"I was. And when I told my father, he wanted me to have an abortion. He kicked me out of the house after threatening to have you put in jail. He was incredibly pissed because you had the wrong bloodline."
Selena Rose: Daughter of the Moon Page 1
