Series Wednesday: Family Game Night page 31

  I run into the game room where both of my parents are. I see the girl strung up with a gag in her mouth and I stop instantly. I am not sure what to say so I stand there. It isn’t Enrique, but I can’t walk away. She is still a person even if I don’t know her. “You need to go.” My dad says as he grabs my arm. “Dad please don’t kill her she is a person.”  My dad pushes me up the stairs and out the game room door. They lock the door behind me. That poor girl will never see her family or friends again. What if this is why someone took Percy because of their urges. I walk up my stairs and go to my room. I open my door to see Enrique lying in my bed reading a book. I rush in and close the door behind me. “What are you doing here?” I ask him. “Well your parents are thinking about killing me and the best place to hide is in plain sight. So, I hid my motorcycle down the street and snuck back in.” He says with a smile on his face. “You have to get out of here. If they do find you here, they will kill you without a second thought.” Enrique shifts his head back and forth. “You know what I think the safest place to be is right here. I’m just going to stay the night and tomorrow you can throw me out to fend for myself.”  I look at Enrique. “I am really not in the mood to argue with you about this. You can stay for the night.” I push him off my bed and throw a pillow on the floor with one of my blankets. “So, I guess this means I am sleeping on the floor.” Enrique says. “Of course, it does. I know you didn’t think you were going to sleep next to me.” I say as I crawl into my bed. I lie down and wonder where my box is?? I just want to tell my secret whatever it may be. So, I can get my mom and Percy back.  
                I open my eyes and I am lying on Enrique chest. I start to pull back, how did he end up in my bed. “It’s okay Cahira I am right here.” He whispers to me as he holds me tighter. I feel slightly trapped but safe. It is still the middle of the night. I just let him hold me and I close my eyes. I have never had anyone hold me let alone a boy. I hear the door bell and jump up. “Whoooa, is everything okay?” Enrique says. “Yeah I just heard the door and how did you end up in my bed?” I ask him as I hit him. “You were crying in your sleep last night. So, I comforted you. You really didn’t seem to mind last night.” Enrique sounds almost cocky. “Get out! Go home or wherever it is you like to dwell.” I start to get out of bed. “CAHIRA GET DOWN HERE NOW!” I hear my dad yell. “You really need to go out the window okay?” I tell him as I head out of my room. I made sure to close my door behind me. I run down the stairs to see a gift. I know this is my box. I take a deep breath. My mother and Grace are both standing back. My dad is standing over the gift wrapped in what looks like car wrapping paper. I don’t understand why mine would be wrapped in car wrapping paper. I don’t have any secrets with cars. “The card is on the outside this time.” My dad says as he point at the envelope with my name on it. I open the envelope. I don’t want to read whatever this card says but I know I have to. I open the card and start to read. “Last but most defiantly not least you are where it all started so I took most care in making your gift. Your secret might not even be one you can remember. Better find a way to jog that broken memory of yours. See we have met once before. I told you and you alone exactly who I am. No pressure for you have longer than a week since so much more is at stake. Get it right the first time and you will get them both, get it wrong and you only get one. I know your family will only really want Percy back but I am sure you will fight for Hope. When you think you got it figured out just order a dozen red roses and put your guess on the card. P.O. Box is inside your gift. So, get excited on opening it. I hope to see you soon little warrior.” So, it sounds like I have met him before. I look at the gift and start to pull off the bow. I slowly unwrap it. “Cahira.” Grace says. I stop and look back at her. “Let me.” She says as she walks next to me and opens the box. I don’t even want to look in but I know I have to. There is a car and a doll in a medical gown. There is also a mini stuffed lion that looks just like mine. “Look at the bottom.” Grace says. “It’s another thumb drive.” I grab it out. “Get the lab top.” I tell Grace. “It is in my room. I’ll go get it.” Grace is still injured and moving slow. “I’ll go gets it. It will be much faster.” My mother says. “I mean it is the least you could do.” I tell her since she is the one who injured Grace. “Don’t start Cahira.” My mother says as she heads up stairs. I wish she felt even the slightest remorse for what she did to Grace.  I look back down at my hand and wonder what is on this thumb drive.

Series Wednesday: Family Game night page 30

I run behind my dad who is flying down the stairs to get to my mother and Grace. I can hear Grace screaming in pain. As I go down the stairs I see Grace strapped to the table with cuts on her stomach. “Tell your father what you told him!” My mother screams at Grace. “Rose enough!” my dad says. “Not quite yet” my mother says as she cuts into Grace some more. I push past my dad and grab a scalpel; I shove my mother against the wall. “Touch Grace again and I swear I will do twice as bad to you.” I tell her putting the scalpel to her stomach. “I dare you to Cahira!” My mother says with a laugh. So I stab her in her stomach nothing that would injure her, just a flesh wound. My mother starts laughing. “You think you are Hope’s daughter? Because all I see is me in your eyes.” My mother says as she leans into me. “If you see yourself in my eyes then you of all people should know to back off. You know what you would do if someone didn’t listen. Maybe I’ll grow up to be just like you mother!” My mother smiles. “All a parent ever wants is a child to follow in their footsteps.” I push my mother back into the wall as I step back. “No, a good parent wants their children to be better than them. They do not wish their daemons on their children.”  I can’t help but scream at her. “See you call them daemons I call them strengths.” I walk away from her to help Grace off the table. 
                “Leave her!” My mother tells me as I loosen the straps. “Rose enough, Grace is our daughter. You can’t treat her like this.” My dad says as he grabs my mother away from me. “Fine, I’ll be upstairs but I would ask her what she told the boy before you let her go so quickly.” My mother says as she heads up the stairs.  My dad turns back to me “Stop!” He tells me. “No, dad please just let me help her.” I feel tear start to form in my eyes. “Daddy I promise I will tell you everything but please don’t make me go through this.” Grace says in pain. You can just hear the pain in her voice. I look at my dad. “Fine, Cahira clean her up and take her to her room. I’ll be up in a bit.” I start to help Grace out of the game room and up the stairs. We head to the middle bathroom. I put her in the bath tub to clean her cuts. My mother really did a number on her. I hear my dad leave the house. I am not sure where he is going but he must be angry if he left. I start to clean Grace’s cuts, as I clean them I notice one of them is a lot deeper than the others and won’t stop bleeding.  “Grace this one won’t stop bleeding.” I tell her as Grace looks down. “Shit! I am going to need stiches.” Grace says as she points toward the hallway. “Why are you pointing over there?? Is there a doctor hiding in your room I don’t know about?” I ask Grace as she continues to point. “No in my room there is a fishing box. It has fishing line in it. Go get it.” I look at Grace. “When in your life have you ever gone fishing?” I can’t help but ask her. “Never, now can you please go get it.” I get up to find my mother in the hallway. She has the fishing box in her hand. “Move aside I got this.” My mother says as she pushes me aside and walks up to Grace. “Please don’t!” Grace screams. “Grace, calm down I would never hurt you in your own bathroom. I’m not a monster” she says as she starts stitching Grace’s cut closed. “You just don’t want me to get blood on the carpet” Grace says. “Well your dad and I paid a lot of money for the carpets. So yes, I wouldn’t want you to get blood on them. Grace believe it or not you are very special to me.”  My mother says as she cleans Grace’s wounds. “Cahira was always your favorite she was the daughter you wanted.” I feel awkward when Grace and my mother talk about me like I am not here. “Cahira was the daughter I always wanted before the coma, but you were always my daughter. You are special because no matter what you do you will always have my DNA coursing through your veins.”  My mother says as she gets up to leave the room. “Is that all I am something else you own?” Grace asks. “What do you want a touchy feeling mom?? Sweetie you’re in the wrong family for that. I said what I said take it or leave it.” My mother says as she walks out of the bathroom.  I hear the back door open and the game room door. I look at Grace I know what this means. My dad has lost his temper and is going to regain his cool by killing someone. I just stand there with my eyes closed. “Cahira, what if it is Enrique.” Grace says knowing the sound all too well. I didn’t even think about that. “Do you really think dad could have found Enrique that fast?” I ask Grace knowing I sent Enrique away. “Yeah I do. It’s dad he could find him that fast. Please don’t let dad hurt him.” Grace pleads. I get up to run down stairs to the game room. I am not sure how I can stop my dad but I will try.

Poem: To you my first love

Safety has always been found in your arms.

They speak of me as the heartless little girl.

Who grew in a bitter heartless woman.

This person you know nothing about.

With you I am weak,

I cry like a baby in your arms,

I tell you my fears and some how you work your charm.

The strength you give me I know you will never see.

They say no love is like your first.

I tell you all the time how blessed I am you were mine.

A man who falls but never fails me.

Through this journey we call life.

You have worn many hats in my life everything from best friend to lover and back.

Our relationship isn’t always romantic.

Its something so much deeper then that. 

I thanks god for you even when I am not in your life.

Because I know when I am ready to give up on me,

 you will always stand by my side and push me to fight.

Poem: sitting across from you

I wish they knew.

Even if they knew they wouldn't care.

It is like asking flames to care about the air.

They just ravage and destroy everything in site.

Giving a small children a chilling fright.

I was never given much a chance.

From the gate i never thought my life would last.

I could never imagine all i would make it through.

But it all comes back every time i look at you.

The fact that i have to sit across a table from the ones who tried kill my soul.

This is a strength i pray no one else will ever know.

The anxiety i get, I try an hide it away.

Is the thing that is killing me today.

Series Wednesday: Family Game night page 29

“The room is clean besides this one listening device.” Enrique says as he puts the wand down. “So someone wants to listen to me but not watch me.” I wonder why just listen. “Maybe they wanted to respect some of your privacy.”  I look at him with a side eye. “We should start looking through the rest of the house” Enrique says as he grabs my hand and pulls me out my door.  “You have the scrambler on you right?” Enrique asks me as we move down the hall.  “The black box?” I ask him as I pull it out of my pocket. “Yeah as long as we move around with that, no one will be able to see or hear us. Also, you can’t make any phone calls.” Why would I make a phone call right now? “I think we will be fine.”  He moves the wand up and down the walls down the hallways. The wand starts to go off on our family photo. “Another listening device” Enrique says as he goes to pull it off. “Don’t, leave it there we don’t want him to know we know where they are.  So let’s just mark where they are but not move them.” Enrique nods at me and start to put the picture back. I have an idea. “Stay right here okay. Don’t say a word.” I tell Enrique as I run back into my room. I go to my drawing desk and grab the round red sticker dots off the top. I run back to Enrique to put the dots above the listening device. “That’s smart, good to know you think quick on your feet.” Enrique smiles at me. I hit him in the stomach. “You need to take a breath. Let’s just keep looking and a little less of that whatever you think you’re doing.” Enrique laugh at me and starts wanding the rest of the hallway.
                We have found listening devices all throughout the house. We did find cameras only facing the doors, probably to watch us come and go. There is only one place left to check, the game room. I can’t let Enrique go down there, my parent would never let him come back up. Plus, Grace is in a cage down there and I am still not sure how I am going to explain that one. “Who is this?” My mother ask from behind us. SHIT! I’m so screwed. “Cahira answers your mom” my dad says. I don’t want to turn around. I grab Enrique’s arm and squeeze as tight as I can. “Maybe if we don’t move they won’t see us” I whisper to him. “This isn’t a movie and plus I am pretty sure they have already seen us.” Enrique whispers back. “Cahira!” My mother says in that I am going to kill you tone. I turn around. “The house is bugged mostly just listening devices I mark where they are with the red dots. A few cameras but only at all the doorways but this little black box thing stops them from working.” I pull the box out of my pocket and show them. “I saw the red dots all throughout the hallway I was wondering what was going on.” My dad says. “That explains what you’re doing but not who he is.” My mother says. “Thank you Sherlock for your great deductive skills. He is a friend of Grace’s and he actually was looking for her, when I asked him to help me with the equipment.” I try to throw my mother off mentioning Grace who is locked in a cage.  “He is the boy from the picture, the one who saw Percy get taken” my dad says. “Yeah my name is Enrique sir.” He sticks his hand out to shake my dad’s hand. My dad looks at him for a second before shaking his hand. “Nice to meet you.” My dad says. “Well if he is looking for Grace we should have him wait in the game room until she comes home” my mother says. She is going to kill him if I don’t act fast. “Enrique thanks for all your help but I just noticed the time and I know how your stepdad gets mad when you’re late.” I hope Enrique understands that I am trying to warn him. “Your right Cahira. I would hate for him to lose his head over me being late. I should get going.” He hands me the wand and walks toward the front door as quickly as he could. He walks out before my parent say one word. “How much does he know?” My dad asks me. “That someone took Percy and is now tormenting us. That is all he knows and I wasn’t even the one to tell him.  My mother stand creepily still. “I think he knows more than you’re saying Cahira.” My mother says to me. I just shrug. “If he does I know nothing about it.” My mother smiles at my statement. “But you know who would?” My mother asks me. “He would?” I am not completely sure where she is going with this. “No the person who told him, his friend.” My mother says as my dad bear hugs me. My mother start to head toward the game room. She is going after Grace. I try to get free from my dad’s grip. “Please daddy don’t let her hurt Grace!” I beg my dad. “She won’t hurt Grace as long as she didn’t tell him anything.” My dad says as he tries to calm me down. “You sent Hope my mom away to protect me but now you won’t protect Grace. Daddy please! You know mom has no control, it has been awhile since she has killed anyone and with all this stress and pressure going on right now. I don’t think she will be able to help herself.” I scream at my dad. He drops me on the floor and runs toward to game room. 

Throw back thursday: Timetopia Page 2

The Messy Mind Blog: Series Wednesday: Timetopia Page 2:      As I get my bearings I start to look around the fast moving van. I see long dark hair in the driver’s seat. I see my mom fading farther away into the distance, I have always thought of myself as unemotional but I start to cry at the thought that I won’t see her again. I look at my arm and I see a huge piece of glass sticking out and I’m still losing a lot of blood. I’m starting to not feel so great. “You hold on back there!” is the last thing I hear before I shut my eyes.       

Series Wednesday: Family Game Night Page 28

“If you won’t read it I will” my dad says. I open the letter. “Dear Cahira, I am sorry to inform you that your gift has been delayed due to some unforeseen complications. This however means your gift will be worth twice as much as the rest. Your gift is the last one. You can get both Percy and Hope back. Don’t worry Percy remains unharmed, I can’t say the same for Hope unfortunately. I promise you this, I have done nothing to her that she didn’t do to me first. Your gift will be arriving shortly. Keep an eye out for it because yours is where it all began. Love always….” He didn’t put a name, but why would he. I feel sick to my stomach. He has Hope and is torturing her. I run to the kitchen and throw up in the sink. “Cahira what happened?” My mother says. “He has HOPE!” I say to her. “What?” I point at my dad who walks up behind me with the letter and the pictures. My mother rushes over to him “let me see.” My dad hands her the letter and pictures. “Oh good we can get both of them back??” My mother says. I sit on the floor wondering how bad Hope is hurt. “Don’t worry Cahira; Hope is trained to endure torture. She can take whatever he throws at her. She will be fine. All we need is your box to come and for you to tell your secret and we get them both back.”  I look at my mother because nothing she just said made me feel any better. I wish I knew what my secret was. What if it is something that happened before my coma??? I might not even be able to remember my secret. “None of that makes me feel any better, but thanks for trying.” I tell my mom as I get up off the floor. My dad tries to hug me and I push him away. “This is all your fault. I don’t care what you guys say whoever is doing this has been doing so because of you monsters.” I shove past them and head to my room.
                I lay in my bed angry at my parents and at myself for not stopping Hope. I am not sure what I could have done. I hear my window open and I look over to see Enrique climbing through. “I can’t stop thinking about you.” Enrique says to me. I am not sure why he is talking like that. “Okay?” I sit up and just look at him, he walks over to my bed and pulls me up off it. He places his backpack on my bed and kisses me. His lips are very soft. He pulls back and looks at me, I never notice his eyes were hazel before. He puts his head on mine and whispers to me. “Just go with it.” He starts to kiss me again. I hear his backpack open. He pulls back and hands me a black metal box that has a green light on. “There now whatever camera or listening device that is in here won’t work. He was putting on a show. “Right.” I have never been kissed like that before. I honestly don’t think I have ever had a real kiss. Chance and I kiss but only because it would be weird to people if we didn’t.  Enrique reaches into his backpack and pull out a wand. “What is that?” I ask him. “It is to see where the listening devices might be or the cameras.” He starts moving the wand across my furniture. I can’t move and I am not sure why. “Are you really that freaked out that I kissed you?” Enrique asks looking at me. “What why would you say that???” I ask him. “Well your standing completely still like a statue.” I look down at myself and I haven’t moved. “Shut up! Let’s get to work.” I start to walk toward him to start using the wand. He smiles, “Right. So if I kissed you again you would?” I look him in the eyes “punch you in the face.” He laughs at me. “Sure you would but anyways there is nothing on this side.” He turns the wand back on to start looking around. I start to look around too but I am not even sure what I am looking for. I hear a beeping sound come from the wand. I turn and look at Enrique. “What does that mean?” I say to Enrique as he holds up my stuff lion. “There is something electronic in here. I am not sure what though.” He pulls out a knife to cut my lion open. I turn away I can’t stand to watch. “It’s a listening device.” Enrique say as turn around.  I walk over and pick up my poor lion and push the stuffing back into it. “Where did you get this lion?” I look down at my lion in my hands. “I don’t remember. I just remember waking up in the hospital with it.” He puts the listening device in a lead box. “This isn’t an old listening device so there is no way it has been in there since you came out of your coma. This means someone had to of gotten your lion later and put it in.” Enrique continues to wand my room. I grab a needle and thread out of my dresser to fix my lion. As I sew up my lion I try to remember who gave it to me.  I just remember opening my eyes in the hospital and having the lion in my arms.

Throwback thursday: Timetopia page 1

The Messy Mind Blog: Series Wednesday: Timetopia page 1:                  Have you ever thought you could make a real difference in that you could impact everyone you knows life in a good way? I d...

Series Wednesday: Family Game Night page 27

                 I climb back through my window and go to Grace’s room. I bust in her room to find her doing Yoga. “You do drugs?” I ask her. “A few times” she answers so quickly like it is no big deal. “Why?” I ask her. “I can’t always control my urges to kill as you know it helps when I am angry.” Grace stops doing Yoga to look at me. “Grace something isn’t right with you drugs and killing whole families. Your urges are out of control.” I don’t know how to help her and am not even sure why I am confronting her. “Who told you Enrique?” She asks me. “Yes he told me and by the way he knows everything about us. Way to keep our family secret.” Grace rolls her eyes at me. “Enrique can be trusted he isn’t going to do anything to hurt us.” I can’t believe her right now. “You’re joking right! He comes from a drug addict mom and steals to get by. He didn’t want to even tell you what he knew about Percy being taken! So whatever bond you think you have with him you don’t!”  I don’t mean to sound harsh but Grace put herself and my parents at risk telling him their secret. “You hate what we do and yet you would do anything to protect our secret. Why? It’s not like your neck would be on the line you never killed with us.”  I wish she could understand that I would never want anything to happen to her. “You are my sister how can you not get it after all of this that I would do anything to protect you! After the boxes and everything we have learned you still have no idea!?”  Grace stands up at my remark. “God you really are the perfect sister and daughter.” She says as she pushes past me.  I don’t understand her angry towards me. I follow her as she heads down stairs. “I do drugs!” She screams at my parents who are sitting in the living room reading.  “Grace is this teen rebellion?” My mother asks as she continues to read her book. “Yes mom! This is teen rebellion. I do drugs when I’m not out killing” she screams. My dad gets up and walks over to Grace who is screaming in the foyer.

                “Percy is kidnapped, Cahira has a mother who you knew nothing about and you want to scream about your drug usage and out of control behavior?” My dad says calmly. “Cahira found out I did drugs and she wants to scold me. So I thought since these boxes or gifts of honesty keep coming to our door why not just come out with it.” My dad looks Grace in the eyes and smack her across the face. My mother jumps up. “You spoiled little girl. You want some attention here it is.” My dad yells at her. My heart drops. My dad has never hit any of us it was always my mother’s doing. Even she looks shocked that my dad hit Grace. Grace holds her cheek as she stands there. “Spoiled! How can I be spoiled by serial killers who don’t know a thing about what a child needs?” Grace says to him. My dad raises his hand to hit her again so I run in between them. “Dad enough” I say. “She will not speak to me this way.” My dad says as he puts his hand down. I look at him “dad she is hurting”. You don’t think it has been hard on her as well. All of us are scared and worried about Percy! She is just acting out.” I explain to my normally rational father. “You take care of her outburst then. Hope is missing and no new box has shown up. You don’t think we have bigger problems?” I nod at my dad and start to push Grace back. “NO! I am sick of this I will not be a good little girl!” Grace says. I don’t know how to help her. “Enough of this.” My mother says calmly as she walks over to us. She grabs Grace by her hair and kicks her legs out from under her. “Stop!” I scream as my dad grabs me. “Time to go to the cage you need some time to think.” My mother drags Grace who is kicking and scream. “NOOOOO! I will not go back!” Grace screams. “STOP!” I scream as I try to get out of my dad’s arms. “Cahira enough stop fighting she is out of control and you know it. She needs this before she risks all of our lives.” I start to cry at the thought of Grace in the cage. My mother drags Grace all the way to the basement. “You are making her into a monster.” I tell my dad. “According to you we are a family of monsters. Soulless monsters right?” MY dad still has a tight grip on me. The doorbell rings and my dad let me go. We both rush over to the door. There is a man standing there. “Cahira?” He says. “That’s me” I say. “Sign here.” He hands me an iPad. I sign and he hands me an envelope. “Have a nice day.” The man leaves. “Open it” my dad says as he closes the door. I rip the envelope open and pictures fall out. I pick them up off the floor and it is Hope. She is chained up to some kind of bar system. I am not sure what she is chained to but she is standing. I hand the pictures to my dad. “He has Hope” I tell him. There is also a letter with the pictures. I don’t even want to know what it say.