Destiny Rising

Chapter 4

As the limo pulled up to my house, I saw a red Ford F-150 truck sitting in my driveway.

“My parents are home,” I said as I climbed out of the limo.

“That’s good,” Jasmine replied as she followed me out.

Walking up the front walkway to the porch, I carefully lifted the hem of my gown, so I wouldn’t step on it as I climbed the stairs. Trying the door, I discovered it was unlocked and pushed it open. Standing in the foyer as Kiara and Jasmine followed me in, I looked around for anything amiss.

“Mom? Dad?” I called out as I shut the door behind my girls.

“Hello Sapphire, how was the dance?” my mom asked as she came down the main stairs, dressed in jean shorts, a green t-shirt, and barefoot. She also had her Blackberry in hand and was scrolling through something on it.

“It was good. Everyone seemed to enjoy it.” I replied as my dad strolled out of his office, which was located just off the foyer. He had his own Blackberry at his ear, obviously in a deep conversation with someone as he turned and walked down the hallway to the kitchen. He was wearing simple khaki cargo shorts, a gray Banff National Park t-shirt, and socks.

“That’s good.” My mom said, still looking at her phone.

“Welcome home, Mrs. Tallulah” Jasmine piped up from beside me.

“Thank you, Jasmine.” My mom answered “Oh, you girls look so gorgeous” she said, finally looking up.

“Thanks” we chorused together. Just then, my dad emerged from the kitchen with a can of Coke Zero and no phone in sight.

“So, what are you girls up to now?” he asked as he joined my mom on the stairs.

“Um, we were going to go to my room and change. Then head on down to chill in the basement.” I replied.

“Alright, I left some money on the kitchen island. That way you could order food if you get hungry.” He said as he and my mom turned and walked up the stairs together. We followed them up, then headed into my room where we stripped out of our gowns, jewels, and shoes, and into our pajamas. Then we crowded into my bathroom to remove our make-up and brush out our hair.

“So,” Kiara said, sitting with her bare legs crossed on the counter beside the sink in her black pajama shorts and red camisole from La Senza “What do you want to order?”

“You’re hungry?” I asked in disbelief. “Didn’t you eat enough at the dance?”

“Yes, I’m hungry. Plus, I burned like a gazillion calories at the dance” she replied.

“Well, what about pizza? Cause the leftovers would be just as good tomorrow.” I suggested as I brushed out my hair and pulled it back in a messy bun. Then I perched myself on the other side of the sink with my bare legs hanging over the edge. I had on leopard print pajama shorts, a long-sleeved black shirt, and deep purple slippers. Jasmine just nodded since her mouth was full of foam from brushing her teeth, she was wearing a deep green nightgown that grazed her knees and had flowers embroidered along the neckline and bottom hem.

“Pizzaworx it is then,” Kiara said, doing a little dance while sitting on the counter and almost falling off, which sent Jasmine and me into a fit of giggles. We finished up in my room and headed downstairs, stopping quickly in the kitchen to grab the money on the way to the basement. Once we got down there, I grabbed the cordless phone off the base of the bar and called our order in for a small pepperoni pizza, 3 cans of Diet Coke, and 3 cans of Coke Zero. We lounged around downstairs until the doorbell rang, then I ran upstairs and skidded to a stop in front of the door. Opening the door, I smiled at the young delivery person, paid for our order, and gave him a decent tip. Then we took our food back downstairs with me where we immediately dug in after I put my Burlesque DVD on to watch. Jasmine and I dissolved into giggles when Kiara got up and started trying to dance like they were in the movie, but tripped over her own feet and fell onto me.

“So, what happened tonight between you and Michael?” Jasmine asked after the movie was done and she had curled up on the loveseat.

“I don’t know. I just know I get this strange sensation almost every time he’s around.” I replied from my spot on the chaise, as I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them.

“Well, whatever it was, it was damn hot. I nearly combusted on the spot from what I saw him do with you at the dance.” Kiara said from where she was stretched out on the sofa.

“I don’t know what to do,” I said, sighing and resting my chin on my raised knees.

“What do you mean?” Jasmine asked, pulling a pillow to her chest to hug.

“I don’t know what to do about Michael. Troy. Or all that other stuff I have to worry about,” I answered.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Plus, you got Jasmine and myself to help you if you need it.” Kiara said gently.

“Ladies, I present you with Kiara Ember’s soft side,” I said with a snort.

“Hey,” she protested, “I can be soft anytime I want to be. Just a lot of people tend to push the wrong buttons. So, it doesn’t come out often.”

“Mhm, sure,” I replied, barely managing a straight face before letting out a laugh. The next thing I knew, the pillow from under her head was hitting me in the face. “Ha, my pillow now,” I said, shoving it under my head.

“Give me my pillow back,” Kiara said, sitting up.

“You threw it at me, so it’s mine now,” I replied, crossing my arms and smiling at her. Suddenly, she leaped off the sofa and attacked me with another pillow. Next thing I knew, it was a full-fledged pillow fight between Kiara and me, while Jasmine sat and laughed at us. The pillow fight ended when Kiara and I were laughing too hard to continue.

We must have passed out after that, because the next thing that I knew, the sun was shining in through the sliding door that led to the basement walkout. Squinting, I looked around and Jasmine was curled up on the loveseat with her face to the back of it. Kiara was sprawled out on her belly on the sofa with one arm hanging off the edge of the sofa. Leaning up on my elbows, I kicked the blankets off from where they were tangled around my legs. I then padded over to where Jasmine was sleeping and gently shook her awake.

“What time is it?” She asked, yawning and stretching her arms up over her head.

“9:34 am” I replied, glancing at the clock on the VCR over the TV.

“Damn, I thought we were only going to sleep until 9 am.” She said as I just shrugged. As she woke up fully and worked on standing up, I moved over to where Kiara was dead to the world. Kiara is a difficult person to wake up, with her you need to be prepared for anything. I moved carefully to where she slept and positioned myself behind the back of the sofa. Jasmine came up beside me and had the feather duster in hand. Smirking, I took it from her and gently leaned over the back of the sofa. Lightly, I set the feather end of the duster at the base of her skull and gently trailed it down her neck and spine to where the back of her shirt started. She flinched, and we quickly ducked behind the sofa. We looked at each other and then at the sofa. After a few seconds, we peeked over the back of the sofa and she was still asleep, so I reached over with the duster and wiggled it over her exposed skin. She flinched again and as I ducked back down, we heard a thump and we looked back over before bursting out in laughter. Kiara was flat on her back staring up at the ceiling from the floor. She had fallen off the sofa and was now glaring at Jasmine and me as we rounded the sofa.

“Not cool.” She said as she leaned up on her elbows.

“Ya, but it was funny,” I replied, grinning down at her, trying very hard to suppress another giggle.

“I’m going to get you for that,” she said as she started getting to her feet.

“You can try” Jasmine replied and took off, running towards the stairs that led to the kitchen with me right behind her. But at the top of the stairs, she stopped so suddenly that I ran right into her back and Kiara slammed into mine. Peeking around Jasmine, I saw Michael sitting in my kitchen chatting with my mom, who was already dressed for work in a pair of tailored black dress pants and a grey satin blouse.

“Morning Mrs. Tallulah,” Kiara said, nudging me forward and drawing attention to us.

“Oh, good morning girls.” My mom said, standing up “Sapphire, this is Michael. He’s our new lawn maintenance person.”

“We already know him.” Kiara replied, “He goes to our school.”

“Well, anyway, I have to go to the office and your father is already at work. So, Sapphire, can you show him around and explain everything to him?” my mom asked as she reached for her briefcase.

“Of course, but why are you even going into the office? It’s Mother’s Day and you just got back from your vacation,” I answered.

“Yes, as you said, I have just returned from vacation. So, I need to check in on things at the office. So, have a good day and I’ll see you tonight.” She said before heading out to the garage.

“Give me one moment,” I said to Michael as I heard my mom’s Ford Mustang start up and pull out of the 2-car garage.

“Of course, I’ll just go wait by the front door.” He said as I turned down the hallway that led to the half-bathroom. Once I entered the bathroom, I shut and leaned against the door, taking a deep breath and trying to calm my pounding heart. Catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I grimaced at my reflection. My hair was falling out of the bun and I had a crease along my cheek from where my hand had been under it all night, also my breath was terrible. I rummaged around under the sink for some mouthwash and quickly rinsed my mouth out with it. Then I washed my face, pulled the hair elastic out, and brushed my fingers through it. There, I looked a little better to have to go out and face Michael. I quietly opened the bathroom door and peered out, but nobody was in sight. I made sure my pajamas covered what they needed to and walked out. I passed through the kitchen where my friends were sitting eating cereal. Jasmine gave me an encouraging smile, while Kiara just smirked at me. Continuing to the foyer, I saw Michael standing there looking at the last family portrait we had made.

“It’s an old photo,” I said as I got closer.

“How old?” he asked, still looking at it.

“Um, 8 years,” I replied.

“Why so old? Isn’t there any recent one?” he asked, looking at me with those clear blue eyes, unfazed by the way his dark brown hair fell in front of one eye.

“Crystal was 17 at the time and was still living here. After that, she left for college and moved out west. There are photos of us from her wedding 2 years ago. But no formal portraits like that.” I replied, gesturing to the portrait.

“How old were you here?” he asked. Yet another question that would seem personal to others, but I was answering them like I was on auto-control.

“8. I was 8 years old. 4 years after we moved here,” I said.

“Well,” he said, smiling, “I think that’s enough chit-chat for now. Perhaps you should show me where you keep everything, so I can get started.”

“Right, of course.’ I said, in a daze from his eyes. The minute he looked away though, the daze was lifted. Shaking my head, I opened the closet door beside the portrait, pulled out a pair of flip-flops, and shoved my feet into them. Closing the closet door, I turned around and Michael was holding the front door open for me. “Thank you, Michael,” I said as I showed him outside.

“Anytime.” He said, following me out and shutting the door behind him. Walking around the side of the house, we passed my mother’s rose garden she had planted when we first moved here. As long as I can remember, we’ve always had a rose garden for the sake of my middle name, Rose. My grandmother Tallulah had told me she had planted hers the spring after I was born.

“Okay,” I said, “You have to maintain the rose garden and, once a week, cut a dozen roses to put in the vase in the dining room.”

“Alright. Any specific reason for the roses?” he asked, stopping to feel the silky petals.

“My middle name is Rose,” I replied as I unlatched the gate to the backyard.

“Ah, a beautiful and unique name for such a beautiful and unique girl.” He said, coming up behind me.

“Oh, I’m far from unique” I replied nonchalantly as I slipped through the gate and held it open for him.

“Are you sure about that?” he asked, looking right into my eyes.

“Um, pretty sure” I replied, shutting the gate behind him and leading him down the hill to the backyard “Anyways, the shed over there houses all the garden and lawn care stuff. Bag the grass and dump it in the composter over beside the shed, and make sure you don’t get any in the pool. Also, remember to use the trimmer along the edges.” I said, backing up towards the patio and stairs leading to the deck.

“Are you going to be here today?” he asked, taking a step closer to me.

“No, I have plans. So, make sure you close the gate tightly before you leave.” I said, turning around as my ankles bumped the bottom step.

“Alright.” He said, blinking at me. “See you at school tomorrow then.”

With that said, I turned and ran up the stairs to the deck, then the sliding doors, and safely into the kitchen again.