Destiny Rising

Chapter 10

“Sapphire, don’t you look great, and that haircut, very grown up,” Crystal said as she jumped up to hug me.

“Um, hi,” I replied, still shocked by all those people here.

“How was the competition?” My mom asked from where she was perched on one of the straight-back chairs.

“We placed second,” Jasmine replied as Crystal dragged us over to the plush sectional she and Josh were sitting on.

“Congratulations, we’ll celebrate with a BBQ tonight.” My dad said “Oh, and Sapphire, I’d like to introduce Dante Flame and his daughter Darci. Dante is a new business associate of your mother's. He’s also helping me to really expand the diners to another province.”

“Hello, Mr. Flame, Darci and I actually go to school together,” I replied to Mr. Flame rose to shake my hand. When our hands touched though, I felt a sharp jolt of darkness shoot right through me.

“Are you alright, Sapphire?” Mr. Flame asked, arching one brow.

“Fine, it must have just been static,” I mumbled, pulling my hand back.

“Okay, don’t you girls go out on the deck and relax while we get supper ready.” My mom said, standing and smoothing down her red and white sundress.

“Jasmine and I will be right out; we just need to take our bags to my room,” I replied, yanking Jasmine off the couch and out of the room.

“Darci is sharing your room with you girls.” My mom called after us.

“Fantastic,” I yelled back, trying to keep the sarcasm out of my voice as we snatched up our bags and bolted up the stairs to my room. We burst through the door and saw what had to be Darci’s bag on my sky-blue duvet that covered the queen-sized white 4-poster wooden bed. “Great, just great. I get to spend what was supposed to be a nice relaxing weekend with that girl who ruined my relationship with Troy and friendship with Kiara.” I said while I threw that bag on the rollaway bed across the room.

“I’m sure it’s not going to be that bad.” Jasmine, always the calm and gentle one, responded as she sat on the overstuffed reading chair by the window facing the lake.

“You’re kidding, right? She’s a complete b***h and hates me for no reason. I mean, I’ve never done anything to her. Also, her dad creeps me out big time.” I said, flopping back on my bed and staring up at the white wood-paneled ceiling.

“Just relax, now we should get changed and go be sociable.” She said, rising from the chair and moving to her bag.

“I guess,” I muttered, sitting up and dragging my bag across the bed towards me.

“That’s the spirit, be cheerful.” She smiled and pulled a pale yellow gauzy skirt from her bag. Turning away, I opened my own bag, pulled out my dark purple halter-neck sundress, and dug around the bottom for my white gladiator sandals. Standing up, I pulled my shorts and tank top off and slipped on the sundress and sandals. When I turned back around again, Jasmine had changed out of her cheer uniform and into the pale yellow skirt, white camisole, and sandals with yellow flowers along the ankle strap.

“Very cheerful,” I said with a grin as we linked arms and strolled down to the deck. Out on the deck, Crystal was sipping a glass of Ice Tea and chatting with Josh in a hushed tone while he drank from a bottle of Molson Canadian beer. My mom had an Iced Coffee and was sitting with Jayde while she had a can of Pepsi in hand. My dad was over at the BBQ turning chicken wings and flipping burgers. While Darci and her father, Dante, stood over in the far corner of the deck with their backs to the rest of us and facing the wooded area. Jasmine and I grabbed cans of Coke Zero and joined my family in the seating area.

“So, Sapphire, Jasmine, any plans for what college programs you want to apply to?” Josh asked.

“I’m thinking of going to study Marine Biology,” Jasmine replied politely, then elbowed me to reply.

“Business, preferably in the Hospitality and Tourism area,” I responded as I rubbed my ribs from where Jasmine elbowed me.

“Both very strong areas, but Sapphire, didn’t we already discuss you going to school to be a doctor or teacher?” My mom asked as she set her drink on the table.

“And I told you, I don’t have the stomach or patience for being a doctor. Or any interest at all in being a teacher.” I snapped back.

“Oh Sapphire, lower your voice, and you know your father and I only want what’s best for you.” She said primly as she sipped her Iced Coffee.

“What about what I want?!” I exclaimed, standing abruptly and knocking my chair over in the process.

“Sapphire Rose Tallulah! You sit down and resume a civil tone right this moment.” My mom said coolly

“No, this is my life, not yours. You cannot tell me where I’m going to go to study or what I’m going to study. Hell, you and dad even ignore me 99.9% of the time.” I hissed, anger boiling in me.

“Listen to me Sapphire, you will lower your voice in the presence of company and show your father and I the proper respect we deserve as your parents.” She said, standing while her voice remained steely cold and she laid her hands flat on the glass tabletop.

“Listen to you? Why? You never listen to me!” I screamed “You never had the time for me, so why should I respect you?!”

“We are your parents’ young lady. Now sit down and watch your tongue.” She replied, keeping her eyes level with mine.

“No” I snapped, “You’re not my parents. You may say you are, but you were never there for me. Not like Grandma was.” I said, my voice full of venom.

By that point, my anger had reached its breaking point. I had just turned my back to leave when everyone suddenly gasped. Turning back, I gasped as well. The water from the bird bath and the vase of flowers was flowing out of their confinements and towards me! Raising my hands up to block myself, the water suddenly stopped and dropped innocently to the deck. But everyone was staring at me. I was shaking as I stared down at my hands. Clutching my fists to my chest, I looked up and saw my family and Jasmine gaping at me. Glancing at me with wide eyes, I noticed Dante and Darci were just watching me closely with a knowing look in their eyes. My mom started to say something, but before she could, I turned and dashed back into the house, grabbing my phone and keys off the table as I went. I hurried out the front door and hopped into my car and just drove out of there. As I tried to wrap my mind around what had happened, what had happened? How could something like that even happen? Water flowed out of items and through the air, defying the laws of gravity! Then it just stopped and fell to the deck when I raised my hands in front of me. What was going on with me? Suddenly, my mind flashed back to the day at the diner when I had gotten mad at Kiara. That brand-new pipe had burst unexpectedly just on the other side of the wall from where I was standing. No, that was just a freak accident, wasn’t it? I just didn’t know what was going on anymore. In 1 week, my life basically imploded. Not really sure where I was heading when I left the house, I just knew I had to get away. So, I drove until I realized where I wanted to go, the one and only place that ever calmed and soothed me. The water. Turning my car around, I backtracked a bit and the beach turned off.

Parking in the lot, I took a deep breath as I slid out of my car and locked it. A chilly spring breeze was blowing in off the lake and I shivered slightly, wishing I had thought of bringing a cardigan or sweater with me. Wrapping my arms around me as I walked, soaking up the peace of my surroundings and kicking off my sandals to feel the warmth against my feet. I was halfway along the beach when my phone rang from the depths of my dress’s pocket. Pulling it out, I glanced at the screen and saw it was my dad calling. I hit ignore then switched it to vibrate, then shoved it back down into the pocket where it vibrated every 5 minutes. Sighing, I just kept walking until I reached the base of a section of the cliffs that edged most of Lake Erie. Finding a decent sized boulder, I crawled onto it and sat with my knees drawn up to my chest and arms wrapped around them. I rested my chin on my knees and stared out at the lake, mesmerized by the way the breeze rippled the water. I really did want to talk to someone about this feeling rising up inside me, but who would understand? I could feel tears welling up within me and I tried to fight them back, but they won and started to slide down my cheeks. I had never felt so alone before, except maybe once, which was right after my Grandma passed away. Dashing my tears away with the back of my hand, I pulled out my phone and discovered 5 missed calls and 3 voicemails, along with multiple texts. Going through them all, I deleted them one at a time and not even bother to reply to any. Once that was taken care of, I stared at my phone, wondering who I could call that wouldn’t think I was crazy. With a heavy sigh, I opened up my contacts and thumbed them. Suddenly, stopping short when a name came up. Michael Pearson. How did I get his phone number? When? I chewed on my lower lip while contemplating whether to call him or not. Finally, I decided that he would be the only one who would understand what was happening, so I tapped his name to call.

“Hello?” He answered.

“Hey Michael, it’s Sapphire. Could we, um, talk about something?” I asked, while trying to push my hair back from my face as the wind had picked up.

“Sure, what about?” He replied.

“Well…it’s about what you and that girl, Bianca, were talking about that day…”

“I see. Where are you? It would be easier to talk in person about this.”

“Big Beach in Port Stanley. The far end of the cliffs. How long will you be?” I asked nervously.

“Not long, I’m getting into my car now.” He replied, and I heard the revving of an engine at the other end.

“Oh, okay.” I said as we hung up and I curled up into myself to fight off the chill. While I waited for Michael, I stood curled up with my chin on my knees and watched boats glide through the water, probably headed back to the harbour for the night. Turning my head, I could see families happily playing on the beach without a care in the world, just enjoying their holiday and family time.

Unable to watch the perfect-looking families any longer, I turned away and continued to stare out at the lake. I felt the longing to walk out into the water but knew I couldn’t since I didn’t have a swimsuit on under my dress. Still, I was feeling drawn to the water and stood up from the boulder, dropped my keys and phone onto the sand, and glided towards the lake as if pulled by an unknown force. As I stepped so my feet were just at the edge of the water, I could feel the pulse and pull of the lake lapping at the shore. Then, almost like I went into a trance, I began walking out into the lake. Compelled by the pull of the water flowing around my body as I floated towards the middle. I wasn’t aware of how far out I had even gone until I distantly heard a voice calling my name. It was then that I became aware of the fact that I was roughly a football field’s length away from the shore and the water was swirling around my shoulders. I turned and saw it was Michael calling me from the shore and waving his arm above his head, beckoning me to come back. I was just turning to do just that when my foot slipped out from under me, and I fell off the sand bar and under the 15ft deep water.