The Midnight Series: Darkness Comes to Light

8. Moving

Danny arrived at our mother’s house at around five in the afternoon on Thursday. We all, except Katherine of course, packed all of my belongings into Danny's car that same night. I did not have much frankly. I had two medium suitcases full of clothes and four medium boxes, along with two big art portfolios: one was full of drawings I already completed and the other one had some unfinished drawings. Luckily, everything fit into his charcoal gray Toyota Highlander.

To be honest, Katherine made her presence known, because Danny was here. Any other day she would be kidding behind a bottle or cigarette in her room. She was actually sober too, not even a hint of cigarette smell lingered around her.

Friday came faster than I wanted it to. I was dreading the move, but I had packed all of my belongings, which were now packed in the back of Danny’s car. Everything was packed except the stack of twenty dollars, which gave me the total of one-hundred and forty dollars which I had saved up from my birthdays. It was my emergency money, if we ever needed food or anything essential. I never told anyone where I hid the money, just in case Katherine overheard. I hid it in the closet attic hatch, inside an old superman metal lunch box.

I was conflicted about the move, but physically I was ready, either though my mental status was a whole different f**ked up mess.

I was annoyed that Katherine bothered calling Danny to take me, when she knew he was busy with his college studies. Nevermind the fact she knew I was very capable of driving myself, since I had my drivers license already. Katherine probably figured I would make a detour on the way to Dan’s house. Instead of complaining about having the personal chauffeur to dad’s house, I was glad I was going to get to spend time with my big brother.

The agonizing minutes that passed till the sun started to rise in the horizon, making it morning, seemed to tick by extremely slow. It did not help that all night, I did nothing but toss and turn. The constant rolling from side to side made my bruised torso tender. The pain was not bad, since I took two pills of Tylenol before going to bed, but I was exhausted. I am not sure how much sleep I got, but I highly doubt it was barely an hour, maybe less than two hours of rest at best.

I laid on my mattress, staring up at the ceiling. Sighing heavily. I knew I had a couple of minutes to get up and then I would be on the road. I was weerie of having to leave Jared and Lucy under the same roof as our mother.

My consciousness never shut off for a minute of peaceful sleep. The same question about why I was chosen to leave. Why me? What did I do wrong to deserve this? Why did my mother not have to like me so much? The more the same question lingered in my mind, the more the answers had a common result. Katherine wanted to punish me and have even more control over me. She got what she wanted, which was control over me.

I checked my phone for the tenth time, since the sun started to shine through my bedroom window through the blinds. I checked the time, seeing it was six o’clock. I sat up, pulling the blanket off my legs. I swung my legs over to the side of the bed and stood up. I grabbed the outfit that I laid on my desk and threw them on my bed. I locked my bedroom door, before stripping off my pajamas and undergarments. I put on a fresh bra and panties and then pulled my jeans on. I put my belt through the loops of the jeans. I slide my short sleeves, casual and loose-fitting, maroon colored t-shirt over my head. As I put my arms through the armholes, I bit my bottom lip to hold in the whimper from the pain I was feeling. I was still experiencing the aftereffects of the parting gift I received two days ago. I slipped on my favorite gray sweater, and then put on my black and white Nike shoes, before I grabbed my phone off the bed and put it in my back jeans pocket.

I unlocked my bedroom door and stepped into the hall. I could hear Danny, Jared, and Lucy in the kitchen talking and then Jared’s contagious laughter. I absentmindedly smiled to myself. I am going to miss this; siblings and laughter make my heart warm and the house feel inviting.

I walked to the bathroom, turning the light on and looking into the vanity mirror above the sink. I looked at my face and noticed that the small cut on my cheek was just a faint scab now that I could either cover up or lie about accidentally scratching myself. I applied my leave-in conditioner and detangler spray into my hair, before I combed my curly hair out. I separated the section of the hair in the front that was my bangs and loosely twisted them and placed two bobby pins in the twist to keep the twist in place. I then pulled the rest of the remaining hair into a messy bun on the top of my head.

I looked one more time in the mirror, before turning the light off and heading to the kitchen. When I walked into the kitchen the smell of bacon and eggs filled the air. Danny was telling Jared about the stupid things his roommate, Jeremy, did while drunk when they both went to a party.

Lucy was sitting at the table. She was about to take a bite of eggs, when she saw me in the doorway and dropped the fork on her plate and got up and ran to me. I clenched my jaw, as I bent down, trying to ignore the pain in my ribs. I smiled as Lucy ran into my arms, pulling her into my arms, and squeezing her in a tight bear hug. She wrapped her little arms around my neck, as squeezed tight as she could, returning the bear hug. We let go, and Lucy skipped back towards the table. I followed right behind her. I sat down next to Lucy, a spoonful of eggs, and three pieces of bacon on my plate and started eating.

When I finished eating, I got up and put my plate in the kitchen sink. Lucy followed right behind me, setting her plate in the sink. She then went and changed her clothes. Once she was dressed, she came back into the kitchen with her spray bottle, comb, and hair ties. I did her hair in two ponytails. We went into the living room to do her hair. I sat on the couch and she sat in front of me on the floor. It did not take me very long to finish her hair. I did two ponytail braids, finishing off by adding the one bow to each ponytail.

“You are good, babygirl,” I told her, trying to act like I was happy. I stood up and made my way towards the bedrooms, so I could put her hair products back into her room. Lucy jumped up and followed beside me towards her room. I set the products on her dresser and then pulled my phone out of my pocket noticing, it was time for Danny and me to leave.

I stretched my hand out for Lucy to take and she took it. We walked out of her room together and made our way back to the living room, where Danny and Jared were now sitting on the couch talking to each other. Danny looked at me and gave a smile.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

I nodded, not trusting my voice not to crack. I wanted to say no, but I knew that Danny and I had to leave before the early traffic hour hit. Danny and Jared stood up simultaneously and both walked towards the front door. Lucy and I slowly followed behind. I let go of Lucy’s hand to embrace Jared in a hug, and then bent down to give Lucy a bear hug. Before letting go, I quietly whispered in her ear, “I love you and if you need me, you know Jared has my number.”

As I finished saying what I needed, I closed my eyes and squeezed her a little tighter to make the hug last longer, then let go. Danny had opened the front door.

“Call me if you need anything,” I said, looking directly at Jared. Jared nodded, giving me a small smile of reassurance that they would be fine. I turned and walked out the door without another word or look back.

No one, but me, seemed to notice that our mom was nowhere around. I did not hear any sounds saying she was in her room. Her being absent was nothing new, but something about her being seen or heard from made me a bit uneasy on the inside.

I climbed into the passenger seat of Danny’s car. Danny, Jared, and Lucy stood in the pathway leading to the front door and the driveway. Danny gave both Jared and then Lucy a hug, before walking to the driver’s side of his car and climbing in the driver’s seat. He put the car key into the ignition and started the car, backing out of the driveway and heading on our destination, Fort Bragg.

From the moment we backed out of the driveway, I had my headphones in my ipod and was drowning out everything around me by playing music loud. I was listening to the song, Lungs by Florence and the Machine. I laid my head against the headrest of the seat, listening to my music, and thinking about Fort Bragg and my dad. What would I be doing in Fort Bragg with my father? What did my father even look like anymore? I vaguely remember what he looked like. What does he do as a job or does he even have one? Will he even recognize me? Will he not want me and send me back to mom? Does he even know anything about me anymore? Does he even remember what my favorite hobbies are? This is going to be a change for us all.

I leaned down to my backpack, which was sitting at my feet, and grabbed my cell phone out of the front pocket. I went to my messages and created a new message, typing in ‘Bestie’ and Valicia’s number showed up. I had forgotten to tell her that I was leaving today. I sent a text message explaining that I was on my way to live with my dad. I clicked the lock button and then put my phone back in the front pocket of my back pack. I will see if she responds later. I am going to miss Valicia, she is my best-friend, like an older sister to me. I have to make new friends now, since I will be starting junior year this year. I am not good at making friends, just enemies that I do not give the time of day. I swear I have a sign attached to my forehead or back that reads, “EASY TARGET”.

Danny had turned the radio on and had it on 97.7 KWIN-FM. He liked the station and I did not mind what was playing as long as I had my iPod.

I thought about how the ride was going to take five hours to get there. I can't sit that long, sitting for five hours is way too long, but at least I am not driving. I sat there staring out the window and listening to the Florence and the Machine soundtrack.

At least the roads we were on weren't that bumpy, so that was a plus. I eventually dozed off to sleep. I was tired, so I needed some rest. My eyes showed the lack of sleep I had gotten lately, which made my brothers seem to baby me a bit. I love my siblings,but I do not like being coddled.

When I woke up, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I looked over at Danny. He was concentrating on the road we were traveling down was curvy. I looked out of the windows and the roads were all surrounded by trees. There was a sign coming up on the right shoulder. As we passed, I read it and it said Fort Bragg is only fifteen miles away from where we were at. We continued driving along the curvy roads. It seemed like the curvy roads were never going to end, because they kept swerving back and forth. It is a good thing I don’t get motion sickness.

Not going to lie, the landscape is absolutely stunning though the father we drove down the road.

We turned right onto a street and a deer jumped into the road. We almost hit the deer, but Danny quickly stopped just in time making me jolt forward with a quick jerk. When we suddenly stopped in the middle of the road, making my jolt forward. I cursed under my breath. The sudden movement made my ribs ache and made me hold my breath, so I did not whimper in pain. I bit my bottom lip, trying hard not to make a face to show I was in pain. Danny looked over at me. His face showed that he was startled, but relieved that we were both okay. I looked out the front windshield and noticed the deer we almost hit was doe. She was trying to get her fawn to get up off the ground, but the foe never moved at all, not even an inch. The only thoughts I felt for the doe was sadness. How the mother might be feeling not knowing why her baby was not going to get up. What if it was crying on the inside, but how could anyone tell if it was crying or not? You couldn't tell, because animals, I assumed, never showed emotions on the outside like we humans do. Danny went around the fawn, making sure to be careful that the doe was not going to jump back into the road.

As we drove around the deceased foe in the road, I looked out my window at the doe, who was peering through two trees looking at her lifeless baby in the road. I stared at the doe knowing that the mother felt heartbroken for her baby on the road, knowing there was nothing she could do for her little one.

We drove further down the road and I continued to stare at the forest as we passed by. Looking out the window at the trees, the forest looked like it was able to tell you a story about the forest within; the animals, the history, and everything that made it thrive or wither to the ground.

If only I was able to live in the forest and forget my worries and pain behind me.

Now the road looks like we stepped into another world, like a story book, I thought to myself. The sun was shining through the trees making the roads look like we were driving our way into a magical fairy-tale story. Like driving through a redwood tree. I heard it was really cool to drive through a redwood tree.

I rolled my window half-way down and took a deep breath of air, as it blew past the window. The air smelled kind of sweet from the forest and salty from the ocean. Normally those two scents in the same area would not be enticing, but compared to the city air, this combination was very relaxing and calm. I really like the scenery here!

We finally were out of the curvy roads now. Thank the heavens! We were now on the search for Dan's house. It wasn't really as long of a drive as I thought it was, but that is probably because I slept a good portion of the way up here. We continued driving, when Danny was slowing down and looking for the right street address. After passing five addresses, we found the correct address where our dad lived. I took my headphones out of my ears, wrapping the cord around my iPod before placing the device into the front pocket of my backpack with my phone. Danny drove down a dirt path and then stopped the car just as I sat back up.

I looked out the windshield and gawked at the house. I was gaping at the house for a good minute, until Danny cleared his throat. I closed my mouth quickly and looked out the passenger window of my car, completely embarrassed that Danny caught me drooling over a house. My cheeks somewhat flushed with embarrassment.

The house is medium-sized and two stories tall. It was a Victorian style, with a more modern feel to it. It was painted a light gray color on the outside. The thing that shocked me was the style of the house. I never thought dad would take such an interest in the modernized Victorian style homes. I mean I only mentioned one time that I would one day want to live in a house just like the one I was gawking at in front of me. The house was surrounded by trees on both sides and had a patch of grass all around the house in a sort of a circular shape. I could see wildflowers in random grass patches around some of the redwood trees sitting around the house. I looked at the front door, inhaling deeply and letting it out quickly. The color of the front door was black and there were stairs that lead up to the front door. On each step of the stairs leading up the front door there were eight small light blue flower pots sitting. I was hesitant to go inside knowing that the inside most likely looked as stunning as the outside. Picture perfect. This house is definitely an upgrade from living at mom’s house. At least from the outside it was.

I opened the car door and stepped out of the car, grabbing my backpack. Flinging it over my shoulder in one quick move. Danny had the trunk open already. I went and grabbed my two suitcases with my clothes and lifted them out and onto the ground.

Danny grabbed two medium boxes at the same time effortlessly. I rolled my eyes at him showing off his muscular stature. I stood by the back end of the car, and watched him carry the boxes up the stairs towards the front door, setting them down on the porch. He then came back for the other two boxes. I grabbed the two big art portfolios out of the car and then rolled the suitcases over to the car door I left open. I kicked it shut and started towards the porch steps that led to the front door. Danny was waiting for me at the front door. My side was hurting with how I was walking and juggling so many things at once, but I tried to ignore the throbbing as I walked up the four steps. I left the suitcases, leaving them, as I walked up setting the two big portfolios next to the four boxes that were stacked up upon each other. I then walked down that stairs and picked up the suitcases by the handles and carried them up the stairs. I stopped at the first stoop, setting the suitcases down othe platform on either side of myself, which left me a little room to step up and not trip. My nerves were kicking in, my palms were sweaty, despite it being a bit chilly outside. I was not sure how I truly felt about seeing my father. Definitely more nervous than happy.

Danny knocked twice on the door. I looked down to see what type of plants were in the flower pots, having not been able to notice them up close till now. I noticed that all of the pots had succulents, which were my favorite type of plants to grow. Dad really paid attention to everything I said. He knew I loved succulents! Was he trying to make living here with him easier? The type of house and the succulents. It is really gonna be harder to be mad at my dad. I was still upset at him for leaving, even though he told Jared and I. I was also with the timing. It ruined my birthday for me.

After standing at the door, there was still no answer when Danny knocked on the door again. I looked around Danny and noticed the doorbell. I smirked at my mischievous decision for not telling him there was a doorbell, but I most definitely was not going to ring it myself.

I would be lying if I said that I was still not holding onto the hope that no one would answer and we end up at the wrong house and in the wrong town, so the only choice would be to go back to mom’s house. But as my luck would have it, Danny saw the doorbell. My smirk fell from my face and I rolled my eyes just as he pushed the doorbell. It rang making the sound of a ding-dong ring echo throughout the inside of the house. It was a loud doorbell, especially if you could hear it even through a closed door. We stood there, waiting patiently. Danny looked over his shoulder at me, giving me a small smile. I gave him a fake smile, before he turned back to face the door. As he looked at the door, I gave him a dirty look at the back of his head. We heard the deadbolt of the door turn and the doorknob turn, just as the door opened with a quick jerk.

“Hello kids. How may I help you?” the man asked, in a very happy and welcoming tone. I looked the man up and down. The man looked Cacasian, but had a dark tan from what being in the sun all day I assumed. He looked to be in his thirties or forties, maybe fifties. He looked around Dan’s age. He had jet black hair, which was slicked back with gel. He wore a t-shirt that had a howling wolf on it and blue jeans that were cut into shorts.

“Hello,” Danny said, politely. I hated that talking to people was so easy for him. He would talk to complete strangers if he wanted to. Without any hesitation or doubt of actually knowing the person, Danny would be polite and so formal when introducing himself. “My sister and I are here because…,” Danny started to explain, before I rudely cut him off mid-sentence.

“We are here to find Dan Patton,” I said promptly. I smirk knowing that Danny's is giving me an annoyed expression for my abrupt rudeness. I knew that Danny was going to explain why we were here and who we were, so I cut the details out and went straight with my dad’s name. The one thing I knew was to get to the point, especially when you have no idea who the heck this man is. Okay, it was rude to say it abruptly, but I was cold and my body was screaming to sit down, despite having sat for five hours already.

“Oh! You must be the Patton kids,” the man stated, grinning great big. “My name is Tim Haines. Your father and I are friends. He told me all about you kids. He told me that one of his daughter’s was coming to live with him.That must be you,” he said looking directly at me.

“Yep,” I mumbled, groaning in annoyance as I looked down at my feet. I rolled my eyes at my feet, making sure Tim or Danny did not notice. The last thing I wanted was a brotherly lecture.

“Please, come in,” Tim said, as he moved to the side, holding the door open.

Danny stepped inside the house, to let me go first. I stepped up the last step, reaching down for the handles of both suitcases, and walked into the house. I set the suitcases down on the ground next to the wall at the foot of the staircase.

Danny and Tim started bringing the four boxes that were stacked on the porch inside, carrying one box at a time and setting them right inside the door.

Tim took a box and guided us up the stairs, to the room I would be staying in. I grabbed both suitcases and started up the stairs behind Tim. Danny grabbed a box and followed up the steps behind me. The bedroom that was to mine was on the left side of the stairs, with the bathroom in the middle, then another bedroom door next to the bathroom, and then the master room was on the opposite end of the hall facing directly at the bedroom door that was going to be my room.

Tim opened the bedroom door and I walked in, setting my suitcases on the queen size bed that was on the wall across the bedroom door. There was a desk on the opposite wall of the bed. On the desk was a Lenovo laptop, some textbooks, and a white frame with a picture of my siblings and my father. There was black cushioned office chair with wheels pushed into the desk. The walls were painted a very subtle light blue. The room had great natural lighting from the windows that were along the wall that had a view of the back of the house. The thing I liked the most so far was the size of the room. This room was bigger than the room I had at mom’s house. The bed was covered with multicolored mandala comforter with navy blue sheets, and two pillows that were covered with navy blue pillowcases and two decor pillows that matched the colors of the mandala comforter.

I flung my backpack beside my suitcases on the bed and walked over to the closet. The closet was mostly empty, but there were some dresses in the back of the closet, to the far right. The closet was a little small, but I did not mind. I closed the closet door and walked over to the window. I pulled the navy colored curtain back and looked out at the backyard. There were a lot of trees, nothing but trees.

I looked out the window, enjoying the view, when I heard the front door slam closed downstairs. I was still looking out the window ignoring the fact that Danny was having a full conversation with Tim.

“Hi Danny boy,” I heard a familiar voice say.

I did not have to turn around to see who it was. The voice itself made the threat my mother drilled into me, play on repeat. I pretended to be too busy taking in the view of the backyard. I was trying to drown out my mother’s voice in my head, but I knew even if she was not here she was in my mind. I already knew it was my father, but truthfully I was not ready to see him, knowing that when I saw him I would feel an ugly disgust for him leaving me and my siblings.

“Emma?” I heard my dad say. I sighed, turning around to see a man dressed in a light gray collar shirt with a logo patch that said ‘Mendocino Fire Department’ on the left chest area and a pair of dark blue cargo pants. Dad took a step towards me and I just stood there, unsure of whether I wanted to hug him or not. He looked like he was eager to hug me, but I was not ready for that. Honestly, I didn’t want to hug anyone at the moment, but to not leave him feeling guilty, I let him hug me. I awkwardly hugged him back.

This is going to be really different from living with Katherine. Welcome to a new way of living!