Dabria

Chapter Two

Unfortunately I don't have any more classes with Malakai, so I can't get an explanation from him. There is no way my theory could be right, but if it is, my life may be in danger. Is he here to finish the job? His hair is black now, and he probably wears colored contacts as a disguise, but it has to be him; my parents' killer.

I can't figure out how he got into my dreams though, or why he's here. He probably likes to taunt his prey. Why wait so long to come after me though? Does he really want to kill me? Or does he want something else?

The strange thing is, I don't feel any fear. Anger, yes, but no fear. All I want is answers. Why he killed Marilyn and Thomas. What he wants from me. If I go tonight, I could get the answers I'm looking for.

Or be reunited with my late parents. 

 Now I have to really decide if I will risk going or not. For all I know, this is just my mind going crazy and I will only be meeting gang members or walk in on some sort of satanic ritual. There are a lot of abandoned buildings on that side of town.

How could he have gotten into my dreams? It’s impossible right? Maybe he’s a witch or something like that. In the books I've read, that's usually the case. But this is real life and witches don’t exist. At least they didn’t use to. Now I’m beginning to question everything. 

I have to go. It’s as simple as that. Now I just have to get past the Smiths, which shouldn’t be that hard. Megan or John hardly ever go into my room especially at night. I’ve only snuck out once to go to a party about a month after the Smiths adopted me. It was the first night I ever got drunk and I realized how horrible of a drunk I am. The Smiths still smelt the alcohol on me after two showers. Needless to say, I did more than clean for my punishment. 

I pull into the long driveway. The smiths have the ideal big house on a hill. It has two stories and a basement with a brick finish on the outside. The smiths were kind enough to let me have the basement. I have my own bathroom, a walk-in closet, and even a little living room area. It's the only place I can hide away.

I type in the code to the security system and it in return unlocks the door for me. I navigate down halls until I finally reach my bedroom where I lazily do my homework, my mind elsewhere. When finished, I hang the finished drawing I did in class next to all of the others that consumes most of the wall. Then I change out of my uniform and into a short, black dress. At school I had to wear the bland uniform. Although I would much rather be in Jeans, Megan makes me wear the dresses she designs. She designs clothes for a living and Jonathan runs their company. 

After changing and starting the laundry, I grab a mountain dew from the kitchen and throw together a sandwich. I then plop down on the couch and flip through the channels, settling on something gorey to distract my mind from the million of questions I keep asking. When I hear Megan come through the door I quickly switch the T.V. to the news. “Sapphire dear, we’ve talked about eating on the couch. And for heaven’s sake, get your feet off the table!” 

And so it begins. I comply with her orders and go to the kitchen table without a word. “Oh! I almost forgot! Your father is having very important friends over for dinner tonight. I expect you to be present and well behaved.” 

I scream on the inside. “Yes ma’am.” I say calmly and take another bite of my sandwich. 

“And could you please wear the pink dress I made you? I don’t know why you insist on wearing black.” She shakes her head.

“I like the color.” I mumble knowing she wouldn't like my answer. 

“Must we always go through this? No mumbling. Speak up so I can hear you.” She lets out a sigh. “And I want you to wear the pink dress.” Which means I’m wearing the pink dress.

“Yes ma’am.” I mumble again and hide a smile at her bewildered face. I finish my sandwich and head back downstairs to change dresses. The light pink fabric clings to my body down to my thighs. Megan finally comes down to drag me back up stairs to meet the guests. I brace myself for the act I must put on. I hear the loud business-like voices of the men. We enter the living room and I force a smile. There are three men in suits talking to Jonathan. Megan puts her arm around my shoulder and ushers me further into the room.

“Gentlemen, this is our daughter Sapphire. Sapphire this is Alex, Michael, and Bradley. They work with your father.”

“Hello.” I say and shake hands with each of them. I feel the need to find some hand sanitizer now. 

“I didn’t know you had a daughter!” One man, Michael, exclaims. “Where have you been keeping this pretty little thing?”

“We adopted her a couple years ago. She has sort of become my new project. When we picked her up the poor thing had nothing. And now we have given her a new start.” Megan explains and gives me a squeeze. I don’t appreciate being shown off as a charity project. Much like an animal they rescued from being put to sleep.

Well, I guess I kind of am though.

“Why don’t Sapphire and I go set the table? Dinner will be ready shortly.” Megan says a little too enthusiastically. 

I follow her into the kitchen and silently obey her directions on where to place the food on the table. When everything is in order, the men come in and we all sit. Michael sits across from me and looks at me with hungry eyes. His gaze makes me shift uncomfortably in my seat and I notice his eyes still follow me as I fill my plate. Everyone talks about work and tells jokes that aren’t funny but everyone laughs anyway. I give the occasional smile to seem like I am interested in their conversation. When everyone's done eating I serve dessert, handing out slices of carrot cake. I hand Michael his and he still looks at me with greedy eyes, touching my hand unnecessarily when I pass his plate to him.. I quickly move back to my seat wanting to be as far away from him as possible. The table gets quiet as everyone eats the cake.

“So, Sapphire, what were you doing before you came to this lovely family?” Alex asks, trying to start a conversation. This isn’t the first time I have had to answer this question before for Jonathan's friends.

I take a deep breath and recite my answer. “I was with a family before, but things didn’t work out.” Usually this is enough information to keep most people quiet.

Usually.

“What happened?” Bradley asks with a mouthful of cake. Michael sips at his third glass of wine, not taking his eyes off of me.

“They passed away.” I say slowly, not really sure what else to say.

“Oh dear!” Alex exclaims, seeming genuinely empathetic. “Orphaned twice? What happened to them?”

I look to Megan and Jonathan for help, but a girl can only expect so much. “They were murdered.” I state.

Just the conversation killer I needed.

No pun intended.

The thought of my late parents pulls at my chest. They are still my parents; blood or not. I sit quietly through the rest of the dinner as Jonathan leads the conversation back to their work. I help clean up afterward then quickly excuse myself, wanting to be alone. I leave the living room and round the corner to the hallway that leads to my room, so lost in thought I didn't hear the footsteps behind me. 

I lay my hand on the doorknob but find myself being turned forcefully around against the door with Michaels body pressed against mine. He leans in to try to kiss me, his breath heavy with wine, but I turn my face before he can. "Come on now. Don't put up a fight. You know you want this." He whispers and moves a hand to my chest. This gives me the opportunity to wiggle free from his grip and land a punch on his nose.

The blood pours down from his nose and Michael cries out. “You b***h!” He spat at me then landed his hand across my cheek with so much force that I fell to the ground. 

Jonathan and Megan come down the hallway followed by the other two men. “What is going on?” Jonathan demands.

“He tried to kiss me!” I yell and hold my cheek where he hit me. The hit left me dizzy so I lean on the door as I stand up.

“I tried to ask where the bathroom is and fell! She punched me for no reason!” Michael retorts pinching his nose in an effort to stop the bleeding. Of course they are going to believe him.

Jonathan's anger is clear on his face. I have ruined the night and I was going to pay for it. “Apologize Sapphire." My jaw drops. He couldn't be serious. "Now." His voice still stays calm. I knew nothing I said would make a difference. Nothing would make him believe my side of the story. But I sure as hell wasn't about to apologize to this perv. "Sapphire…" Jonathan warned but to my surprise Megan interrupted him.

"How about we call it a night! I'm sure we're all a bit tired and stressed for our upcoming launch. I'll show you boys to the door." She chirps and leads the three men away, Micheal leaving me with one last glare. Jonathan and I don't move yet but after a moment of him not saying anything I quickly open my door and slam it shut behind me. I rushed down the stairs desperate to get my clothes off as they were soaked in his blood. I jump in the shower and let the tears come as I process what happened. By the time I got in bed I had forgotten about my plans with the boy from my dream.

Now that I have cleaned off all of the dirt, I walk around the village. It is filled with vendors, merchants, running children, and gamblers. “You’re late.” A voice says behind me, again snapping me back to reality. 

“And you’re not real.” I state and continue walking, his footsteps fall behind mine.

“Are you sure about that?"

"I'm not sure of anything anymore." I mumble. 

"I can answer those questions you have." He taunts. I stop and face him. His mouth falls open but he quickly closes it and I see his jaw flexes a few times before asking, “What happened?” Was my face even bruised in my dream? I put a hand on my hurt cheek and flinch as it still hurts. 

“Dumb, drunk business friend looking to get some action.” I state. It was none of his business anyway. The anger is clear on his face but I choose to ignore it, not sure what it means. "What do you want from me? Was killing my parents not enough?" I fold my arms and wait for an answer.

"I can explain about your parents, but you have to meet me." He says, his blue eyes even more intense in the setting sun.

"Prove to me your real." I state. "Then I will meet you."

"Haven't I already?" He says with a grin. 

"So that was you at school?" I ask, glad I wasn't going crazy after all. 

"Maybe. Come tonight and you will find out." Then the dream fades.

I jolted awake from the dream. I wipe the curse from my eyes and glance at the clock. Exactly ten o’clock. If I left now, I could still make it in time. My stomach knots as I think about leaving to meet him. I shake my head trying to get the idea out of my mind. It's way too dangerous. As much as I want answers, I don't want them to cost me my life. Plus, I'm still not convinced that the Malakai in my dream is actually Malakai from school. They seem completely different apart from the physical similarities.

I fight off the urge to go by focusing on the ceiling and clearing my head. This doesn't work so I pull the covers over my head and try to tell my subconscious not to dream. As I drift off again, my subconscious actually listens to me, and I enjoy a dreamless sleep.