Dark Side of the Moon (6 page)

Chapter 7

My mom didn’t wake me up in time for lunch.  I didn’t mind, though.  But since it was Christmas Eve, she wanted me up and with the family for dinner.  Before we moved, we usually had our grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins come over for dinner and to open presents.  But because we recently moved and my accident, our parents told us that it was just best if we had our own little Christmas instead of anyone traveling.

After dinner, we camped out in the living room to watch a few Christmas movies.  It was something we always did, but it felt weird with it just being the four of us watching them.  Then, they allowed Dan and me to open a present.  Dan chose a smaller box that ended up being one of the video games he wanted.  I just chose one at random, and it ended up being the pastel oils I had wanted last Saturday.  Though I was happy that I received them, I just wasn’t in the mood to draw.

After thanking my parents, I retreated to my room.  I set my new oils next to my other supplies, and changed into my pajamas.  Though I had slept a majority of the past two days, sleep came easily to me after I crawled into bed.

But nightmares haunted my mind.  Images of the wolf chasing me and tackling me wouldn’t stop circling through my head.  I woke up several times throughout the night, my heard pounding and drenched in sweat.  Why had the dreams started now instead of when I was at the hospital?  Was it because of the morphine?  Whatever the reason, I tried to ignore my nightmares and get some sleep, even though I could see the wolf’s big yellow eyes every time I closed mine.

When I got up for the day, I felt exhausted.  My parents asked if I even slept when I ventured into the living room.  When I told them about my nightmares, they said it was completely normal because it had been a traumatic experience for me, even though they had looks of concern on their faces.  Thankfully, Dan didn’t think about trying to torture me.  Or if he did, our parents had told him not to and possibly threatened his life or returning his presents.

While Dan tore into his gifts, I was sluggish.  It was mostly because I was tired, a small part because I was upset that I wasn’t going to be able to see my friends afterwards.  Even if my parents were to say I could go see Miranda or she could come here, I hadn’t told her about my new healing ability.  I had told her that my leg was broken, and if she saw me without my cast and asked questions, I wouldn’t be able it answer her because I had absolutely no idea what was going on with me.

Casting those thoughts aside, I tried to focus on my presents.  Most of them were new art supplies, which I was thankful for.  But one thing I had been wishing to receive for almost two years was a car, and nothing resembled a car or car keys out of my gifts.  It’s looking like I’m going to have to buy one on my own at this point.

After we cleaned up the torn wrapping paper, Dan retreated to his room to play his new games.  I sat in the living room with my parents, going through my new supplies.  I really wanted to paint, but I wasn’t sure what my paintbrush would reveal.

“How are you feeling, Selina?” Mom asked.

“Fine.  Still a little tired.”

“Yeah, it’ll take a little while to get back to normal.”

Normal how?
I wanted to ask.  Normal mentally or normal as in no weird healing abilities?  But I decided to stay quiet.

“How much money did Grandma send you, Selina?” Dad asked.

“Fifty.”

“What are you thinking about doing with it?”

I shrugged.  “I’ll probably get some new brushes or canvases.”

“Why don’t you go get dressed so you can go get something from the hobby shop?”

I gave him a confused look.  “But people think I’m in the hospital and have a lot of wounds, and I doubt the store would be open right now considering it’s Christmas.”

He stared at me before looking to my mom.  “I hadn’t thought of that.”

Mom rolled her eyes.  “Just tell her.”

I looked at them expectantly.  What were they talking about?

“Go look out the window, Selina,” Dad told me.

Still a little bewildered, I slowly stood, and made my way to the front window.  The blinds were still closed, so I had to pull at the string to open them to see what in the world they were talking about.

In the driveway were my parents’ cars.  But then there was a white car behind them with a giant red ribbon on the roof.  My eyes widened, and I think my heart stopped for a moment.

Dad startled me by saying, “We figured that nothing would have happened to you that day had you had your own car.  We want you to be safe, Selina.  And we know that you’ve wanted one ever since you turned sixteen.”

“You got me a car?” I asked, almost in awe.

“Yes.  But with what happened, we want for you to wait until you go back to school to drive it.  I know it’s going to be difficult because you’re going to want to drive it all the time, but it’ll be easier for you to not let the town know you’re completely healthy,” he explained.

“Also, we’d like for you to drive Dan to and from school,” Mom added.

I suppressed a groan.  It wasn’t fair.  I get a car, but I can’t drive it for a week.  Stupid wolf, attacking me and showing us that something was up with my body.  But then again, if the wolf hadn’t attacked me, they wouldn’t have gotten me a car like Dad had said.  So I guess I couldn’t hate the wolf too much.

Turning back to my parents, I found that my dad was holding out a key to me.  I took it from him, thanked him, and put it on my key ring.  “We have a few stipulations,” Mom said.  “First, take Dan to and from school with you.  Second, no out of town trips.  Third, please pay attention to the curfew.”

I nodded.  That wasn’t too bad with the exception of the second rule.  They’d be able to tell if I went to Charleston, so there was no way around it.

After thanking them again, I took my things to my room.  It wasn’t quite lunch yet, so I tried to get a little bit more sleep, hoping my nightmares wouldn’t return.  Dan woke me up so I could eat, and afterwards, I went into his room to play one of his games with him.  It was better than trying to use my new paints and oils to drew something I most likely did not want to see.  I was afraid that my art would turn morbid because of what happened.

For most of the break, while our parents were at work, Dan either played his new games alone to try to beat them, or asked me to play with him as a way of sibling bonding.  I wasn’t as crazy to play video games as he was, but it was a nice distraction.  I wanted to paint, and tried to draw, but they were only tiny little sprites that didn’t have much detail to them.  I didn’t consider them to be anything more significant than doodles.

My nightmares didn’t happen every night during our break.  But they were always the same when they happened.  The wolf chasing me and attacking me, then me waking up before it was knocked off of me.  I tried to be quiet when I’d wake, not wanting my family to know how much it was effecting me.  But I still didn’t want to draw because I didn’t want to see my nightmare on paper.

I was going a little crazy by the time the New Year arrived.  I had been stuck in the house for days, and couldn’t go out because people would wonder why I looked so good for being attacked.  So I wanted to jump on the opportunity of going to the party my dad’s law firm was holding.  It was a chance to get out of the freaking house.

But my parents told me that it would be better if I waited until I had to return to school to venture out into the public.  They were going to see what people thought about my accident and determine what we should tell people.  They didn’t want anyone to know about my weird healing ability.  So I stayed at home, watching movies on the TV while my parents and Dan went to the party.  I was pissed, but it was for my own good.

The night before we had to return to school, I was a little eager.  One reason was I could finally drive my new car.  The other was because things had gotten a bit monotonous.  The only thing I wasn’t looking forward to was people asking questions or telling me how sorry they were for what happened.  It wasn’t anyone’s fault for what happened to me except my own.  I never should have gone walking outside at sunset next to the woods, but there was no way I could say that to practically the whole school.

Thankfully, when I went to sleep, my nightmares didn’t disturb me.

A smell woke me.

I sniffed a couple times before sitting up in the bed.  I couldn’t quite place what the smell was.  After stretching, I stood, and ventured into the bathroom, my daily routine.

Once I finished there, I went to the kitchen to see what Mom was cooking.  She was standing in front of the stove, sipping her coffee.  She must have made it strong today because I could smell it all the way from the dining room.

“Hey, Mom, are you making bacon?” I asked, finally figuring out what I had smelled.

“No, why?  Do you want some?”

I gave her a confused look.  “I could have sworn I smelled some cooking.”

“There’s a pack in the fridge if you want it.  I’ve got to get to work, so I didn’t have time to cook anything.  Don’t forget your brother when you leave, and your lunch money’s on the table.”  She turned to leave the kitchen, portable coffee cup in hand.  “Have you been using different shampoo?  Your hair looks thicker, Selina.”

I picked up a lock to look at it.  It did look a little thicker.  How have I not noticed it before?  “No, I’m using the same shampoo as always” I told her.

“It must be this mountain air, messing with your hair and sinuses.  Well, have a good day at school.  I know you’re going to be pestered by everyone about what happened, and please try to be nice to them if you tell them to leave you alone instead of biting their heads off.  They’re either curious or concerned.”  She quickly left the kitchen, and exited the house.

Shrugging her off, I opened the fridge, and pulled out the pack of bacon.  It took a few minutes to cook, but it smelled so good that I braved the heat and picked it up straight out of the skillet.  It tasted wonderful, too, not even burning my tongue.  I ended up making and eating ten pieces.

“What are you doing?” Dan asked, startling me.

“Making bacon,” I said, eating my tenth piece.

“You didn’t cook it long enough, you dork.”

I gave him a look.  “I already ate it, so there’s nothing we can do about it,” I told him, putting four more pieces on the skillet.

“You’re going to make yourself sick, Selina.”

“Oh, hush and go get ready for school.”

After I heard Dan walk off and shut the door to his room, I ate what was left of my bacon.  Dan didn’t know anything about cooking, so there was no way I could have undercooked it.  Besides, it tasted fine to me.

I retreated to my room after I put the skillet in the sink, and got dressed.  Even though Mom did laundry a week ago, the clothes still smelled fresh.  Must be new detergent.  Once Dan was finished in the bathroom, I brushed my teeth, then my hair.  The brush didn’t help with its thickness, so I just shrugged it off and put it in a ponytail then a loose bun.

Dan picked up our lunch money as I grabbed my keys and walked out the door.  I could hardly contain my excitement at finally being able to drive my new car.  And it was brand new, the smell almost heavenly.

When Dan climbed in the passenger side, I told him, “No eating in my car.  I want to keep it as clean as possible.”

He rolled his eyes, but didn’t respond.

Since we didn’t have to wait for the bus, we were able to leave later to go to school.  It only took us a few minutes to arrive, but the front spaces filled up quickly.

After I found a space and parked, Dan and I entered the building, and went our separate ways.  I ventured to my locker, switched out my books, and headed to my first class.  Only five more months of this.

When I arrived at my class, I sat at my desk, and pulled out my sketchbook.  I haven’t drawn in a while, but I was hoping inspiration would strike.  As I was about to place my pen on the paper, a hand touched my shoulder.  It was Mrs. Riley.

“How are you, Selina?  I heard about what happened.”

I tried not to scrunch my nose.  Her perfume was overpowering.  “I’m fine.”

“That’s good.  Let me know if there’s anything I can do to make things easier for you.”

“I’m sure I’ll be okay.”

She thankfully left me alone then.

The bell rang, urging everyone to rush to class.  As I went to draw again, the seat beside me was filled.  Oh, yeah.  London was in this class.

“Glad to see you feeling better, Selina,” he said.

Why are you so glad?
I wanted to ask.  But I stayed quiet.

“I thought you had a cast?”

Shit, he saw it at the hospital?  “It wasn’t as bad as they thought, and had it removed yesterday,” I told him.  There, that should take care of my little issue.

“Wasn’t as bad?  Your leg had been torn open, Selina,” he said just above a whisper to where no one else could hear him.