Diary of the Gone (17 page)

“
Mrs. Palmer, there in the
forest you told my father, ‘You should have died with your
curse’.”

She gave a slight nod.

“
Then it means that if I
live,” I went on, “his curse will live on with me?”

Mrs. Palmer smiled at me, like a
mother smiles at a kid that says something inappropriate. “Callum
dear, tell me, have you ever wished to harm a living being? Like,
really hard?”

“
To be
honest, I have, but not just because I wanted to make them suffer.
I’m not like
him
.” I didn’t use his name. I wouldn’t use it
ever.

“
There you go.” Mrs.
Palmer put her reassuring hand on my shoulder. “You’re different
from your father. You are never going to use it the way he did, am
I right?”

I nodded. I wanted to forget the past,
so a few days later I burned Aiden’s diary. I tore its pages one by
one then tossed them into the fire in our living-room. Even after
the last page had turned to ashes, I wasn’t fully satisfied. I got
down to my diary after that. I didn’t need it anymore, even if I
was going to come across a Shadow.

There would be a new Callum. Without
any diaries, and with a girlfriend. Things were looking up, weren’t
they?

Epilogue

Something flicked off my windowpane. I
rolled onto my stomach and buried my head under the pillow with a
groan. The sound came again, harder this time.

“
Mmmm.” I pressed the
pillow against my ears, trying to shut off the sound, although I
knew I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep.

“
Ptsss, Callum! Wake
up!”

I shoved my pillow aside and untangled
myself from the sheets. Sunlight streamed into my room; the floor
was warm to the touch as I set my feet down that I just sat with my
eyes closed, enjoying the smoothness of the old floorboards. Then I
pushed myself from the bed and opened the shutters. A warm summer
breeze fanned my face.

“
What’s up, Nathan?” I
hissed, rubbing my left eye with a fist and stifling a huge
yawn.

“
Time to wake up,
sleepyhead.” He smiled at me. “We’re ready to go.”

Vivian, Terry, Wayne and Audrey stood
not far away, chatting and smiling. Vivian looked my way and waved
at me. Pleasant warmth spread in my stomach as I saw her pretty
face.

“
I’ll be right back,” I
said, pushing my head back into the room, dressing as quickly and
quietly as possible. I got out of the window and climbed down the
tree.

“
Hey, guys,” I
said.

“
Hey,” they
said.

I came over to Viv first and took her
by the hand.

“
Are we ready to go?”
Wayne asked.

“
Yep,” Nate
said.

It was great to see Wayne and Audrey
together again, my jealousy gone. I had Vivian, and we were having
a great time.

Terry Haubert was hanging out with us.
Stan had left the town. Principal Crosby had resigned at mid-term
and took Stan and his wife to Phoenix. There was no Stan in my life
anymore. No more bullying.

I felt sorry that I didn’t have a
chance to apologize to Mr. Crosby for what my father had done to
him. But I had to apologize to so many people in Olden Cross for
what Aiden had done.

There were lots of mysteries about my
father, but I decided not to pry into the past and let things go on
like nothing had happened.

Life should go
on,
I told myself. In fact, it couldn’t
get any better, with Vivian as my girlfriend.

As we roamed down the street towards
the Underground, Nate told us another story. He had found an old
cross somewhere in the woods and couldn’t stop talking about it. He
insisted that we go with him there and take a look, Audrey and
Vivian rolling her eyes at his enthusiasm.

We entered the forest and I admired
the changes that had taken place here in the few months after the
guys had been set free. The trees bloomed, the moss was vibrant
green. The water that approached Olden Cross retreated, so the
ground was safe to step on, and not damp the way it used to
be.

We reached the Underground and sat on
the benches that formed a semi-circle. I couldn’t get enough of the
life I lived these days.

Later during the day, Vivian and I
returned to Mrs. Palmer’s house, and I asked Mrs. Palmer if Vivian
could go with my mom, Beverly and me to the city. She didn’t
object, so we raced to my place, and stayed in my room until Mom
called us from downstairs.

We left the house and got into the
Ford Explorer, Bev taking the front seat while Viv and I sat in the
back. Mom chatted about the things that needed to be done and
purchased, but I couldn’t focus on what she was saying.

I took Vivian by the hand, unable to
take my eyes off her. She intertwined her fingers with mine,
unusual warmth spreading through me.

I looked out of the
window at the nice scenery.
Life is so
beautiful when Viv is around.

I turned to her, meeting her
forest-green eyes. She smiled at me, and I couldn’t but smile
back.

Mom changed gears, and we set off
towards our future, dust rising in our wake.

About the Author

Ivan Amberlake is a
paranormal/urban fantasy writer, member of Breakwater Harbor Books.
In December 2009 he began writing his first novel “The Beholder”
and in November 2011 it was selected for review by HarperCollins on
Authonomy.com.

For more information
visit
www.breakwaterharborbooks.com
and
www.ivanamberlake.weebly.com

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