Escaped the Night (22 page)

“Layla, I can’t believe
you’re here,
” I
said hugging
her
. “F
eel
s
like we haven’t seen each other
in forever.
”
We’d
grown close,
spending every day of the past few months together. When I hadn’t seen her for forty-eight hours
, it felt
more
like weeks rather than days.
“Where’s Terran and Meriel?”

“
They couldn’t come…
you know how it is.
” She seemed distant.

“Is everything okay?”

“Jayce
explained everything. He wanted
me to
let you know,
he’ll be staying away for a while
,
in order to make things
easier
. He
also
mentioned
that
you and Daray
were
once
engaged?
” She shook her head
in disbelief
. “Jayc
e
loves you,
but
he
wants you to be true
…
to yourself.”

The message was direct and to
the point. Jayce wasn’t coming around anytime soon,
I
’d
figured that
out
before she even finished her
statement. Layla
was
the messenge
r
. I
t was the reason
she’
d come,
not
for me
,
but
for him.

“Yeah, weird or what? Who would’ve thought
?
” I snorted. “I don’t
think Jayce
saw that twist
coming.” I tried
making
light of the situation.
This
was
extremely
difficult for
me as well.
I already missed Jayce. I’d never meant to hurt him and wanted to take it back more than anything. If I had some kind of superpower that could’ve changed
the outcome
of all this
, I would’ve used
it
a long time ago.

“Super
weird,
” Layla said
,
sounding
friendlier
.
“
What else has
been going on with you?”

We w
ent
into the living
room
and
s
at side by side on the couch
so we could catch up
.
She was my friend and I couldn’t be mad
at her because
she was the messenger.
It was actually
easier
to hear this news
from
her
,
because
I knew she cared about us both.

Garrison
walked out of the kitchen, heading
over to us
with a big smile. S
uddenly
his
eyes shifted to
wards
the front door
, his
smile faded
. “Lover boy
’s
almost here.”

I was
confused
.
Last night,
this mo
rning, however you looked at it, m
y protectors
left me alone with Jayce. They didn’t sense any danger when I was with him
,
meaning
I was
truly
safe
around
Jayce. I’
d always felt it.
So
this must’
ve me
ant that
Daray was coming
.
Everything
progressively bec
ame
more
complicated. I wanted,
needed a simpler time, a
time that didn’t make me feel at ends with myself.

I looked over at Layla
,
who sported a serious expression. “I’ll be staying with you through the duration of this. I’ll assist any way I can, even if it’s just to talk or listen. I’m here for you…
I can’t imagine how difficult this must be.”

“Thanks Layla. I’m
glad
to know
I’ve got a
true friend. I appr
eciate…”
I stopped myself
when
Garrison
and Kaleb
assumed their fighting stance
in
the
front
hall
way.
I
couldn’t remember what
I
’d been
saying; m
y heart
pounded
so hard
I
though
t
it was going to beat
out of my chest. I was
scared and
didn’t want a repeat of the last run in. A wave of panic consumed me.

The doorknob slowly turn
ed
,
let
ting
out a small squeaking sound as it rotated. All eyes remained
focused on the
door.
It
began to
creep open,
and as it opened
,
the sound of two familiar voices spoke
—
Auntie Steph and Uncle Dane were home.

I let out a sigh of relie
f
. Kaleb and Garrison
raced
over
to join
me and
Layla
on the couch. My friends
made a diversion
by
chatt
ing
about random things and
giggling
.
I
smiled
,
even though this
brought up more questions.
Why
di
dn’t
they
want
to ala
rm anyone that
danger was close? Wasn’t it better to know
so
we’
d have a chance to defend ourselves? Who
was
going to attack?
My sweaty hands trembled
. I took a deep breath in,
let it out
slowly
and felt
my
anxiety ease. I looked down,
my hands
were
now
steady
.

Uncle Dane came over to greet our group nestled in the living room. Auntie Steph
smiled as she walked by
with loaded arms
full
of
groceries
.

“Layla, always a pleasure
, my dear,
” Uncle Dane
said,
giving
her a wink.

“Danier,” s
he acknowledged.

“
Garrison
and Kaleb
. Been a long time. G
ood to see you boys
,
” Uncle Dane
said
,
patting
them
on their
bulky shoulders.
“Shanntal,
glad to see
you’re
keeping such good
company
these days.” He looked
me square
ly
in the eye
.

I looked
back dumbfounded,
c
ompletely confused. How
did he know
everyone’s names?

“A w
ord
?” He gestured
towards my room.

I got
up off the couch without hesitating
and followed
him
.
We
stood alone in my bedroom. T
he door
slightly closed, not all the way
,
but enough to give us some privacy.

“Am I missing something?”
I asked.

“Everything’
s starting to come
back
, isn’t it?
I
see
you remember
who you are
now
.”

“Who I am? Don’t you me
an what I am?
” I
shot back
.
“
You knew about
t
his? W
hy d
idn’t you tell me?”
I said, my voice getting louder.
“After everything that’
s happened to me in the past twenty-four hours
,
let alone the past year
, h
ow could you
have
kept
this from me?”

“Past twenty-fo
ur hours? What happened
?”
he yelled back
.

“Oh, never m
ind, y
ou wouldn’t understand
.”

“Please
,
calm down.
I understand more than you
think
. We
were only trying
to protect you.
”

“
Protect me?
From what?”

“
From him.
We didn’t want
Daray to finish what he
started
. He accidently created you, it’s a fluke
you’
re
still alive.
He may fluff the story up and act like he saved you, but it’s not the case. You were dea
d. Something happened and that’
s what saved you. Nothing he did.
You
must understand
that
he
is
n’t the same man
you once knew
. He isn’t human
; he’s nothing but dark and evil. No good can or
will ever come
from him.”
Uncle Dane w
alked over to my dresser and
tugged on a latch
,
which opened
a secret panel
. He
reached in and
pulled out a long scroll of paper
,
then
turned
around
and placed
it
in my hands. “
This lists all
the lives
Daray’
s taken over this past century. Our family
took
great care in
hiding you from him
.
Garrison
and Kaleb have come and gone from our lives over the years.
Whenever
Daray
was
close enough to find you
,
they’
d come.
When he
los
t
track
and you were safe
, they
’d
leave.”

I
stood
, my world
s
pinning too quickly for me
.
I wanted
nothing more tha
n for
it
t
o slow down. I fought back
the feeling
that urged
me to
break
down. I was strong and
wasn’
t going to fall to pieces like
the last time I
received
bad news.

I threw
down
the scroll. I didn’t want to look at it.
I wanted no part of this. Enough
was enough
.
“All the lives he took? What about the life taken from him
,
or from me
for that matter
?
Let’s get one thing
straight;
i
t is
becau
se of Daray that
I’m still here!
You
should
take a minute to
remember that
. Remember
i
t’s because of him
that
I never
die
d
. He saved me!” I
shouted
,
waving
my arms like a total lunatic. Tears spilled down my face. I couldn’t f
ight them back.