Betrayal (Vanish Book Two) Read online

  “Is that how Skylar—”

  “Oh my god,” Elizabeth whispered as she opened the drawer where she kept the velvet bags of dirt. “There had to of been at least twenty bags in here… they’re all gone.”

  “Grace,” Dante and I both grumbled.

  “This isn’t good,” Elizabeth said as she walked in circles. “We may not be safe from the Alliance here.”

  “You think they would give them to the Alliance?” I questioned.

  “The Alliance would do just about anything to get to you. They would pay any price,” she cried.

  “Why me?” I blurted. “What’s so special about me?”

  “Can we talk about this later?” Elizabeth said as she rubbed her temples.

  “Sure, but there’s something else…” I mumbled.

  “What?” She sighed.

  “Grace isn’t exactly Grace,” I revealed. “Someone possessed her, or something. I don’t know, but it wasn’t Grace.”

  “Have you ever heard of anything like this?” Dante implored.

  “Really, it’s almost like a form of immortality,” George began. “The body will stay the same as it was before the person died forever—until they’re killed. It’s no harder or easier to kill them than any other person, but when they die, they leave nothing behind. They’re just gone.”

  “So you don’t think that we can save Grace?” I whispered.

  “I don’t know; I’ve only seen this happen once,” George said. “Elizabeth and I will come up with something. I don’t know if we can save Grace, but leave it to us.”

  “Come on lets go home, you’ve had a long couple of days,” Dante suggested as he put his arm around me.

  “Okay,” I smiled and looked up at him.

  I was glad we were past all of the stuff with Grace. This felt right; that’s why I couldn’t figure out why I still felt the need to pull away. I figured it was because I’d never really had anyone in my life I could count on, and now that I did, I didn’t think it could really be true. To have something like this ripped away from me, would hurt worse than anything so far. I had what I’ve wanted since the sixth grade, a perfect relationship with Dante, and he cared about me just as much as I cared about him. I needed to put all of my fears behind me and just live. Through all of the misery, he was my light at the end of the tunnel and without him, none of this would be worth it.

  Chapter 7: Family

  I needed to get past all of my other problems. They seemed to be building up so fast, I couldn’t get past the first one before a new one came along. What should I deal with first? Grace? The woman I used to know as my mother? And speaking of mothers, should I find my real mom? Would I put her in danger or be just as disappointed in her as Ann? Then, there was the Alliance; I wouldn’t even try to kid myself into thinking I could deal with that one. I wanted just a shred of normality in my life, but would that ever be possible and what would that tiny little piece be? Everything I knew about normal seemed to have disappeared in the past week or two.

  We laid in bed holding on to each other tight. Even though we were both aware of what was going on around us, when it was just us, it didn’t seem to matter. That was all I wanted in the first place, to be able to escape. Nothing would compare to being able to completely escape, but we had this, and as long as I didn’t ruin it, it wasn’t going anywhere.

  “Earlier when you said you loved me…” Dante began. “Did you really mean it or was it only because of—”

  “I meant it. I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it,” I assured him.

  “I want to take you on a date, well as close to a date as you can get out here in the woods.”

  He was so awkward; it made me smile, but I had to wonder, would there be time for us to go on a date? There were so many things we needed to figure out, so many things we needed to handle, and I didn’t know where to start.

  “When?” I asked.

  “Tomorrow around noon?”

  “Okay,” I agreed.

  It wasn’t hard to fall asleep, even though I still had countless problems. Some I was fortunate enough to have solved, but that just led to new problems. My dream was almost nice, but it still haunted me.

  I stood on a street with a few houses, besides that I saw nothing. It was daytime, but the dark-gray sky almost made it look like night. There was a white house with a white picket fence, without a second thought, I headed toward it. The fence squeaked as I opened it and the front door opened. Standing in the doorway, was a woman, but I couldn’t see her face. At first, I was afraid, but I didn’t know why. Everything seemed to double in size. Then the sky turned blue, and calmness swept over me.

  “Come inside honey, you’re going to get a sunburn.” She walked away from the door.

  As I got closer, I saw my reflection in the glass. I couldn’t have been any older than three. I climbed up the steps just as a three-year-old would. I reached for the door knob, struggling, just as a three-year-old would, but I still had every lesson, every memory that my eighteen-year-old self had. The woman came to open the door for me, but her face was blurred.

  “Mom?” I didn’t say that, well I did, but I didn’t mean to. Was this my mother? What did it matter? I couldn’t see her face anyway; I had no idea who she was. Before I could try to speak another word, or go out and see the address, I was awake.

  “Good morning,” Dante smiled as he rolled over.

  “Good morning,” I moved closer and kissed him. I decided—either while I was sleeping or right after I woke up—that I didn’t need to find my mother, not right now anyway. It was just another problem, the difference? It wasn’t crucial. I’d lived almost my whole life without a real mom. While I needed to know who she was at least, it wasn’t something I needed to know today, or this week, or even this year. It could wait.

  Dante turned over and looked at the clock; it was nine. My dreams seemed to be lasting all night and yet, there wasn’t a whole lot to them. This left me wondering how much I missed; how many clues could have been unnoticed.

  “Well I’ve got to go set up,” Dante said as he got out of bed.

  “Set up for what?” I wondered.

  “Our date,” he smiled.

  “Oh, um, okay.” I didn’t understand what he would have to set up, but I let him go without any questions.

  After he went out the front door and headed into the woods, I went over to see Elizabeth. I knocked on the door.

  “Oh hey, what’s up Scarlett?” Elizabeth said as she opened the door.

  “I just needed someone to talk to… about my mom.” She fidgeted and looked away.

  “What do you want to ask me?” she asked, confused.

  “I just don’t understand, how I came to live with Ann. I had a dream last night, I was three—”

  “I’m sorry honey, but I don’t know anything about this. I don’t see how I could be of any help.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. So what about the necklace that Ann had, would that really allow her to come here? I thought we were safe here?”

  “If the necklace fell off, she would be burned, but the necklace will keep her safe as long as she has it on.”

  “What about us? What’s going to keep us safe?” I cried.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Maybe I should leave; you will all be safer. I’ve put you all in danger.”

  “No, we’ve been through things like this before, not quite to this magnitude, but we can get through this.” She seemed like she actually believed it, I, however, wasn’t so sure.

  “These are my problems; I shouldn’t be dragging you into them.”

  “You’re like family now, and we’re the only family you’ve got.” My face fell. “I’m sorry…”

  “No, it’s okay. I need to go,” I mumbled as I headed toward the door.

  I went back home. I needed to get ready. First, I took a shower. Then, I tried to find something to wear. It was way too cold for a dress. Dante wouldn’t care what I was wearing. So I pu
t on some jeans, a silky blue shirt with a blue sweater and a matching scarf. I went back into the bathroom. Annabelle left me the red lipstick she put on me the night of the party. She said I pulled it off way better than she ever could, which I doubted. It was technically our first date, so I wanted to look nice.

  When I came out of the bathroom, there was a note on the bed.

  Scarlett,

  Follow the roses at 11:30. I’ll see you soon.

  Love, Dante.

  I looked at the clock; it was eleven twenty-five. I took a deep breath and sat on the bed, each minute passed by slower than the last. Finally, I got up and headed out the door. There were roses spaced far apart leading into the woods, but on the porch, I noticed another note.

  Scarlett,

  You can either go meet your boyfriend, or meet your mother. If you want to meet your mother, go in the opposite direction. This may be your last chance to do either, choose wisely.

  An old friend

  I looked both ways, go right and go to Dante. Go left and possibly meet my mother. It felt like a trick, but something pulled me left; I couldn’t help it. Before long, I was too far to turn back. There was another note.

  Keep going straight, you’ll be there in no time.

  Half an hour had passed and there was still nothing in sight. Nothing but glowing trees, trees that used to make me feel safer, but now I felt nothing. I heard a twig snap, and I ran as fast as I could straight ahead. After a few moments, I realized the trees weren’t glowing anymore. Now I was afraid. I’d made a mistake; I knew it from the beginning, but something inside made me do this. I kept walking straight; there was still a chance what the note said was true.

  Ten minutes later, I saw a log cabin in the distance. Another twig snapped behind me, I turned to see what it was, but nothing was there. When I turned back around, I had an eerie sense of déjà vu.

  The three quiet girls standing in front of me didn’t frighten me, but I knew they should. The evil in their eyes… their eyes…. I remembered them from the one dream I thought could have been fiction. I’d never seen anyone with the same red hair that I had, or my vivid green eyes.

  “Did you write me that note?” I asked.

  “What note?” one of them asked. Their tone was harsh.

  “A note saying if I came this way I would meet my mother.”

  “No,” their eyes darted behind me.

  “You should leave,” one snapped. “Nobody wants you here.”

  Strange, it was the same three girls from my dream, but everything was so different.

  “I’m sorry. I’ll go,” I muttered.

  “So your Scarlett, right?” they sneered.

  “Uh yeah, who are you?” I asked.

  “None of your damn business,” one of the girls yelled.

  “Do you live over there?” I wondered.

  “I don’t think that’s any of your business either.”

  I turned around to leave, and I saw a blur; someone or something ran between two trees.

  “Did you see that?” I turned around and asked.

  “See what?” the girl on the left finally spoke. She had a sweet voice; I didn’t feel the anger I felt from the other two coming from her.

  “There was something over there.”

  I noticed she looked a little older; maybe it was just her maturity. I didn’t know. Unlike the other girls who had longer hair, though not as long as mine, hers was about shoulder length and just as curly as mine. I couldn’t imagine having my hair that short, but it suited her.

  “You’re not welcome here,” the girl in the middle snapped.

  “What did I do to you?” I asked, a little hurt. I hadn’t done anything and to be honest I was a little afraid for the long walk home with whatever was wandering around out there.

  “You were supposed to be dead, but here you are,” the nice girl marveled. The other two shot her a threatening glare.

  “Okay. Who are you and how do you know me? Are you part of the Alliance, is that why you want me dead?”

  “We never said we wanted you dead…you’re our sister,” the one on the left said, the other two looked at her again. She winced.

  “What?” I whispered, feeling the tears well up in my eyes.

  I pressed my lips together tightly and looked away. I had always wanted a sister, someone to go through everything with me, someone I could tell anything to. I never dreamed of actually getting one. The woman I thought was my mother never wanted me, let alone another child.

  “Are you okay?” The nice sister asked.

  “What?” I snapped out of it. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m going to leave.”

  “Good,” the other two huffed and turned around.

  I turned back to walk home.

  “Wait,” the nice sister said. “I’m Rose.”

  “So, the note was right? My mother is… here?” I had to ask.

  “Yes, but—”

  “So why do they hate me?” I interrupted.

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be here, but that doesn’t mean I hate you, I couldn’t really tell you whether they do or not.”

  “Why? Why isn’t it a good idea for me to be here, I mean?”

  “I’m sorry. I wish things were different, but they’re right; you should go,” Rose whispered.

  “I guess it’s better to have no family than to have one that would rather not have me around again. I just wish I didn’t miss my date with Dante for this.”

  I went invisible and ran into the woods, at least this way I was somewhat safe. I felt awful about ditching Dante. I felt numb about finding my family. There was no hope left in that, I wouldn’t have a family, and that was that. Part of me wanted to go see my mother anyway, but if it hurt that bad to be unwanted by the sisters I never knew I had, how bad would it hurt to be unwanted by my mother? My real mother.

  I ran the whole way home, but even so, it seemed to take at least twice as long. As soon as I could see the house, I went visible, I could feel someone’s eyes on me. I shrugged it off and ran to the house. Lily was outside gathering firewood.

  “Hey, what time is it?” I asked.

  “Uh,” she said as she rolled up her sleeve to look at her watch. “It’s eleven thirty.”

  “What?”

  It felt like the world was spinning around me. I thought I was going to be sick; I had to sit down. Was it even the same day? Had I lost track of time so much that I had been gone a whole day? No way, it never got dark.

  “What’s wrong? Dante’s waiting for you, you know.” She looked concerned.

  “I just went into the woods. I walked so far the trees stopped glowing. I had to of been gone at least an hour,” I said so fast it made me dizzy.

  “To get out of our woods, you would have been walking for at least an hour,” she explained.

  “Maybe it was a dream,” I shrugged it off, got up and followed the roses.

  I knew it wasn’t a dream; I had just walked back from meeting my sisters. It was real. It just had to be, but I decided to forget it for now. I didn’t know what to expect when I found Dante, but he had to of worked hard on this; I wouldn’t ruin it for him. I picked up each rose as I walked, when they came to an end. Until here, there was a path between the trees, but when I picked up the last rose, all that was in front of me was a line of trees and bushes that I couldn’t even see through. I pushed aside the branches and squeezed through. There was a circle of perfectly green grass surrounded by a wall of trees. The sun shined down from the sky without interruption from the trees. There was a blanket in the middle with a basket sitting on it.

  “Dante?” I called. This was perfect. It would have been much more beautiful if it was summer, but right now I couldn’t imagine it being any more beautiful than it was.

  “Hey,” he said as he ducked under a tree branch.

  “This is amazing.”

  “I’m glad you like it.” He sat down on the blanket and pat next to him. “Sit.”

  I wa
s about to say something until I noticed a red stain on the blanket, which wouldn’t have startled me as much if I hadn’t seen the stain on his shirt.

  “Um, is that blood?” I said with as much calmness as I could.

  “No,” he laughed, smiling from ear to ear. It was a smile I hadn’t seen in a while. Sure, he smiled, but I hadn’t seen him smile like this since before what happened with Grace. “It’s ketchup; I made a picnic remember?”

  “Yeah,” I let out a deep breath.

  After we finished all of the food, we laid there and looked up at the sky. The sky was blue with a couple of perfect white clouds. We stared up through the bare trees for what seemed like hours. I kept my mind clear of any thoughts that didn’t have to do with Dante. How perfect he looked when I caught him staring at me as I watched the clouds pass by. He would turn away the second I went to look, just as he had before. It felt wrong to be so happy, but in this world—as Dante would put it—you can’t spend too much time worrying about every little—or big—thing.

  When the sun went down, we decided to go home. We walked slowly, taking in the beauty. He had his arm around me, and then, suddenly, he stopped walking.

  “Did you hear that?” The terror in his voice was unquestionable. A few twigs snapped not too far away from where we were.

  “Yeah, what do you think it was?”

  Leaves crunched as whatever it was came closer.

  “Let’s go.” He walked at a pace that was almost too fast for me. I could tell he had an idea of who was out there, and it frightened him.

  When we reached the house, he shoved me inside and locked every lock on the door.

  “What’s out there?” I demanded.

  “Who,” he corrected. “And I don’t know, but I lied to you earlier.”

  “What did you lie about?”

  “It wasn’t ketchup; it was blood, my blood,” he conceded.

  “Well, what happened?” I demanded.

  “Someone came at me, but I didn’t see their face. They were wearing huge sunglasses and baggy clothes. They had a hat on, and if they had any hair, it was put up in the hat.”