I want to thank the wonderful Dani Morales and Rachel Walter for helping me with the slight edits of this chapter. You two are amazing!
I will not keep you waiting, so here is the first chapter of Provoke the Darkness, Book One in the Grave Marked Series.
Chapter One
Dream State
It's late. Much later than what I originally thought. This is
probably the reason why the streets are empty of all life, with the
exception of the lost souls that wandered the streets at night
looking for something, anything to make them feel alive. I keep my
head down, so that they don't think I'm looking for something I'm
not. That's all it takes, isn't it? Just one glance, and they come at
you like vultures to a carcass. A shiver runs down my spine as I
think about it, just keep walking Ethan, I think to myself.
The sooner I get off of these streets, the better. Just a few more
blocks and I'll be where I need to be, in the safety of a place I've
called home.
No need to knock, I know I'm always welcome here, as long as Matilda
is home. Her mother doesn't care for me all that much, She say's I'm
a bad influence on Maddie and that I tempt her with everything bad
in life. You know, boys, drugs, and alcohol. Boys? Hardy. Drugs? Not
a chance, I don't touch that shit and I would kill Maddie if she went
near it. Alcohol? Okay yeah, that was me. In my defense though she
was stressing out over finals last year, so I took her mind off of it
and took her to a small party. It's not like she got totally wasted,
just enough to take the edge off.
I've known Matilda my whole life. We grew up as neighbors and were
inseparable. Our families didn't want us hanging out with each
other. Each of them saying that the other family had a “strange
vibe” to them or that they were just “plain weird”, but that
never stopped the two of us from spending most of our waking hours
together. She's the only person that I can fully be myself around,
and not fear being judged.
I head up the stairs and to her bedroom, it's the only place she
feels safe, in her mothers house. I stand there in the door way, and
I watch her as she's working on something at her desk, probably
tomorrows assignment. She always did wait for the last minute to get
it done. She crumpls up the paper and throws it to the waste bin
that's barely four feet away, and missed. The reason she didn't play
any sports. She glances over her shoulder at me, and I smiled. She
didn't do or say anything to acknowledge my presence, she just went
back to the new blank piece of paper in front of her.
After several long minutes she gets up from the desk and walks over
to her bed, taking the piece of paper with her. She places it on the
bedside table and takes a few sleeping pills. Everyone knows that
Maddie had problems sleeping. It's because her mother would stay up
all night crying about her father. Her father had left her and her
mother for someone who was only a few years older than we were. It's
not that I blame him for what he's done to this family, but what can
you do? He could not put up with being with Marie – Matilda's
mother- when he fell out of love with her. He left without saying
goodbye to Maddie, only leaving a note for her mother. It's been a
hard life for the two of them, and I try to be there for Maddie
whenever she needs me.
She sets the glass down and crawls into bed, pulling the covers up
almost over her head. She looks so small in the large bed. She looks
to the ceiling and I swear I see a tear glide down her cheek. I open
my mouth to say something, anything, but nothing comes out, I've seen
her cry many a times before, but this? This seems different. She
looks to me, sadness filling up the bright green eyes that I used to
know and whispers faintly so I barely hear what she says.
“I'm sorry, Ethan.” Another tear slowly makes its way down to
her pillow.
Sorry? Sorry for what? There is no reason for her to be apologizing
to me, she's never done anything wrong. Confusion runs through me, as
I replay the past few days, trying to find a reason for this, but I
come up blank. Nothing. No reason for this madness.
“What are you apologizing for?” I ask, my voice sounding
distant. A chill runs down my spine, and Maddie's eyes flicker
something more than sadness. She turns over and pulls the covers up
over her head, ignoring the question I had asked.
“Fine, I know when I'm not wanted.” I say, pain in my voice.
“You should be sorry Maddie. You've never once shut me out before,
why start now?” I turn and storm from her bedroom, making my way
back down the stairs and out the door.
The nights have grown shorter now that winter is no longer on us and
summer has taken over. The cool summer nights are what I live for.
Sitting down by the river and watch the days go by, peaceful and
satisfying. And that is just what I do, I head down to my favorite
spot by the river and I lay there, thinking. Is there really a reason
for Matilda to be acting the way she was, and if so, what is the
reason?
I jerk upright, breathing heavily and soaked to the bone. Was it
all just a dream, I think to myself. I scramble out of my bed and
rush over to my phone hoping to have a message from Maddie. No
messages! That's strange, Maddie is always awake before I am and she
always sends me a 'Good Morning' message to make sure I'm having a
good day. I sent her a quick message, and wait for a response. After
waiting for two minutes I hit speed dial one. It rings, and rings.
“Hello, you've reached Matilda's voice mail. I'm currently unable
to come to the phone, probably for many reasons, so leave me your
name and number and I'll be sure to get back to you as soon as I
possibly can.” Her cheery recording flows into my ear.
“Maddie, it's Ethan” I practically yell into my phone. “Call
me, or message me as soon as you get this. Please! I just had the
strangest dream, and I need to talk to you about it.” I end the
call and put the phone down, glancing over at the mirror that hangs
on the back side of my door. My hair is stuck to my face with sweat,
and the bags under my eyes are ridiculous. It looks like I haven't
showered or slept in a few days. I peel off my soaked clothes, which
is just a pair of briefs, and grab the towel that hangs on the back
of my computer chair. Opening the door a crack and peeking out to
make sure that my room mate is not in the hallway, it looks clear so
I make my way out while holding the towel in front of me, to give
myself some sense of decency. I make it to the bathroom and close
just in time to hear the turning of the lock of the main door.
“Hey dude, are you up yet?” my room mate yells from the front
door. “You know if you're late for school once more, they're going
to have to send you to detention, or something. Just because you're
eighteen and it's your senior year of high school doesn't mean that
you can slack off. How do you expect to get into a good college?”
I roll my eyes at this. My grades are great, even with the missed
days, and he knows it. I hear him drop the keys onto the side table
that we have near the door. I lean on the bathroom door and run my
fingers through my hair. He's getting home late. Must have been out
to the club last night and went home with one of the the sleazy
chicks that are always hanging off of him. Marcus is a very handsome
man, with short blonde hair that he always has done up in one of
those faux-hawk styles. His bright green eyes and great bone
structure is what catches the attention of all the girls. That and he
has a rockin' body, I don't think I've seen someone with such a great
body. I don't know how he does it either, he eats non-stop and hardly
works out.
“Yes Marcus, I'm up and about to get into the shower.” I yell
back “Thank you for being so fatherly, I should be able to get to
school on time today.” I crank the hot water and the bathroom
steams up almost instantly. I pull back the shower curtain and climb
in, standing under the stream of water. It burns as it pelts the back
of my neck.
The door clicks, and a gust of cool air is forced into the heat of
the bathroom. “Sorry dude,” Marcus apologizes, with a laugh “I
really had to take a leak, and I didn't know how long you were going
to take.” This is nothing new to me, he does this more than not. It
seems every time I take a shower, he needs to use the bathroom. He
finishes up, flushes, and washes his hands. My hot water turns ice
cold and I let out a yelp while trying to get out from under it
before the chill goes to my bones. He bursts out in laughter and
rushes out of the bathroom before any profanity comes from my mouth.
“Asshole!” I yell after him.
After several more minutes under the the comfort of the hot water, I
turn it off and grab for my towel, only it's not where I set it down.
I pull open the curtain and prepare for the blast of cold air that
rushes over every inch of my naked, wet body. Shivering, I quickly
scanning the floor, but my towel is no where to be found.
“Marcus!” I shout, as I climb out of the bathtub. The roar of
laughter makes its way up the stairs and to the bathroom. I glance to
the left and see that there is a note marked into the fogged up
mirror. Ethan, I'm sorry. -M. My heart drops into my stomach,
and I rush out of the bathroom and to my bedroom.
When I reach my room, my phone is blinking with a message. I grab it
and flip to my messages. None of them are from Maddie. They're all
from my mother. I put my phone down and go to grab another towel from
the closet, glancing to the pictures that I have tacked up on my
wall. Pictures of Maddie and myself. She's my only real friend,
nobody else understands me the way she does.
I pick up my phone again and shoot her another message. I might
as well check the message that mum sent, I think to myself. It's
been far too long since I've talked to her, it'll be nice to hear her
voice.
Ethan, I know you don't like people calling you, and that is why
I'm sending you this text message. Please call me when you read this.
It's urgent!
I read the message twice before I start to debate with myself, if
it's as urgent as what she thinks it is. Should I call her now, or
could it wait until I am home from school? I punch in her number and
listen to the phone ring in my ear. Two rings. Three rings.
“Hello?” my mothers voice whispers into my ear.
“Hey mum, it's Ethan,” I state, remembering that she doesn't
have caller ID.
“Oh Ethan,” she cries. The sound of a chair screeching as it's
dragged across the floor. She sighs before starting again. “I'm so
sorry.”
“Mum?” I ask, glancing towards the door to my bedroom. The
fogged up mirror flashes in my mind. “What's going on?” I bark at
my phone, growing impatient. I hear my mother sob on the other line,
I've never seen my mother cry. She was always the rock in any
situation that brought tears to everyone around her. She would be
that shoulder of support, but here she was, crying. I don't know what
else to do, or say. “I'm sorry mum, I didn't mean to make you cry.”
I whisper, tears forming in my own eyes. “It's just been a really
weird day.
“It's about Matilda,” she says in between sobs. “She killed
herself last night.”
Silence. My mind goes blank. I'm unable to think, unable to respond.
I hang up and toss my phone to the bed. I look around, and everything
seems out of place. The vivid colors of life have seemed to fade into
shades of gray. The dream replays over in my mind, and then I see
the bathroom mirror, again. I look down at my hands, but all I see is
the floor rushing up to me.
***
Thump!
The sound was so loud I thought the house was coming down. I rush
from my room to see that the living room and the kitchen look
untouched. “Ethan!” I shout. No response. I rush to his bedroom,
not even bothering to knocking, just run right in. My heart drops and
my stomach clenches so tight that I might puke. Ethan's half naked,
in nothing but his underwear, face down on the floor. Blood spewing
from his nose, and tears streaking his cheeks.
What the hell, I think to myself, race back to my bedroom for
my phone, grabbing the white shirt that I had lying on my bed and
made my way back to his room, as quickly as I could. I punch in the
number that I need without even looking at the phone. It rings twice.
“9-1-1, what's your emergency?” A woman answers
“ I need an ambulance!” I shout into the phone. “My room mate
is lying face down on the floor, bleeding. I don't know what
happened,” I rush to explain in my panicked state. Kneeling down,
I use the tee shirt to wipe the blood from the floor and from Ethan's
face. Trying to be as careful as I possibly can, and even then I can
see that it's hurting him. “It's going to be all right buddy,
you're going to be alright” I sob.
“What is your address, Sir?” the woman asks, and I can hear her
typing it into her computer as I tell her. “The ambulance is on
it's way. They should be there shortly.”
I end the call, throwing my phone onto the bed. I roll Ethan over
and rests his head on my lap, getting the last bit of blood from his
face. It looks like his nose has decided that it were done bleeding,
which is good, because I don't think I've ever seen so much blood
come from anyone's nose.
A knock at the door breaks the trance that I fell into since hanging
up with the operator, staring into nothingness. I gently set Ethan's
head down on the floor while I get up, my knees weak under the weight
of my body and rush to get the door. Red and white flashing lights
shine through the thin curtains, forming shadows on the walls.
Tearfully, I open the door. Since I cannot form words so I just point
to the hallway. I watch the E.M.T. guys move quickly down the hall
with a stretcher in hand.
I stand there by the front door, watching a small crowd of people
forming along the sidewalk, trying to see what all the commotion is
about. The paramedics pull Ethan from the hallway on the stretcher,
and through the front door to the ambulance. I follow behind them,
and am thankful that they allow me to sit in the back with Ethan. I
reach out and grab a hold of his hand, his skin as cold as ice.
Is he dying? It's the only thought running through my mind.
He cannot die on me. I haven't had the chance to tell him how I feel
about him. And now, now I might not get that chance.
I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter, next week I'll see what I can do about getting you a little bit more about Matilda!
