Available on Amazon
Available on Amazon
Available on Amazon
Sometimes it was impossible to hide. Sometimes I just wanted to scream, to tell anyone who would listen what was going on. I didn't want to have to deal with this, but what choice did I have? I was there in the wrong place at the wrong time, and I'd seen it. I didn't even know what it was; I'd seen it in Dad's magazines and I'd learned about it in school, but not like that. It didn't seem scary until I saw it that night three weeks ago, and now I had to pretend I hadn't seen. No one would believe me; I knew it wasn't supposed to be scary - not like that. And if it was supposed to be that way, I didn't want to be twelve. I didn't want to be thirteen, or fourteen, or get any older at all. I didn't want to do it, too. I didn't want to do those things. I just wanted to play football and go to the park with my friends. I couldn't tell anyone what I saw. Especially Skye. She couldn't know, but she knew something was wrong. She asked me all the time, but I told her she was being stupid.
I chose our twelfth birthday party to start the mission. I'd seen it on TV and in video games, but I had to do it alone, be a one man battle group.
"Hey, Oliver?" Skye said, bouncing into my room. I didn't hear her coming. "Whatcha doing?"
"Nothing." I slammed my book shut and shoved it in the drawer.
"It's our birthday." She grinned and jumped on the bed. "Happy happy birthday."
I laughed and swiped her legs from under her with one of mine to knock her over.
"Ow!" she whined, and laughed.
I didn't hurt her, of course. I couldn't hurt my sister. That would make me bad, like the things I'd seen.
"I have a present for you."
Her smile got wider and she clapped her hands together. I reached back into the drawer and took out the bracelet one of the girls at school gave me. I shook it, listening to the plastic beads knock against each other.
"Cool!" Skye snatched it off me and shook it, inspecting the glittery beads. "Did you make it?"
"Of course not." I rolled my eyes. "It's a present. I don't have to make it."
"I love it. Thank you, Oliver."
"Wear it," I said, taking it back off her and fixing it to one of the new shoes Mum and Dad gave her this morning. "Wear it all the time."
"Why? I'll get in trouble if I wear it at school."
"You don't need it at school. Just wear it at home."
"Why?"
I shrugged. "It's a rule."
We liked rules. We always had to follow the rules. I didn't know why, we didn't ask. We just did as we were told.
"Okay."
She hugged me tightly and kissed my cheek. I shoved her off with a smile and wiped her kiss away. Skye jumped off the bed and ran out of my room and down the hallway. I could hear the beads jangling until she got to her room and closed the door.
If I was going to do this, and I was, I had to stop Skye sneaking up on me. I needed to hear her coming. Skye couldn't know. Ever.
"Oliver! Skye!" Mum shouted from downstairs. "The party is starting. Get down here."
I rolled my eyes and stood up. I banged my fist to my chest like I'd seen in a movie once.
Time to start the mission.
Rebecca is a London born and bred mother, writer and psychology student. She is the author of summer romance, Second Chance Hero, and the psychological romantic-suspense series, Twisted. An avid reader and lover of stories that keep you guessing, Rebecca writes tales that will challenge your perceptions and toy with your emotions. Rebecca's stories invite you to open your mind and dig deeper into the meanings of the lives of each and every character you meet. She entices you into their world – to feel with them, to grow with them, to love with them. She asks you to become a part of them and allow them to become a part of you. Rebecca would like to express her thanks to everyone who reads her stories, and would love to hear from you!
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