Endless, p.3
Endless, page 3
part #3 of Lost in a Fairy Tale Series
Dad gave our name to the man at the front desk, and we waited for a seat, making polite conversation. When we were led to a table, they took away the wine glasses after Dad told them we wouldn’t need them, and I glanced at the menu. I ordered steak with the veggie side and took in everything going on around us. The restaurant was packed with guests eating and quietly talking. The room was dimly lit with candles on each of the tables. The deep red décor made the place feel homey. Of course, at home I didn’t spend forty dollars on steak.
“So, Sydney, are you packed for tomorrow?” Julie asked, her eyes boring into my skull.
“Pretty much. I don’t have a lot to pack, so I just need my pillow and sleeping bag. Do you know if they’ll have laundry rooms there?” My stomach clenched in fear. I knew what bringing this up in front of Julie would mean.
Dad laughed. “Laundry rooms? What in the world for? You’re only there a week.”
“I know, but I’ll need to wash my pants. I only have a couple of pairs left.” I ducked my head and dug in to the salad the waitress brought me.
“What do you mean? What happened to the rest of your clothes?”
I looked up at him and peeked over at Julie. “They’re either too small or they have holes. I’m fine, though. I can just deal with what I have.”
Julie let me know that all the time. She would insist that her girls were having a growth spurt or they were invited to a party and needed to look perfect. I didn’t need anything new because according to Julie, I never went anywhere important anyway.
Dad’s face turned red—something that only happens when he’s super upset but doesn’t want to yell. “Why haven’t you gone shopping? I send you an allowance.”
“You do?” I asked in surprise.
Julie stood abruptly. “I need to visit the ladies’ room.”
“Wait a minute.” Dad took Julie’s hand. “Where does Sydney’s allowance go?” The calm in his voice didn’t match the set to his shoulders.
“I . . . I’m saving it. For her college.” She lifted her chin. “I didn’t want her to go wasting it.”
“Waste is buying pants she needs because her others don't fit?” Dad’s normal patience was beginning to wear thin. I could see people around us taking notice.
“Dad, it’s okay. We’ll talk about it later, all right?” I said. It had gone silent around us.
He nodded and smiled. “Right.” He took a bite of his salad, stabbing it a little harder than usual to get it on his fork.
Julie was still standing, so she picked up her purse and left for the restroom. Sarah and Kaylee hopped up and followed her, shooting me icy looks as they went.
“Dad, it’s not worth making her upset. She’ll only get worse when you leave.” My appetite was gone. It was a shame because my steak arrived just then and it looked amazing. Maybe I could just have one bite.
“You’re really out of clothes?” His eyes showed pain I hadn’t seen in years.
“Yes, but it’s okay. I’ve survived this long.” I took another bite of my steak. I’d have to find another way to be depressed because this was too delicious to pass up.
“No, it’s not. We’ll go shopping tonight after we’re done here. It’s not embarrassing to go shopping with your dad, is it?”
I laughed. “Maybe a little. I don’t know how many stores will be open this late, though.”
“We’ll make it work. I’m sorry, princess. I should be here for you more. It’s not fair.”
Julie and the girls returned, looking between us to try to figure out what was going on. When we didn’t say anything, Julie cleared her throat and sat down, pretending like nothing had happened.
Dad and I exchanged an amused look and kept eating. We moved on to dessert and I ordered a slice of cheesecake, thoroughly enjoying it while my stepsisters and stepmom looked on in disgust.
“How can you eat something with so many calories?” Julie asked.
“Easy. I put it on my fork, stick it in my mouth, and savor every single bite.” I demonstrated and smiled when I caught my dad’s snicker that he instantly turned to a cough.
Julie huffed. “Well, I hope they feed you well at camp. I hate to think of the junk you’ll force into yourself there. Are we quite done? I must get home. I have an awful headache coming on.”
“Of course.” Dad waved to let the waiter know he was ready for the check. “I’ll drop you three off and then head over to the mall with Sydney.”
Julie spit the water she was drinking all over the table. “What?”
“You didn’t get her clothes, so I will.” Dad pulled out his wallet and gave his credit card to the waiter. “That way, I can make sure her allowance goes to the right place.”
“Well, I think my head is feeling better. Maybe her stepmother should go with her. Mother’s touch and all that.” The smile she gave me looked more like a crocodile and less like a caring mom.
I glanced over at Dad, horrified.
“No, I’ll do it. I need to grab a new tablet anyway.” He stood and helped Julie out of her chair and then helped Sarah and Kaylee. I was last before we headed out.
“Can I get your car, sir?” a valet asked. He smiled at me, and my heart sped up. His clear blue eyes and dimples left me breathless—which immediately made me suspicious. Why was he paying attention to me? And I could swear someone was watching me. The eerie feeling I had in my dreams was here, and I didn’t like it even a little bit. The stairs were dark and creepy anyway, but the prickling on the back of my neck and the knotted feeling in my stomach always had me running faster. Only this time, I couldn’t just escape, not with everyone watching. Not when I didn’t know what I was running from.
Dad handed him the ticket and turned to us. He noticed my look and glanced back to where the valet had been standing. “I see you noticed Luke. He’s the son of one of my partners.”
“He’s gorgeous,” Sarah said. “Do you think he’d go out with me?”
Dad laughed. “Maybe so. He’ll be coming to Sydney’s birthday party, along with a few other young men I think you’d like. Dillon seems more your type.” He gestured toward another guy coming up to the restaurant with his family.
Sarah wrinkled her nose. “No, he’s more Kaylee’s type. Oh! Here’s Luke with the car.” She hurried forward so she’d be standing in front when he opened the door.
I rolled my eyes and glanced over at Kaylee. She was too busy staring at Dillon to notice me. Sarah was right, I guess. I climbed in the other side of the car, hoping to avoid the embarrassment of Sarah throwing herself at Luke.
Dad climbed in right after. “You don’t want to meet him?”
I shook my head. “No. Not right now, at least. Dad, that feeling is here. Someone’s watching me, and I don’t know who. What if it’s Luke?”
“You felt it too, huh? There’s a bad feeling here, but it’s not him. His dad—” He stopped when Julie climbed in.
“Did you forget my door, Alex?” she asked, eyebrow raised.
“Oh, I’m sorry, honey. I got distracted.” He waited for Kaylee and Sarah to climb in before he pulled out. He waved at Luke, and I couldn’t help but notice that Luke’s eyes were on me as we drove away.
When we got home, I quickly changed into an old pair of denim shorts and a mint-green T-shirt before going into the office to find Dad. He was poring over books and looked up when I came in.
“I’m ready, but if you’re busy, we can just stay home. It’s okay, really.”
He stopped what he was doing and came around the desk. “Nope, I’m good. Let’s go.” He locked the office door and slipped the key into his pocket. It drove Julie crazy that she could never get into the office. Dad kept it locked at all times when he was gone. There were a lot of magic books and scrolls hidden in this room that he didn’t want her to see. “I’ll just go tell Julie goodbye.”
“‘Kay. I’ll be out in the car. It’s unlocked, right?” I felt my stomach drop a little at the mention of Julie. She would try again to get him to stay home, and I worried that he’d listen. Sometimes she could get him to do anything.
“Yes, it should be.” Dad went to his room, and I grabbed my purse before heading toward the front door.
“We know what you’re doing.” Sarah stood in front of the door, arms folded. Kaylee stood next to her, filing her nails.
“What do you mean?” I asked, confused. It was Dad’s idea to go shopping, not mine. I backed up as Kaylee advanced on me. One of them attacking me was bad enough. It was pure torture when they confronted me together.
“You’re trying to turn your dad against our mom. It’s not going to work. And you can forget about your birthday party. Mom said it won’t happen.”
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t care what your mom says or does. Now move, please.” I pushed my way between them. My heart pounded—I cared more about what her mom thought than I wanted to admit, but only out of fear. She could make my life miserable when Dad was gone. I tried to push it away, but they knew where to hit me.
“We’re watching you. We know there’s something wrong with you, and we’re going to find out what,” Kaylee hissed.
I turned back in shock, feeling like I’d been slapped. How could they know about the magic? I’d been so careful. “What do you mean?” I saw Dad coming out of his room and pleaded with him mentally to do something.
“You don’t sleep. And that dress? That wasn’t in your room earlier. What did you do, steal it?” She backed up when she saw Dad.
I shook my head and decided to ignore them. I ran to the car and climbed in, telling my stomach to calm down. It’s not like they knew anything. Except . . . how would they know I don’t sleep?
I kept silent on the drive to the mall. I only answered when Dad asked me something. Dealing with the stairs was more bearable than dealing with Kaylee, Sarah, and Julie, and that was saying something. They would know about the dress because they made sure I never had anything remotely nice in my closet. But seriously, how did they know I didn’t sleep? There were the rumors at school, but those were more about my appearance than my sudden drop in grades.
We pulled into the parking lot, and Dad stopped the car. “Okay, out with it. What did they say to you?”
“Nothing. They just told me they were going to find out my secret.” I rubbed my face.
“I wish them luck.” His eyes flashed, but he attempted a smile to help me feel better. “They’re just teenage girls, and they’re jealous of their beautiful stepsister.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, right. But thanks for trying to cheer me up.” He loved to say things like that, knowing I would squirm. I never let on how much it meant to me. It was nice hearing I was beautiful, even if it was just from my dad.
“I’ll talk to Julie about them.” He put his arm around me and squeezed. His familiar cologne helped calm my nerves. “Now, let’s go shopping.”
We separated once we got to the mall so I could find some clothes while he ran to get the tablet he needed. I tried a few different stores before I found some denim jeans and purple leggings I wanted. I found a few cute tops to go with them and then looked for clothes I could wear at camp. I tried everything on before picking out what I would buy.
Julie was the one who usually chose my clothes, so I enjoyed going through the racks on my own. There were so many styles I wanted to try, but decided to go conservative. I picked a green-and-purple pleated skirt to go with the leggings, and a loose green top to go with the jeans.
I texted Dad to let him know I was ready and went through the racks again. I stopped when I came to a dark red dress that screamed for me to get it. Dad would be there soon, but I wanted to try it on. It fit my hips and chest perfectly and showed off my dark curls. This would be perfect to wear for a dance—if I ever got asked. Dad strode into the store and pulled out his wallet just as I came out of the dressing room.
“I can put some of this back if you want. I just grabbed what I thought was cute, but I don’t really need it all.” Looking at the pile of clothes I’d picked out made my face burn. Now that Dad was here, I realized how carried away I’d been with finding new outfits. The dress I’d just tried on went behind my back. I could wait on this one. It wasn’t something I needed, and I was embarrassed to think about getting it.
“Nice try. We’ll take all of it.” He went through my pile, nodding at what I’d picked out. Then he separated them into pants, shirts, and tights before looking up at me. “You don’t have that much here. Are you sure you don’t need a dress?”
“For what? I’m going to camp.” I couldn’t believe he was getting all this for me. I had to beg Julie for anything, and then work it off. I held tightly to the dress, hoping he was serious.
“Uh, church? You still do that, right?” Dad stopped laughing when he caught the look on my face. “What—you don’t?”
“No. Julie won’t take me. She’ll go on her own, but she said I would be too distracting.”
Dad ran a hand over his face. “This has got to stop. Okay, we’re going to buy you dresses.”
“Well, I did find this one.” I pulled it out from behind me, embarrassed that I’d been hiding it. It was sad how nervous I was around him. Dad was my best friend and I told him everything. But when it came to admitting how things had been when he was gone, it was almost too much.
“Wow, princess. This is beautiful. We’ll look for a few more like this. Come on.” He paid for the clothes—including the dress—and we left that store. Next was a dress shop, where I quickly found some blouses in blues and reds before finding a couple of skirts. Dad insisted on two nicer dresses in green and deep purple, “just in case.” I shook my head at the price tags and held the bag to me tightly. Dad whistled as we left the store, but his happiness was nowhere near what I was feeling. The old, ratty clothes I had at home could go in the garbage because I now had actual clean, nice outfits to wear. I felt like a whole new person, which was silly because they were just clothes. Maybe I wouldn’t be laughed out of camp now.
I was relieved when we got home and I saw that Julie’s car was gone—I wouldn’t have to deal with the girls’ anger when they saw my bags. I couldn’t wait to pull out all the new clothes to look at them again, but I stopped short in my doorway. My room was a disaster. My posters were shredded and my blanket had been thrown into a corner in pieces. The clothes in my closet were all on the floor—except the blue dress. It wasn’t anywhere.
Anger bubbled beneath the surface. I’d suffered a lot of pain to make that dress, and to think it was gone . . . Instead of exploding like I wanted to, I started cleaning. The clothes that had been scattered on the floor went in my closet, and then I pulled out the duffel bag for camp and threw in my new clothes. I’d have to buy new deodorant and toothpaste—I wasn’t allowed to “mess up” Kaylee and Sarah’s bathroom with my things—on the way out of town because someone had destroyed mine. But . . . why? What purpose did they have for pulling my room apart?
A shriek came from Sarah’s room. “Sydney! Come here right now!”
I ran to her room, curious to see what she wanted. “What do you—” I stopped in shock. Sarah’s room was torn apart even worse than mine. “What happened?”
She stood in the middle of the floor, hands clenched. “How dare you?”
“What are you talking about? I just got home. My room was trashed too.”
Dad came up behind me. “What’s going on, girls?” His eyes widened when he saw the mess. “I see your room was hit as well. Do you know when this would have happened? Everything was fine when we left.”
“I don't know. You were taking too long shopping with Sydney, so we went out for a smoothie. When we got back, we found the mess that she made.” Sarah pointed at me, her eyes narrowed.
“Nonsense. She was with me the whole time. Clean this up and stop attacking your sister.” His annoyance at their accusations was evident in his voice. He left the room, and I followed. “Someone has been through our whole house. Have you noticed anything missing?”
“My blue dress is gone, but otherwise, no. They did ruin my quilt, though.” Tears welled up in my eyes. Nearly everything of my mom’s had been destroyed in the space of just a couple of days. Losing another piece of her was a huge blow to me. The excitement from shopping had been shattered.
He pulled me into a hug. “I’m sorry, sweetie. Do you think you can save it?”
“Maybe. It was already a patchwork anyway. Who would do this?”
“I don’t know. Maybe they thought I was too close to the cure.” He pulled away, worry lines etched in his face. “I called the police after I saw my room. They should be here soon. Let’s go clean up, and then we can see what can be done about the blanket.”
When he opened the door to his room, I saw papers and clothes scattered across the floor. One of his paintings of an old vineyard was nothing but a shredded mess. He closed the door, drowning Julie’s shrieks about her precious belongings, and I went back to my room.
Once the last of my belongings were put away, I pulled what remained of my blanket onto my bed. I was soon lost in rearranging the pieces, but then something caught my eye in the middle of the pile.
It was a black piece of cloth that was thick and rough. Wool? There was a strange feeling surrounding it, something familiar, but not in a good way. It must have been left by the intruder because no one in this house would come near this type of material. When I touched it, a sharp pain shot through my head, making me sick to my stomach at its intensity. I was yanked through darkness and transported to the stairs from my dream.
No, no, no. This wasn’t supposed to happen. My head spun from being sucked in. And what was going on with my body? Was it still back at home, or was I really here? I glanced at the cloth in my hand, sure that whoever had left it in my room was here with me. I could feel them. Somewhere. I whipped around, trying to find whoever it was, my stomach clenched in fear.
