Disaster no dinner

What was that all about?" Mom asked as soon as we were all inside the house.
"Huh?"
"Mike, and you. It seemed you were both arguing about something?" She asked stretching her limbs. That day, she was wearing a white top and maroon coloured palazzo pants.
"No not really. We're cool, mom" I quickly replied, taking off my face so she'd not read my expression.
"You sure? I saw him pull your hands and you were yelling? Was that a joke?"
"We were playing, mom" I said and faked a smile.
"Sure, baby?" She said, sitting me down beside her on the couch. She examined my temperature and kissed my forehead
"Yes mom, I'm fine"
"Where's your key?"
"I lost it" I said. "It fell from my pockets"
"Okay. I'll give you a spare one when I'm going out" she said and carried Jamie in her arms. I knew it, there was something about her returning early. I waited with Pamela in the living room. I tickled her and laughed, trying to forget my problems.
I went to my bedroom, leaving her there. She was safe, in her cot, so why bother? I thought. The door was firmly locked too. I went upstairs to undress, bathe and have lunch.
Mom came to my room when I was still bathing. She rummaged through my wardrobe, and laid my bed. Then she cleaned my table and scrubbed the floor even though she was tired. She was such a caring mother, why would I stress her with what happened to me? I thought.
She started to clean the rest of the rooms. I wondered if we were expecting someone. She did clean the house on normal days but that day, she did it even without taking a rest yet. So I asked her, "Mom, are we expecting someone?"
"Why?" She asked smiling, and before I could answer, she added, "Well, I guess so" I smiled. It must be Jack.
"Jack wants to come have dinner with us. I've been refusing him all this while, but I guess allowing him this one time won't spoil anything, yeah?"
"Wow I like that mom. I want to see him again" Mom blushed. "I miss him too" she said, blushing hard
"You've not been seeing each other?"
"No. Work's caught up with him. There's no time to visit after the twins came. My hands are tied" she said and I hugged her immediately. She smiled.
"What about Cameron? Does he know?" I asked. It was dangerous to invite Jack into the house now. Cameron didn't want any visitors, especially not someone who was dating his wife. I wondered what audacity mom had to have agreed to Jack coming over.
"He's doing all night at work. He's not coming home tonight" she said. I nodded and watched her walk into the kitchen to make dinner. The kitchen was sparkling--she cleaned it in the morning. Dinner was going to be simple--Rice and lamb stew plus grilled fish. I was going to meet Jack again after some weeks.
When I was sure dinner was ready, I went back into my room and played music in high volumes. My curtains were up in the window and I stayed by the window sill and danced. Yes, I was aware that the figure could pass by and I should have let my curtains down but I was ready to meet up with it. I wanted to even be bold for once. I wanted to possibly have a conversation with whoever it was. Perhaps I could ask him what exactly he wanted. Perhaps I could find out if he was real or he was just a figment of my imagination. As I danced and sang along to the music, he appeared. Again. Like he knew I was waiting for him. This time, I was more terrified because he was not resting on a tall tree in the woods as usual, rather, he was slowly walking me, towards my window. But I didn't scream or move back; I was transfixed to the spot. Maybe it was shock or it was his force that held me stiff on the floor. I didn't know.
As he came closer, I started to figure out his shape and height. He was human after all. Or maybe not. The more he moved closer, the more he grew. He grew huge with every step he took- he was scary but I was staring, without screaming or running, but with my heart palpitating like it would drop the next minute.
When I realized he was very close to my window, I touched my head, moved a step back and screamed with all my strength because he was a beast. Then I opened my eyes slowly. I expected mom to come find out why I screamed but no one came into my room. Everywhere was as quiet as the grave, the only noise I heard was my screaming and maybe the thumping and thudding of his feet on dried leaves as he came closer. Still I did not run. When he got to my window, his head was already hidden, only his arms and body were visible, that's to let you know that he was taller than our building and maybe almost as wide. I moved a step backwards again and watched him. He looked like rock, I mean it was not flesh that covered his body, it was rocky skin, and when he let his arms down, I saw his hands, he had no fingers, they were all huge, long fangs.
He stretched out his hands and lifted my window, threw it away into the woods and put his arm into my room through the space where my window had been. I moved two steps backwards, fell to the floor, closed my eardrums because his movements made vibrating sounds that could deafen anyone if care was not taken, then I screamed again with all my energy. He soon entered my room, destroying many things without stress, my wall crumbled , my floor was dug down with his feet and I almost sank into the hole. My room soon transformed into a building that had just been demolished by machines. I waited for him to harm me but instead, he looked around the room, as if he was searching for something, used his hands to destroy my wall clock, wardrobe and door. In fact, he lifted my door with a hand as if it were mere paper. Then, he went out of my room towards the guest room where my twin sisters were sleeping. It seemed he was not after me Where was mom? I thought. I was so scared. As he walked through the house, his feet bore holes in the floor and crumbled the tiles and marble on the floor. Deep holes. I ran after him. I was not going to let him take Jamie away. It was crazy running after someone who was twenty times my size, but I did run after him avoiding the deep holes his feet created in the floor. He stopped at the guest room, flung away the door and went in with all his might. There were two cots there but there were no babies were in it. They were empty I was shocked. Where did the babies go? Where's mom? I remembered I left her in the kitchen to have some time in my room, waiting for Jack to join us for dinner. But, the kitchen was bare.
"Mom!" I screamed but she was nowhere to be found. Almost as soon as he entered the room, this beast scooped up two little girls from behind the wardrobe in the guest room. Screams followed a desperate plea for help. Two girls that were so young they couldn't be more than seven or eight years old. One had blond hair, the other had dark hair. They were shivering with fear. He sat them on his palms and then looked closely at them both with his huge, devil eyes, trying to determine which one he wanted.
I stood there at the door, confused about what to do. There was no weapon around to fight him. Besides, I couldn't fight him! But These girls were my sisters! I needed to save them, I was shocked as to when they grew up this big. But that didn't matter. The beast was there to take one of them away, Where's mom?? I thought, I screamed her name and the whole building shook with my screams and his movements. I went out of the house, opened the main door and behold, it was leading to a road I didn't know. In fact, our building was on clouds and everywhere was deserted. There was no building in view. No Mike, no neighbors, no sky, no woods. I ran back to the guest room with fright only to find out that the beast had taken Jamie away and my sister with dark hair was in pool of her blood.
"Ariana! Ariana! Ariana! Somebody help!! Jack!!!!" I suddenly heard mom's voice. Her voice was so much resonating in my head that it jerked me back to life, and I slowly opened my eyes. Surrounding me was mom and Jack. There was a bowl of water near my head, with a piece of cloth soaked into it, and I was sprawled on the floor with my first button loose and my hair thoroughly wet. I looked around my surroundings. Yeah, I was in my room. My window was intact, my door was not displaced. My floor, firm and strong and neat, my bed neatly laid, and mom was with me and there was no beast anywhere.
I had been hallucinating. Hallucinating? That's what Dr Brown called it but honestly it felt so real. Mom said I fell off my bed and knocked my head on the floor. She said I fell unconscious after that time and she had to pour some water on my forehead and hair. She said the water woke me, but little did she know that it was her voice that woke me. I heard her voice before I felt the water on my skin. I thought she had come to save Jamie from the hands of the beast. Then Jack came and took me to the hospital. He was already around when that incident happened to me. Mom said the first thing I said or asked as soon as I regained consciousness was, "Where is Jamie?"
At the hospital, my head was bound and my feet where I had bruises from falling. I was discharged the same day and Jack had to return to his home because it was already dark. He couldn't have dinner with us. I could see mom was sad about it but she tried not to show it. She was so worried for me and wondered if I was going crazy. I was even skeptical about talking to her about it because when she had heard Dr Brown's statement about my hallucinations, she had been dejected, you know when you're so worried and confused that you just shake your head in disbelief. But I wanted to talk to her about it. That night, after Jack left after mom pleaded that he waited some more to at least have dinner and he refused (probably because he had some work to do), mom came to my room and watched me lay down. She sat there, not saying a word. When I was rushed to the hospital, Mom was carrying the two babies on her chest and held them with her arms. They could have fallen with the way she was running and panicking but thank God they didn't.
She watched me with my eyes shut, and she didn't say anything. My head was still heavily bound but it was better, I felt better. I knew she was in the room. Maybe she was trying to make sure I do not fall or hallucinate again, and trying not to wake me up at the same time. But I was not even sleeping. I wished mom could work more on divorcing Cameron. She was now really silent about it. Was she giving up already? I thought. Or was she waiting for the twins to get attached to their father first? I didn't know. What I did know was ever since we returned home, mom had not slept in her husband's room and they fought about it everyday but without hitting each other.
I was awake but pretended to be asleep, so I knew mom sat beside me for an hour. Without saying anything. I opened my eyes and looked at her. She stared painfully at me, and I tried to sit up.. She helped me sit up and she rubbed my shoulder and kissed my cheeks.
"Baby" she began. "What's going on with you?" She asked.
"Im fine, mom" i said.
"Did you see him again? For real? Dr Brown said you saw a beast. Did you?"
"Actually mom, I believe someone is after Jamie"
"What do you mean? Jamie's only a baby, how could anyone be after her?" She asked, looking bewildered. "What's wrong? You're seeing things that are not there. Why baby, why??" She cried.
"Mommy, I swear he is really there. I'm sure he wants Jamie; I saw it in my dream" I said, almost crying. I wished someone would believe me and help me. "He's always there" I said pointing towards my window.
"At your window?"
"No. In the woods, but I always see him from here" . She sighed, and moved closer to me. She looked towards where I was pointing and shook her head.
"Tell me, how does he look like?"
"I don't know. Today he came like a beast, he must be really tall and powerful is all i know" I replied. I was glad we were finally having a conversation about him. It felt lighter to talk about it with mom.
"Did you tell Dr Brown about this?" She asked.
"Yes, and he said I'm hallucinating. Remember he came here once to stay with me but he didn't see what I was seeing, just like you didn't, But I swear mom, I see him"
"Look there now, baby. Do you see him now?" She asked. I looked there but no, he was not there.
"No mom. He doesn't come when someone is with me" i explained
"Is it a ghost? Maybe Joe appearing to you or something?" She asked.
"No I don't think so. He wants Jamie" i replied with a tone of finality. She sighed, scratched her head for an answer, then said softly. "I'll move you to the guest room. That place is overlooking a body of water. I think it's better for you" she forced a smile. "What do you think?" She asked me, looking squarely into my eyeballs. I nodded slowly. What did she expect me to say?
So, that night, mom helped me move into the guest room, which was on the farther end of the house. She was only trying to help me and I was cooperating with her even though I was not sure it would work. I was dealing with supernatural, paranormal forces, not something physical. They could move anywhere. That night, I slept peacefully. Mom moved in with me and the babies. It felt so comfy to have her rock me to sleep. And while she thought I was deeply asleep, at midnight, I heard her talk to Jack on phone: "I'm scared she might end up seeing a psychiatrist, I think everything is getting into her head, I'm so scared, Jack. Please help me"
"Poor little child" Jack blurted over the phone.
I was not totally awake but I heard them. They talked into the night. He apologized for not having dinner with us, he promised to take her out on weekends, he talked about the divorce, then he talked about his happy childhood, making mom laugh after crying. I know mom was grateful for him, but I was even more grateful. When Cameron was unavailable, he was there for her. I wish I could hit his head one of these days.
Camp was in three days time and mom was preparing me for it. It was going to be an experience. It was my first summer camp ever since I joined Enchanting Promises High school. And i was going to make the best use of it. I was determined to have fun, and also not forget my sole aim of going there--Finding a way out for Jamie.
I could see mom was especially pleased to know I would be attending
"They say the camp will help you get better. I have a feeling it might"
I didn't understand what she meant, and I chose not to think about it.
The next two days were used in packing and unpacking and at last, I was ready for camp.
"Be a good girl" Mom told me. "Remember that no man gets to touch you anyhow. No touching, no fondling, okay?"
"Yes mom"
"Don't go into the woods alone. Okay? Walk in groups, and be very wary of your surroundings please. Hear me?"
"Yes mom, I can hear you"
"One more thing, I want you to call me if you need any help especially if you cannot talk to your counselor or Camp director. Okay? Don't hesitate to call me. I'll call you too, okay baby?"
"Yes mom I promise"
She touched my shoulders and rubbed them lightly. "I'll miss you. I'll miss you so much"
"It's just seven days mommy" i said, trying to smile. She pinched my cheeks and smiled too. We were so fond of each other
"I trust you'll do your school proud in the competition. I trust you so much, I don't have to tell you to do well, my smart child with an adult brain" she smiled. I laughed too. I indeed had an adult brain. I behaved like a fifteen year old adolescent or maybe even eighteen or twenty, even though I was only eight.
"Sure mom, I will do my school proud. I'll do you proud too" I said. She sighed and looked away. I knew she was worried about something and I knew what it was about
"Mom it's okay. I believe you'll be fine. I hope Cameron doesn't hit you though"
"He's likely to travel this week. If he does, I'll be away from home until you get back. I really need help with my kids. I'll be fine baby. Have fun" she said. I nodded. It was three hours till the meet-up time. I was going to meet with other students at school at exactly 1:00pm, it was a six hour journey according to what I heard. So, I had time to talk to Mom before I finally left.
"Won't you say bye to Mike?" She asked, surprised I haven't even talked about missing him and stuff.
"I will, when I'm leaving" I said, quickly changing the topic, "Errm, mom, tell me about your camp experience. Your camp experience when you were in high school or college, how was it?"
She smiled, frowned and smiled some more. The smile did not reach her eyes. It seemed like she was indecisive about whether to smile or keep a straight face.
"It was both intriguing and challenging. I attended several camps but the last, the one i attended in my last year at College was the most conspicuous"
"Wow, really? What happened?"
"It was where I met Cameron" she said. Now I was about to listen to the story of Cameron and mom. I started to get really interested, but it seemed that she didn't want to talk about it.
"How did you meet? Were you in the same college?" I asked curiously. Mom shook her head.
"No. He was a counselor. A camp counselor for another school. It was a inter-school Summer Camp. Combination of two colleges, mine inclusive"
"Oh. So how did you get talking? How old were you then?" I asked. She was silent.
"I was fourteen, and he was nineteen I think. And we always crossed each others' paths everyday till the camp ended"
"Wow mom" i smiled.
"I'll tell you this story later, when you're grown up. You don't have to know now" she said rubbing my hands.
"Please mom, tell me" i pleaded. After a while, she decide to tell me. "Im sorry you don't have a good father. I'm so sorry"
"It's not your fault, mom"
"It is. I agreed to marry him" she sighed.
"He made advances to me throughout the days of the camp. I didn't like him. I've never loved him, I've always known that. I mean I appreciated his looks and all but I didn't want to date him or anything. He forced it on me.
At that age, my mom was very ill and I needed money to take care of her. Besides, I needed money to take my final exams but there was no money. I don't know how he found out but he walked up to me one day. That was after the camp. It was at a birthday party. My friend's boyfriend was having a birthday party and I decided to join her to celebrate him. I knew that guy so well, he was a good, brilliant chap and fun to talk to."
"Hmmm"
"Cameron also happened to be there, and when I saw him, I tried to avoid him but it was not easy because he kept bumping into me. He walked up to me and flaunted a wad of cash at my face. It was a huge amount of money. He said, and i quote, "Hello, Ruby, I learnt you needed money to further your education. I'm here to help you, I think this will do, right?" I was shocked. It was more than enough to take care of my needs. It was a big temptation for me as mom was very sick and already stopped working a long time ago because she had an accident that rendered her paralyzed from the knees downwards."
"Yeah. I know that" I shook my head. It was sad. The last time I saw granny, she was limping. She got better but she couldn't walk until her death.
"He left before I could even say a word. I touched the money on the table and swallowed hard. It was really huge but I could not take it because I didn't know this guy. After thinking twice, I left the money there and walked to the far end of the venue to clear my head. I had to make a decision"
"Hmmm" i listened with rapt attention. Mom swallowed every now and then like there was a lump in her throat.
"He found me in no time and he was holding the cash. He tried to talk me into taking it but I was insistent on knowing who he was first. "Who are you? Why are you giving me money?" I asked but he refused to reveal his identity to me. I left him there refusing to take the money until I knew his identity. When I told my friends about him, they sounded so excited. "he's a rich guy! You're so lucky! Don't you know Cameron? His parents are in money! Don't you know the models-Cam family?? You're so lucky babe" they kept yelling in excitement but I felt like something didn't add up. Why did he want me? I was much younger and only a student. I knew the models--Cam family but I didn't know he was their son.
He came to my lodge about three days later, he told me that it was safe to take the money that he didn't want anything in return. So I took it and took care of my needs. Before then, I had researched about him and found him to be safe and free. immediately I took the money, I stopped talking to him. I didn't want to have anything to do with him. He looked dangerous to me"
"About a month after, I started to regret taking the money because this guy wouldn't let me rest. He called and visited at will. I never gave him directions to where I lived, but he found out on his own. He wanted me to be his girlfriend. I've always found him scary. He's a goodlooking, sexy model that every girl wanted and all but I didn't like sexy guys, I felt they were dangerous. It was all me alone in the world with my mom. I didn't want to be used. I told Cameron to stop calling me or coming to my place at will but he was hell-bent on getting what he wanted. He started to threaten me at a point. He said his words gently but they seemed like threats. I mean, i felt threatened. It was not easy, baby. It's a long story"
I sighed. It probably would take me several days to hear everything that happened with mom and Cameron in the past fourteen years
"Mom used to take me to church. I heard doctrines about men who offered money or whatever it was in order to lure girls. It was my greatest fear--being used and dumped.
Sometimes I'd open my door and find him there , waiting with flowers in his hands and a note. He came by, almost every week. It started to get on my nerves, I reported him to the school authorities but it was taken with levity because everyone knew him.
"He's not harmless, he's just being friendly, stop making it seem like a big deal" Actually he didn't do anything harmless, he just wanted to be close, he didn't ask for more but I had a bad feeling about him..
When he started to threaten me, I didn't tell anybody. I instead got another apartment and got myself a roommate. I was so scared of him. He practically frustrated me every day of my last days in college. When I finally wrote my exams and graduated, I thought I'd be free from him. I went home to my mother and forgot about him. But he appeared again on my doorstep one afternoon. I hadn't told him about where my mom lived. So you could imagine the shock on my face when I opened the door and he was the one there, with flowers and a gift bag of course.
"What do you want?" I yelled. I had already had enough of his august visits
"Brought something for you and mom" he said, smiling and gently shoved me aside and entered the house. Without invitation! He was popular, he's been popular for long and he was known for his humanitarian services and philanthropy, so no one saw him as bad or dangerous. He was a model, a camp counsellor and a teacher. His parents were models too and according to everyone,they were a humble household. He was young and humble, but to me, he seemed dangerous. Besides, I didn't want to be in a relationship then. I wanted to just be with mom all the time"
"What did granny say to him?" I asked Mom. I was so curious.
"Mom knew him although it was the first time she'd be meeting him physically. Like I said, he was a popular model. She accepted his gifts and asked me to see him off when he was leaving. I only saw him off to the door and he left, after waving for the umpteenth time. To me, it was not humility; it was childishness. Which model goes into people's houses randomly without being invited? I told Mom about his advances and she advised me. She asked me if I liked him. I told her the truth. She told me it was best not to date at my age..She was so understanding."
"One day though, Cameron had his way with me. He invited us to his modelling agency, me and a lot of my friends from my school. I wanted to see his skills and stuff, you know, I had to know this man who was troubling me. So, along the line, some men called me upstairs, said their model for the day, Cameron wanted to take pictures with me. I went there with my friends but I was the only one allowed in. It happened too fast that I could not even make a decision on the spot"
"Did you take pictures with him?" I asked
"Yeah, and afterwards he took me to a large room where several delicacies were laid on the table, I guess it was a VIP dinner. He wanted me to be there. It was there he said it so plainly what he wanted, to my face. "Be my girlfriend" he said over dinner, before everyone. His mom and dad were there, his friends and many big people. Everyone was shocked to hear that. They stopped eating as soon as he uttered those words. I was even more worried for what would happen next. I thought they'd throw me out. But they didn't. They all were staring at me, waiting for my response."
Then I said, "Give me some time to think" and everyone started to eat again. I could not. I was so self conscious. It seemed that his parents were indifferent about me. They didn't care that I was from an average family and didn't have a father, and I had a disabled mother."
"That night, after the whole show, I was about to return home with my friends when his mom pulled me back and asked me to stay overnight. I was shocked. She said she'd like to make me a model and be under her, she said I was very beautiful and had the figure and poise and everything it takes. It was all too much for me to process. It was a very big offer. In fact meeting with these big people was a big opportunity but I didn't know whether to be excited or not. I wanted to run home to tell Mom of the good news but she wanted me to stay overnight"
"So I called Mom and told her of the new development. I slept over in their luxurious house that night. I was given my own room but that night was the worst night of my life because Cameron came into my room in the midnight and raped me. It was even worse that I cried for help but no one came to my aid."
"I'm so sorry,mom" I whispered
She swallowed hard and pointed at the clock. "You have to go now. Please enjoy yourself darling, have fun" i stood up, packed my bag and waited in the car for mom. She was going to drive me to school from where I'll travel with other students to the camp ground