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| Chapter One����������������� The Decision |
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| An uneasy silence settled over the father and daughter.� Mariaha stood speechless, she couldn't believe what she had just heard.� Ever since her father had gotten out of the hospital he had been acting odd, but never like this. |
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| All she had said was that she was going to practice and he had just gone off.� He started yelling about how she was spending too much time on the play and how she wasn't to go back there again.� She had tried to remind him that the play was only two weeks away and she had to go, she had the lead part for-goodness-sake. |
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| Mariaha sighed and picked up her bag and headed to the door, her father would cool down in a few hours and wouldn?t even remember that they had fought at all. |
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| She heard her father take a step towards her and felt his hand on her arm.� "That was fast." Mariaha thought.� She quickly realized that he wasn't planning on apologizing when his grip got tighter and tighter and became painful. |
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| "If you leave this house, don't bother coming back!" His voice was low and harsh.� It wasn't a threat it was a promise. |
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| "But," Mariaha began. |
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| "No buts, I meant it!"� He pulled her roughly to her room and pointed in.� "Make your choice.� You can stay and drop this acting idea, or you can continue following this dub fantasy and quit this family." |
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| Mariaha could feel the tears burning in her eyes.� She slipped past the man she had once fondly called Father and into her room.� She closed the door and leaned against it for support.� Her legs gave way beneath her as her body was wracked with heart wrenching sobs.� She shakily slid down the door to the floor and hugged her knees tight against her chest. |
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| Why had her mother chosen these two weeks to go to Africa, the two weeks she needed her the most?� Why was her father acting like this?� What had she done to provoke him?� What was she going to choose, a life with a family that didn't care what she wanted, or following her dreams without a family?� All these thoughts were running through her head so fast she couldn't concentrate on one long enough to come up with an answer. |
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| Mariaha took a deep breath.� She let it escape her body taking with it all her questions and thoughts.� She sat there black for a moment before getting up and grabbing some bags.� She packed in them what she needed along with the items she cherished.� It took three bags.� Mariaha poked her head out her door cautiously, the coast was clear.� She slipped silently into the kitchen and gabbed her purse, her keys and all her schoolbooks.� She crammed them all into her backpack and crept back into her room.� She could hear her father watching TV on the other side of the house.� For once she was grateful for her father's regularity.� Every weekend around this time he would sit down and watch TV for at least two hours. |
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| Their house was two stories and Mariaha?s window was just above the garage roof.� She opened the window and put her bags out onto the roof and followed them out, closing the window behind her.� Mariaha dropped onto the grass next to her bags, piled everything into her car and drove off. |
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| Four o'clock practice went like usual, everyone goofed around for a good half-hour before getting serious, that is as serious as the drama group got on a Friday afternoon.� No one really noticed that Mariaha wasn't saying much.� She usually took on characteristics of the person she played and the main character was a very sad and quiet woman. |
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| At six o'clock Mariaha was still there cleaning up, something she never did.� "Mariaha, is something bothering you?"� Mrs. Gam asked taking the stack of papers out of Mariaha's hands. |
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| "You know me too well for me to hide anything from you."� Mariaha said attempting to smile but it was no where near as bright as her normal smile.� She unfolded the events of the day to her director and friend. |
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| Lucas was walking by the drama room.� When he heard crying he didn't want to be rude but it sounded like Mariaha.� Him and Mariaha had known each other forever; he was a grade ahead of her but ever since she had taken advanced classes in 5th grade they had always hung out together.� Lucas had always thought of Mariaha as his little sister, so naturally he was worried to hear her crying.� Lucas poked his head into the room. |
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| "...And to make a long story short he told me if I left he didn't want me to come back...ever."� Mariaha looked up.� Her face was streaked with tears and her eyes were red and puffy.� In her hands she was twisting a tissue in agony.� She caught sight of Lucas in the door way and quickly dried her face with the tissue. |
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| "I...I'm sorry.� I...didn't mean to barge in."� Lucas stammered. |
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| "It's okay Lucas."� Mariaha said with a sigh. |
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| "Mrs. Gam?" The intercom buzzed. |
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| "Yes?" |
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| "There is a call for you in the office." The secretary said in her typical crisp voice. |
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| "Thank you," There was no need to say it because Mrs. Blue had already shut off the intercom.� "I'll be back in a little bit, then we can talk some more."� Mrs. Gam hurriedly left the room. |
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| Lucas gazed at Mariaha with his head cocked to one side, his usual manner when he was concerned.� "How much did you hear?"� Mariaha asked weakly. |
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| "Enough," Lucas walked over to where she was seated and squatted down next to her.� A new tear formed and followed the path of the others down her cheek.� Lucas wiped the tear away and whispered, "I'm always here if you need me for anything."� He added earnestly. |
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| Mariaha threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder and cried.� "I'm so scared, I don't know what I'm going to do." |
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| Lucas lifted her face and looked into her eyes.� "I know exactly what you're going to do.� Let me make one call and well go." |
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| 'Go where?"� Mariaha asked brushing away the new tears with the back of her hand. |
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| Lucas held a finger to his lips as he dialed his cell phone.� There was a pause,� "Hey mom, yah, practice is over...I need to ask a favor...Can Mariaha come over?� Yes, I know, but can we cancel it, this is important?� I'll explain everything later....Okay...Bye."� Lucas put his phone down and looked at Mariaha.� "Okay everything is set, let's get your stuff and get going." |
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| "But what about Mrs. Gam?"� Just then as if on cue Mrs. Gam hurried into the room, grabbed her coat, purse and her keys.� She looked at Mariaha with regret. |
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| "I'm sorry but I have to run.� That was Ruby's daycare, she got sick and I have to pick her up.� Will you be okay here for about twenty minutes?"� Mrs. Gam said her hand on the doorknob. |
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| "She'll be fine, I'm taking her home with me."� Lucas rested his hand lightly on Mariaha?s shoulder. |
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| "Oh, okay."� Mrs. Gam said hesitantly. |
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| "Come on, let's go going."� Lucas led Mariaha out gently. |
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| Mariaha was quiet through most of the half hour ride.� "What's bothering you?" Mariaha gave Lucas an annoyed look.� "Oh, let me rephrase that, do you want to tell me what went on between you and your father?" |
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| Mariaha sighed heavily. "Things were fine until my dad got into the car accident.� As soon as he got out of the hospital he started getting really edgy and he would byte everyone's head off at the drop of a hat.� It started out with little things but it just started to get worse and worse.� And then today...today...I'd never seen him so violent." Mariaha mumbled. |
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| "Did you just say that he got violent?"� Lucas' words were worried as he pulled into his driveway.� He turned off the engine with a flick of his wrist and twisted in his seat so that he was facing her.� "He didn't hit you did you?" |
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| "No, he didn't hit me."� Mariaha looked down at her lap and absently played with the bottom of the flannel shirt that she wore to almost every practice.� She told everyone that it was her good luck charm. |
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| "Then what did he do?"� Lucas said trying to get her to look at him. |
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| Mariaha unbuckled her seatbelt and unbuttoned the black and blue flannel shirt to reveal a pale yellow tank top she had on underneath.� She closed her eyes and slipped the material down her arm so that Lucas could see the yellow and green bruise that had developed on her upper arm.� When she opened her eyes she saw something odd happen to Lucas's soft gray eyes, they seemed to catch on fire.� She had only seen him truly mad once before, when they were children, back when Lucas had been her next-door neighbor.� Some boy had been teasing her and chasing her around the neighborhood and Lucas had come charging out of his house, tackled the boy, and made him swear never to do that again. |
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| Lucas shoved open the door and walked over to Mariaha's side, opened it up and motioned for her to get out.� Mariaha did so and watched as he got her stuff out of the trunk.� "You go inside and tell my mom that I'll be back in a little bit.� I have some business to take care of."� He started to walk back around the car to the driver's seat. |
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| Mariaha feared the worst.� "Lucas, were are you going?" |
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| "No man should ever mistreat a woman, especially you.� And your father needs to know that."� His voice was soft and gentle but full of anger for her father. |
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| Mariaha ran up behind him and grabbed his hand.� "Lucas don't."� Her voice was quiet but strained as new tears formed in her eyes.� "I don't want you to get into trouble with my father.� Besides, if you go there he will know that I'm here with you and I don't want him to know where I am just yet." |
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| "But," |
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| "Not yet, please.� Just give me a few days, that's all I'm asking, a few days.� Can you do that, just hold off a few days?"� Her eyes were so earnest and pleading that Lucas couldn't bear to hurt her any more than she had already been hurt.� The trust she had built her life around had crumbled to the ground and Lucas didn't want her to even think about questioning her faith in him. |
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| "Okay, for now," said Lucas as he picked up her bags.� "Come on, let's get you in the house, it's freezing out here."� Lucas was right, the winter night wind was blowing cold against their backs and the dark sky was threatening to rain.� Mariaha knew the path the path to the house well, with all it's twists and turns through the trees it seemed never ending.� Someone driving by would never think that behind this front of trees and overgrown bushes was a million dollar home.� They emerged from the last of the trees and paused a moment to look at the house.� Mariaha hadn't been there in a long time and was surprised to see how much it had changed.� It's red brick face was covered with growing ivy, and what had once been a large open grass yard was now a beautifully landscaped wonderland. |
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| "I love what you guys have done with the yard."� Mariaha breathed. |
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| "You always were the one to enjoy nature.�� You know, after you mentioned how bare it looked, Mom hired someone to landscape it and ever since then Mom's been obsessed with the yard.� I think she's finally found a hobby that she will enjoy."� Lucas laughed, one of their personal jokes had been how his mother never seemed to keep with one hobby for over a month.� Mariaha laughed along with him, but her laughter quickly died out when her eyes caught sight of something.� She walked over to a plant and knelt down next to it, fingering the leaves delicately.� Lucas walked over to her and inquired about her change of mood. |
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| "Every time I see a lily I can't help but think that they were Liz's favorite flower."� Mariaha's voice sounded far off, she was quickly drowning in her memories. |
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| "Mar, snap out of it," Lucas took her shoulders firmly and turned her to look at her.� "You gotta stop doing this.� You couldn't have done anything for her, she was too far gone by the time you found out." |
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| "I know, but I can't help thinking that I should have known something was up.� I should have recognized the signs."� Mariaha reflected sadly. |
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| "It was her choice.� Your sister is the one who chose to do the drugs; no one could have helped her unless she wanted to be helped.� You've got to believe that."� Lucas practically knew that speech by heart, he had told it to her so many times. |
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| "You keep telling me that, but when my dad starts in on me about it I begin to think he's right.� I mean he tells me it's my fault for not telling anyone." |
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| "Well he's wrong.� Come on, let's get up inside, you're shivering."� For the first time Mariaha realized that the temperature had dropped while they had been out.� Lucas took off his jacket and placed it on her shoulders.� She slid her arms into the sleeves and hugged it close to her body.� The jacket was twice her size but she didn't care, it was warm and she could smell the cologne she had given to Lucas for his birthday. |
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| When Mariaha stood up her head only came to Lucas's shoulder.� It had been a long time sense she had noticed how tall he was.� Lucas picked up the two largest bags and left Mariaha her backpack and one small bag. |
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| They got into the house and found a note from Lucas's parents saying that something had come up and they hoped to be back by ten.� "You can drop your stuff in my room for now."� Lucas led Mariaha to his room. |
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| Mariaha shook her head in amusement.� Lucas's room was just like him.� There was a Tommy poster next to his bed, nothing cluttering the floor, and everything in place.� His room was three times the size of what hers were.� Mariaha looked again and realized that there were two beds in the room.� "Why do you have two beds in your room?" |
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| "Remember when my mother was going through that decorating phase of hers?"� Mariaha nodded.� She remembered when Sara had tried to get her to take decorating classes with her at the community collage.� Sara had always tried to get Mariaha to join her whenever she did anything and always invited her to go on vacation with them.� Maybe it was because Sara had always wanted a daughter and Mariaha's mother was always gone on business.� Lucas began speaking again, "Well she started to redecorate the spare room and we had to move the bed in here.� Right after she started to paint was when she moved on to gardening.� We just never put anything back, that's why my room is so crowded and messy." |
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| "You're room messy?� Never.� If you call this a mess, then what would you call my room?"� Mariaha unloaded her stuff and sat down on the spare bed running her hand over the antique quilt. |
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| "Is it anything like when we were kids?"� Lucas teased. |
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| "Worse."� Mariaha laughed. |
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| "Is that possible?� If it is, then I don't think there is a word fit to describe it."� They had a good laugh and settled down into a comfortable silence. |
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| Mariaha looked around the room studying everything from the movie memorabilia to the posters of famous singers and bands.� Her eyes settled on the TV.� There was a Sega attached to it.� "I bet I could still whip your butt at this." She said with a confident smile. |
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| "Oh, yah?" |
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| "Yah." |
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| "Okay then, I challenge you to a game."� Mariaha tossed him a controller and they proceeded to battle each other to the death in a street-fighter game. |
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| Sara and Mark Kirby came back to a dark home.� Her sister had called and asked if they could watch both her kids.� She had expected to see her son and Mariaha waiting for them to get back.� It wasn't like Lucas to give up going to a play just to have a friend come over.� She could have just bought an extra ticket.� It must have been something extremely important. |
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Sara walked down the hall and noticed the light on under Lucas's door.� She peeked in and saw Lucas and Mariaha fast asleep sprawled across his bed.� It seemed they had fallen asleep playing video games because the TV was on and two figures were jumping around the screen beating the crap out of each other.�
Sara decided that it was better just to let the two sleep and she turned off the TV and Sega.� She covered the two in a blanket.� It reminded her so much of when they had been little.� She didn't know how many times she had come into his room to find that the two had fallen asleep playing a game or watching TV.� "Dreams of gold," she whispered and kissed the top of their heads.� She wasn't sure when but somewhere along the way she had fallen in love with this funny little brunette, she had made her way into Sara's heart and become her daughte |
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