When I was little… maybe six or seven years old… my parents divorced and the family as a whole sort of just… dissolved. I went with my mother, my older brother went to live with my father and my older sister just… left. One day she was there in her room and the next… she was gone. Mom looked for her and called everyone that she knew who might have any idea where my sister went… but no one could tell her anything.
Thankfully eventually my sister came back… but only to let mom know that she was ok and to leave her alone. She was the first to leave.
Years passed and mom and I moved around all the time. It wasn’t that mom couldn’t get or keep a job, she’d just get these… feelings… and we’d move. Sometimes we had plenty of time to pack up everything and move at a safe pace… while other times, she’d load as much as she could into our car, throw me into the passenger seat and then be away before dawn.
This happened so many times, but as I grew up, I assumed it was normal to not live somewhere more than a year at a time… or in some cases even less. We moved to so many states, moving randomly at the drop of a hat.
This made it hard for me to make friends. When you’re always the new kid, no one wants to talk to you… let alone make friends with you. That’s when I met Laura.
Laura was… I guess you could call her perfect. She had perfect skin, perfect teeth, perfect soft platinum blond hair and perfect deep blue eyes. She smelled like flowers. Her voice was soft and she giggled a lot. Most importantly… she said she loved me.
Only thing that was wrong with her was… no one else could see her.
I learned that early on when I tried to tell mom about Laura and she didn’t believe me. I tried to point her out to mom and when there was no one there that she could see, she thought I was lying to her and spanked me.
Mom believed that you don’t lie to your parents and that everything your parent says is law. Break that law and you are punished… with each punishment growing larger and more painful the more you do. I would experience that to it’s highest level as I grew older.
You get beaten enough and you stop saying anything… to anyone… and after trying to show Laura to mom enough times that she transitioned to beating me upside the head. Well… I stopped talking to mom altogether.
She told me that Laura wasn’t real. I knew she was wrong. I could see Laura. I could hear Laura. I should smell Laura and I could feel her. I knew mom was wrong… so Laura became my secret.
For years I would never understand how I was the only one who could see her, but even I knew there was something special about her. I learned that the first time we moved after I had found her.
Mom moved us close to 1000 miles away one April and I was destroyed. I could see Laura watching us drive off. I was crying softly to myself. I was losing my only friend and as I watched her get smaller and smaller… I just saw her smiling, as if she knew something I didn’t.
I was heartbroken and so mad at my mom. I didn’t speak the entire trip, which made mom mad enough to split my lip when she slapped me across the face. I didn’t care. By then, I pretty much hated my mom and was going to do as my brother and sister and leave when I was old enough.
Three days we were on the road and then we were in our new town and pulling into the driveway of our new house. There was a moving van there and a couple of guys who were moving our stuff for us. Mom let us keep our things this time… a rare occasion… so all we had to do was drive.
I stayed out of the way and just sat on the grass until they were done. Mom was busy inside with them, telling them where to put everything. She also didn’t want me bothering them because one of them asked what happened to my lip… and mom didn’t have a good excuse ready.
I sat there and played with a blade of grass until I felt small hands cover my eyes and heard a soft voice speak to me.
“Guess who…”
I blinked, my eyelashes touching her soft skin as I turned my head and saw Laura standing behind me.
“Hey there… did you miss me?”
I just stared at her in shock and then began to cry as I hugged her. I wasn’t even ten yet, so I didn’t know any better… but there she was, my Laura. She just hugged me so tightly and played with my hair as I cried.
“How?”
Laura smiled and let out her soft giggle.
“You belong to me. I can always find you.”
Thinking back on it now, that should have been my first sign that something was… off… but I didn’t care or know any better then. I had my Laura back and she was real.
“Peter… what happened to your lip?”
I pursed my lips and tried to hide it, but she grabbed my chin and held me in place.
“Did your mommy do that… to you?”
I nodded slowly and Laura leaned in close to me. I didn’t know what she was going to do, but she kissed my lip and smiled.
“There… all better now.”
I stared at her in shock. She’d kissed me… and it was then I noticed my lip didn’t hurt anymore. I reached up and rubbed my lip and there was no cut. Somehow… she’d made it go away.
“How’d you do that?”
Laura laughed and sat down next to me.
“Like I said… you belong to me… and I didn’t want you hurt.”
She wrapped her arms tighter around me and rested her head on my shoulder.
“So… tell me all about our new home.”
Our new home. Finally it felt like home. All I needed was Laura to make it better.
That was the first time that she did something that I couldn’t explain… but it wouldn’t be the last.
A couple of years passed and we moved a few more times. I didn’t care anymore because I knew Laura would be with me no matter what. I didn’t bother trying to make friends, but I learned how to lie to mom and make up just enough friends to make her stop caring what I did.
Soon came my thirteenth birthday and for some reason, Laura was very excited. She kept telling me she had a surprise for me. She said that she was almost ready to make things… perfect.
Make things perfect. That was something she’d say really often. Mom would get mad and yell at me and Laura would tell me not to worry.
“I’m going to make things perfect and then you and I will never be separated ever again. Your mom won’t ever hurt you… once things are perfect.”
I never knew what she meant by that until it was a week before my birthday. Mom was in a really good mood, which was strange for her, and she’d gotten herself a boyfriend. I didn’t like him, but Laura told me to let it go and ignore him.
“He’s important Peter… trust me.”
Trust me. Laura had been saying that a lot the last year. She had so many plans for us and wanted me to just trust her to know what to do. I loved her so I just nodded and let her handle things, so I listened to her on this as well.
A few days before my birthday, mom came home drunk and laughing with Mike, her boyfriend. She collapsed onto the couch giggling and yelled for me to come to the living room.
I hated it when she was drunk but knew better than to ignore her. I left my bedroom, with Laura following me, and headed over to the couch.
“Hey… there’s the shitstain that popped out of my crotch. Did I ever introduce you to my spawn, Mike?”
Mike winced and nodded.
“Yes Becca, I know Peter.”
Mom laughed and rolled her eyes.
“His name’s not Peter; he’s shitstain… or cumwad… that would be better. Should have pushed him down the drain the night his father pumped me full of his sewage. Would have been better off.”
My eyes dropped to the ground as I turned red from a mix of anger and embarrassment.
“Hey… fuckwad… you look at me when I’m talking to you.”
I looked back up at my mom and her eyes were so dark. Her pupils were so wide there was almost no color at all there.
“You’re going to be going on a trip. Mike… out of the kindness of his heart… has offered to take me to Vegas for a vacation and agreed to pay to send you to stay with your dad while we’re gone.”
I nodded.
“Thank you Mike.”
Mike nodded.
“You’re welcome kiddo… and I’m sorry about your mom.”
Mom snapped. She glared at Mike and her expression went dark.
“Don’t apologize for me. That piece of cum droppings is mine. I can do whatever the fuck I want to him and no one can tell me otherwise. Now… do you want to walk your ass out of my home or do you want to apologize to me and take me to my room where you can make me feel better.”
Mike winced and nodded. Standing up, he scooped up mom and carried her toward the bedroom. He paused at her door and turned to look at me. He blinked at me and his eyes seemed to look to my right for a moment before looking back at me.
“Pack your clothes and stuff, Peter, and I’ll take you to the airport in the morning.”
I nodded as they went into Mom’s room and shut the door. I looked at Laura and saw her smiling at the closed door.
“Come on. Let’s go pack your things. Mike will make sure your mom sleeps late tomorrow so she won’t bother you when we leave.”
I looked at Laura and saw her smiling at the door and it was then I remembered something. Mike looked at me… then looked to my right… then back at me. Laura was standing to my right.
Mike could see Laura?! How? How was that possible? No one else could see her… just me. No one in close to three years could see her. Why now?
“Come on… we need to pack.”
I let Laura drag me to my room and watched as she packed my suitcases. My clothes were going into one as well as some of the books I was reading… but she didn’t stop there. She started packing all of my stuff into suitcases… suitcases I didn’t even know I owned.
“Laura… why are you packing so much? I won’t need this much stuff for just a week.”
Laura just turned her head and smiled at me.
“Trust me…”
Trust me… those words again. I just nodded and helped her pack. We packed for what felt like an hour before she set my alarm and told me to go to sleep. Usually she’d just sort of walk off somewhere and come back in the morning, but this time… she crawled in bed with me and curled into my side.
“You’re going to sleep here?”
Laura looked up at me from where she was laying in my bed and smiled.
“From now on… I’m going to be sleeping with you. I won’t have to go away anymore… not after we leave.”
Accepting that Laura knew best, I just nodded and drifted off to sleep… only to wake up, hours later, to her shaking me awake.
“Peter… wake up… we have to go now.”
I opened my eyes to see Laura smiling down at me. In her hands was a small purse that looked like the one my sister used to have when I was five.
“Where’d you get that?”
Laura smiled and showed me the purse.
“I grabbed it from your mom’s office… along with a few other important things.”
Opening the purse she showed me that it was filled with paperwork, some pictures and money… a lot of money.
“What is that and where did you get it?”
Laura smirked.
“I told you… from your mom’s office. I grabbed your birth records and all the money your mom had in her safe. I know things are going to go the way I want them to… but it never hurts to be safe.”
I was confused but I just shrugged and got up. I started dragging my suitcases into the living room and found Mike waiting for me. He had a cut on his cheek and looked very tired.
“Hey kiddo. Your mom’s still asleep so I’ll take you to the airport now and then come back for her later. Do you have your stuff ready?”
I nodded and he smiled, then seemed to nod to something behind me before he grabbed my stuff and headed out to his car. I turned my head to see Laura standing in the doorway to my bedroom.
“Ready?”
She nodded, came over to my side and kissed me again.
“We’re finally on our way, Peter. We’ll be away from here and there will be nothing and no one to stop us from being together… forever.”
I nodded as Laura dragged me out to Mike’s car and soon we were on our way to the airport.
“The flight I booked you on doesn’t have many people, considering the time and day, so there shouldn’t be much for you to worry about. Normally kids your age aren’t allowed to fly by themselves… but I paid a little extra and they’re going to… overlook that.”
I nodded from the backseat as Laura held my hand.
“Say thank you.”
I nodded and blushed.
“Thank you Mike.”
I could see Mike’s eyes in the rear view mirror glance to my side before he nodded.
“No problem kiddo. Hope you have a better time with your dad.”
I nodded as he focused on the road. Before I knew it, we were at the airport and a man in uniform was there to escort me inside.
“Don’t worry, little man, I’ll make sure you get on your flight.”
I smiled and nodded.
“Thank you.”
I turned to say goodbye to Mike, but paused when I saw him off to the side… talking to Laura. I strained my ears over the noise of the airport and heard just a little of what he was saying.
“… little young for you… I’m sure you can… I’ll handle her, like we agreed…”
Frowning I started to head over to see what was going on when the airport attendant caught my attention.
“This way. We need to hurry to get you on your plane.”
I nodded and felt Laura slide up next to me, taking my hand. I felt a sense of calm wash over me and all the thoughts I had before just seemed to… fade away. A smile crossed my face and soon I was on the place without a care in the world.
“I wonder what it will be like living with dad…”
Sitting in the empty seat next to me, Laura just smiled.
“Better than living with that bitch…”
I laughed softly to myself, catching the eye of the flight attendant, who just stared at me before moving on.
“Anything is better than living with her for a week.”
Laura nodded.
“Or longer…”
I smiled and yawned a little.
“How long is the flight?”
Laura smiled and looked out the window.
“Another couple of hours. Why don’t you just sit back and relax. I’ll wake you up when we land.”
I smiled and let out another yawn.
“Ok… night.”
Closing my eyes, I failed to notice the two flight attendants who were staring at me in fear.
When I opened my eyes again, we were landing in Colorado and I knew I’d be seeing my dad again after close to five years.
“It’s going to be weird to see my dad and brother again. I wonder if they remember me?”
Laura smiled and nodded.
“Of course they do, silly, they’re your family… like me.”
I nodded, not really paying attention to her words. I heard an announcement about seat belts and looked down to see mine was fastened. Laura just smiled and squeezed my hand as the plane bounced and came to a stop.
“We’re here. This should be fun…”
Nodding I waited until the seat belt light went off then opened it and stood up.
“Follow the others into the airport to the baggage area. We’ll grab your suitcases and then head into the main area to look for your dad and brother.”
I looked at Laura as she pointed toward the line of people standing in front of the exit. Nodding, I stood up and got in line. Slowly, the line of people headed inside and down a long hallway to a large circular belt with luggage riding along on it.
It took me a couple of minutes to grab my suitcases and then I turned and saw three police officers headed my way.
“Excuse me… I’m looking for a Peter…”
The officer said my last name and I slowly raised my hand. He walked over to me and crouched down in front of me.
“Hey son… um, can you come with me and my friends here? We need to talk to you about your mom.”
I look out of the corner of my eye to see Laura nodding. I looked back at the officer and nodded. Giving me a sad smile, he took my hand and motioned to the other two officers to grab my luggage.
“I really hate to be the one to tell you this, but there was an accident with the flight your mom was on. The plane crashed and a lot of people were hurt. Sadly a couple of them died… including your mom.”
I felt a wave of panic fill me and then Laura’s hand slid into mine and it all just… stopped. I could hear her voice in my head at the moment.
“Nod and look sad. Ask about Mike… then ask if your Dad is here or on his way to get you.”
Blinking I looked up at the officer and did as she said. He asked me for Mike’s last name… but I didn’t know it.
“He’s her boyfriend and he paid for my ticket here to see my dad. Is my dad waiting for me outside somewhere?”
The officer looked concerned and looked at one of the others.
“We’ll go ask and see. Why don’t you describe Mike to me and I’ll see if he’s ok.”
I described Mike as well as I could and the officer checked a piece of paper in his hand.
“That doesn’t match anyone who was taken to the hospital… or any of the dead. Let me check the flight manifest.”
He pulled out another piece of paper and frowned.
“There doesn’t seem to be a Mike or a Michael on that flight… and the seat your mother was in was the only one being used on that row. That’s weird.”
I just looked at him, confused by everything… when another officer came into the room.
“Henry… there’s no one here for the kid.”
I looked at the officer and felt that feeling of panic coming back.
“My dad’s not here?”
The officer from before, Henry, asked me for my dad’s name and address.
“We’ll have Sam here go check out your dad’s house and see what’s going on. How about you and I have a snack while we wait.”
I gave Henry a nod and he led me over to a snack area and let me pick whatever I wanted. I got a soda and some chips and was soon in my own little world as I tried to process what had happened. I watched Henry until Sam came back and the two of them stepped away to talk.
“Laura… what happened to my mom?”
Laura, who had been slightly smiling all this time, just looked at me and grinned.
“I took care of her… like I said I would. She hurt you. She hurt what was mine. No one gets to hurt what belongs to me.”
I looked into her eyes and for a moment… there was something not quite human looking back at me… and then it was gone and Laura was back. Her face, however, looked strange for a moment before she licked her lips.
“I forget sometimes why I claimed you. You keep getting stronger and stronger, my love. It’s so delicious. I can’t wait until… well, until later.”
That was the first time she called me that and I started to speak when suddenly everything went white and Henry was back in front of me again.
“… with me Peter. We’ll need to take you to the station with us.”
I blinked a few times and looked about in confusion.
“Huh?”
Henry frowned.
“Did you hear me? I said your Dad doesn’t live where you told me, Peter. He moved three years ago and didn’t leave a forwarding address. We’re going to try to track him down, but you’ll need to come to the station until we can find him.”
Nodding, I felt Laura squeeze my hand and I stood up slowly. I felt numb again and just stared at him as he led me outside to a patrol car. Climbing in the back, I waited as they loaded my luggage into the trunk and then we were on our way.
Things got fuzzy from that point forward. I don’t really remember the next few days until everything snapped back in focus when Henry came into the room they rented me at a local hotel and with him was a woman. Laura grew instantly nervous and forced me back into the numb mode.
“Say what I tell you to or else…”
Her voice was loud and dark inside my head. I just nodded slightly as Henry and the woman talked to me. Apparently she was a social worker assigned to me with the death of my mother and with my father being absent.
“… where he is as every trace of him seems to have vanished. We did find your brother, but he’s currently in the military and can’t take care of you for another couple of years. As for your sister… we’re sorry to let you know that she too has passed away.”
I nodded and took a deep breath. I could hear Laura telling me what to say.
“So what happens to me until Jimmy gets out?”
Henry looked at the woman as she frowned.
“You are the only one in your mother’s will. She left you everything in her bank account as well as a few personal items. It seems the house you lived in was rented and that isn’t an option anymore…”
I felt another wave of numbing flood me mixed with excitement.
“Does this mean I will live by myself or will I have to go to a children’s home.”
The woman started to speak, then her eyes glazed over. Henry frowned for a moment then smiled and left the room. I watched the two of them, confused as to what was going on.
“You’re going to be declared an emancipated minor and with the money your mother left you… you’ll be fairly well off.”
She blinked for a moment then smiled again.
“Your Uncle Michael has come forward saying you can live with him for as long as you like. Isn’t that nice…”
I nodded slowly as Laura made me speak.
“Yes that’s great. Is he on his way?”
The woman nodded and smiled.
“He’s already here. He’s filling out some paperwork downtown and should be here to get you in about an hour. I just need to have you sign some forms and then you will be emancipated and have full access to your mother’s money.”
She pulled out some paperwork and her eyes darted back and forth fearfully… like an animal caught in a trap. She winced and then smiled once more as she pointed where I was to sign.
Looking at the paperwork, Laura made me sign where needed and then everything went fuzzy once more.
When I could think again, I was sitting in the backseat of a car I’d never seen before. I was alone and in the front seat was Mike, mom’s boyfriend, and Laura.
“… to my estate to have him prepared. We’ve done enough here and it’s time to be moving on. He’ll be entering puberty soon and I want to have everything prepared for when it is time to produce my newest clutch of daughters. He’s perfect and he will give my daughters an advantage over my sisters and their hideous spawn.”
I blinked, not understanding what she was talking about.
“I’ll be honest with you. I’m surprised the boy has as much power as he does. His mother was idiotically dull and a complete null. Did it all come from his father?”
Laura smiled and shrugged.
“Who’s to say… but we’ll never know. By now, he’s gone the same path as my precious’ mother and it won’t matter anyway.”
Power? What was she talking about… and why were the two of them talking to each other about me.
“What about the brother?”
Laura laughed and for a moment, she changed. Gone was my perfect Laura and in her place was a much older woman with bright red hair and very tan skin.
“He’ll suffer the same fate as the rest. I’ve spent years creating my new perfect husband. No one is going to take Peter away from me… not now, not ever.”
I made the mistake then of breathing loudly and she turned her head to look at me.
“Shit… he’s awake.”
White light filled my eyes and everything went black.
That was a few minutes ago… or God knows how many years… depending on how you look at it. I don’t remember anything else from that moment until earlier when I suddenly woke up lying in a bed… somewhere.
Standing up… I looked around and saw a full length mirror nearby. Walking over to it, I was surprised to see a grown up man looking back at me. I looked somewhere between 18 and 20 years old, maybe older… but I had no idea how old I really was.
“Peter…”
Turning my head, I saw Mike standing in the doorway. He was covered in blood and looked like he’d almost been cut in half.
“Are you in there Peter? The magic should have let you go when… when they killed her.”
I blinked and looked at him for a moment before nodding.
“How many years has it been?”
Mike shook his head as he pushed clothes into my hands.
“Almost ten years. Her sisters… they invaded, killed her and her daughters. They’re on their way to find you and take you back home with them. If you don’t want to go to back to sleep… you need to run.”
I stood there, confused as no memory came back to me… but I wasn’t stupid enough to just let someone else put me back into captivity. I looked at the clothing and started getting dressed.
“Where do I go? How do I get out of here? Where even is here?”
Mike came closer to me and shoved a backpack into my hands once I was dressed, then tugged on a ring I didn’t even know was on my right hand.
“The ring will let you through the gates. It will take them too long to lock you out, but you must hurry. Inside the backpack is everything she took from your home… what remains at least… along with all the identification and paperwork she made you sign ten years ago.”
I looked at the ring and then nodded.
“Run… down the stairs and out the door. There is a courtyard that leads to a large metal gate. It should be open by now. Go through it and into the forest beyond. Run… and keep running… until you come to a white fence with a purple glow above it. Don’t climb over the fence. Instead, run alongside it until you find a gate. It should open to your ring. Go through and don’t look back. You’ll be… somewhere else… once you do.”
Mike gasped in pain and swallowed hard.
“Anywhere is better than here… now go.”
Nodding I ran to the door of the bedroom… I could now see it was.
“Thank you…”
I turned to look back at Mike… but he was dead, a pile of blood pooling underneath his collapsed body. Taking a deep breath, I followed his instructions and made my way out of what I now understood to be a castle of some kind… moving into the forest and eventually to the fence.
I’m at the gate now and I can hear screaming behind me. The sound of barking dogs… or worse… mixed with the roar of things I’m too scared to even think about.
The gate is open and I’m stepping through. I can hear them getting closer.
I don’t know where this will take me… but… anywhere is better than here…