Doves and Lovelies

Family Choices

(POV: Clara)

After spending three days in the hospital, they released me to return home. I learned Darla had sent a letter to the house saying they let me go because I had not sent the designs on time. Even after my dad explained the incident to her, Darla refused to listen. The Dauths tainted me with scandal as Seven warned would happen if I returned to my world. They hated me in the community because I dared to enter a forbidden world, conquered the darkness, and lived. Judy should have died like all the others taken before her, but since my choice saved her life, I broke the rules and then did not receive the repercussions against my actions.

My mother loved the idea of me being stuck at home with her. Since I no longer had a job, I had no reason to leave the house, and I was still under house arrest. William advised against me stepping outside of the house for fresh air because of the posts online. Nothing eventful has happened yet, but my brother feared the worst could still happen with less than two weeks left to the Talent Trials.

"Clara," a soft voice said from the other side of the door. "Mom said dinner is ready."

I slid out of bed and walked to the door. Opening it, I glanced down at my youngest brother, Robbie. Though his name was Robert, he hated his name and refused to acknowledge anyone who called him such. Robbie was an eleven-year-old with a disheveled appearance. His curly, strawberry blonde hair was an unruly mess. With a smudge of dirt under one of his grayish-blue eyes and a bruise on his right cheek, he had a round face with soft, rosy features and a small chin. He was all legs and looked slightly awkward compared to our other siblings, but Robbie was still growing into himself. Even though he was a clumsy person, Robbie loved to act and pretend to be someone else.

"What happened to you, Robbie?" I asked, grabbing him by the shoulders to turn him to get a better look at the bruise on his face.

"Willie said not to tell you," he answered, looking down at the floor.

"William said not to tell me," I parroted in response. "You better tell me this instant. Don't hide anything from me, Robbie."

Robbie chewed on his bottom lip as he thought. He looked into my eyes and then said, "Neal Isaiah punched me at school because he said you were working together with them. And I punched him back because he was wrong. They suspended me from school for two weeks, but they let Neal go with a warning."

What have I done? I looked down at my youngest sibling and felt the despair choke me. Tears burned my eyes, and when I reached out to him to pull him into my embrace, I sobbed, "I am sorry, Robbie. I never meant for any of this to happen."

"I know, Clara. You did nothing wrong."

My eleven-year-old brother tried to comfort me, and I felt disgusted with myself for wallowing in pity. I made my choice, and my family was paying the consequences for my actions. I released my brother and smiled at him through my tears.

"We'll get through this somehow. I promise."

"Are you still sulking about your near experience with death, girl?" A sharp, raucous voice asked from the doorway.

I turned away from Robbie and saw that my grandmother, Evelyn Roderikson, stood leaning on her cane in the doorway. My grandmother was once a gorgeous woman, and she had aged decently. She once had long, curly dark brown hair, but now her hair was grey and was piled on top of her head into an elegant bun. She had an oval face with sharp cheekbones, a long nose, and thin lips.

"Grandma, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be downstairs at the dinner table?"

"We've been waiting for you, girl, and don't you forget to answer my question."