Angel Girl

Chapter 2: The Dreadful Night

Three hours later....

Ryan walked over to the Lawton house to see Jordan and, approaching the door, knocked intently. Just then, a silver spherical drone popped out of a discreetly-camouflaged box next to the door, which caught Ryan completely be a surprise. "HALT! SCAN IDENTITY," the drone commanded the 'intruder', as it scanned Ryan's face with its camera. "IDENTITY CONFIRMED. WELCOME, RYAN CLARK" the drone acknowledged as it retreated to its base. Ryan stood on the porch in awe, as the lock on the front door turned and beeped. Perplexed, Ryan opened the door and stepped inside, where she saw Jordan playing a game on his console. Star was sitting on the couch like a pampered princess, filing her nails with her 4-year-old sister, Lyric, beside her playing with her dolls. The children noticed Ryan walk in, and Lyric leaped off the couch to give her a big hug. "I take it you encountered my security drone?" Jordan asked dryly, with just a hint of pride. "Security drone?" Ryan parroted with shock. "Where did you get a security drone? As a matter of fact, where would your parents get the money to buy one?"

"Who said we bought it?" Jordan smugly said.

Ryan's eyes widened. "You... built it?"

"Give the girl a prize," Jordan confirms. "Made it out of my dad's old bowling ball. Spent weeks working on it, although it's in the prototype stage."

"Are you secretly working for the government?"

"I wish. But no. That's what I got for being a child prodigy," Jordan said with pride.

Ryan said nothing but smirked, she walked over and sat next to him on their black leather sofa. "So, what're you guys doing this summer?" she wondered.

Jordan hesitated to answer, his mind filled with anxiety thinking about what happened to his older cousin. Star then interrupted Jordan's silence. "If you must know, Ryan, we're going to Adventure Park. Okay?" she said, in a sassy tone. "I wanted to go to Hawaii. Lounging on the beach, relaxing in a spa, sunbathing, sipping on coconut milk... a queen's dream. Of course, everyone HAD to choose an amusement park instead. How exciting,"-her words drenched in sarcasm- "I can't wait." "What do you have against Adventure Park?" Ryan asked, chuckling a little. Star gave her an exasperated stare. "None of your business," she replied rudely, as she resumed nail filing. "She's just mad because she had a little....,"- Jordan paused mid-sentence when he noticed the daggers coming from Star's gaze- ".... incident," he said, as he snickered. His middle sister continued to glower at him. The memory of the Lawtons' previous trip to the beloved amusement park was still vivid in their minds despite the passage of time. Jordan could no longer contain himself, and he began laughing hysterically. "What?" Ryan asked, dying to know.

"Don't you dare," Star snarls at him. "She peed herself after she got on the Texas Beast roller coaster. Her pants were soaking wet," Jordan said, struggling to speak and breathe between laughs. Star threw her nail file at him in anger and left the living room to go to her room, slamming the door behind her. "Why did you do her like that?" Ryan asked disapprovingly. "C'mon, you gotta admit. It's funny," Jordan replied. After thinking about it for a moment, Ryan giggled a little herself. "Okay, it's kinda hilarious. Wrong, but hilarious," she said. Ryan then sat down and joined Jordan in playing his newly-acquired video game.

Later that evening, Ryan lounged in her bedroom wtching wrestling matches on her phone. She screamed with excitement when the secret agent in her story soundly defeated his adversary. Her aunt knocked on Ryan's door and opened it, only to be disgusted by the sight of her messy room, which resembled the aftermath of a tornado. "Ryan, how many times do I have to tell you? Clean this room. Now," she said, speaking in a deep, British accent. The girl grunted in annoyance, her room reflecting her unbound nature. Nevertheless, she did what she was told. "Also, dinner's ready," her aunt announced as she left the room. Ryan soon followed her to the dining room, where the two sat down in silence. Aunt Freya ate her steak dinner with a side of fresh, steamed broccoli and mashed potatoes, while Ryan barely touched her food. She seemed too depressed to eat as she crossed her arms and slouched in her chair. Her aunt noticed her not eating and grew concerned. "Ryan? Are you alright?" she asked while wiping her mouth.  "I'm not hungry, Aunt Freya," she said gloomily. This was a surprise to Freya, realizing how unusual the revelation was. "Not hungry? But you've always loved my grilled steaks, even asking for second helpings. What's the matter?" she asked. Ryan looked away from her as if she were ashamed, a distraught expression washing over her face. Reading Ryan like a book, Freya quickly deduced the problem. "You're still having nightmares about... that night?" she asked, as her niece nodded. Ryan's mind raced back to 2008 and settled on the image of her eight-year-old self.