Behind the Scenes

Part 15

I woke up in a dark room. I was confused.

This wasn't my room.

I sat up and felt something in my arm. There was a tube leading to IV.

My heart stopped.

There was a needle in my arm.

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.

I grabbed the tape that was securing the IV and slowly pried it off. Metal glinted in the moonlight and a wave of nausea crashed over me. I grabbed it and pulled it away.

Relief flushed over me as I stood away from the needle.

I was in a black t-shirt and my shorts.

A different type of panic rushed over me.

What happened.

I retrieved my memory to the best of my ability.

There was a football game, smoke. I had panicked and ran for the soft grass...

I had a seizure.

Everything else was kind of fuzzy. I remember telling someone, i don't know who, that they could drive my car.

The thinking was giving me a headache. I headed out of the room. I've never been in this house before.

I walked down the hall slowly. It was dim. Rounding the hall's corner, I walked into what looked like the living room. A light was on in the room next to it. I walked over to it. There was a candle lit, and a man I've never seen before sat, drinking a glass of water.

His eyes found mine.

"Need a glass of water?"

I nodded.

He put his cup up and grabbed a cup and filled it with water and ice.

His hand extended towards me. I took the cup gratefully. Trying to swallow I whispered, "Thank you."

He smiled. "You're lucky my nephew has a kind heart."

My face scrunched up. Who lived here?

The man chuckled. "I was told you went to the public school with him. Luke saw you at the football game after the accident."

My mouth popped open. "Oh." I took a swig of water.

"Come sit down."

I obliged, sitting down cautiously. I felt oddly relaxed around him.

"You can call me Uncle. That's what all the boys call me."

"Nice to meet you," I said. My voice was soft, my throat burning. "I'm Scarlett."

"Oh yes," the old man chuckled. "I've heard a bit about you."

I shook his hand wearily.

"So," he started. "We're you from."

"To the extent of my knowledge, I'm from Charleston."

"You come from a rich family, don't you."

I looked down to the glass in my hands.

"I don't know."

"Who do you live with now?"

"Mark Peverell, My mom, and my brother."

"Ah, Peverell family."

I nodded. I swallowed the thick lump in my throat.

"If I were telling you the truth, I would say that I'm not related to any of them."

"And why do you say that?" he asked.

"I look nothing like any of them, Mark treats me no better than a dog, the lady I call my mom is a stranger, and Seth and I are so... different."

"Family is a hard category for you to talk about, i bet."

I nodded. "A little. It's because of them that I'm going to the public school."

"I don't mean to pry," Uncle started. "But I was wondering what started the seizure you had?"

I was numb. "It was the smoke. I mean, it had been building up all week, with the lights and the sirens. I had been tired, not sleeping much, and I had a stressful week."

"So, this has happened before?" he questioned.

"Seth says that something happened." I stated. "He said that that was why he left the Academy."

"The Academy?" Uncle asked.

"Yeah, some special school he had been given a full scholarship to. I wasn't invited, but I'm fine with that. Seth was a super genius, complete with computer skills, and a speedy mind, and he's just perfection." I sighed. "Except the man he looks like." I whispered.

Uncle looked at me. "Is that man hurting you at all?"

I was silent. I closed my eyes and took another sip of the water.

"Scarlett," he said in a command.

I pulled the cup away from my lips.

I knew that my silence was an answer. I didn't want to lie to him. But I didn't want to tell him the truth either.

"Scarlett," he started.

"Seth won't tell me why it started. He says that it was the Academy's fault that I started having seizures. He graduated young to help me. He protects me, or is at least there for me when I need him."

"Scarlett, do you know what your brother does in his free time?"

"He works at the house, in his room on the computer."

"Do you know what he does specifically?"

"Well, no. I don't like to get in his way."

I said it so simply, and I believed it, too.

"What do you do?" he asked.

"I like to help people." I stated.

"How?"

"When something is wrong, say they lost their car, or was robbed, or just needed the extra money."

He smiled at me. We sat in a comfortable silence. I finished my drink. Standing up, I placed the cup in the sink.

"I should probably be heading off to bed." I stated.

"Yes, that is a good idea. You need some strength, especially if you plan on going to the dance tomorrow night."

I nodded. "Good night. Sleep well. Uncle." It sounded foreign to me.

He chuckled. "Good night Scarlett."

I walked to my room. So Luke had helped me, and brought me to his house. I stumbled to the room and fell down onto the bed, ignoring the needle.

~Pov~

Luke

I felt bad. I had eavesdropped on their conversation.

Her brother had been apart of the Academy, no doubt.

He might have been the mystery boy from a few years ago. It was unheard of for someone in the Academy world to just 'disappear'.

A boy had disappeared a few years ago.

No one knew how.

No one knew why.