The Flaws Behind Perfection-currently editing

Chapter 24: Ava

 The scenery flashes by, barely giving me the time to acknowledge the decaying buildings and hunchbacked pedestrians. The real world is in a worst state than it was when I had left, just a couple of months ago. To keep my eyes off the depressing landscaping I used to be proud to call home, I close my eyes. With a stifled gasp, I reopen them. The back of my eyelids are haunted with the images of the past few hours. The look on Jason's face as he threw punch after punch, the Creator, beaten and bloody, but still grinning wickedly. Little Declan's heart shattering as his suspicions about his favorite brother became reality, Jason running away with tears on the verge of falling. And worst of all, me, standing at the edge of it all, motionless. I could have done something, I could have. Help Jason finish his father off, tell Declan the truth, anything! But instead, I simply stared, slumped up against a rock.

To take my mind off shameful things I can't change, I stare intently at the little moth trying, but hopelessly failing, to break the glass and make its way to the great outdoors, to freedom. It flaps its tiny wings in a losing battle but doesn't stop. Can't stop. It's in his nature. Try, try again to get to freedom. I relate to the small butterfly, for I am him and the car is the Creator and his family. I crack the window open and the moth flies away, finally free. I wish I had a window, or even just someone who would be willing to open one for me. I guess when you get enrolled with the snake, everyone sees you as one as well, even if you are the innocent mouse.

"We'll be there in 10 minutes", says the driver, interrupting my thoughts.

I feel the Creator's eyes on me before I see them, piercing a hole into my skin. With dread, I turn my head towards him, flashing him a weak smile. He doesn't return it. His mouth stays closed, his lips so tightly sealed, they have become white. I wait for him to talk, to shout, anything, but he simply stays quiet. We stay locked in eye contact until we have arrived at our destination. He gets swiftly out of the car and, slowly, I follow.

My mouth hangs wide open as I close the car door. We are standing before a castle, its dark beige walls reaching high into the sky. A tower surpasses the rest of the structure, seeming to touch the clouds. The many windows are surrounded by black shudders, giving the whole a rich look. It's with much regret that I take my eyes off the castle and on to the Creator's face.

"So this is where you live" I say, trying and falling to keep the amazement out of my voice.

He raises an eyebrow. "Where else?"

He walks to the front door without another word, steering Declan along with him. The poor kid is clutching on to his father as if for dear life. His tear streaked face is filled with fear and heartache. He is probably so lost, not knowing what is real anymore so he hangs on to the only thing that can be right. He must think his father would never hurt him, never dare lay a hand on him. His misplaced trust might just cost him. I sigh, my feelings aligning perfectly with the ones of the seven year old.

I look up to the darkening sky and think of my moth, hopefully far away from here. The world is so big, it could get lost in it. Maybe it will. Maybe that's not such a bad thing. Maybe I could find my moth again and we could disappear, together, were closed in spaces and impossible tasks don't exist.

With that comforting thought, I walk up the driveway and into the Creator's home.

The inside of the castle is a disappointment compared to the luxurious exterior. The walls are bare and the floors were covered in debris, making our advance into the house treacherous and slow. Finally, we reach a relatively clean office. No broken shards of glass clutter its surface. Instead, thick books and single papers are strewn across its surface, leaving a clears passage way to an imposing mahogany desk. The Creator takes a seat behind it and very slowly, places his gaze on each person in the room. His steel grey eyes land first on Declan, showing no trace of emotion. He moves on to the man who drove us here, then to the woman standing next to me. She hadn't been in the car. Thick blond hair frame her small face. She had probably been very pretty once, but time has done its job and erased it. Worry lines sketch her cheeks and forehead and her lips seem sealed shut in a thin lines grimace. His eyes linger longest on her. She can be no one other than his wife, Jason's mom.

His gaze finally lands on me, sending a shiver down my spine, and all the way to the bottom of my legs, making me queasy and unsteady on my feet. Will he call me out in front of everyone? Will he kill me? Will he make someone else kill me? Worst of all, will he forgive me?

"Jason has once again escaped", he says in an overly loud voice. Jason's moms' shoulders tense up at the information. Her thin mouth stretches out into an even thinner liner. I suppose she isn't a fan of her second son as well. "But this is okay. We will find him and he won't get away this time, I'm sure of it."

"What makes this time so different?"

It's the first time I hear her talk. The words come out as barely a whisper. Her voice is low and raspy, as if she has been crying for the past few days, or, more likely, screaming.

"This time, Ashley, we have a powerful asset on our side." He motions towards Declan, who makes himself tall. His bloodshot eyes no longer show any trace of tears and his shoulders have stopped jerking. He looks older, with this new found confidence fueling him. Its scary, to see him like this. How fast his loyalties switch, how he shows blind fate in whoever is nicest to him. This is why children shouldn't be involved in wars. Good and evil don't yet exist in their books.

"So what's the plan?" Ashley says, her too holding her head higher.

The Creator simply answers by his signature grin.  No wonder Jason left.