DESCENDED

PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS

I've spent an awful lot of time tracking down family members with Sebastian and going to church with my family. Which Sebastian claims is cleansing to the soul, or something like that. But I don't see him lining the pews to get his dose of spiritual food.

I finally got the paternity test done, but now I must wait for the results to come back. In the meantime, Aunt Sarah tells me everything she knows about my mom and dad. She even invites my maternal grandmother over so she could tell me about my mom too.

My mom was a rebel from birth, and my grandma's toughest child.

Very outspoken.

Grandma described her as a go-getter, and a force to be reckoned with.

You would think someone like that would have been a lot harder to kill.

Yet, she's gone. And according to my grandmother, she died under suspicious circumstances. After meeting and falling in love with my dad, my mom became paranoid, restless, and withdrawn. She would disappear for days on end and only come back home long enough see her family. Then she was gone again. And part of me wonders if my mom's sudden change in behavior, has something to do with whatever's killing the men in my family.

I soaked up everything my grandmother had to tell me. Hanging on her every word like she was a direct connection to my mother. Who I never got the chance to meet. And when my grandma finally leaves, it feels like she took my mother with her.

It's all I can think about before falling asleep that night. And all I can think about the next morning during school.

"The dance is right around the corner," Samuel interrupts my thoughts. "You ready?"

"I'm ready," I smile.

Staring at him, I wonder what his story is. Like, what made him this bad guy everyone wants me to stay away from?

"You know... everyone tells me you're bad for me."

"I am," he winks. Smiling wickedly.

"Want to know what I think?" I ask.

"Fire away."

"I think you're misunderstood. That you're only bad because they don't understand your motives, or they don't agree with them."

Samuel laughs. Stared at me with this boyish grin on his face. But he doesn't confirm or deny what I think.

"Am I right?" I ask.

"Yes. But, if I were you, I wouldn't voice that opinion too loudly. It might give someone the impression you actually care about me," He rakes his eyes over me.

"You're not so bad. A bit rude and obnoxious, maybe. But I get the feeling your issues with Sebastian is a difference of opinion. Not a good versus evil thing."

"That means a lot coming from you."

Samuel loves playing aloof. Which is fine. Because I have my angles too.

"Are we connected somehow?" I ask.

"I don't know. You tell me." He shrugs.

"Sometimes it feels like I've met you and Sebastian before."

"Really?" He gives me his undivided attention. "Any idea how and where?"

"No. Right now it's just a feeling."

"How much has Sebastian told you?"

"He won't give me a straight answer," I confide. "He just says I have to figure it out on my own."