When I came to, I was back in my room. Anger filled me but I forced myself to take a breath. I ran a hand through my hair and got up, pacing. I was incapacitated by my father. It felt like that was the second time this month but I'm not sure why.
"Okay, Coraline. You need to calm down." I paced more, talking myself out of letting my emotions take control again. "This isn't you. Coraline Ryder Hadley is a strong. Coraline Ryder Hadley is positive. Coraline Ryder Hadley does NOT let her emotions control her. Especially, the negative emotions. All I have to do is be positive."
"You know, being positive all the time doesn't mean you're always happy." I turned towards the voice and saw who aunt Raven called, The Creator standing in the doorway. I stayed silent.
"That's right. Raven said that you didn't really like speaking since your mother's death. May I?" The skeleton opened the door further but didn't come in. I shrugged, grabbed my guitar, and started plucking at the strings, sitting down on the bed. The Creator walked in, shutting the door behind him and leaned against the wall. We sat in silence for a few minutes, the only sound being the musical notes from my guitar.
"You reacted to Error in a strange way. It only leads me to one conclusion. I'd like to know if that conclusion is correct." I stared at him, one of my eyebrows raised. "I believe you know Error, or at least his voice. Your magick also turned yellow, orange and red. Do you know what those mean?"
I shook my head.
"Yellow symbolizes Justice. Orange symbolizes Bravery. Red symbolizes Determination." The Creator had an unreadable expression in his mismatched eyes. "They are soul traits. I would ask to look at your soul but that is a very personal thing and Nightmare might kill me if he ever found out."
I tapped out morse code on my guitar, not expecting him to understand me.
"I am Ink, the creator. I create all of the alternate universes. I am a good friend of your mother's and aunt's." I perked up.
"You knew my mother?" Ink smiled when I spoke.
"Oh yeah. Your mother and aunt were really big trouble makers." He laughed at something, most likely memories. "They would hop from au to au and drive Error crazy because he was chasing them. Raven was always curious about the magick of each world and Dove always wanted to see how different the worlds could be from one another. When they were done adventuring they settled here, where they thought it was safest. I haven't visited in awhile but I wish I had." He stared at me fondly. "You look a lot like your mother, you know."
"I've been told. People often confused me with my mother's sister instead of her daughter." I looked down at my hands.
"That necklace was hers as well. Did Raven give it to you?" I nodded in response.
"It held a message for Nightmare, er dad, and myself." I sighed. "I'll never get used to that."
I felt the bed dip next to me and a bony hand rest upon my head. "It's understandable. From what I understand, Dove never told you about any of this."
"And they still refuse to tell me." I turned away. Ink was silent but I could feel his stare on my back. "I'm being hunted by my mother's killer. I am the reason my mother died." My voice cracked and tears fell onto my fist. "If it wasn't for me then..."
Ink hugged me from behind. "Don't talk like that. It wasn't your fault."
I shook my head in denial. "It had to be. They are looking for me, whoever they are."
"You don't know?" I shook my head again.
"Like I said, they refuse to tell me anything." Ink sat in silence for a minute.
"How about an exchange of information then?"
"What kind of information?" I turned to look at Ink, reluctantly leaving his embrace.
"I'll tell you all about the ones that are hunting you and in return you tell me about the events leading up to your mother's death." He sounded hesitant to say the least. "Raven told Nightmare, Dream and I about what the police had told her but she said that you would know more about this than she would, considering you were there." I nodded slowly.
"You swear to me that you'll tell me about whoever is hunting me?" He nodded.
"I give you my word."
Alright then, this is going to be a long day.
PaperJam's Point of View
It's been about a week and a half since the incident with Cora. Things have gone sort of back to normal since she appeared. It's almost like she was never here in the first place, but I knew better. Being out in the Anti-Void, meeting the creator of universes. It all hadn't been a dream. No, Mr. Dream isn't that clever. Everything seemed wrong without her. Picking on the nerds had always felt wrong but it was like the guilt was amplified now. Especially since Fresh stood up to me on account of her. I had to admit, the kid has spunk.
I missed her. I missed Cora. I don't know what's wrong with me. I stay awake at night thinking about Fresh and Cora. I think about how much it would hurt if either one got into a relationship. It's strange. I can't have a crush on a nerd, let alone two nerds. I slammed my locker shut and shouldered my bag. My dad wanted me to come by his art room today but I had no clue why. Yeah, I liked art but no one could ever know about that. I stepped into the art room, where my dad was surrounded by boxes.
"What's up dad?" I guess he wasn't aware of his surroundings since he jumped at the sound of my voice.
"PJ! You scared me. I need some help putting away the paint supply. The school just got a new shipment today and your father and siblings have gone home already."
"Alright dad," I sighed and started unboxing paint. "Any word from Raven about Cora?"
"You like this girl don't you?"
"HuH?" I started glitching slightly and my dad laughed.
"You really seem worried about her."
"J-JuSt BeCaUsE i'M wOrRiEd AbOuT hEr DoEsN't MeAn AnYtHiNg!!" I glitched more, unable to process my dad's implication. He continued to laugh.
"I haven't seen you this worried since I was sick with a bad case of the flu." Little ERROR signs appeared around my face, blocking my vision.
"Da-A-a-D!!" My voice glitched and my dark boned cheeks flushed magenta. I didn't like her that way. I couldn't like her that way. She was Nightmare's daughter and half human. There was no way it would work. She's so beautiful and so oblivious to other people's romantic feelings towards her. I distracted myself with putting paints away in the storage room. My dad and I were silently working together.
"I got a call from Raven earlier today." I felt myself freeze. "Coraline's awake b-"
"Then why don't we go see her!" I cut him off.
"But she let her emotions control her and tapped into her magick. Kiki had to be summoned. And.."
"And what?"
"The Destroyer followed him." I dropped the paint bucket in my hand. Thankfully it didn't open up.
"What are we going to do then? If the Destroyer had found her then..." It was dad's turn to cut me off.
"I know. There's going to be a meeting later at Raven's house to discuss what will happen."
"Let's get this done here so we can go. I'd like to know what's going on."
YOU ARE READING
The Divide Between Us | Book Two of The Judgement series
Fanfiction"New school, new life but this time, I'm not with my parents. No, they're gone and nothing can bring them back." Cora Hadley has been orphaned and forced to move in with her Aunt Raven, who lived overseas. The school she was enrolled in was not like...
