Forlot: Thunder Will Come Down - Book Twenty-Seven

Chapter Ten

What the heck was Destiny doing in the toy shop? Why was she even in Forlot? Diversity confessed to me and the rest of the family that Destiny moved away from Forlot because Destiny was ashamed that she was a pawn in Diversity and my ex-boyfriend's plan and betrayed me.

Destiny's skin was dark, and her black hair was long and wavy. She was wearing a sweater, jeans, and sneakers. The upper part and long sleeves of her sweater were red, and the lower part was purple. She also wore a hat that matched the sweater. Destiny was not as bad as Diversity. She did not have powers, but was manipulative. She pretends to be timid and respectful towards unsuspecting people, but trust me when I say that her true colors are the complete opposite.

If I have to write one positive thing on Diversity, it would be the fact that she is not manipulative and instead acts like herself. She does not hide that she is a racist and hates people like my husband. A person with common sense would see right through her. Destiny, on the other hand, is tricky, especially if you do not know her as well as I do. She uses people and delights in making them miserable.

I sank in my seat. I did not want her to spot me and talk to me. I was not prepared to speak to her and honestly wanted it to stay that way. At that time, I was having trouble forgiving her for lying to me for months and months. Caleb encouraged me to forgive her whether or not she was really sorry because it would give me peace, but I could not do it no matter how hard I prayed.

Caleb had broken the chocolate bar in half and given the new baby her share. She gnawed on the bar and cooed. My husband was about to take a bite of his half when he noticed my discomfort. He asked if I was sick or something.

"Yeah," I replied. "I am sick."

He put a hand on my forehead. "I believe that you have a fever. Let us forget about the toy store and go back home so you can rest."

The baby did not like the sound of that and burst out crying. I felt bad for her, but at the same time, I did not want to be uncomfortable in there. I would have to act like a spy and keep myself hidden from my cousin.

Caleb massaged the baby's cheek. "On the bright side, cutie pie..." he started. "...Mama and Dada have a daughter who is around your age and has lots of toys."

She stood on his lap and gripped the fabric of his shirt to keep herself from falling. He supported her and chuckled.

"I am not psychically sick, Caleb," I confessed. "I might as well be since that my cousin is in the store."

He adjusted his glasses and turned his attention to me. "Diversity is in the toy shop?"

"Not Diversity. The other one."

"Destiny?"

"The one and only."

"I thought that she moved to another city."

"I thought so too, but Diversity either lied or Destiny moved back to Forlot to cause more mayhem. Whatever the case may be, she is here and will try as hard as she can to manipulate us. Now let us get out of here."

"Wait a minute, Cindy. Do you remember what you said to me last week when we were at the Forlot restaurant?"

"As plain as day. You had a nightmare about Ava and Slapi the other night and did not feel like going out because you were concerned that they would show up at the restaurant and start something."

"And what were the exact words that convinced me to get out of the house?"

"I told you that it would hurt Ava and Slapi to see you smiling and having a blast with me and the kids."

"You also said that you would punch their lights out if they did not mind their own business."

I snickered. "That I did."

"I cannot avoid Ava and Slapi forever. I have a life that needs to be filled with joy and excitement. My childhood was spent in darkness. The rest of my life should not be like that."

"I see where you are getting at, Caleb. You would like to see me living my life to the fullest. Nobody should stop me from doing that, not even my cousins."

He smiled and planted a kiss on my cheek. "That is my girl. So...are you still sick?"

"Not anymore. Thanks for the encouragement, sweetie."

We got out of the car and walked to the shop. Caleb beat me to the door and opened it for me. I thanked him and walked inside. He was right behind me and showing the baby what the toy store had to offer. The baby girl squealed and kicked with her little legs.

"What do you want to look at first?" Caleb asked.

She reached out for the small and giant teddies sitting together on the shelf.

"Good choice," I complimented. "If Tamara were here, she would choose the teddy bears too."

As we were making our way to the teddies, some customer bumped into me. It was on purpose. Caleb stopped in his tracks and looked at me and the other person. The baby was sucking on Caleb's thumb.

Oh, no. The customer was none other than Destiny. She seemed surprised to see me and rubbed her arm.

"Cindy. Never thought that I would see you again. I heard that you got married and figured that you and your husband moved."

I crossed my arms over my chest. "The same can be said for you. Diversity said that you moved."

"I did move, but it was temporarily. I did not desire to return to Forlot until I left my wicked ways behind me."