A wreck within

Chapter 10

The next morning everything seemed altered. The chirping of the birds and the rustle of the leaves were different. James did not say anything since his parents returned from the base. He woke up more tired than when he went to sleep. Even though the day had not even started yet, everything seemed so wrong. James felt like he had woken up on the wrong side of the bed.
In breakfast, James' hand was trembling, so much that he could not his spoon. Kiara from the other hand seemed like she wanted to say something, but she did not know, how to put the words together.
Sarah was sick from everyone being so random at the house.
By the time they stopped eating, James had turned pale and was feeling so dizzy he could not leave his chair. Sarah rolled her eyes. "Are you two coming at the Cabin? We don't have all day ahead of us."
"Maybe the sea can help me out. Relax a bit" James said.
Kiara found herself thinking about the small velvet box more times than she could count. "I am not in the mood. I'll come the next time." She answered.
Natalie and Mike took Sarah and James at their cabin at Montauk while Kiara stayed at home and Freya was babysitting Maggie. She wanted to stay in New York, but she missed her home. She dialed her friend's number "Eddie, I haven't been honest with you" Kiara confessed.
What she did next was the most stupid thing she had ever done. "I am not James' cousin from Utah. I am a princess and the heir to the Celestian throne. My father got killed last summer. My mother trusted me to the hands of her closest friends, James' parents" she explained.
She could not hear Edith's reaction from the other line. "I knew that Silly! I know everything about your life. I know about everyone's lives. How do you think I stole Morgan's robot? You were my spy. I got you to give me all the information I needed." Edith giggled.
It was all Kiara's fault. It was her fault about James' situation and Morgan's desperate state. She had to leave from New York before they discovered that she was a traitor.
She ran upstairs and threw everything she could fit in her backpack. Then she took a paper and wrote them a quick note.
She left her keys on the small table by the door and she threw her phone at the pool.
Kiara was not proud of what she did next, she took 20 dollars from James' babysitting money and left. She had to find a way back to Celestia.
On their way to Montauk James thought about the conversation he and Howard had. Howard came at James' house at 5 am. The two of them sat in the backyard.
"What is wrong Jae?" Howard asked half asleep. He was not annoyed that James waked him that early. He was afraid of what he would tell him.
"Did Morgan say anything to you after the party?" James commented.
"No, why?" Howard was started getting terrified. James was always on topic.
"Have you noticed that I have been acting weird lately?" James looked Howard.
Howard chuckled. "Of course I have. Everyone has realized. Every time I ask you what is wrong you give me ridiculous excuses." He confessed.
"I am infected with a serum" James said.
Howard looked confused. "Does that have to do with the day we found you at the alley?"
"Yes, someone put a serum to me" James lowered his eyes.
"What is it doing to you?"
"Bad things Howard. Very bad. I get angry. I slowly become a madman. I will try to kill you" James worried. He lifted his sweatshirt. The black marks were even more visible than the day before. Howard touched them.
"What the hell are these?" he said shocked.
"It's the serum. Yesterday the put me in a stimulation and the anger overtook me. I killed Sebastian. What if it happens in reality too?" James questioned.
"It won't. I know who you are, and you know yourself. We are always fighting our inner demons. You have to always the one in control." Howard added.
"I don't know Howard. I have been having these dreams. But they are not dreams. I wake up at night and I beat up people."
"If you go mad, I am going mad with you. You are my best friend. If you start killing people, I will probably become your sidekick. I believe in you. You won't start killing people and I know it" Howard said.
"I've never been more petrified in my life. I need a favor" James stated.
"Do you need alibi?" Howard snickered.
"No, at least not yet. I want you to tell Freya. I have a bad feeling" James confessed.
"What kind of bad feeling?" Howard's face darkened.
"Something terrible will happen today in New York. I do not remember what, but I saw a dream. I want you to tell everything about the situation to Freya. Promise me!" James said tense.
"I promise." Howard said with his hands in his pockets. "Be careful" James nodded in agreement. Howard left.
Before he arrived at Montauk, he thought how important Howard is for him. He cannot imagine his life without him.
The cabin in Montauk was the house Mike and Natalie had before James. It was so close to the beach that you could smell the ocean. James sat on the sand, a few feet away from the ocean. He did not care that he was getting wet. There was something with the seawater that made him feel relaxed. It was raining drizzly. The raindrops were falling on James' clothes, but he did not move.
"Can I sit here?" His father asked.
James turned at his direction. "Sure"
Mike sat next to his son. James was not in the mood for talking. He was watching the rain falling in the sea. Mike turned at his son "I want you to feel safe, James."
James did not like where the conversation was going to. He wanted a day not talking about his many issues. He raised his eyebrow. He was sure there was a catch on what his father said.
"I want you to try again the stimulation"
James' expression hardened. His eyes widened and his heart started beating faster. "No, no chance. Not happening. You will put me in that deathtrap, over my dead body"
Mike got irritated "If you don't use the stimulation, we will have to put you there dead." He took a deep breath "You just need to focus a little more. If you focus everything is possible."
James was very angry. He rolled up his sleeves and the vein on his right wrist engorged. "Dad I can't focus. That is my biggest problem. My ADHD makes it impossible for me to focus on something. That stimulation made everything worse. I wish I hadn't told you about the serum on the first place"
"I care a lot about you, James. I swear I will give my life to you If I have to"
James threw a rock in the water. "Stop being like that" James complained.
"How am I? Explain it to me" Mike asked. He tried not to raise his tone. It was not James who was talking but his anger.
"You are always so strong and that tough guy that doesn't want to show any emotion. You are overdramatic and you judge whatever I do. You are the most manipulative person in my life. You are the reason I am always so stressed." James' face turned red.
"I want only the best for you. You don't deserve anything less than perfect"
James felt bad for yelling to his father. "I am sorry for snapping"
Mike had a sad smile on his face. "It's okay. I get the situation in hard for you. And I am always pushing you."
But then a sound came out of the bushes "Did you hear that?" James said. His father motioned him to stop talking and tried to listen if someone hid behind them. Suddenly, a person from the other direction shot Mike on the chest. James did not know how to react. He tried to move closer to his father, but he pushed him away, to dodge a bullet that was meant for James.
James rushed to his father's direction; it was too late. He was dead. The young hero cried for help. Natalie could not believe that her husband was dead. She immediately called the hospital and in 10 minutes, the ambulance had arrived. Natalie and Natalie went to the hospital.
James did not want to go and hear from the doctors to announce the death of his father. He wanted to be on his own. It started raining heavily.
It was late afternoon when James felt a warm blanket on his shoulder. By that point, James was all soaked up.
"I came as soon as I heard" Morgan said and sat next to him. She was holding her red umbrella.
"He died Morgan" James said feeling so empty, almost transparent.
"I am sorry James' Morgan said and held his hand with their fingers intertwined.
"My last words to him were that he was treating me like garbage" he pleaded.
Then Morgan saw James crying for the first time. He was not sobbing or anything like that. A single tear rolled down his cheek and fell on the sand. Morgan placed his head on her shoulder and held him like she was going to lose him.
"Everything will get better. I promise." Morgan whispered in his ear.
James kissed Morgan in the lips. Morgan pulled him closer with her hands on his neck. After they stopped kissing Morgan could not open her eyes.
"I don't know how I am feeling. My dad, I-I trusted him the most" James used the past tense.
"We are going to find out who did it. And when we do, he or she is going to pay." Morgan stated. Whoever was the responsible for James' state was going to pay. Nobody has the right to make James such a mess.
The two of them ended up sleeping on the beach and the next morning they drove back to New York. Before he went to his sister's room he wanted to check up on Kiara. To his surprise, the room was empty with a letter on the pillow.
I have to go back to Celestia. I am grateful for letting me stay with you, but my land needs me. I wanted to tell you this morning, but I did not have the guts, so I just left. Probably, I will not come back any time soon and I am sorry for Mike.

Love,
Kiara