Chapter 1: Dreams and Reality

Long black hair cascades across her face, hiding it from my view. She turns her head slightly, revealing the light tone of her skin against her neck. She then lowers her head against her arms. Her body is shaking slightly. I couldn't tell whether it's from the cold or not. The sight of her made me curious. I couldn't say why, but I felt like I wanted to comfort her. She whimpers, and my heart instantly went out to her. The sound of her crying alerts me to her surroundings.

It is dark, with the only light barely beaming through the window. She is kneeling on the floor of the room, hiding in-between the little niche of the bed and the wall. As I glance around, I could only see the darkness of the room. It seems like the shadows are overwhelming her. It wants to engulf her. My body reacts before my mind could even comprehend my gestures, and I am suddenly reaching out for her. My hands are trying to grasp at her figure, and then –

TWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET! TWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!

I jumped from the shock at the sound of my alarm, and then glared at it. How many times have I had that dream now? I couldn't even remember anymore. Every other night or so I would dream of her, reach out for her, want to protect her. She would always be in the dark room, hiding in the corner. Her hair or her hands would always be covering her face, and she would always be weeping silent tears, as if she were afraid to make a sound. Then I would wake up feeling horrible because I couldn't do anything for her. I didn't even know what she looked like.

"Railey!" my mom yelled from downstairs. "Railey, get your ass up now!" Dear old mom. She had the mouth of a sailor's, and could give two shits about it. At least she mostly curses at home.

I sigh to myself, slam down on the alarm to shut it up, and proceed to the daily rituals of Railey King. At five feet and ten inches, I tend to stretch out like a cat after sleeping. My mom said it was because I was born in the year of the tiger, but she always believed in superstitions like that. She also believed that as a Leo I would eventually be reincarnated into a lion after I die. I tried to leave the weird stuff to her. As I got ready for school, I scrambled around to gather my books and gear while I listened to the chaos outside. My twin sisters, Ember and Skylar, were fighting over the mirror in the hallway. Sometimes I didn't understand my parents. They had the foresight to install a double-stalled shower for the bathroom, but they couldn't even think to put up a larger mirror for the hallway. So every morning I had to hear the furies bicker over their clothes and accessories. I do thank whatever higher being that is out there for making my sisters have different personalities and tastes in guys. At least I am spared from all the catfights.

Ember was aptly named, for she had a very feisty nature and was quick-tempered. Although Ember and Skylar were identical twins, Ember tended to be more flamboyant with her looks than Skylar. Ember liked to dress to kill, always wearing low cut, skin tight clothes and flaunting her well-toned body. Even though she was already five foot-seven, she wished she could be taller. Our parents told her that she was only fifteen years old, with plenty of time left to grow, but she doubted them all the same. Ember also liked to live wild with red streaks in her black hair that she kept mid-length at her shoulders. She loved to play with her hair so much, flipping it every which way and twirling it with her fingers that it drove me crazy at times.

Skylar was the complete opposite of Ember. More conservative in her ways, but she hated to be left out. Skylar refused to alter her hair in any way besides the pixie haircut she got every year. Her style was still in fashion, just more to taste than Ember's. Her name reflected her personality: carefree, forgiving, and the way she moved sometimes made it seem like she could fly. Skylar was the type to befriend anyone, and everyone wanted to be friends with her. I didn't think there could ever be a hateful bone in her body.

The one thing to look out for with my sisters was that together, they were a force to reckon with. Extreme pranksters with no regards to limits. Seriously, I woke up one morning with my hair matted to my face with different colored paints and my body was covered with random, weird designs penned in permanent markers. That wasn't even the worst I've seen them do, either. Never, and I mean NEVER, get on the twins' bad side.

"Railey!" Ember screeched, breaking me from my reverie. "You have ten minutes to get ready or else we're leaving you behind!"

I swear, sisters can be a pain in the ass. "Coming!" I yelled back. Today I decided to go for the lazy look, dressing in a pair of jeans, a simple zip-up hoodie over a gray t-shirt. I stuffed my bag and ran downstairs.

In the kitchen, I was greeted with a glare from Ember, and Skylar lobbing an apple at my head. I caught it while glaring back at Ember. Obviously she didn't like my attire. "Do you really have to present yourself like that?" she sneered.

"Behave, girls," my mom interrupted. She put a plate of toast on the table before me. "Hurry and eat before you guys are late for school."

I disliked this part of my day. The fifteen minute drive to school every weekday morning was the bane of my existence. Between the twins bickering over the radio stations and my mom nagging on us about chores we had to do when we got home, I just wanted to disappear until we got to school. My mom's driving made the time go by slower than it seemed. She had to slow down at every intersection, even if the light was green. The constant switch of the radio stations from Ember's rock to Skylar's pop was already making me go crazy.

When we finally reached the school yard, I instantly bolted out of the car and ran the length of the yard to the doors. I leave my sisters to deal with the goodbyes from my mom. I wasn't safe from her until I passed through the doors. School, my safe haven for at least eight hours. I strolled down the hallways, navigating my way towards my lockers. People were greeting me as I passed by.

"Railey!"

"Hey, Railey!"

"King!"

"What's up, King?"

I guess I had my own sort of popularity at school. The girls fawned over me, the guys wanted to be my friend. I had to admit, one could say I had it made. If only I had actually felt that way. Almost everything around me was shallow, but the school was my playground. I could do almost whatever I wanted.

"The King of Duke High! What's up?" Hands clamped down on my shoulders. "Are you ready for this weekend?" I turned to look at the dull gray eyes staring at me. Popular guy number two, Tyler Williams, was grinning at me. His arm came around my shoulder and steered me toward a group of lockers. There were some girls waiting in front of them. He pushed his way through and leaned back against the hard metal walls. Then he flipped his blonde hair over his eyes, almost making a pose.

"Do we really have to do that this weekend, Ty?" I asked him.

He gave me an incredulous look. "And miss the fun?!" Tyler flipped his hair again, then glanced over at the girls.

I rolled my eyes at the girls squealing. "Fun for you, maybe," I muttered. Louder I said to him, "I'm pretty sure there are better things I can do than hang out at the beach with a bunch of blondes."

The girls scoffed at me. Well, they were all blondes. One of them snaked her arms around Tyler's neck and tried to mold herself against him. "Ty, baby, let's go to the mall later. Want to help me pick out a swimsuit for this weekend?"

Tyler smiled down at her. "Something sexy for me, eh? How about easy to take off, too?"

Again, I rolled my eyes at them. "Whatever, Ty. Catch you later."

With that, I left, heading towards the first of my classes. I passed the most of my day enjoying the normal droll away from my family. Under the guise as the popular king, I could deal with pretending that my problems were not my own. I could pretend to care about the problems of others. I counted on that every day, listening as the others complained about their families, about the homework assigned to us, about the people around them. I just faded into the noise around me, not really paying attention to what was said. School was easy for me. The lessons were tedious, but manageable. The people were constant. Then the bell rang, signaling the end of the day. I sighed with the sound, and gathered my things to head out. I ignored most of the noise around me, only saying "Bye" to the people I actually knew. The next thing I knew, a sudden sharp pain broke me out from my comfort zone, and I was doubled over against the lockers while holding my side.

"Railey!" Ember growled. "I am going to kill you!"

"For what?" I wheezed out. Apparently I had done something to my dear sister to deserve this agony in my side.

"You told Jim Hawkins to stay away from me!" she shrieked. "I was so close to going to homecoming with him!"

I straightened out and glared at my sister. "You are going nowhere with him."

"And you can't control me!" Her high pitch screech made me wince at the sound.

Arms grabbed a hold of us and led us sharply into an empty classroom. Skylar was shutting the door behind us. "Can you guys please keep the melodrama quiet?" she seethed.

"Don't blame me, blame her," I pointed at Ember. "She's the one freaking out."

"Me?!" Ember exclaimed. "I'm not the one playing guard dog! Who are you to say who I can or cannot hang out with? It's MY life!"

"And you're my little sister," I growled at her. "I would like for you to not have any stupid high school scandals while I'm around."

"You're not the boss of me!" she shouted at me.

"Are we seriously arguing over a guy?" Skylar interrupted. "I thought we had more class than that."

"I am just trying to protect my sister," I growled. "Am I not allowed to do that anymore?"

Ember hit me again, this time by kicking my shin.

"Shit!" I exclaimed, reaching down to protect my leg from round two. "What? It is my right as the older brother!"

"Get this right, Railey," Ember began. She then enunciated each word carefully. "You… are not… my brother!"

"Ember!" Skylar glanced at me with an apology, beseeching with her eyes.

"My brother disappeared years ago!" Ember then pushed past me and stalked out the door.

An awkward silence claimed the classroom. Skylar was nervously tapping her foot. Her hands were twisting the strap on her messenger bag. She slowly looked up at me, her eyes gauging my expression. For the most part I was trying to figure out how to express myself at the moment. What could I say? What should I say? For all I knew, Skylar could have had the same feelings as Ember, and it could just be her benevolence that made her act nice to me. I clenched, and then unclenched my fists that were at my sides, getting a grip on my emotions that would explode at any moment.

"Railey," Skylar began, breaking the silence. "Please, don't mind Ember. She still feels hurt, and she doesn't know what to do to fix the situation."

Skylar's words echoed my sentiments exactly. I didn't know how to fix the situation, either. The pain of our separation, the feelings of abandonment and betrayal… How was I supposed to even begin to talk to Ember when she refused to be anywhere near me for longer than ten minutes? Literally, even during dinner she would finish her plate in ten minutes, and then excuse herself immediately. When Mom and Dad divorced, Ember took it the hardest. She put an obvious front, acting like nothing bothered her, but Skylar and I knew that the familial bonds inside her were shattered beyond repair. Afterwards, we discovered the lies that our parents kept from us. However, Ember had already known what was happening with our parents, and she tried to pretend everything was alright. She always believed that no matter what, the three of us would be together. My decision to live with my father was like rubbing salt into her wounds.

"Railey," Skylar said quietly, breaking me out of my thoughts. "Please, just give her some time."

"What about you?" I wondered aloud, afraid to hear the answer. "Are you upset with me, too?"

Skylar grabbed my hand in hers, and smiled softly. "You will always be my older brother."

Those words instantly made me feel better, and I pulled Skylar into a hug. "Always," I muttered, squeezing her a bit to emphasize. "No matter what, when or where, I will always be there."

Skylar smiled and hugged me back. "I know," she responded. "But we should get going. Mom should be waiting for us."

I jumped back. "Crap." I glanced at the clock on the wall. "Go ahead without me. Tell Mom I'll walk home."

Skylar gave me a puzzling look. "Okay…" she drawled.

I pushed Skylar out of the classroom, leading her towards the front doors of the school. "I'll be home by dinner. I just have to go somewhere today."

Skylar sighed. "You are going to owe me all those make up brother-sister bonding times," she warned me.

I smiled at her. I would have to think of several things to do to make up to Skylar for my absence, but that would have to wait. "Of course, I wouldn't expect anything else. See you later." I sent her off with a peck on the cheek, watching her wave a quick farewell out the doors.

Now, I needed to sneak into a certain room without anyone noticing. Despite my shouting match with Ember taking up most of the time I had left, there were still plenty of people loitering about. Most of the blonde bimbos were hanging out in front of Tyler's locker, though he was nowhere to be seen. I had to think of another way to get to my destination. It would do me no good to walk in front of those girls. They would be the first to give away my location in case they followed me. Doubling back, I ran out the front doors of the school. Then I circled around the outside of the building to the gym entrance. I casually strolled through, waving a greeting to the basketball team, snuck past the coaches' offices, and into the hallway. I power walked through the halls and jumped the stairs three steps at a time to the fourth landing. Higher up the floors, there were less people to notice me. Finally I was at my destination. I walked through the door with a smile on my face.