Forbidden Love in the Dark - Chapter 1

“ Life-Altering News”
My existence was on the verge of a permanent transformation! I roused from sleep just like any ordinary day. After hitting the snooze button multiple times, I compelled myself out of bed and ambled sluggishly towards the bathroom, my eyes still half – shut. I loathed getting up for school and yearned for the day it would all end. I was set to graduate this year. I had never thought my senior year would arrive, but here it finally was. Now that it had, it seemed to be dragging on interminably. I turned on the hot water, so it would create a pleasant, steamy atmosphere to jolt my senses awake. Shedding my pajamas, I drew the shower curtain closed around me. Ahhhhhh. This was precisely what the day needed.
I was deep in thought in the shower until the water turned cold. Now, I was fully awake. I wrapped my hair in a towel and made my way to my room to pick out something to wear. As I rummaged through my jeans, it suddenly dawned on me that today was the day. “ Mom and Dad are coming home today!” I almost leaped with excitement.
My parents had been away for a month on a business trip. I was left at home to prepare for graduation and study for exams. They frequently went on business trips and left me in the care of Mr. Thompson. He was our butler and, out of all the staff, my favorite. He had been with our family for a long time.
After years of being left alone, you sort of get used to it, but it was always
wonderful to have my parents home. Don’t misunderstand me, though. I don’t hold any resentment towards them because if they didn’t do what they did, we wouldn’t have the nice things we possess. My Mustang, in particular. I adored my Mustang. I could recall the day we went car shopping right after I passed my driver’s test. As we pulled into the car dealership lot, it was the first thing that caught my eye. Glossy black with dark – tinted windows. “That’s the one I want, Dad. Right there.”
We pulled up beside it, and I jumped out of Dad’s car before he even had it fully stopped, overjoyed at my discovery. We were examining it when a salesman approached with the keys. “Want to take it for a test drive?”
“Are you serious? I’d love to!” I snatched the keys from his hand, and we all piled into the Mustang GT. I was even more smitten. Black leather heated seats, a sunroof, and fully loaded. This Mustang would be mine.
My alarm buzzing again jolted me from my daydream. I had forgotten to turn it off after my snooze – button mishap this morning. I decided on a pair of jeans, a ‘ Midnight Strike’ baby tee, a large black zip – up hoodie with a ‘Wildcat’ logo on the upper left chest. I pulled on my black steel – toed combat boots and went to dry my hair.
I removed the towel from my head, letting my long brunette waves cascade down my back. The cool wetness sent a shiver through me. Standing in front of the mirror, I applied some makeup, brushed my teeth, then dried and straightened my hair. After a few twirls to check out my outfit, I headed
towards my Mustang.
Mr. Thompson met me at the bottom of the stairs, holding my keys. “ I thought you were going to be late, Miss Amelia.”
“ Mr. Thompson, I’m always punctual. You should know that by now ” I grabbed my keys from his hand.
“Of course, Miss Amelia.”
Looking up into his warm, hazel eyes and smiling at him, “ Please stop calling me Miss Amelia. You’re like a second father to me.” I stood on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “See you after school, Mr. Thompson.”
Watching him stand there with his hand over the spot on his cheek that I kissed, I smiled as I hit the button on my keychain to unlock the Mustang doors.
“ Miss Amelia. Don’t forget your parents will be coming home today. I’m planning a nice dinner.” I waved in acknowledgement.
I slid into the driver’s seat, putting on my sunglasses. Starting the engine, I turned on the radio, blasting Drake, and waved goodbye. Looking into my rear
– view mirror, I saw him waving back. Mr. Thompson was tall and slender, with thinning, graying hair. I shook my head, my heart warming at the thought that he would never change. He would always treat me like a boss and call me Miss Amelia. That really annoyed me sometimes.
I pulled into school, looking for my favorite parking spot. Without much thought about my day, I slammed on my brakes when I noticed a red sports car parked in my spot. “Who on earth is this? Everyone knows this is my spot!” I
couldn’t believe it. Someone had the nerve. Everyone knew this had been my parking spot all year!
After throwing a tantrum and muttering a few choice words under my breath, I drove on in search of an empty space. Finding one, I pulled in and took a deep breath to calm myself before going inside. This wasn’t going to ruin my day. I would let this go for now.
Throwing my bag over my shoulder and tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear, I headed to Chemistry class. As I walked through the door, I immediately sensed a new presence, and my eyes were instantly drawn to “him”. Wow. He was a sight to behold. I couldn’t help but stare at him. Wavy blond hair seemed to beckon to be touched, and deep sapphire blue eyes held my gaze. Who was he? Could he be the owner of that red sports car in my spot?
If so, I was definitely going to overlook it.
After several minutes of staring, I finally took my seat, forcing myself not to look back at him. Dr. Morrison started the class by asking a series of questions.
I was just about to raise my hand to answer when there was a knock at the door. Dr. Morrison answered it, and when he turned back, his face looked grave.
“Amelia, you’re wanted in the office.”
I looked at him in surprise and stood up. “Um. You might want to take your things with you,” he said.
Confused, I loaded my books into my bag, slung it over my shoulder, and headed to the office. What on earth had I done now? I hadn’t even made a big
deal about my parking spot. The halls were empty, with only the echoes of teachers talking behind closed doors and the squeaking of my heels on the freshly waxed floors.
When I arrived at the office, I stood in front of the doors for a second, looking in through the glass that separated the “principal’s lair ” from the hallway.
Principal Jenkins’ door was slightly ajar, giving me a full view of the police officer. “What now?” I opened the door and walked in.
Mrs. Brown sat at her desk. Her tightly wound white bun on top of her head was the only thing visible as she stared blankly. Raising her head to see who had entered, her eyes widened ever so slightly before she regained her composure. “Go on in, Amelia. They’re waiting for you.” She kept her voice even, but I could sense that something was amiss.
I walked over to the door and knocked. Principal Jenkins greeted me. “Come on in, Amelia.” He put his arm around my shoulders and led me to the chairs across from his desk. One police officer sat in a chair, the one I could see from the hall, and another officer stood by the window. “You might want to sit down here, Amelia.” Principal Jenkins motioned towards the chair.
“ Did I do something wrong?” The tension in the room was palpable. Something was definitely wrong. I had a feeling I was about to find out what was going on.
“Oh no. You haven’t done anything wrong at all. These officers here would like to talk to you.” Principal Jenkins took his seat behind his large oak desk. He was a short, plump man, balding with only hair above his ears, forming a horseshoe
shape around his head. His pale green eyes watched me from behind thick glasses.
I looked at him for a moment and then at the officer sitting beside me. “Amelia Foster?” The officer next to me asked without hesitation.
“Yes. That’s me.” The other officer by the window came closer to the desk as the officer next to me stood up. “ I’m Detective Rodriguez. This is my partner, Officer Lewis. I’m afraid we have some bad news.” Detective Rodriguez had a dark complexion, with turquoise eyes and jet – black hair. You could tell he was muscular from the outline of his shirt. Officer Lewis was smaller – framed, less muscular, with brown hair and brown eyes. They both had military – style haircuts.
“What bad news?” I wasn’t really alarmed at first. It could be anything.
“Are your parents named David R. Foster and Emily Foster?” They waited for me
to answer.
“Yes. That’s them.” I said, now confused.
“We’re sorry to be the ones to tell you, Amelia, but the airplane your parents were on has been reported to have crashed in the ocean. It departed from LaGuardia Airport and was declared a Mayday at 1100 hours. It went down over the Atlantic. We’re sorry…there are no known survivors.”
Staring at them in disbelief, my mind tried to process what they had just told me. What? How could this be? I must be dreaming. It has to be a dream.
Clutching my hand to my chest, I could feel my throat tightening, constricting
around my trachea and cutting off my air. When I felt dizziness wash over me, I put my head between my knees to keep from fainting.
“Why don’t we give her a few minutes, Officers.” Although it sounded muffled to my ears, I knew it was Principal Jenkins speaking.
“Of course.” The officers said in unison.
“Amelia, we’ll be right outside. Just call if you need us.”
I nodded, my head still between my knees, and heard the door close. I slowly sat up. My parents were dead? Tears streamed down my cheeks. The pressure in my chest was replaced by the harsh reality of sadness. How could this happen? I had just talked to them last night, so excited that they were coming home. I had been so caught up in preparing for mid – terms that I had even rushed my mother off the phone last night. Oh God! What was I going to do?
Lowering my head as far as I could between my knees, I started to hyperventilate.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Someone knocked on the door and slowly opened it. “Amelia, I think you should go home now. Call your family to come be with you.”
“ I have no other family.” I whispered, sitting up and wiping the tears from my face. Grabbing my things and pulling out my keys, I looked at Principal Jenkins before heading for the door.
“ Maybe you shouldn’t drive.” Principal Jenkins said.
“ I’ll be fine. Really.” I knew it wasn’t very convincing when my chest heaved between sobs, and Officer Lewis took my keys.
“ I’ll drive your car. Detective Rodriguez can follow us.” I nodded in agreement and walked out of school behind them.
Feeling the eyes on me as we walked to the parking lot, I could only imagine what the other kids at school would be saying after this. Officer Lewis helped me into the passenger side of my Mustang and then got in and started the engine. I turned down the radio, just wanting silence, leaning back in my seat and closing my eyes. Without looking at Lewis, I told him where to go.
“ I know exactly where it is.” He said with a touch of pride.
Great. A cop who takes satisfaction in any bit of self – knowledge. Just great.
It seemed like only a few minutes before we pulled into our long driveway.
Officer Lewis offered to walk me to the house with a boyish smile, but I politely declined. “ I’ll be fine. Thank you for driving me home.” After watching them drive off in the police car, I slowly turned around, staring at my house.
I pictured my mother kneeling in her flower bed. She took great pride in landscaping our yard and actually did a pretty good job. My gaze followed the cobblestone path up to our front door, imagining my father standing in the
doorway, ankles crossed, arms crossed, and one shoulder leaning against the door frame.
I looked up towards the roof. Our house was large, built by my father. Light green, with stone embedded in the siding along the front porch. Large glass windows allowed you to see into the game room and the indoor pool area. A balcony could be seen off the master bedroom, overlooking a small lake we
had in our side yard. The house was beautiful.
I heard the door open. Mr. Thompson was there to greet me, hurrying to my side, his eyes filled with compassion. “ Miss Amelia. Come inside.” He put an arm across my shoulders and took my bag with the other. “ It’ll be okay, Miss Amelia. We’ll get through this.”
Letting him lead me into the house, I stopped just inside the door. Staring at the spiral staircase that led upstairs, I felt weighed down, helpless, and didn’t know what to do. My feet refused to move. I was numb.
“Go to your room, Miss Amelia. I’ll bring you some tea.”
Staring at him for a moment too long, I screamed. “ I don’t want tea, Mr.
Thompson. I want my parents!” Running to my room and slamming the door, tears flooded my face, and depression engulfed me.