The Four Points: Book 1 (The Four Points Saga) Read online

  I felt embarrassed and eager as I handed Liam the umbrella and walked over to Mr. Blithe’s car. After seeing Liam’s strength tonight, first with the intruder, now with the car, I was starting to believe in the story my two new friends were telling me. I bent down and strained as I waited to feel the enormous weight of the car. But I didn’t! It was as light as a feather.

  “Don’t lift it too high or you’ll flip it,” Liam warned, his voice filled with delight.

  I lifted the back wheels just as Liam had—high enough to be in an upright position—but careful enough not to scrape the front bumper on the ground. I rolled the car back to its starting position. When it was positioned correctly I let go and the car fell hard into place, smashing all of the back windows. Glass shattered and flew everywhere, and Liam began laughing uncontrollably.

  “Oh my God! Mr. Blithe is going to kill me!” I was mortified. I had just vandalized Mr. Blithe’s car.

  Liam was still laughing, tears rolling from his eyes. I had never seen him laugh. Little wrinkles gathered at the side of his blue eyes that had become little slits as he found so much humor and pleasure in my destruction of Mr. Blithe’s car.

  “Liam, stop laughing, it’s not funny. It’s all your fault, you know. You told me to pick it up. You didn’t tell me how to put it down.”

  Liam wiped the tears from his eyes as we walked away from the car back towards my apartment.

  “Okay, okay,” he said, still laughing but trying to compose himself. His cheeks were rosy as the blood flowed through his face from all the excitement. “I will take the blame. I’ll say I did it.” Liam wiped away the tears that rimmed his eyes.

  “Is he going to be mad?”

  “No, he’s not going to care. I’ll just tell him I was proving to you who we are.”

  “Are you sure? Maybe we should just tell him I did it. I’ll pay for the damages.”

  “Don’t be silly. You are not paying for a thing; it’s not a big deal. Don’t worry about it.”

  “Liam, did I just pick up a freaking car?”

  “See? I knew you could do it. Do you believe us now?”

  As we approached the apartment, Mr. Blithe and Officer Fuentes walked down the stairs, meeting us at the bottom.

  “Come on Liam, it’s late. We’ve intruded enough. We will be back tomorrow morning. I have set up another meeting with Erika’s mother.” Mr. Blithe held his briefcase above his head to shelter himself from the rain.

  “I guess I’ll see you guys tomorrow, then,” I said. “Thank you all for everything. Liam, thank you again for saving my life.” I could feel Liam’s eyes on me as I started to make my way up the stairs.

  “Sweet dreams,” Liam yelled up to me.

  “Erika, we will see you again at nine a.m. tomorrow. Please call us any time tonight if you need anything,” Mr. Blithe added.

  “Bye, Erika.” Mr. Fuentes waved.

  “Bye, thanks.” I quickly hurried up to my apartment so I didn’t have to hear Mr. Blithe’s reaction when he got back to his car.

  I couldn’t believe it. Everything Liam and Mr. Blithe had been telling me seemed to be true. I shook the water from my umbrella as I entered the apartment.

  My mom and I talked that night about what happened, and about Oxford. I told her how hard it was for me at Riverton. I told her how the students treated me, about the comments of me being a murderer. I told her how it was a struggle for me to get out of bed every day and how if I stayed in Riverton I didn’t think I would make it to graduation. I pleaded with her to let me go to England. We ended the conversation with her telling me she needed to think about it.

  I went to my room. I laid face down on my bed, hugging my pillow for comfort. I just kept wondering how all this could be real.

  My brother Kai knocked on the door, entering at the same time. “Erika, can you read me a bedtime story?”

  I looked at his sad eyes and his pouty little mouth. “Of course I can. Pick out a book.” I followed Kai to his room.

  Kai’s room was decorated with superheroes. Decals of Spiderman, Hulk, and The Avengers covered the walls.

  Kai chose an X-men book. I laid with him in his little blue bed reading the first few chapters, and as he fell asleep I continued to read.

  Could all these books be based on reality? Could these characters really exist? Could I be like one of these characters?

  I heard the front door shut. I could hear my sister asking what had happened as my mom cleaned up bits and pieces of the chair. My mom gave my sister a quick rundown of tonight’s events.

  I met my sister in the hall as she ran down to check on me. I didn’t want her to freak out when she didn’t find me in my room.

  “Oh my God. Erika, are you okay? Mom just told me what happened.”

  “I’m fine. I just wish people would stop trying to kill me,” I laughed.

  “Erika, that’s not funny. Who was this guy, what did he want?”

  “I don’t know who he was. I think he was just some crazy stalker.”

  I wanted to tell Alyssa everything, but how do you explain something like this without being admitted into a psych ward?

  “Maybe you shouldn’t be at home alone anymore, Erika. If you want, you can come with me and Anthony tomorrow. We’re going to some new art exhibit Anthony likes.”

  “No, that’s okay. I don’t need to be a third wheel. Plus, did you see the cop car outside? We have our own special security team.” I was still trying to find the words to tell at least some of my unbelievable story, but the words never surfaced.

  “Well that’s good. I have to admit it would be a little freaky to sleep if we didn’t have a cop watching us to make sure we were okay. I’m actually still a little freaked out, even with a cop outside. Wanna sleep in Kai’s room with me?” Alyssa placed her hands together as if she were praying and made a sad pouty face.

  “I think that’s a good idea. I don’t want to be alone either.” Fear of being alone wasn’t the real reason I went along with Alyssa’s suggestion. I wanted to make sure I was close enough to protect all of them, and I took comfort in knowing that Liam was watching over us as well. “I’ll see if Mom wants to sleep in here too.” I walked down the hall.

  I walked out to the living room and found my mom in the kitchen facing the stove, smoking a cigarette with the stove fan on to suck up the smoke. She didn’t notice me; she was transfixed with her nightly ritual. My sister and I would make fun of her for talking to the stove. My mom would sit there for hours, smoking her cigarettes and mumbling to herself. She did this whenever she had something important to think about.

  I stared at the back of my mom’s head before crouching down behind the partial wall that separated the kitchen and living room. I closed my eyes and pressed my back against the cold partition. My head fit right under the kitchen nook. At first I could only hear my own rambling contemplations. I focused on quieting them and then I started to hear something… my mom’s voice. It was as clear as if she were talking directly to me.

  “What am I going to do? I have to make the right decision. I’ve made so many mistakes, and this decision will affect Erika’s life forever.”

  I listened as my mother relived her mistakes in her mind. The regrets she had over Kai not knowing his father. The worries she felt about whether she could teach him to be a man on her own. I listened to her regrets about Alyssa and how Alyssa never really got a chance to be a baby. Because my sister and I were so close in age, Alyssa had often been ignored and had to grow up much faster than what was fair. And then me. I listened to my mom’s regrets for saying the mean things she said to me. My mom saw so much of herself in me; she was terrified that I would turn out like her and make the same bad decisions. My mom was so tormented. She wanted to do what was right for me. She wanted to protect me. She knew that with the money we’d earned from my interviews we could buy a house, have a better life. But she also knew she couldn’t protect me from the kids at Riverton or from crazy stalkers like the one from toni
ght.

  I stopped listening. It felt intrusive. I crawled down the hall and stood up when I was a safe distance away.

  “Erika, I thought you were sleeping,” my mom said as she came into the hall, startling me.

  She must have heard the creaking of the floor as I’d stood up. I turned around to look at her. I understood her better now. I wanted to tell her that she’d done an amazing job raising three kids on her own, and that a lot of what happened wasn’t her fault. Kai’s father cheated on her; he chose to leave her for a younger woman. Alyssa and I had the same father, but he was never around. I wanted her to know that I was proud of her and appreciative of the life she had worked so hard to give us. My mother was the strongest, most protective person I knew, and I hated that she had so many regrets.

  “Uhmm… I was putting Kai to bed and I fell asleep in his room. Alyssa and I are going to sleep in Kai’s room tonight. I think you should sleep there too. It’ll be safer.”

  “I agree. I don’t think any of us should be alone. Let’s grab the mattress off your bed.” I followed my mom as she walked into my room.

  Kai, my mom, Alyssa and I all slept together that night. My mom and Kai slept in his bed, while Alyssa and I slept on the mattress next to them. As I watched them all sleep I knew I would never let anything happen to them. I would protect them with my life. I didn’t know what the future held, but I was sure of one thing: I was a Diamond, the Western Point. I was The Reader.

  Chapter 11

  THE DECISION

  “Alyssa. Get up.” I gently shook my sister’s still body, but she didn’t move. “Alyssa, I need you to help me pick out something to wear.” Her body swayed back and forth from my vigorous efforts to wake her.

  Alyssa groaned covering her face with her pillow. “Erika, what time is it?”

  “It’s seven.”

  “Erika, seriously! It’s Sunday morning; go back to sleep!” Alyssa’s voice was muffled under her pillow. I tugged at the padding, but her grip was like a vise, refusing to let go.

  “Please Alyssa, I need your help! A really cute guy is gonna be here in two hours. Pllleeeassse?”

  Alyssa released the pillow, making me lose my balance. I tumbled off the mattress and landed against the side of Kai’s bed. I stood up, sure that the commotion had awoken my sleeping mother and brother, but it hadn’t. Kai’s skinny little legs didn’t move, they remained slung over my mom’s stationary form on the tiny amount of room she was allowed.

  Alyssa sat up from our make-shift bed on the floor, her hands furiously pushing away at the hairs that clung to her face. “What!”

  I knew the words cute and guy would get her attention.

  “Shhhh Alyssa, Mom and Kai are still asleep.”

  Whispering, she asked, “Who? Why?”

  I motioned to Alyssa to follow me into another room so we could talk. Sneaking quietly out, I closed Kai’s door behind us. I told Alyssa what I could— that recruiters from Oxford were coming to get our mom’s permission to take me to England to be placed in a program for high school students, and that hopefully I would finish my junior and senior year there. As we stood in the doorway of Alyssa’s room I watched as shock took over her body. Her complexion turned pale, her face frozen like a beautiful porcelain doll. Waiting for a reaction, I stared into the static hazel cat-like eyes that bore into mine. Her pupils widened in a flicker of movement, her iris’ coming alive with streaks of yellow taking over brown, as the realization of what I had just told her sank in. The spark in her eyes, the glow in her face, her expression taken over by… happiness.

  “Why haven’t you told me about any of this, Erika? When did you apply?”

  “I didn’t apply. They found me. They help students who’ve been through so-called traumatic experiences, like the shooting. They came here last night to talk to me. They were the ones who saved me; well, he— Liam— he saved me.”

  I was so excited I was rambling. For the first time in a long time I had something to look forward to. Today I’d awoken with a new vigor, with excitement and hope coursing through my veins. I needed to share what I was feeling, but I stopped myself before I gave too much away. I knew I couldn’t tell Alyssa about the new world I had been introduced to, about my powers, about my real self. She would think I was delusional. I thought about what I could tell her. Remembering everything that had recently happened, I sighed with exhaustion.

  “Alyssa, I’m just so sick of the kids at Riverton calling me a murderer and people trying to kill me. I’ve had a week of it, and it’s enough. I don’t belong here. I never have. I need to get out of Riverton or I’ll… I’ll…”

  I didn’t finish my sentence. Not because I couldn’t find the word, the word was DIE— and not DIE in just the figurative sense, but the literal. I couldn’t tell Alyssa that my staying in Riverton put myself and my whole family in danger, and that if I stayed the kids and psychos that resided there would be the least of our worries. I knew the Collectors were coming. From the moment I’d accepted who I was I had this visceral feeling, a sense that something was approaching. It was a feeling of dread, a constant aching that something was terribly wrong. To be honest, it was a familiar feeling because for my whole life it had always been there. The ache in the back of my mind, the nervous feeling I buried deep inside, the one I had learned to live with.

  My sister looked at me silently. Sadness replaced her delight, and then she did something she never did— she embraced me— tightly wrapping her arms around my torso, she held me there for a few seconds before pulling away and grabbing my arms.

  “I am so excited for you Erika, but I’m supposed to be the one who leaves first. I can’t imagine not having you here.” Her eyes started to water, and her voice wavered.

  I didn’t know how to respond… I didn’t know what to say. Silence filled the small space between us, then— it was too late. The moment was over. Once again, I had missed an opportunity to tell someone I loved how I really felt.

  “Erika, who’s Liam? Is he the cute guy that you said is coming?” Changing the mood, Alyssa grinned coyly.

  I pictured Liam, trying hard to bury the smile that kept making its move on my lips. Perfect was the only real word that came to mind, but I kept that to myself. I could feel the heat, knowing my face was turning red. I had never talked to my sister about boys before and I felt awkwardly exposed.

  “Liam is, well… he’s the professor’s assistant.”

  “He’s not old is he Erika?”

  “No Alyssa! Gross! He’s not old. He looks like, I don’t know maybe eighteen or nineteen.”

  “Well you know, you don’t have a lot of experience with boys. I just wanna make sure you’re not falling for some old man who’s trying to take advantage of your gullibility.”

  “Okay, Alyssa. Seriously I’m not stupid. Can we please change the subject now and focus on what I am going to wear today?”

  Rolling her eyes and sighing inward Alyssa walked to her closet. I tried in vain to dodge flying clothes as Alyssa through piece after piece into the air, most missing their intended target, the bed. There were clothes on my head, on the floor, and on the dresser. Alyssa couldn’t help but laugh when she turned around, surveying what I had become, a coat rack. When we were finished gathering all the strewn clothes we went to my room to ravage my closet. Taking the ensemble Alyssa had concocted (a pair of jeans and a light-blue shirt with a matching knit cardigan), I tried them on. The cardigan was weird. It was longer in the front than the back.

  “Alyssa, I think something’s wrong with this. It looks like it shrunk.” I pulled at the cardigan, trying to stretch down the rear.

  “Erika, stop! You’re gonna to ruin my shirt. It’s supposed to be like that. It’s the style. Don’t you know anything?”

  After Alyssa recovered from her mini freak-out, she walked around me evaluating my appearance.

  “I think it’s perfect. It’s casual, yet sophisticated enough for a college student. You look good.”

  I l
ooked at myself in the mirror. I didn’t appear as skinny as I normally did, and the shirt seemed to have magical powers that gave the impression that I had more up top than what was actually there. I had to admit to myself that I looked halfway decent. I let a smile escape as I peered at my reflection in the mirror.

  “Thanks, Alyssa.”

  “You’re welcome, Erika. Now I have to go get dressed.” Alyssa bounced proudly out of my room and into hers.

  I headed to the kitchen.

  “Hey Mom.”

  My mom was awake now and at the sink doing dishes. This household always had an abundance of dishes. We tried using paper plates for a while, but after taking the environment and cost into consideration, that experiment was short-lived.

  “Can I help?”

  “Erika, you hate doing dishes. Are you trying to suck up to me because you want me to say yes to you going to England?”

  “Nooo… I just thought maybe you needed help.”

  “Yeah right! Anyways Erika, you know when you do the dishes I just have to redo them all over again.”

  I knew it was just a comment, but the way my mom always nonchalantly put me down did not go unnoticed. I sat down at the kitchen table, ignoring her negative remark. While staring at the grey folding chair that replaced the one that had been broken into pieces the night before— the one Liam destroyed— I couldn’t help but think positively on the previous night’s events. I know it’s weird, but as I reminisced I didn’t think about the crazy murderer intent on taking my life and possibly more. What I thought about was me picking up a freaking car, me smashing Mr. Blithe’s windows when I put the car down, and most of all I thought about Liam. A grin escaped my thoughts. I could feel its pull on my face as I saw Liam Malloy, the man who had saved my life. My mom caught the different emotions that I mistakenly portrayed as I relived the night in my mind. Wiping her hands on a dish towel she came and sat beside me.

  “Are you okay Erika? You seem… well, I don’t know. How are you doing with all this? How do you feel?”