Love Divine

In the hopes of making myself happier, I began injecting penicillin for every ache and pain at the age of thirteen. At fifteen I landed myself in the hospital with an allergic reaction that sprang up from three years of using moss from cheese. I haven’t been healthy since.
I am not what you would call a normal person. Born to a mother that didn’t want me and a father who saw it his right to abuse me, my psychological pattern was planned out for me. I was nearly killed three times pre birth before my mother gave up trying to abort me. Instead she ran from the hospital as soon as she could walk straight. In an effort to cleanse me of my evilness, my father started raping me on my fifth birthday. He justified himself by saying that I deserve pain after taking his girlfriend away from him. At sixteen I left him the same way my mother did. Child services put out a search for Abigail Jones, but I had left her in Maine with the rest of the lies that were my past. Instead Piper Flemmings headed to a new life in Santa Monica.

CHAPTER ONE

The dream had just begun to fade away when someone nudged my arm. I opened my eyes to find a very large man staring down at me. Immediately my body tried to react and curl itself into a ball, but I stopped myself just in time. Best to keep out of the public eye for as long as possible. Getting up and stretching, I looked out the window of the greyhound bus and gasped. Maine at Halloween was cold and wet. California seemed to radiate sun everywhere. I looked around, gaping like an idiot at all the shops and people in short shorts and tank tops. After a moment or two though, I had to move because the people behind me were getting fussy. As I took my first step onto California soil, I felt a renewed sense of freedom. Finally I could live my life the way I had always wanted, without the fear of pain and sadness. I knew things would only get better.
I headed into the bus station and up to the nearest counter, where a sweet looking elderly lady was sitting, typing on her computer. She looked up when I approached.
“Yes my dear, is there anything I can help you with?”
I dug into my pocket and handed her a piece of crumpled up paper. On it was an address for the apartment building I had called about a few days before.
“I have just moved here, and I was wondering if you could tell me where this address is.”
The lady smiled at me and started typing in my address. Before she finished though, someone behind me spoke up.
“I know where that is. My sister lives there.”
I turned around and came face to face with a muscular man standing over six feet tall. And was he gorgeous. Beautiful brown hair rivaled my drab red, and his eyes were the most amazing blue I had ever seen. His skin was a golden hue, most likely a result from the same thing got had his muscles so developed. He was perfect in every way, and I couldn’t stop staring. That was until the old lady behind the counter cleared her throat. I came to my senses and spoke, my voice suddenly soft and quiet.
“Is there any way you can give me a ride?”
The man smiled and nodded. I turned around and thanked the lady, who didn’t seem too happy that I was leaving so easily with a man I didn’t know, and walked out the door with the man into the bright California sun that was soon to be my home.
“My name is Shane by the way. Shane White. If you don’t mind, can we stop at the airport first? My sister’s coming in from Georgia and I said I’d pick her up when her plane landed.”
I was in no position to say anything, considering that this man was being so kind as to give me a ride without even knowing me, so I said yes and settled into the passenger seat of his blue pickup. We weren’t even out of the bus station parking lot when he asked my name.
“Piper Flemmings.” I said, a little warily. My name still sounded strange to me, and I was still a little worried that someone would catch me in my lie. But Shane seemed to take what I said and didn’t seem suspicious, so I calmed a little, even when he started asking more questions.
“So what brings you to Santa Monica, Piper Flemmings?”
“I decided it was time for me to do something with my life, and Santa Monica seemed to be the perfect place to start anew.”
Shane smiled slightly, a beautiful smile that showed perfect white teeth, and continued.
“And before here, where were you? And what is it you want to do with your life?”
I looked out the window into a sea of trees and thought about my home I never loved and a dream my father took away from me before I had a chance to even think about pursuing it.
“Before here it was Maine. And a dream to be a mother. But here I just want to finish school.”
My voice held a hint of bitterness, and Shane let the subject drop for about ten miles. But eventually he spoke again; an interruption from my thoughts that I gladly welcomed.
“Well, Maine is pretty far from California for a young girl to travel alone. How old are you?”
“I’ll be seventeen in two weeks, and I can take care of myself quite well. I don’t need a chaperone.”
I immediately felt horrible for snapping at Shane, I knew he was just being polite, but I couldn’t find the words to say to him, so I just left the conversation hanging there a second time. We rode on in silence for the rest of the ride, and when we arrived at the airport, I expected him to leave me in the car while he went to get his sister, but he walked around and opened the door for me. That just made me feel even worse, and I knew I had to say something.
“Mr. White, I’m very sorry for the way I acted on the way over here. That was rude of me, especially since you’ve been so nice as to give me a ride.”
I felt foolish for saying it, but I knew it was the right thing to do. So I stood there, hoping he would accept my apology. To my surprise he smiled and shook his head.
“Piper, please; you have no reason to feel bad. I can tell you don’t want to talk about your past, and I’m not here to make you. And you had every right to get upset.”
He smiled and started walking towards the airport, but stopped abruptly and turned to me.
“But don’t call me Mr. White. That makes me feel so old. I’m only twenty-two, so please, call me Shane.”
He looked straight into my eyes and gave me a small puppy dog look, which made me laugh despite myself. I smiled and nodded my ok, and we headed to pick up his sister. In the back of my mind I felt a small bit of fear. For some reason I wanted to make a good impression on her.

CHAPTER TWO
We only had to wait five minutes until I finally met Shane White’s sister, Anexis. She was beautiful. Her dark brown hair flowed down to her waist, and her blue eyes matched the brightness of her brother’s. She was small, couldn’t be more than five feet tall. But her height was made up for by her confidence. I could tell the minute I saw her that she was a strong woman, and I admired that right away. I watched politely as Shane ran up and wrapped her in a bear hug. They said a few quite words, and then walked my way. I suddenly felt very nervous. But when Anexis came up to me, she smiled and opened her hands in a welcoming hug.
“Shane tells me you are new to this state. Welcome Piper.”
She gave me a hug that was surprisingly tight for her small frame, and walked out of the airport. Shane stood beside me as we watched her walk out.
“I guess now would be a good time to tell you that Anexis went to Georgia to finalize our mother’s funeral. She died two weeks ago. Anexis and she were very close, and she hasn’t been the same since the accident. Don’t be alarmed if she acts strange. She wouldn’t do anything to hurt you; she’s just a little out of it as of late.”
The last thing on my mind at that time was alarm. Anexis had left me with a feeling that neither warmed nor scared me. Instead, I felt oddly numb. I could sense confusion hidden deep inside, but the numbness overpowered it. It was a strange feeling, yet I didn’t want it to go away. But after a few moments it did, and that feeling of confusion overwhelmed me. I blinked several times to clear my head, and absently nodded to Shane. He mumbled something too low for me to hear and put his hand on my shoulder to lead me out of the airport.
For the whole ride, Anexis was talkative. She kept jumping from one topic to the next, and surprisingly Shane seemed to follow her.
“Oh! And the Patterson’s send their regards. And so does that butcher that lived down the street from us. Oh and did you know that the marxburry’s painted their store again? Yeah, now it’s some ugly green shade of vomit.”
She finally took a breath, which gave Shane a chance to interrupt.
“So, Piper, since you just moved here, and I guessing you just did because I saw you get off the bus, I’m going on a limb and saying you don’t have any food in your apartment. Would you be willing to join my sister and me for dinner tonight?”
Anexis turned to me and grinned widely. Even if I had wanted to, I couldn’t have said no. I smiled back at her and Shane and turned back to look out the window. The view was so serene, and I was already tired from the ride, so I quickly drifted off to sleep.
When I awoke, Shane was pulling into the parking lot of an old, dark apartment complex. The front of the building looked like it was about to erode right off, and the only thing keeping that from happening was the tangle of vines that grew up around the building. Somehow I knew this was where I was going to live without having to ask. I knew I had no right to be upset, you get what you pay for; but in the back of my mind, I had still hoped for a fairy tale ending to my horrible life.
Shane walked us up to our rooms, and I found out that Anexis’ apartment was just down the hall from mine. Shane helped us both get settled, and then drove us to his house, about seven miles away. Surprisingly, by that time, Anexis had calmed down and pretty much didn’t say anything for the whole ride. I took this time to actually look at the brother and sister. For the first time since I met him, I noticed that Shane had an unusual face. Not bad or anything, just unusual. It looked almost… angelic. His complexion was smooth and his tan perfect. I tried to think of anyone else I knew with a face as perfect as his, but my mind kept drawing a blank. As I stared, though, I noticed subtle differences between him and his younger sister. For one, their noses where different. Anexis’ was small and turned up slightly at the tip, while Shane’s was average size with no turn. Shane’s face was soft and smooth, with no freckles or anything, while Anexis had the child look with freckles spreading subtly over her nose. It wasn’t like I expected the two to be identical, but the only thing in common between them were their eyes, which was oddly unsettling. For some reason, things seemed strange; from the moment I met Anexis and she hugged me, I had been feeling as if I were a dream. Not that I was in a dream, but that I was actually the dream itself. It was weird, but at the same time, rather comforting. And in the quiet of the car, things seemed unreal.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts, and caught Shane’s attention.
“So, now that you’ve moved in and met a few people, how do you feel about it?”
He smiled warmly at me, and I couldn’t help but smile back. Despite the constant state of depression I had been in, being around Shane made me feel happy; safe. No matter how many times I tried to be happy back in Maine, things always found a way of screwing up. Like my father would come home angry or I’d end up in the hospital. Or sometimes both. I had gotten used to my sad little world. Somehow the pain of depression lessened the pain of the world. It was like an escape from reality, when my father would hurt me, I wouldn’t feel it like I was living it. I felt like a visitor. Someone was being hurt. And I sank deeper into oblivion.
But now it felt like I was being pulled out. And I was scared for that; I wasn’t sure I wanted to be saved. But Shane continued to look at me with that sweet gaze, and I felt a tug that I knew I was going to lose the war with, no matter how many battles I had won in the past. I looked Shane in the eyes and nodded.
“I really like it here. It’s warm, and sunny in many ways. Gives it a promise of hope.”
Anexis, who was listening in, pursed her lips and looked at Shane with a strange expression. He nodded to her, but didn’t say anything. Anexis just looked at me and smiled, then closed her eyes and started humming a familiar tune, though I couldn’t put a finger on what it was.
I sat there for a few moments, thinking about what had just happened, then sighed and opened my fat mouth again.
“Listen, I understand you guys are just curious about me and my past, but who I was in Maine is not who I am here, and not who I will ever be. I’m perfectly fine, and don’t need any help, but thank you all the same. My skeletons are mine to keep, and it’s just as healthy keeping them in the closet.”
Suddenly feeling sad and stupid for my actions, I turned and continued to stare out the window again. The view wasn’t as spectacular as I remembered it being earlier. Part of me wanted to turn and apologize, but the other part, the one that was bitter from sixteen years of hurt, that was alone and scared; didn’t want me to say anything. My life was my own, and I intended to keep it that way.
Things in the car were silent for a few moments as we crept along slowly. Rush hour was bad and seven miles turned into thirty minutes of honking. I wasn’t aware that Anexis had been looking at me until she tapped me on my shoulder. I turned to see her face inches from mine. Her expression was sad, yet held a faint glimmer of something unnamable. She put her hand on my shoulder, and instead of grimacing at human contact like I usually do, I found her touch soothing, serene. She smiled at me and spoke.
“Piper, I know how it feels to not belong. To think that nothing in this world holds any value to you and that nothing matters on what your actions are. But the truth is, everything matters when it comes to people. Your skeletons are yours, that is true, but what’s the use of keeping them? They’re dead, they can’t do anything to help you now. All you are doing is holding on to a hope that none of this is real and you are going to wake up in the reality you think you deserve. Only problem is, you haven’t made that reality yet, so you can never wake up. Trust me on this kid, those walking corpses aren’t going to make your dreams come true.”
She kissed me on the cheek and turned back to face the front of the car. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Shane looking at me. I turned slightly so I could see him clearly. He looked, not exactly scared, but something along those lines. Somewhere deep in his eyes I could see worry. Worry for me and my feelings. For someone who hardly knew me, Shane was clearly concerned for my happiness. It brought a sense of warmth, knowing that someone could actually care about me. In sixteen years I hadn’t had someone care like that. It was comforting, though a little sad that I had to go all the way to California to find it in a stranger’s eyes. I smiled slightly and turned back toward the window.
When we finally got to Shane’s house, the atmosphere in the car had eased up tremendously. Aquila had found a station on the radio that played all sorts of Halloween songs, and had begun to sing, badly, with the music.