Envisioned (The Elemental Prophecy) (2 page)

I didn't understand how he was such a morning person when I was the complete opposite. I despised mornings. I would much rather stay up late than wake up early, but most teenagers were probably that way. I made a mental note to schedule all of my college courses to be after 11 AM. “Oh wonderful, Daddy. I'm running late, as usual. How are you?”

He chuckled at my sarcastic attitude, which made a small smile tug at my lips. He could bring anyone out of their funk with his laid-back personality. “Well, I won't keep you,” he said, as he kissed the top of my head. “Have a great day, sweetie. I love you.”

Even in my grouchy mood, I couldn't resist. I was a total “daddy's girl.” “I love you too, Daddy,” I proclaimed as I tiptoed to kiss his chin. “See you when you get home.”

My dad, Domenic De Luca, was the fire chief of our small island town of Avalon, which was located on the Santa Catalina Island of California. The approximate population was 3,500, but during the summer the visitor count entered the millions due to the desirable weather. The days are warm and the nights are cool, which is perfect in my opinion. The waters surrounding the island were always crystal clear and breathtaking, not like the water closer to the mainland of California. I loved my little piece of paradise, but I felt trapped at times because Dad refused to let me leave the island. My grandparents had bought me a boat, but it just sat in the harbor because Dad was adamant that I never step foot off of Avalon. He had taken me for rides, even taught me how to drive it, but we always stayed close to the harbor. He always gave the excuse that I had everything I needed on Avalon so there was no reason for me to go over to the mainland. There was absolutely no arguing with him when it came to that issue. I got my way with everything else, so I never put up that much of a fight when it came down to it. Besides, Dad asked for so little and gave so much, practically anything I wanted, so I didn't press the issue.

Once I turned eighteen, however, I was going to the mainland whether Dad liked it or not. I thought about how I could get off the island without him knowing as I sat through my boring-ass morning classes. The teachers droned on and on, all of them sounding like the adults in a Charlie Brown cartoon—blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I would've fallen asleep if my mind wasn't busy with thoughts of graduation and my birthday. Kimber had already planned to take me to a club in downtown Long Beach, which was the closest harbor to ours, but it would still take an hour to get there on the Catalina Express Fleet. Kimber wanted to take my boat, but I was still unsure since I didn't have much experience driving it. Kimber's argument was very convincing, especially since the latest scheduled Catalina Express trip was at 7 PM. We were definitely going to be out later than that, but I was afraid my dad would go check to see if the boat was at the dock when I was gone. “He trusts you, Brie. You've never given him a reason not to,” Kimber assured me at school during lunch, which only made me feel worse.

“I know, but he has to suspect we are going to do something besides stay in Avalon for my eighteenth birthday. He's not that naïve,” I countered.

Kimber rolled her eyes, “You are an angel in his eyes. He is going to believe whatever you tell him, which is that we are going to a friend's graduation party, where we promise not to drink, and then you are spending the night at my house. If it makes you feel any better, that last part is technically not a lie.”

I sighed, “I hate lying to him. He is such a good dad, and I already feel guilty for keeping so much from him.”

“You can't stay in Avalon forever, Brie. Plus, you will technically be an adult so he can't force you to stay. What he doesn't know won't hurt him, right?”

“Maybe we could actually go to the party. We would still have fun, and it will probably be the last time we hang out with all of our friends together,” I proposed.

Kimber looked at me like I had sprouted wings and a third eye, arguing by saying, “Really, Brie? We have been to enough high school parties. We are both going to be eighteen, and we are going to celebrate your birthday and our graduation with something unforgettable, whether you want to or not!”

“Fine. We will go wherever you want to go, Kimber, since it's your birthday,” I sarcastically joked.

Kimber feigned hurt, “I am thinking about you here, not me. You only live once, and this is an occasion worth breaking the rules for so no more arguing. Besides, I already found the perfect place to go,” she simply stated, then paused, waiting for the anticipation to overtake me.

I played along, asking, “And where would that be?”

She answered, “Only one of the hottest twenty-one and up nightclubs in downtown Long Beach—Sevilla Night Club. They ar—"

I interrupted her by asking, “You do know that we are not twenty-one, right? I mean, we are hot, but I doubt that's enough to make them let us in.”

She continued, “Well if you didn't interrupt me, you would know that they are having a special eighteen and up event on the night of your birthday. A graduation/beginning of summer bash to kick off the summer. Isn't that perfect?!”

“I know I'm perfect, but you don't have to make a big deal about it,” my boyfriend, Nathan, interrupts as he sits down with us. I roll my eyes when he puts his arm around me—it always makes me uncomfortable, like I'm cheating on the guy from my dreams. I know, I know, I have some serious issues.

Kimber scoffed, “Like I would really think you were perfect, you self-absorbed asshole!”

“Don't hate because I'm not falling at your feet like every other guy—I'm out of your league.”

Kimber started laughing hysterically, tears falling as she retorted, “You, out of my league? Ha! Both Brielle and I are out of your league, she's just too nice to dump your sorry ass!”

I flushed, embarrassed, as Nathan looked back and forth between us. He and Kimber never got along, and he always expected me to take his side. His gaze landed on me as he said, “Aren't you going to defend me, Brie? Are you just going to let your bitch friend talk to me like that?!”

“Both of you should stop arguing—you are causing a scene,” I pointed out. Everyone in the cafeteria was looking in our direction, waiting for something to happen that everyone could gossip about later.

“Fine, I'll stop arguing, but you have to choose—me or her,” he demanded.

I didn't even hesitate, “Her.”

Nathan's face turned to a mixture of shock, anger, and embarrassment. If he were a cartoon, smoke would be fuming from his ears. “You would choose her over me? Me?!”

“Yeah, she's my best friend, and has been since we were little. Plus, it's almost the end of school, and we will be moving on to better things. Did you really think this would last forever?” I replied.

“You're right—I will move on to something better than you, skank,” he seethed. The juvenile crowd “ooohed” at that comment. Thank God I was almost done with this place.

“What did you just call her?!” Kimber interrupted.

“Stay out of this, bitch,” he replied.

“Oh, hell no, you did not just call me a bitch again,” Kimber said, standing up from the table, causing Nathan and I to rise, as well. She walked over to him and got in his face, both of them spewing obscenities at one another.

“Both of you, stop!” I yelled, trying to get in between them.

“Fuck you, slut!” Nathan screamed at me. That was it, the last straw. I was done with the insults and mistreatment. He had walked all over me for years—making me cry with his verbal abuse and yelling, and putting everything else before me. The sex wasn't even that good, and sometimes he guilt-tripped me into doing it when I didn't want to. I moved Kimber aside to stand right in front of him. “What did you say to me?” I asked, anger dripping from my words.

He looked me square in the eyes and repeated what he said, accentuating his words, “Fuck…you…slut. You ain't gonna do shi—" My fist cut the rest of his words off. He stumbled back, falling from my impact—huh, I didn't think I was strong enough to knock him down; it was probably my adrenaline. The crowd cheered as I looked down and said, “We're through.”

Kimber and I turned to walk away, both of us snickering. Nathan yelled out, “I was through with you a long time ago—I cheated on you with Lauren and Jenn! So, yeah, I'm done with you!”

I didn't even acknowledge him with a response. Surprisingly, I didn't really care. It hurt a little that he cheated on me, but I think I should have been more upset when my boyfriend of two years reveals that he cheated on me with two different girls. My emotions must be whacked to be totally fine with ending a long-term relationship, but admittedly, I'm not normal. Being infatuated with the man from my dreams ruins me for everyone else. I smiled as Kimber said, “That made my day—the look on his face when you decked him—priceless. Best thing that's happened all year!”

I laughed. “It did feel good. He deserved it.”

“Let's not talk about that douche anymore. So what did you think about my plan for your birthday?” Kimber asked as we walked to our next class.

I thought back to her plan—it did sound like fun, and I couldn't deny that I was excited to be getting off the island. “I can't wait! Thank you so much for being an amazing friend,” I said, squeezing her tight.

“No problem. You know I would do anything for you. You're like the sister I never had, and I love you,” she shyly admitted while hugging me back.

“Stop it! You're going to make me cry! You know how emotional I am!” I exclaimed. I was always emotional, crying at movies, TV shows, and commercials—even when strangers cried, I would tear up. Kimber and Dad always made fun of my strong empathy and emotions, especially since I would also cry when I got angry. They both thought it was amusing, and that made me more upset because it made me feel like they didn't take me seriously. A plus side, however is that Dad hates to see me cry, so arguments usually end promptly with me being the victor in most cases. Sometimes I wished I could make myself cry, just so I could win the argument about leaving Avalon. I guess that doesn't really matter now since it will be happening on my birthday.

I was slightly scared about visiting a foreign place away from the safety of my home, but the excitement of finally leaving Avalon to go to the mainland outweighed my fear. It was probably just nerves, coupled with my excitement making me feel anxious about leaving, especially since I had never been anywhere except Avalon. I told myself all of those feelings were to be expected given the circumstances. Even with my slight anxiety, I was already counting the days until my birthday arrived. It was undoubtedly going to be an unforgettable night.

The crowd was cheering my name, but I couldn't think of anything but her face; her perfection tormented me day after day, night after night, when I awoke from my dreams, unable to save her. The paralyzing fear on her breathtaking face wrenched my insides every time, especially the tears falling from those gorgeous eyes, shining golden like glistening pools of honey that were rimmed and interspersed with specks of a vibrant green.

I needed to find her, to save her from the fate in the nightmare, but I had no idea where or who she was, not even her name. She could be across the country in New York for all I knew, so how was I going to find her? It didn't matter because I HAD to find her. I knew all too well that the creatures from my dreams were a reality, even though the majority of the world knew little of their existence, believing all of the creatures and magic to be myth. I knew the truth. I was an Elemental, trained to defend the world against the evils from those myths. My element was fire; I could create it, manipulate it, project it, and do just about anything with it. My favorite aspect was that I was impervious to it, so I could not be burned or hurt by it in any way. That was a huge advantage given the creatures I encounter.

There are four classes of Elementals: Fire, Water, Air, and Earth, with each Elemental only able to control one element. The prophecy of our race tells of a day where there will be One who will be able to control all of the four classes of elements, and I was sorely disappointed that it wasn't me. I wanted to be the One, the ultimate Elemental who would wipe out evil and bring peace to this world. Whoever it was better be worthy. I still didn't understand how it was even possible, given that two elements were unable to be present in one Elemental, let alone all four, since the dominant element completely subdued the other element. My dad's Fire element subdued my mom's Air element, in my case. My best friend's parents were both Earth Elementals so there was no questioning which element he would inherit.