These Lying Eyes
T
hese
L
ying
E
yes
By Amanda A. Allen
It is rare for anyone to have parents as wonderful as mine. This book and all my love are for you. I never could have done it without your support, encouragement, and faith.
~Amanda
B
eauty is in the
E
ye of the
B
eholder…
S
anity is
N
ot.
Chapter 1
Mina woke to the sound of car doors slamming and seagulls calling. Stray sunrays slanted through ivory-edged French doors; they pranced onto the carved canopy bed and tip-toed across Mina’s eyelids. She yawned and kicked free of the covers, snuggling deeper into her pillow. Sleep fluttered at the edge of her mind when she felt tiny feet tromp across her cheek. She groaned and flopped onto her back as a small foot landed on either side of her nose. Two hands pressed against her eyebrows. A tiny breath from a tiny mouth blew across her eyes.
“Why?” she moaned. She wanted to escape back into the familiar dream of a boy with lovely broad shoulders. Even a dream that couldn’t last was better than here.
“Time to get up, sleepy pants.” She heard whispering from two other voices hovering a few feet above her bed. She rolled onto her side, flipped the covers over her head, and curled into a ball. Three small flying beings soared between her and the canopy. Beloved imaginary friends who should have faded long ago.
“Wake up, wake up, wake up,” demanded Zizi with her soft, precise buzz. The sound tickled Mina’s ear while the seven-inch sprite pulled the covers off Mina’s face. She heard the flap of wings and felt a slight breeze ruffle her hair. Scrunching her eyes tight, she fought the familiar rise of frustration. She didn’t want to see the carrot hair and blue eyes anymore. As much as she cherished the sprite, from the top of her orange head to the tips of her orange and yellow butterfly wings, every glimpse of Zizi reaffirmed that Mina was
unwell
.
“Mina…” Zizi’s voice sing-songed; the buzz of her accent echoed in Mina’s ear like a bee. Mina pressed her bicep over her ear, but Zizi wrapped her arms around Mina’s wrist and flew backwards.
“Gah!” Mina said as she swung her feet onto the floor to face her friends.
Zizi let go of Mina’s wrist, snapped her wings closed, and dropped to the bed where, without a mirror, she parted her orange locks around her crimson horns, and wound her hair into a neat bun.
“She’z awfully calm.” Hitch said, landing next to Zizi. He wore blue jeans, a gray t-shirt and was a rainbow of blues with his skin, hair, eyes, and wings.
“She doezn’t remember.” Poppy said, settling on Mina’s thigh, folding her bat wings. She tossed her silver-streaked, maraschino-cherry hair and put her hands on her hips, staring at Hitch. Poppy was dainty—even for a sprite—so that if you breathed on her, it seemed she would tumble through the air. Her skin glowed in shades of chocolate highlighted by rosy pinks and tans; her eyes were the deepest shade of brown, almond shaped, and slightly tilted. Even though she was the smallest, Hitch shifted under her gaze and almost weakened.
“She’s right here,” Mina said, following Zizi’s example and beginning to untangle her mass of gold and red curls.
Silence.
“Someone tell me.” Mina yawned deliciously and considered taking a bike down to the library to spend the day with Grace, or maybe she’d sneak over to Cannon Beach for a resupply of chocolate.
The sprites faced off, silently battling over who would break their news. Poppy looked to be winning for a moment, but she snapped her first. Thrusting her hands into her hair, she grabbed her own silver spiral horns.
“Gah,” Poppy moaned, frowning at Mina and then almost whispering, “It’z the first day of school.”
Mina could almost feel her face pale; her stomach clenched for a moment before she glanced out the window, realizing she was late, and she rushed to get ready. Before she was ready in her mind, she was holding the handle to her bedroom door. She paused, pressed her face against the door, and took a slow deep breath.
A rush of reassurance from all three sprites provided background music to her anxiety. She forced deep breaths in and out and remembered her promise. She couldn’t help looking sickly and overbalanced by her mop of curls; she couldn’t help what she saw, and she couldn’t help being the only child her parents forced to see a shrink.
But she could help feeling whiny about it.
She’d probably be eating alone today; she wouldn’t be greeting anyone who wasn’t related to her, and she anticipated the next four years to be long, slow torture, but at least, they were the last four years of being trapped in Ocean Haven.
For a moment she indulged in the whine anyway; her parents knowing something was wrong, but they couldn’t
know
know. Right? Because, if they did, they’d put her in a crazy house. She’d almost confessed to the shrink once about her imaginary friends. She’d pulled up her mental shorts, steeled her flippin’ spine, and said in short rushed sentences,
“I’m crazy. Well, maybe I’m crazy. I think I’m crazy. I can’t sleep. I’m sick to my stomach, all the time.
”
Doctor Seal’s pencil paused. But, without even a glance in Mina’s direction, the doc had said it was probably stress and promised deep breathing would help. And the part Mina hadn’t said, she debated and fought with herself over confessing,
“Y
ou see I see things…”
Only, why elaborate when all the doc did was give a list of television therapy? Deep breaths. Counting. Exercise. Sleep. Shiz.
Mina had researched the visions herself. She’d learned that she wasn’t the only one with lingering imaginary friends and slept better for weeks after. Only now…she wasn’t 13 anymore. At nearly 15, each month that passed made the sprites more likely to be really bad stuff.
Schizophrenia. Brain tumors.
Poppy anchored herself onto Mina’s shirt by a fist. “Don’tz you worry, Meenziez.” The sprite’s voice lowered with each word, “We’z gonna get you through thiz and anything elze that comez along.”
“It’z not going to be the same thiz year.” Hitch added. “Hailey, Peter, Ben will all be at school with you. You won’t be ignored.”
“Hailey,” scoffed Zizi. “The former best friend? That is your comfort for our Mina, Hitch?”
“One, two, three, four, whateves zeckers, let’s go.” Mina said pushing her fears aside for the thought of her favorite cousin, Peter. Maybe they’d have lunch. It would be nice to go to school with him again.
“It’z gonna be ok.” Hitch repeated.
“Right.” Mina agreed, closing her eyes for a moment and wishing her imaginary family were her real one.
Zizi landed on Mina’s shoulder and sat with her legs dangling. “Change is coming. Can you not feel it?”
“I smell it.” Mina mocked, laughing as she darted down the stairs, determined to find something to be happy about. What was she going to do when she was surrounded by her brother and a group of cousins, and her eyes were following the sprites? She didn’t know.
Probably lie.
But she wasn’t going to gnaw it to death before it ever happened.
“If you would trust me,” Zizi said, beginning the familiar argument as she flew in front of Mina to stop her.
Mina stopped on the steps as she said, “Trust my imaginary friend in explaining away why I see her?” Mina smiled softly not needing to elaborate further. She stepped around her friend and down a step before pausing again.
It was awfully quiet. Her family was full of freakish morning people. She tilted her head to the side and heard nothing. Hitch flew ahead and zipped back, with a flash of iridescent wings, and he landed on her shoulder to whisper to Zizi. Poppy leapt up to join them.
What was their secret?
“Oh no,” she said as she realized. It was too quiet; her brother was usually loud. If he were here, he’d be watching TV while he ate, goading their toddler triplet sisters, teasing their mom. And then, Mina remembered the car door that woke her.
He wouldn’t have.
“You’z brother iz terrible peoplez, Meenziez. I neverz liked himz.” Poppy growled.
Hitch’s agitated voice echoed Poppy’s curses from earlier. The rumble of his dragonfly wings emphasized each brutal Z. Mina hardly heard them over the blood rushing through her ears. She entered the kitchen almost feebly to find her Mom seated at their table covered with empty boxes of cereal, piles of bowls, and no sign of any of her siblings.
“Where’s Erik?” Mina asked. “He’s my ride.”
“Hmmm?” Mina’s mother sighed into her cup of tea, and Mina realized her mom hadn’t even registered her entrance.
“Where’s Erik?” Mina emphasized barely holding back a screech.
“Older brother?” No answer other than a sleepy grimace from her mother.
“Big giant jerkhole?” Mina demanded, her heart racing again. She was going to be a fourteen-year-old heart attack victim. It was the first day of school. It was the first day of
high
school.
It wouldn’t be so bad except Mina’d missed the day where they let you find your classes and explore the campus because Sarah had a 4H project she was presenting—a butterfly garden. Her parents had promised Erik would take her early today, so Mina could find her way around. She’d reminded everyone just last night.
“Mom!” Holy Shiz, she was already screwed. How was she supposed to fade without the safety of being in class early, off to the side? And how could that happen if she didn’t beat everyone else to the classroom? She hadn’t expected to love high school, but she’d hoped to be invisible.
“Oh,” her mom paused, and her cornflower blue eyes avoided Mina’s. Mina stared at her mother who was delicate with fine features and hands. Even as overly skinny as Mina was, she was still bigger than her mother. But while her mother radiated health, Mina constantly looked as if she was shaking a bad case of the flu. Her mom’s hair was curly too, only her hair formed gentle ringlets other women envied while Mina’s was a wild mass of curls. Adding to the unfairness, her mom’s hair was a beautiful golden blonde while Mina’s hair was dramatically bi-colored gold and red.
Her mother continued taking a sip of her tea still refusing to see Mina, before saying, “Well, he needed to leave, and you weren’t up yet. He said he couldn’t wait.”
Mina glared, and her mom glanced up and away. Mina knew what happened. Stupid Erik grinned at their mom, kissed her cheek, and walked out. Her mom would have told him to wait, but he probably just called over his shoulder that he couldn’t, and she didn’t stop him. Maybe her mom called Erik’s name weakly. She had known at the time that Mina would be upset, but Mina was easier to placate and discount than her brother.
“What about finding my classes?” Mina’s voice was cold. She pulled her wet curls into a messy bun and plopped into a chair at the table. Life would be so much easier as an orphan, she thought. It would have its own special brand of suck, but at least she wouldn’t be betrayed by her mother every day.
“Oh, I don’t think it’ll be too hard.” Her mom said. “Don’t worry Mina. Lots of kids will be lost today.” Her mom patted her arm.
Yes that’s what I need
, Mina mocked to herself.
A good arm pat will fix anything.
“No.” Mina said calmly. “They won’t. Because they’d have gone to find their classes on the day the school provided. I’ll be the only one wandering around lost.”
Mina’s mom avoided her eyes. Now her mom felt guilty, but it would pass in moments.