The Johnson Girl

Rya Avery Johnson has always been the town’s weirdest residence and it wasn’t until I was turning eighteen that I had wondered why? I assume you can call it curiosity but to me it was an itch that I needed to scratch. I feel kind of drawn to her as I hand her her library books. Her large blue eyes look me over with caution and attentiveness. 

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention. My name is Dominic. You’re Rya Johnson, aren’t you?” I hold my hand out to her. She doesn’t shake it. She looks at it in shock then looks at me. Her blue eyes slowly turn to a cloudy grey, “Why do you care?”

I look at her in bewilderment then with sorrow, “I was just being friendly. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

I turn away from her and walk slowly to the library doors.

“Hold up,” she walks up to me, “aren’t you worried about what everyone will say about you talking to me?”

Taken aback I start laughing. She steps back as if my laugh hurt her then looks at me confused. I shake my head and hold back the rest of my laughing. Her blue eyes scrunch up as she looks around and stops when she sees something.

“Dominic, maybe it’s best if you don’t talk to me. You would be much safer.” She steadily looks around the now vacant library. It hadn’t been this empty since we had our pie contest in cherrywood.

“Safe?” I say the word and let it roll off my tongue, “I’m not safe because I’m talking to you?”

She was confusing me. Yet, I still was feeling a pull towards her. “Is that why you don’t have any other friends?”

Her blue eyes narrow at me and suddenly she starts running out of the library. Had I upset her again? I was only curious. I wasn’t trying to. I shake my head and leave the library.

Later that day I’m walking home, in my small town we don’t really need cars because of how close our houses are to each other’s, when Rya runs out of the bushes and backs up into me. The force knocks us both to the ground and she gets up really quickly and turns to me with her fist raised.

“Dominic, what are you doing?” She lowers her fist and puts her hand out. I get up and wipe the dirt from my jeans, “I could ask you the same. I was walking home. Why were you in the bushes?”

She shrugs as she laughs, “I got a little lost. I take a short cut home so no one sees me.”

I nod in understanding. That makes some sense because she never really does get seen out of her uncle’s home. I step closer to her and reach out to her. Her breath catches as I pluck some vines from her shoulder and leaves from her long, dark brown hair. “Would you like for me to walk you home?”

“That’s really sweet but…”

I cut her off before she can reject me, “why did you take off earlier? You never explained what you meant.”

“Dominic, you do know that I’m the town freak, right? Do you know why I’m a freak?”

“I don’t think you’re a freak. But I don’t know why everyone else does.” I answer her honestly.

“My uncle is the only person in my life who is still alive. I killed my family.” She tells me without hesitation and looks over her shoulder, “I have to go.”

She takes off running and I stand there shocked. What did she mean? Is she serious? She killed her family? Should I go after her? Should I stay away from her?

As I get into my bed later that night my mom comes into my room, “hey, Dom, I’m… honey, you have got to clean your room.”

“I will in the morning, promise.” I tell her as I fold my arms over my chest and look at the ceiling. Rya crosses my mind. The hurt in her eyes when she said she killed her family. I have never seen anyone with that much raw pain. She doesn’t have her parents which only makes me appreciate my own. “I love you, mom.”

“Dominic, I love you too, honey. Are you okay? You really didn’t eat much and normally you finish the whole casserole without help. What’s wrong, honey?” My mom comes in and sits on my bed avoiding the piles of clothes, stacks of books and messy papers all over from my school bag.

“You know about Rya Johnson, the girl who lives on the edge of town?” I ask warming up to telling mom about her.

“Johnson? You mean Arthur Johnson’s niece? I suppose I have.” She throws a dirty sock off my bed and pats my leg.

“Do you know anything about her?”

“Why do you have a sudden interest in her? Does someone have a crush?” Mom asks standing up and poking fun at me.

“Mooooom.” I roll my eyes, “I met her today and she’s not like what I thought she was going to be.”

“What did I teach you, not to judge a book by it’s cover?”

I look at her, “what were you coming to tell me?”

“Forget it. Goodnight, honey, sweet dreams.”

“Goodnight, mom.” I pull back my blankets and get warm and comfortable in my deep shades of blue covers. Soon enough I drift off to sleep.

As I wake up I notice a couple of things: first being the smell of bacon and blueberry pie and the second being the mess in my room. Books scattered on the floor, dirty clothes hanging off my small desk and covering my bed and floor to the point where there is no possible way to walk through without stepping on something. The third thing that caught my attention was the sweat covering my chest, my arms, my forehead and my back. Black ink cover my palms as I throw back my covers. How had I gotten so sweaty and disgusting while I was sleeping? Why is there ink on my hands?

“Mom?” I call as I get off my bed and start picking up my dirty clothes to put in my laundry basket.

“Yes, honey?” She appears from her room out of thin air.

“Have you caught me sleep walking again?” I ask shuffling from my bed to my basket and back.

“Why?” She seems interested and then looks over at dad who comes out of the kitchen. His thick glasses fog up and he uses his brown sweater vest to clean them. 

“There’s ink all over my hands but I didn’t write anything before bed.” I explain picking up the papers from my floor. As I start to throw them away a paper with ink stands out. I pull it from the pile and look it over. A drawing of a beautiful design sits on the paper in multiple shades and shapes staring back at me. I had seen it before but where? What is it? Why did I draw it in my sleep? “Never mind.”

I tell mom as she looks at me worried with large brown eyes. I shrug back at her and continue to clean my room.

“Honey, I’m baking a pie for the Johnson’s would you mind taking it to them after you shower and finish cleaning?”

I look at my mom with a smile and shake my head. “I would love to.” 

She walks away as I scramble through my mess cleaning in little piles until I finish the task at hand.

Later that day I’m getting out of the shower when I hear the doorbell. I can hear dad’s voice but I can’t make out what he’s saying. I walk into my room and dress quickly. I’m not staying in my room while mom has another book club. Last time that happened I could hear every detail of the book they were reading and my mom’s voice, which only made it worse because it was about child birth and the woman’s struggle afterward. Never again. I pull a black tank top on with my jeans and throw open my bedroom door just as Rya Johnson is about to knock. Rya Johnson is standing in my doorway looking me over with her beautiful, interesting blue eyes.

“Rya?” I look at her dumbfounded with my mouth agape. “What are you doing here?”

“Is it a bad time? I just wanted to talk to you.” She smiles at me nervously and looks around. I can hear mom doing something in the kitchen with the drawers shutting as the oven beeps from a preheating and as always, dad is in his office doing, I don’t know what.

“No, I was about to come to you.” I tell her as I scratch the back of my neck nervously. 

“Do you want to walk me home still, then?” She asks looking at her hands anxiously then back to me. Our eyes lock and I can feel my heart pounding.

“Yes, I would.” I reach my hand out and take hers. Her skin is ice cold and when I look at her she looks at me with uncertainty. I smile to reassure her. She smiles at our hands and then the ground. I calmly walk her downstairs wondering how I can even move my legs when everything inside of me feels like jelly. Like I’ll melt into the floor if she wasn’t holding my hand right now. “Mom? You in the kitchen?”

“Yes.” I walk in and find her wiping her forehead with the back of her forearm. She looks from Rya to our hands then to me. “Do you need something, honey?”

Rya takes her hand from mine and avoids my mom’s eye contact. I smile at mom. “I’m going to walk Rya home. Did you want me to take that pie you baked?”

“Thank you, Dom. It’s right there on the counter. Now Ms. Johnson, you let your uncle know that pie is one of the best blueberry pies in this town.” My mom tells her as she smiles at us.

“I will, ma’am. My uncle will be really happy to hear it.” Rya answers her as she smiles over at me. I pick the pie up and take her hand again. It felt nice the first time but the second time it’s so amazing that it hurts.

“What did you want to talk about?” I ask her as we step out on the deck steps and start walking towards her house.

“I wanted to explain myself. I know that it’s going to sound crazy and absurd but I am the reason my family is dead.”

I look at her as she stumbles through her words slowly, but precise. My heart aches for her as a tear spills from her blue eyes.

“My family is what you would call demons or witches, monsters. Things of that sort. We have abilities of all kinds. Anyway, we are being hunted by the ones we call lights. They track our powers and takes us out. My baby brother and my parents died because my powers were being tracked when I was a kid, when my parents realized it was too late. They managed to get me and my brother to my uncle, but my brother he was hurt so bad… he didn’t make it. But I did. They died because of me.” I could see the raw guilt, pain and sadness in her features as she avoids looking at me. Even though she sounds crazy and I had just met her yesterday I could feel in my gut that she wasn’t lying.

“Rya, it isn’t your fault. You were a kid. The lights are the monsters, not you and your family. I can’t even imagine the pain and guilt you’re feeling. I’m here for you, always.” I pull her into a hug and carefully keep the pie held out so it doesn’t get on her.

“Uncle Arthur says that too.” She whispers to me as she steps out of my hug, “thank you.”

“Welcome.” I say as I wink at her and we start walking again. She takes a few steps and stops to look around.

“Go. Run.” She tells me as she grabs my palm and pulls me with her. The pie smashes to the ground and my heart slams into my chest, pumping adrenaline through my veins. We match pace running together when she jerks me to a stop. “They’re here. Stay behind me.”

She gets in front of me and holds her arms back around me. Her fingers glow a galaxy purple as I look at her in awe as she bends her knees, plants her feet and waits. But there’s no one there. Not a single “light” , as she had called them. “No one is there.” I whisper to her.

She laughs slightly and mumbles something. Suddenly, it was like I could see a different world. Large hooded figures surround us. I’m not sure why they are called lights because their features are dark and brooding, cold and scary even.

I take her arm and make her face me, “no matter what happens I’m not leaving you and we will fight these “lights” together. I’m always here for you. Powers or not.” I reassure her as she looks the figures over, one by one.

“When they run at us, close your eyes, and don’t open them until I say.” She orders me and I nod at her in understanding even though I’m still not sure what is happening.

To be continued…