Chapter Two - Fresh Start

I was in the car with the rest of the Pynch family, or I should really say a limo.  It turned out that the Pynch’s were quite rich from their father’s magic stores across the world.  The windows of the limo were so dark that from the outside, you could not see in at all.  From the inside though, it was quite easy to see who and what was on the street.  I chose to sit by the window for that exact reason.
         Kami had said that I would be getting weekly check ups to see if I had recovered any of my memory.  She would personally come over to the house and ask if I had gotten any flashes, heard any voices etc.  I liked the idea that I would still get to see her after I left the ‘hospital’; she seemed like a nice person.  Or I should say troll; that’s what she was after all.  A troll.  She had explained to me what she was before I had gotten into the limo; she also explained that Jall was the same thing.  Kami seemed very surprised that I was not afraid of her; most humans were very afraid of the monsters and demons that were in the city.  I guessed I was just different.
         Kay was next to me talking about anything she could think of, and I could only say ‘uh-huh’ every so often; the girl did not need to breathe it seemed.  I stared out the window of the limo at the people on the street.  There were so many different kinds!  There were some that looked like the Pynch family, some that looked like Kami and Jall, and some that were in an entire category of their own.  One man, at least I think it was a man, looked exactly like a lizard!  Others that caught my eye were ones that had tails and ears of an animal; from what I could see they looked like mostly cats or foxes.  Once I began to notice that people were staring at the limo, it felt like there were staring straight at me.  I stopped looking out the window.
         I eased back into my seat at looked at the people around me; my new family.  Kay was to my left, still talking, while her brothers were on the left side of the limo, sitting quietly.  On the far side of the limo sat Donny and his wife, whose name I learned when we were leaving the ‘hospital’; Maria.  They sat talking, and occasionally glancing over to me.  They did not hide their uncertainty well.
         Questions began to swim in my mind.  Did they not really want me to stay with them?  Were they worried about their daughter getting attached to me and then I leave?  The possible answers made me feel very insecure and unsure as to if I should stay with the Pynch’s. 
         Suddenly music began to play from Tonic’s pants.  He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small silver cell phone with a dark blue keychain attached to it.  He flipped it open immediately and smiled, which surprised me, he did not seem like the type to smile often.  He began clicking buttons and then snapped the phone shut, the smile still on his face.
          “Rina?” Gin asked.
         “Yeah, she said she’s going to come over in an hour,” Tonic seemed happy at the idea.
         “Are Damien and Terry coming over to meet Sapphire, daddy?” Came Kay’s voice.  I almost did not hear her because I was trying to not listen to her endless questioning.
         “I think they are honey,” Donny looked over to his sons, “aren’t they?”
         “Yeah, they are,” said Gin cheerfully to his father before looking to me, “you’ll love them Sapphire!  Especially Damien, you know he’s single, you should ask him out.”  I felt my face go red at the thought of asking someone out.  I did not know the guy, and Gin was already trying to get me to date him.  Thankfully Donny came to my rescue.
         “Let’s leave that sort of talk for later, Gin,” he said, “right now we need to talk about Sapphire’s schooling.  She would be about your grade, right?”
         “Yeah,” said Tonic, “probably.  Would she go into our grade?  I mean, we don’t even know if she’s past the first grade.”  I felt insulted, surely I had passed the first grade? 
         “Well, it doesn’t matter, I’ve talked to your principal and she has agreed to allow Sapphire into the school for the coming semester.  You start in about a week okay?”
         “Um…alright.  I guess.  Where is the school?”  I did not really expect to be going to school in a week.  Actually, I had never even considered the idea of it.
         “It’s the same school as these two nameless boys,” Maria stressed the word ‘nameless’, “they can show you later today maybe?”
         “Sure, whatever.” Tonic rolled his eyes at his mother, and she countered with a look that could stop a charging rhino dead in its tracks.
         The rest of the car ride was silent except for the occasional ringing of Tonic’s phone.  Whenever it did ring though, his face would light up noticeably, whoever Rina was texting him, he really liked.
         I looked out the window and to the streets again, only to find that it was not the city anymore.  The tall buildings had turned into rolling fields that went on forever and the people and demons turned into cows and horses.  I could not help but smile at the animals and wonder if any of them were demons in disguise.
         After what felt like the millionth text message, I finally asked, “So…who’s Tina?”
         “It’s Rina,” Tonic’s tone was very cold.
         “Oh, heh…sorry.”  I felt my face turn red again, from both embarrassment and guilt.  Gin must have noticed how I felt.
         “Rina is Tonic’s girlfriend.  They may as well be married, they’re together so often,” Gin then began to imitate how Rina and Tonic looked when they were together.  He clasped his hands together and held them to his face, then fluttering his eye lashes at Tonic.  I assumed he meant for that to be how Rina looked at Tonic until he said, “And that’s how my dear brother looks at his precious Katriny!”
         “Uh, Katriny?” I was getting confused.  Was his girlfriends name not Rina?
         “Oh, Rina’s short for Katrina,” Gin explained. 
         “Oh,” was all I could think to say.  I looked over to Tonic; he was staring forward, with his hands in fists.  He was obviously suppressing the urge to hurt his brother.
         I heard a ringing coming from Gin’s pocket then.  He whipped out a phone identical to Tonic’s except this one had a pink keychain attached to it.
         “It’s Terry!  He says he and Damien are already at the house,” Gin gave me a large grin and a shiver went up my spine.  I had a very bad feeling about that grin.
         I gave out a nervous laugh and then quickly went back to looking out the window.  I no longer saw fields and animals.  I now saw what looked like a forest on both sides of the road.  It was so dense that it made it look like night almost.
         We rounded a corner and came to a stop.  Once we started moving again we passed a gate that had two armed guards standing at attention.  I wondered what they needed armed guards for.  Then I saw it.
         Up a long drive way was the biggest house I had ever seen.  So far that is.  The Pynch’s had private limos and lived in a mansion.  They were not just rich, they were filthy rich.
         “Wow,” I said with my face pressed up against the window, “that’s a big house.”  We came to a stop in front of the mansion and suddenly the door was opened for me.  I stepped out to see a tall, skinny man dressed in a suit holding the door.  I simply thanked him.
         I looked up at the mansion.  It was white and did not actually have all that much detail to it except for the gargoyles on top.  They stared down at me and it felt like they could see through me, know exactly who I was.  I swore I saw one move its tail.
         Donny Pynch came up beside me and I realized that everyone was on the front porch, waiting for me.
         Donny then held out his hand in a gesture to the house and said, “Welcome to your new home, Sapphire.”