Walking Among the Shadows: Awakening: Revised Edition Read Free

horrifying.
    Sarah was excited about
joining the Navy and hopefully becoming a Navy pilot. Me, on the other hand—I
wasn’t going to the military. Manny and I argued constantly about my decision
but I would not budge. I wanted to be more than a grunt. I always wanted to
help the world around me. Be more significant than normal and make a real
difference, not just some token contribution. Thinking back on the fall of 2009
when everything I believed was turned upside down and the world became a much
darker place; I had no idea how significant I would be.
    On the surface it would appear
that we had the perfect life; wealth, stability, and family even after the loss
of our Dad. But nothing is rarely as it seems and what’s on the surface usually
covers something much darker and my family was no different. We had our secrets
too. They just hadn’t caught up with us……yet.
     

CHAPTER THREE

     
    F all
2009—It was the first week of September and the start of the school year.
Usually Sarah and I would go clothes shopping for the new school year, updating
our wardrobe so that we kept current with the latest fashions. Hey, our mom was
an ex-model and even though she was somewhat of a modest woman she still
refused to send us out looking like last year’s leftovers. This year though, I
didn’t do as much shopping with the money she gave me.
    I was
planning a trip to Spain to visit our grandparents during the Thanksgiving
holiday season. I wanted a little more spending money so that I could really
enjoy myself. My mom protested me going alone. She wanted me to wait till
spring break so that Sarah and I could go together. No way! I wanted to go
alone. Sarah was high- maintenance and would run our grandparents ragged trying
to keep up with her demands. I hadn’t been there in years and even though
Grandpa was weird, he was still a lot of fun to be around. Also, Spain was just
awesome period! I was really looking forward to that trip.
    With this new school year came
a particular change I wasn’t looking forward to; Sarah joining me at Deerfield
High.  My mom initially wanted her to go to a private school in Lake Forest but
just like Sarah, she begged and pleaded until my mom gave in. She fed our mom
this load of crap about feeling safer going to the same school as people she
knew. The real reason she wanted to go to Deerfield started with a T and ended
with a Y. Tony, my best friend, on whom Sarah has had an almost “stalktistic” ( yes,
I know that isn’t a word but as a teenager we always create our own words and
here’s my contribution ) crush for years. For most, the attention from such
an attractive girl would be heaven but Tony wasn’t having it.
    As much as she tried, Tony
made sure he was extra mean when she made any advances towards him. I knew he
found her attractive, I mean she’s my sister and as much as she repulses me I
couldn’t deny how beautiful she was. But to Tony our friendship was so
important that the thought of ruining it for Sarah made her ugly. I know it’s
strange for some to comprehend that kind of friendship nowadays, with people
having lower standards and a higher tolerance for depravity….but there you have
it.
    Another major reason I wasn’t
looking forward to Sarah and me going to the same school was Sarah had a bad
temper and not an ounce of patience. Combine that with Sarah being so sensitive
and anything said that she didn’t like could land her in the principal’s office
and the offender in the nurse’s office. To this day I can’t understand how my
mom controlled Sarah’s temper the way she did. I knew with all of Sarah’s issues
I was going to have my hands full trying to look after her and listen to all
the complaints from lovesick boys and jealous girls at the school…..lucky me.
    After getting up and preparing
for the first day of school, I headed downstairs towards the kitchen to see
what Mom had prepared for our “first day of school breakfast.” The first day