Phantom

Chapter 11: Separation
Time goes by way too quickly. As hard as you try, you can never pause time. With each tick of the clock it made me sick. I waited for the to return, constantly reassuring myself that they would return the next day safe and sound. They never came home. There were times when I tired to called them. No one ever picked up. Nathan told me that the reason they aren’t picking up the calls is because they’re too busy. I wanted to believe that. My intuition told me that something was definitely wrong but I didn’t know what. Was it that they were wrong and the Vanburen’s really weren’t coming after all? Was it that they were searching in the wrong area’s of the world? Was it that the Vanburen’s got to them first? I didn’t know which was right or if I was even on the right track. I felt useless and helpless. It was just like the times when Jayant or Alex stood up for me. All my life I’ve always been defended and it was getting to the point where I would not take it anymore.
It was already more than halfway through summer vacation which meant that it was time to move on. Nathan and I could no longer stay in my parents house if I wanted to keep them safe. It was hard keeping this secret from my family which made it even harder to think up of an excuse. Nathan came up with: “Natalia needs extra training. She almost blew up the other day and since she hasn’t transformed in a long time, it was like a thousand physco tigers were released from a cage!” It was hard for me to restrain laughter but Nathan managed to stay in character with a convincing face.
“Do you got everything?” Nathan asked me as we headed down the stairs.
“Yup,” I said, popping the “P”. “I am capable of carrying my own luggage bag,” I pointed out.
“You have such a need for independence, don’t you?”
“Yes I do,” I mumbled when I got down the stairs.
“Are you leaving now?” My mom called from the kitchen.
“Yeah,” I responded wearily.
“I want you to call me everyday, okay?” She said while she gave me a hug.
“I will.”
My dad came from the dining room to give me a hug goodbye. “I want you to be safe, you got that?” He said looking deep into my eyes.
“Of course dad,” I sighed. “Pure to marriage,” I reminded him.
He looked at me confused. “That’s not what I was talking about but I should have. And Nathan, keep my daughter safe, you hear?”
“My number one priority, Mr. Wellington,” Nathan responded with a subtle tilt of his head.
“I’ll call everyday and visit you guys very soon,” I called as I headed for Nathan’s car.
“Be safe!” My mom called.
My father pointed at Nathan.
“Number one priority,” Nathan repeated and put his arm around my shoulder.
My dad gave him two thumbs up with a smile.
Nathan threw our stuff into the trunk and hopped into the front seat.
I waved at my parents as Nathan started the car. As we drove off, Nathan honked his horn subtly twice and I stuck my hand out the window and waved at them.
“Natalia!” I heard someone scream very faintly. “Natalia!”
I twisted around in my seat to see Jonathon running up the hill of the cul-de-sac crying my name.
“Nathan, stop the car,” I cried. I unbuckled my seatbelt with a struggle and threw my door open. Jonathon ran right into my arms. He was crying.
“Don’t go,” he cried, tears running down his face. “You promised you wouldn’t go anywhere!” His arms were so tight around my neck it felt like my head would roll off any second.
“Jonathon, shhh,” I whispered and wiped away his tears.
“You said you wouldn’t go,” he cried. “They’re going to take you. They’re going to hurt you!”
“Jonathon,” I whispered. “No one is going to take me. No one is going to hurt me. I’m coming back.”
“What if you don’t?”
I brushed his hair from his face. “I am. I will call you everyday, okay? That way you’ll know I’m safe. You won’t even know I’m gone!”
“Do you promise you’ll come back soon?”
“Cross my heart,” I said and made and an X across my heart.
“Okay,” he mumbled, his voice back to it’s normal quietness.
“I love you,” I said as I set him back down on the ground.
“I love you too,” he murmured. “Bye.”
“Bye. Take care.”
He nodded his head, turned around, and walked back down the hill back to our house at the end of the cul-de-sac.
I hopped back into the car and sighed as Nathan started the engine again.
“What’re you thinking?” Nathan asked after minutes of silence.
I looked down, fiddling with my fingers. “We are coming back, aren’t we?” I murmured.
He looked at me surprised and back at the road, his expression the same. “Of course we are!”
“Do you promise?” I asked.
He sighed. “Natalia, in the situation we’re in, the only thing I’m able to promise you is that I’m going to keep you safe not matter what.”
“Why are you always worried about me? I can very well keep myself safe. The only thing I want you to do is keep yourself safe,” I said, irritated.
“Natalia, if someone was trying to kill just one of us-”
“What?” I interrupted, surprised at what he was saying.
“Let me finish,” he insisted. “So if someone was trying to kill just one of us, would you sacrafice yourself for me?”
“Yes,” I said immediately.
He groaned. “No, no, no! You don’t! You do anything you can to save yourself!”
“What makes my life any more important than yours?” I demanded. “What makes you think that I’ll just let someone… kill you right before my eyes? What makes you think that I’ll just run away from whoever is trying to kill us? What makes you think that, huh?”
He deliberated for a second and took a deep breath. “Natalia, if anything ever happened to you-even if I am to be dead… I just wouldn’t be able to imagine.” His voice cracked while he was talking and I looked over at him. I saw liquid building along the bottom of his eye. He quickly wiped it away.
“We should probably change the topic. This one went a bit overboard,” I said with an unsteady chuckle.
“Yeah,” he agreed and smiled at me.