The Red Moon: Moon Rising Read online

  my brows raised very high; who slowly slid his hand off my

  shoulder, he seemed like he really didn't care, but how could he

  not care. "We dated for about...um... oh, I don't know..." She

  pretended to count her fingers, before looking over a James who

  stood quietly staring at me, but I just didn't want to know. "You got

  remarried?" I snapped, still shocked that she was standing right

  before my eyes, but all the while trying to be polite. "Um, yeah

  baby I did." She said, trying to sound like she cared about what I

  thought. "I hope your not mad, I did want to talk to you first but I

  didn't get the chance." She continued. "So, you got married and

  decided to come to my graduation and introduce your husband to

  your children; here, at my graduation?" I cut her off sarcastically,

  as I flipped my hair off my shoulder.

  As she kept talking, trying to make excuses after excuse I felt

  my anger growing, my veins felt like they were going to pop at any

  minute now; with every breath that she took to speak the anger

  grew, until I couldn't hold it anymore. "Wait. Stop, so you show up

  here and make your announcement now; when this is supposed to

  be one of the most happiest days of my life. First of all I haven't

  seen you in ages. You left us, all of us without so much as a return address and yet here you are; trying to rub your new marriage,

  your new life at that, in our faces. I really wish you didn't come." I

  said clutching the bunch of roses so hard the thorns began to dig

  deep into my palms. Just then I noticed a little girl pushing her way

  through the crowd.

  "Mia, Mia, I have something for you." The little girl said as she

  continued to push her way past my mother. My anger left me as

  soon as I saw her little round pale face with her big blue eyes.

  "Wow those are pretty Mia, where did you get those?" She asked

  with her big blue eyes fixed upon the bunch of roses. "I got them

  from Jon." I said softly, scooping her up into my arms. "Where's

  your mommy Katie?" Tucker asked, appearing out of nowhere,

  twirling his finger through her perfect blond curls. She pulled back

  quickly; she hated when Tucker did that to her. "She over there

  with Nadia and the rest of them." She said pointing toward the

  large crowd of girls standing only a few cars over.

  Suddenly the noise of laughter and talking was loud again,

  the sound of my beating heart got softer. Oh great I hope no one

  heard me talking or let alone even my mother talking. "So who is

  this lovely little lady?" Mom asked reaching out to Katie. "No."

  Katie said, pulling away from her, leaving moms hand in mid air. "I guess even little girls can smell a bad egg." I murmured. "I'm

  Katie." She replied softly, before burying her face in my shoulder.

  "Well, you're a beautiful little girl Katie, and it was a pleasure

  meeting you." Mom said, turning to James. "Yes, it was a pleasure

  Miss Katie." He said, slightly bowing at the waist. I looked at him

  funny while rolling my eyes. Oh gosh you've got to be kidding. I

  thought quietly to myself. "She my friends daughter." I said rather

  swiftly, uncaring of the sarcastic tone that I had just given. I

  turned around before anything else could be said, and I walked

  away without another word; just as she did so many years ago.

  "Here Mia, this is for you. I got it when I was in the forest this

  morning." Katie said with a smile on her face; as she held a

  brown, white and gray feather in her hand. "I don't know what kind

  of bird this came from, but I think it will give you good luck." She

  smiled. "Why, thank you Katie I shall wear it forever." I said, taking

  the soft feather into my hand, twisting it into my hair so that it

  would hang behind my ear for her to see. She smiled in delight.

  "David, is she always this angry?" She asked. "No actually

  she's not. I guess all the excitement got to her or maybe she's just

  truly angry with you." He said, with a smirk. "Well, what are you

  folks doing for dinner?" She asked. "Um, there's a party going on tonight for a friend of ours, and we were going to head over there

  later on." Tucker replied with a huge smile on his face. "Oh

  Tucker, it's so good to see you too after all these years. My, my

  you are really starting to fill out." She said, looking Tucker over like

  he was a piece of art.

  "Well, I was wondering if you folks would like to have dinner

  with us tonight; you know to celebrate the big day; but I'm not sure

  if she'll want to?" She said, as she nodded her head into my

  direction. "Yeah, I hope you don't mind the intrusion; I just thought

  that this would be the perfect time to get to meet you folks." James

  said with a small smile on his face; I guess trying not show any

  expression about the situation. "Um. Well, we kind of did have

  plans for dinner, but you're welcome to join us. It's going to be at

  home, we're having Mia's favorite; steak and potatoes." Dad

  offered kindly.

  "Why thank you David, that is very generous of you, and yes

  that sounds like a great idea. I just hope Mia's going to be alright

  with this." She said, still looking at my back fading into the crowd.

  "Ah don't worry about her, she'll be fine." Tucker said standing tall,

  inflating his chest. "What time should we be there?" She asked

  looking at dad. "Well lets see, it's about five now, how about around seven?" Dad said with a smile. "Sounds great, we'll be

  there.

  It was so nice to see you David. Tucker, my son you are a

  handsome fella." She said with a smile. "Yeah, I know." Tucker

  replied with a smile, while looking at dad. "Come on James we

  have a few stops to make before we head out of town." She said,

  tugging James arm. "Alright, it was nice to meet you all." James

  said with a smile. Tucker and dad waved good bye until they

  disappeared into the crowd.

  "Um dad, I don't know if Mia's going to like this." Tucker said

  worriedly, while looking across the parking lot. "Nope I don't think

  so either son; but we'll deal with it when the time comes." Dad said

  with a humbled look on his face. "Did you even give her the

  address?" Tucker asked with a chuckle. "Nope didn't need to son."

  He replied still with his humbled look on his face, as he reached

  into his pockets to search for his keys. "Go get Mia, and she can

  ride with you. I'll head home and let Lily know that we'll be having

  us some guests." Dad said, as he jumped into his work Jeep.

  Tucker turned and headed into the sea of black and gold gowns

  that still crowded the parking lot, laughing and talking.

  "Mia, there you are, we were all looking for you." Nadia said, running toward me and Katie. Nadia was the most popular girl in

  school. Perfect pale skin with not a single blemish in sight; big

  blue eyes that could light up a room, long curly blond hair, perfect

  long legs, your typical prom queen. Her sister Loren who

  graduated one year ago and was just a little shorter than she was;

  but they looked exactly the same, and just as Nadia was cheer

  captain, so was Loren.

  Last year Loren gave up her position as Cheer Capta
in to

  Nadia. Loren was Katie's mom; she had Katie when she was still

  in high school which wasn't all that long ago. "Yeah sorry I had a

  small upset but I'm better now." I said smiling at Katie. "Who was

  that couple that was talking to you, you looked like you were ready

  to pop." Nadia asked trying to look over the crowd of people; most

  likely trying to get another glimpse of the mysterious couple. "You

  seemed pretty upset." She continued, still trying to see over

  everyone. "Yeah, but I'm fine now." I said as I let Katie's little

  legs down to run around.

  "That was my mother and her new husband." I said finally.

  "Wait, what, say that again. That was your mom." She said in

  complete surprise. "Yup, you heard me right. That was my mom." I

  repeated. "Loren, Mia's here." She called out. Nadia seemed to always find away to talk about something else when she wasn't

  interested anymore. I guess that was just her thing; if it didn't

  involve her then she really didn't want to know. Loren appeared

  out of the crowd holding a small box.

  "Hey Mia; Katie found you I see." She said pointing at the

  feather that hung behind my ear. Her small stature fit her pink

  fitted dress perfectly. Looking at her you wouldn't even think that

  she had a daughter. Physically she looked great, splitting image of

  Nadia just shorter. Although, I will say that Loren was much more

  well liked by people, she was someone who truly cared about

  others.

  "Here, Mia, this is for you." She said, handing me the small

  box. "What is it?" I asked taking the box in one hand and pulling at

  the bow with the other. "The girls wanted to get you both

  something for graduation. I think they chose well." She replied with

  a smile on her face. I slowly lifted the cover to reveal a beautiful

  gold ring; shaped as a rose with a small red ruby in the middle.

  "Oh my, this is beautiful." I said, admiring it's shine in the box.

  I carefully took the ring out and held it up to the sun; the ruby

  glimmered in the light. "It's absolutely lovely." I said, as I continued

  staring at it watching it, glimmering in the sunlight. "Thank you; thank you, very much; I love it." I said, with a smile as I slipped it

  over my finger. I watched it twinkling in the sunlight as I turned

  my hand from side to side.

  "Of course, you deserve it. You both do." Lila said, stepping

  forward. Lila was the next in line to be captain of the squad.

  Nadia picked her just a few nights ago after practice. She wasn't

  very tall but she did know a lot about gymnastics’. She was pretty,

  with shoulder length black hair, small slender face with green

  eyes. Her family was one of the only Asian families in Hillside.

  "Look, this is mine." Nadia said, lifting her hand, presenting her

  own ring to be adorned. "Wow, that's nice." I said looking at her

  heart shaped ring with a diamond in the middle. The diamond fit

  her perfectly, always sparkling at every chance that she was

  given.

  "Yours was easy Mia; we all knew that we should get you a

  rose ring, with a red ruby. Look it matches your roses, the colors

  and all." Lila pointed out with a smile, while pointing at my bunch

  of roses, now tucked tightly under my arm. "Oh yeah, I forgot I had

  these." I said, with a slight laugh. "Thank you Lila; thank you to all

  of you for such a wonderful gift." I said, looking around at the small

  group of girls now surrounding both Nadia and I. "We'll miss you guys." Nadia explained. "Remember all of you, if you ever need

  help for anything, we will always be around to help." Nadia

  continued, as everyone leaned in for a group hug. The smell of

  perfume mixed well with each other, as the smell of berries filled

  the air surrounding our little circle.

  "Hey Mia, come on it's time to go. Dad already left so you're

  going to have to ride with me." Tucker said, from behind the group

  of girls. "Oh, alright. I'm coming." I said, looking around, making

  sure I didn't forget to hug anyone. My heart started to feel sad

  knowing that this could very well be the last time I get to hug them.

  "Hey Tuck. I didn't see you at the ceremony; were you in

  there?" Nadia asked; now turning all her attention to Tucker.

  Nadia always had a thing for my brother but he never showed any

  interest in her. I didn't understand why, I mean I think she was his

  type but he never responded to any of her advances. Which in a

  way was kind of funny I guess. She was so used to getting

  everything she wanted; but she never managed to bag my

  brother. I kind of laughed to myself at the thought.

  "Yup, I was there and I wouldn't have missed it at all." He

  replied wrapping his huge arms around my neck. "So are you

  going to Jim's party tonight Mia?" She said, still staring hard at Tucker. "What about you Tucker, will you be there?" She asked,

  with her puppy dog eyes. "Um, yeah, I guess we'll both be there.

  So come on Mia, got lot's to do before the party." He said tugging

  me backwards. I got the feeling that he wanted out of there as

  fast. I chuckled just thinking about it. "I know; I know." I said with a

  smirk. "Alright guys; I'll see you all tonight." I said, right before

  Tucker spun me around and pulled me through the crowd. "Geez."

  I said, pulling my arm out of his tight grip.

  "Dad invited mom and James to dinner tonight." He said, as

  we slowed our walk toward his truck. It was rather nice truck, for a

  guy of his age. With all the off-road adventures offered here at

  Hillside you would almost expect his truck to have more than a

  few small dings, just as everyone else did; but nope not Tucker's;

  aside from a little dent here and there, it was still in pretty good

  condition. "What? Why" I said, surprised at my angry tone. "Don't

  know, but she asked if we'd like to have dinner with them first,

  then dad gave them an invite." He answered, shrugging his

  shoulders.

  "Don't you think there's something wrong about that? I mean

  she shows up like, years later; with a new husband for that matter.

  She must have some kind of nerve to do this, let alone agree to come to our house for dinner, even if dad invited her. She should

  have said no." I began. "Well, I'd like to think she just wants to try

  to make things right." He said cutting me off, in her defense. "Yeah

  right; by showing up today. Yeah; that will fix everything." I said

  as I hopped into the truck.

  "Are we really going to Jim's party tonight?" I asked, placing

  the roses on the seat next to me. "Um yeah; I thought you wanted

  to go. By the way where did you get those?" He asked, pointing at

  the roses. "Oh yeah; I go them from Jon via Steve." I said, with a

  chuckled looking down at the beautiful flowers. "Jon huh. Yeah, I

  did run into the boys out front earlier while the ceremony was

  going on. Um; so what's that?" He asked, with his eyes fixed on

  my hand. "Oh yeah, I got this from the squad. Isn't it pretty? Nadia

  got one too but she got a diamond." I said, as I lifted my hand up

  so the sun would catch the ruby, twinkling red beams of light into

  his eye
s. "Ah; well when you're ready to cash it in, I know of a few

  guys who would pay some good money for precious gems." He

  laughed, as he started his truck and headed toward the school

  exit. "Yeah right Tuck in your dreams." I laughed back, holding on

  as he made a sharp turn out of the school.

  At that very moment I couldn't help but tear; as an overwhelming feeling of sadness passed through my heart. This

  was the last time that I would leave this school as a student. I

  took a long hard star at the school, it's old buildings, old football

  and track field. I even caught a glance of some teachers crying

  with students. It felt weird to see all of my classmates still saying

  their goodbye's; as the reality of growing up sunk in.

  I really didn't care for my mom, nor did I really care for her

  new husband. I really didn't know either of them. I was never a

  person who judged a book by it's cover, because that is what I

  was taught since I was a kid; but I guess because James was with

  my mother it was automatic that I felt this way about him. Maybe it

  was the way he looked, or even the way she looked at him with

  that twinkle in her eyes. My dad always told me that it was

  important to never judge someone without even giving them a

  chance.

  I guess I could be more open to meeting him, or the both of

  them for that matter. I mean he never did anything to me, well

  directly at least. But there was just something about him that I

  didn't like. Maybe I was jealous or something; I don't know,

  perhaps I was just jumping to conclusions and he really was a

  nice guy. Perhaps I shouldn't hold my mother's faults against him; after all he wasn't around when she left us anyway. I thought, as I

  gazed out the open window, admiring the passing trees.

  We got home a little before six o'clock and dad's truck was

  already there. I could tell that Lily was just about done with

  dinner. The entire house smelled like broiled steaks and

  potatoes; with a heavy scent of garlic and black peppers; needless

  to say the house smelled great. My dad met Lily about two years

  ago, but it was like they were meant to be together. They were

  always goofing around, making each other laugh, and playing

  jokes on each other. Although we never heard them say it in front

  of us; we did see it often; Tucker and I knew that they were in