Chapter 2 Start Of Something Wonderful

• Julien
• Age 6
• Something was wrong. Marina was acting different. I watched as her hands shook in her lap, her blue eyes wide as she stared at the clock. Mommy was acting strange too and I heard the yelling on the phone. I tried to ask her questions but she wouldn’t answer any of them. I was excited to see her blue dress in the woods. I’ve never seen her around before and I didn’t know she lived in the Vascotto house. Mommy was talking to her boss. I guess he must be her dad. I stared at Marina. Her lower lip trembled and she bit down on it.
• We all turned to the sound of a knock on the door. My mama got up and went to open it. Outside stood the largest man I’ve ever seen. His arms were the size of me and he towered over mama like some kind of monster. His blue eyes unsettled me. His face was hard and rigid and he had the same dark hair that Marina had. The same eyes. This was her father. He scanned the room until he locked eyes on her. Marina began to shake beside me and I squeezed her hand protectively. She was scared of him.
• “Thank you, Amelia.” His voice was deep and it vibrated my chest. “Marina. We’re leaving.”
• She let go of my hand and immediately got up from beside me. “Wait!” I whispered. “Where are you going?”
• She frowned. “Home.”
• “But...” I trailed off, searching for the right words. This man clearly frightened her, yet she wasn’t hesitating to go with him. “Okay, bye Marina. See you tomorrow?” I asked hopefully. I really liked her and I wanted to play.
• She shook her head. “No. I’m sorry. I can’t be your friend. I’m sorry Julien.”
• I didn’t have time to answer because she had already walked out the door. Her dad grabbed her hand and they walked away down the path. I shook my head. No. I didn’t care about her dad. He didn’t scare me. Marina was my friend and I was going to see her and nothing was going to stop me.
• Not even her father.
• ---
• Marina
• Age 7
• “Julien,” I whispered warily. “I don’t think we should be doing this.” He held my hand as we sneaked through the trees. Julien was a year older than me and I looked up to him.
• He turned around and stuck his tongue out. “What, are you scared, Marina?”
• “No,” I scoffed. “I’m worried. What if Daddy catches us? He doesn’t like me hanging out with you and he doesn’t like you.” It was true. Daddy never liked Julien. He always called him a rat or a piece of trash.
• He grinned widely with all the confidence of an eight year old. “Whatever! He doesn’t scare me. I’m not afraid of him!”
• I bit down on my lower lip, something I’ve come to do when I’m nervous. “I am.” I whispered in a small voice. Julien hasn’t seen what Daddy can do. He hasn’t yet seen his rage so he has no reason to be afraid. We push through the trees until we come across a small shed. “What is that?”
• Julien shrugged. “I dunno. I found it yesterday. Figured we’d check it out together. Y’know, like an adventure?” His dark eyes were bright with excitement. I couldn’t help but smile through my nervousness. His grip on my hand tightened as he pulled me closer to the wooden shed in the dark. “Come on, Marina. What if there’s treasure inside? Maybe it where your dad keeps all his money and we’ll be rich!”
• I giggled. “I doubt that.”
• “You never know.”