Chapter 1: Hope

Angel's POV:

I woke up to the sound of my brother calling me. "Angel? Yo Angel?! Mama said wake up." He said, flickering the light on and off. He knows that annoys me. I groaned and rolled over. "Alright." I said. He closed the door and walked off down the hall. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I got up and walked to the bathroom. I took my shower, put on some clothes, brushed my teeth, did my hair, and got my stuff for school. I walked down the hall to the kitchen to find my mama, and siblings all at the table. "Hey y'all." I said, greeting them. "Hey Angel. Sorry, I didn't have time to cook y'all breakfast this morning. Other things got our attention." My mama, Stephanie, said. I looked at her and noticed she was grinning from ear to ear. "Mama, why you so happy?" My little sister, Tasha, said. My mama grinned even harder. "Something good must've happened." My brother, Trey said.

"Something like that..." my mama said, smiling. She then looked towards her room. We all turned to see my Dad, Bryant, standing in the doorway, in his uniform. "DADDY!!!" Me and Tasha screamed running to him. Trey ran to him too. We all hugged him tightly. He's in the Army and he's been gone for four years. This is the first time we've seen him since. When we looked up at him, he had tears in his eyes. "Oh my kids. You've all grown up so fast." He said. "Daddy, I've got big. I'm a girl now." Tasha said, grinning. I smiled at her. "Yes you have. Oh you got so big." My dad said, picking her up. "Dad, we've missed you man." Trey said, smiling. He had tears in his eyes, though he tried his hardest not to let them fall. "Trey, I've missed y'all so much." My dad paused.

"Ya know, it's okay to cry. A man can cry too." He said. Trey let loose his tears and hugged our Dad tightly. "Oh my baby has returned to his kingdom." My Mama said, walking up to us. She hugged and kissed him. "Yes I have. And you know what? Today, we are gonna spend the day together. No school for y'all today." He said. "Yo foreal?!" Trey fried. He nodded. "Yayyyyy!!!!" Tasha squealed. I smiled and hugged my Dad. No school huh? Time to let Keisha know I'm not going to school today. "Angel, you in?" Trey called, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Huh?" I asked. "We going to Dairy Queen first, then shopping. You coming?" He said, putting on his jacket. I smiled and nodded.

^Bryant Starlight

^Stephanie Starlight

^Trey Starlight

^Tasha Starlight

I ran to my room and put back my schoolwork and ran back to the living room. "Lets do it." I said, as we walked out the door to the car. I pulled out my phone and texted Keisha that I wasn't coming to school. I put my phone away and looked out the window. I watched as the trees and bushes wizzed by. We pulled up to Dairy Queen and ordered our food. We sat in the car, eating as we talked about all the things we were gonna do. We then drove to the mall and got out. "I wanna go here Daddy. This is where my friend Alison got her stuffie." Tasha said, pointing to a store where stuffed animals were shown in the window. We walked over to the store and bought a couple of stuffed bears. I got one of my own. We then walked to a shoe store where my Dad and Trey bought some shoes.

They bought all kinds of Jordans and Nikes. My mama, me, and Tasha, bought ourselves some shoes too. We walked to another and bought some bathing suits. "What's this?" I asked. "We going swimming." My Dad said. We cheered a little too loudly because some people looked at us. We quickly walked away to another store to buy some clothes. "Oh my God. Today has been awesome." I said, looking at my mama. She smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Dad, you outdid yourself." Trey said. "Well today ain't over yet. I got another surprise for y'all." He said. We stopped and looked at him. I gasped. "You got Beyoncé tickets?!" I cried. He looked at me funny. "No." He said. I frowned.

"Oh." I said, quietly. "What's the surprise Daddy?" Tasha asked, in a high voice. He looked at my mama. They both smiled. "We're thinking about moving. Yo a better neighborhood with a better, nicer house." She said. We all gasped. "Yo foreal foreal?" Trey exclaimed. "Are you serious?!" I squealed. Tasha jumped up and down. "Yeah. I'm serious. We just found a house that's for sale. But don't bet your hopes up. Nothing is set in stone. Besides, another family is looking at the house." My Mama said. "Well we just gotta bid higher than them." Trey said. "Nigga we ain't even looked at the house yet." I said, frowning at him. "So when do we get to see it?" Tasha asked. "Tomorrow, if everything goes as planned. We're supposed to meet up with the realtors and the other family supposed to be there too." She said.

"We finna turn up tomorrow too." Trey said, cackling. "Hold up whatchu mean 'we'?" My Mama asked, staring at him. "We coming with y'all right?" I asked. They shook they're heads. "No. We going to look at the house in person." My Dad said. "So when do WE go see it?" Trey asked. "When we have possession of the house. Until then, y'all asses going to school tomorrow." My Mama said. "Awww that's messed up." Trey said. "Come on. I wanna go swimming." I said. We got in the car and drove to a water park that just opened up. We got in our bathing suits and put on sunscreen. We walked out to the water and saw a whole bunch of people there. We ran straight to the water and dove in.

I jumped and surfaced to see Tasha, clutching her arm, staring at the water. I sighed and got out. I walked over to her and spoke. "Tasha, I know you scared of water but it's not gonna hurt you. You can't be scared of water forever." I said. She looked like she was about to cry. "Tasha....it's not gonna hurt you." I said. She was silent then she shook her head. "I can't Angel. It's scary." She said. "What is there to be afraid of?" I asked, crouching down to her level. "We don't know what's lurking underneath us. Anything could be down there." She said. "Tasha, this is a water park. The only thing under us is the filters." I said. "What about the ocean?" She asked, crossing her arms. "Well....look Tasha. You cannot be afraid of water forever. You gotta face your fears someday." I said.

"And today ain't the day." She said, walking back to a swing bench in the water. She hopped on the bench and started swaying it. I sighed and shook my head. I walked back in the water and looked around. I saw my Dad and Mama kissing each other. Trey snuck up behind them with a pail of water and dumped it on them, surprising them. They chased after him. "You see that Tasha? They're having fun in the water." I said. She looked at them. "That's cause they're in three feet of water Angel." She said. I sat down next to her. "Tasha why are you so afraid of the water?" I asked. She turned her head away from me. "I'm just scared of it. Look Angel, I really don't wanna talk about it." She said, standing up to walk in the water. I followed her.

"Look, how about I help you get over your fear of water? Then will you tell me?" I asked. She looked at me. "Maybe." She said. "Tasha. I wanna help you." I said. She grew silent. "Tasha everyone is afraid of something. Remember when we were afraid of Trey when we found out his ex girlfriend turned him into..." I paused and looked around. "A werewolf." I whispered. "Yeah I remember." She said. I thought back to that day. Unbeknownst to Tasha, Trey dated some girl he met for a week and they had sex. Turns out the girl scratching him was a way for him to become a werewolf. He was out of control. His anger got out control, he started to shift into a huge wolf, he had powers. We freaked out over that. Trey made us swear to keep it from Mama. We did but there are times where we should tell her.

We talked to the girl to see if there was a way to get Trey back to normal. She said no and left. That was the day we realized magical beings were around us and we don't even know it. Trey eventually decided to accept the fact that he's now different. He learned to control his powers and anger. I thought about the fact magical beings were around us. I thought about Keisha and how she acts funny whenever we come across the subject of the supernatural. She seems like a know it all. And if we say something bad about it, she gets defensive. Eventually I broke her and she told em she was an elf. She could conjure up things from books, like an apple or an elephant. It was crazy at first then I've accepted it. She told me all about the Magic world and how they keep hidden over the years. They stay out of the spotlight of humans but made sure to blend into one.

"Angel?" Tasha called, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Hmm?" I asked. "You coming?" She asked. I looked around and noticed my mama and Dad and Trey were staring at me. "Angel you ready to go?" My mama asked. "Go? But we just got here?" I said. "No Angel. There's this huge water slide on the other side of the park. You coming?" Trey said. "Oh yeah yeah." I said, walking to their side. Tasha walked by my side and held my hand. I love her to death but when she gets scared of water, it bothers me. Since she won't tell me why she's scared of it so much. As we walked closer to the water slide, the water began to get deeper. I picked Tasha up and carried her over the water. She clinged to me as tight as she could. "I got you." I whispered. As we got in line got the slide, I gently set her back on the ground.

"Now Tasha, you cant rely on us to help you over water forever." My mama said, looking at us. "Yeah babygirl. Water isn't gonna hurt you." My Dad said. Tasha looked away. "It's just hard for me. I don't even know how to swim." She said. "You don't know how to swim?" Said a voice. We turned to see a lifeguard approaching us. "Who are you?" Trey asked. "I'm a lifeguard obviously." The man said. "My nigga don't get smart with me." Trey said, icily. "Trey. Chill." I said. "Anyways, She can't ride if she can't swim." He said. "And why not?" Mama asked. "Cause at the end of the slide, is a pool that's 5 feet deep. And she doesn't look very tall, plus she can't swim. If she can't swim, when she gets to the end of the slide, she'll sink." He said.

"Oh come on." I said. "Sorry. No can do." He said. "Why are you eavesdropping on our conversation anyway?" Trey asked. "It's my job. To make sure little kids her size can swim." He said. "Oh come on. Please let her ride." I pleaded. "Sorry. Them's the rules." He said, walking away from us to check on the other families. "Man." Trey said. We heard sniffing and looked down. Tasha was crying. My Dad bent down to pick her up. "It's okay babygirl. You can ride." He said. "But Dad that dude said-" he cut me off. "I know what he said. But what's gonna happen is your and Trey are gonna go down first and catch your sister." He said. We smiled at him. "It's good to have you back baby." Mama said. He smiled at her. "Mmhmm. Me too." He said, chuckling. They started to kiss.

"Aight that's enough. I don't wanna throw up on this slide." Trey said, as he turned to the line. We walked up the steps to the slide and waited awhile for the other people to go down it. Finally it was Trey's turn. He waited for the other lifeguard to give him the go. As he soon as he gave him the okay, Trey threw himself down the slide. I heard him whoop on the way down. I took a step and waited for the lifeguard to give me the okay. As soon as he did, I did the same thing Trey did. I screamed in joy as the adrenaline rush overtook me as I flew down the tube. I soon hit the water and surfaced. I looked around for Trey and saw him talking to some white girls. This nigga. I rolled my eyes at him. "Trey!!!" I called. He turned his head at me.

I motioned him over. "Hav you forget what we have to do?" I asked. "Girl shut up. I remember." He said. We both watched as Tasha took a step at the tune. She looked really nervous. "Come on Tasha. We'll catch you." Trey yelled. "That's your sister?" A white girl asked. "Yeah. She can't swim so I'm gonna catch her when she comes down." He said. "Aww that is so sweet." The girl said. "Yeah I'm a caring guy." Trey said, in a flirty way. "How bout we get together later?" She asked. She pulled out a piece of paper and write something on it. "Shiiit. Okay." Trey said, taking the paper. Just then, I heard splashing. I turned to see lifeguards running towards us. They dived underneath the water.

I looked to see Tasha floating there, underneath the surface. "TASHA!!!!" I cried. "OH SHIT!!!" Trey yelled. We both dived underneath to see the lifeguards pulling her up. She wasn't moving. The lifeguards performed CPR on her. "Oh my God!! Tasha!!!" I screamed. "No no no no. No man. FUCK!!!!" Trey yelled. "Oh my baby!!!" I heard a voice. I turned to see my mama and Dad running towards us. "TASHA!!!" He screamed. We watched as the lifeguards pushed on her chest and breathed in her mouth. People started gathering around us. This went on for a minute. Oh my God. Please God. Not her....I'm sorry. Finally, Tasha began coughing up water. "TASHA!!!" Dad cried.

"Oh my babygirl..." Mama said. She hugged her tightly. My dad turn looked at me and Trey. "Angel, Trey, lets go." He said, quietly. I looked at Trey. He looked at me. We knew what was gonna happen. We watched as the lifeguards picked Tasha up and took her to the infirmary. My Mama walked with them. Me, my Dad, and Trey walked back to our stuff and packed up to leave. We walked towards the car and waited for my mama and Tasha. My Dad paces the cement. "Dad look-" He cut Trey off. "WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU TWO THINKING?!?!" He shouted. "Daddy, we're so sorry." I said. "You were supposed to catch her when she came down. Are y'all tryna kill your sister?!?!" He yelled. "Dad we're sorry. We got distracted." Trey said.

"Oh. Well I guess that's alright then. Your sister nearly drowned but it's okay, cause you got distracted and are sorry." Dad said. "Daddy we're so soo sorry. It was an accident." I said. He held his hand out. "Phones. Now." He said. "Dad man we said we were sorry." Trey said. "I don't give a fuck. Give me your phones now!!!" He yelled. Trey smacked his teeth and dig in the car. I did too. We handed our phones to him and crossed our arms. "You'll get these back when I feel like it." He said. "Okay they said Tasha will be okay." Said a voice. We turned to see Mama carrying Tasha. She had a lollipop and a small bear in her arms. She looked like she'd been crying. "Tasha-" I started. "Save It Angel. You and Trey in the fucking car." Mama said.

I sighed and opened the door and got in. My Dad drove us home. The whole car ride was in silence, except for the radio. I looked over at Trey. He was pissed. I could see his wolf pupils popping in and out, trying to take over his pupils. He was scary when he's like this but I never back down from him. I could see him nearly transforming in the car. He could control his wolf side but when he's mad, it's hard for him. I looked at Tasha. She still had tear streaks down her face but she was playing with the small bear and licking the lollipop. I turned my attention back out the window. I still couldn't believe what just happened. My little sister nearly lost her life because me and Trey lost focus.

We pulled in the driveway and Trey immediately got out. He walked briskly to the front door and opened it. Luckily he had a key made. I got out and carried some of our stuff inside. "Angel go get your brother and tell him I said to come back out here and get this stuff." Mama said. "Yes ma'am." I said. I walked inside, set the stuff down and went to Trey's room. I knocked on the door. "Trey." I called softly. "Go away Angel." He said. "Trey, Mama said go get the rest of the stuff." I said, a little bit louder. He sighed loudly. He opened the door and brushed past me. "Don't do that." I said. "Girl shut up. He called over his shoulder. "Both of y'all shut the hell up." Mama yelled. I walked in my room and closed my door. "Slam the door again Angel!!!" My Dad yelled.

I opened the door. "I ain't even slam it!!" I said as I closed the door again. I sighed and slid the wall of the door. I closed my eyes and rubbed my temple. I gathered some towels and washcloths and opened the door. I walked to the bathroom and took my shower. After that, I went back to my room and climbed in bed. After a few minutes, I heard a soft knock on the door. "Angel?" Called a soft voice. "Come in." I said. The door opened to reveal Tasha looking upset. "Tasha whats-" she cut me off. "Mama said come here." She said. I sighed and got up and walk out the door. She grabbed my hand and walked with me. I walked in the living room to see my Mama and Dad standing near the TV and Trey was sitting down with his shirt off.

He must be getting ready for bed too. "Yes ma'am?" I said. "We need to talk about what happened today." She said. "Mama it was an accident. We got distracted." I said. "I know. But that doesn't excuse the fact that your sister almost drowned." She said. "You guys said you were gonna catch her." Dad said. "We got distracted by some girl." Trey said. "'Some girl'? Who was the lil bitch?" Mama asked. "Some white Girl Trey was talking to." I said. "I swear I was talking to her for a split second. I didn't hear Tasha hit the water." He said. "Me neither. I didn't hear any splashing until those lifeguards came running." I said. My Dad sighed. "Look, just....apologize." He said. "We did." Trey said.

"Not. To us." He said. We both looked at Tasha. "Tasha, we are so so SO sorry. We didn't mean for this to happen." I said. "Yeah man. We should've been watching you." Trey said. "It's okay. I forgive you." She said, in a sweet voice. We hugged and kissed her. She did the same. "Okay good. Now y'all go wash up. Get that chlorine off ya. Go wash up so we can eat." Mama said. I smiled and went for the kitchen. "I already washed so..." I said. "Call first plate." Trey yelled. I smacked my teeth. "You gotta be in the kitchen to call it!!" I yelled at him. "No you don't." He yelled. "Y'all stop it." Dad said. "Mama, Daddy, are we still moving yo that new house?" I asked. "Yeah. But we gotta see the house and see what the other family says first. If not, we'll keep looking." Dad said.

"Yeah cause baby, the crime here is getting out of hand. I think it's now on our street." Mama said. "Don't worry. Now that I'm here, I'll teach y'all some Army moves. Lets just hope that other family says no to the house. I nearly got shot when I came here last night." Dad said. I thought about that. I imagined if anything bad could happen to any one of us. Tasha, Mama, Dad, Trey, or even me. After Trey's shower and Tasha's bath, we sat down, prayed, ate our food, and went to bed. As I dosed off, I heard gunshots and screams out the window. God I hope we move out soon.