Flooded Waters

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟑

On a regular afternoon, Mabel was finishing some of her homework. She had always been a good student, getting good grades and compliments from all her teachers. When she first joined the Elites, her attitude drastically changed but fortunately, her parents got her back on the right track.

"We understand that life is not easy for you but school must come before anything. Always remember that if you ever need any help or support, you can always come to your father or me."

Mabel and her mother used to be very close until her life turned upside down. Now that she was close to Cedric, she felt safe and all the problems that troubled her mind were gone. As a sixteen year old teenage girl, Mabel did not tell all her secrets to her mother but from time to time, she would spend some time cooking with her or having some girl nights together.

As she was organizing her desk, she heard the floor crack. She immediately turned around to face her younger brother.

"Noah! Come here, what's up?" she enthusiastically questioned.

"I'm great, Mae, and you?"

"Same. So, do you want anything?"

"Can we talk?"

"Sure, let me just organize my stuff and I'll be ready in less than a minute."

She quickly put her books on the side of her desk and sat down on her bed, followed by her twelve year old brother. Light blond hair, brownish greenish eyes, tanned skin, slim and athletic, if there would be no age gap between the two of them, they could be twins.

After his disappearance, Noah became shy and did not talk to anyone. In a certain way, he reminded her of Alina, who also was broken inside, ever since the accident took place. Luckily, his silence only lasted a year and when he turned five, he was just like the old Noah, social and funny.

"I'm ready," she smiled.

"I want to talk about what happened that night," he replied.

She immediately knew what that meant. He was about to talk about the night that changed the Shelman's life forever. She was about to discover the truth and although she felt excited, she was also nervous to learn what truly happened.

"I'm not ready to talk about what exactly happened but I'd like to say sorry for pretending not to know you and avoiding you for an entire year. I should never have done that and I realize that all you wanted was my good," a tear rolled on his cheek.

"Noah, it's fine. I was never mad at you or hurt for what you did. I would probably have done the same and look at where we are now, closer than ever! Come on, don't cry, you are a big guy now. You're going to be a teenager soon and maybe date someone, who knows!" she winked.

"Eww no I hate girls!"

"Who was that girl you told me about recently? Lucy, wasn't it?" she laughed.

"No, stop Mae!"

He grabbed the nearest pillow and threw it. Before she could react, the pillow hit her face and she quickly grabbed another pillow. The following ten minutes consisted of the two of them play-fighting.

"Can we bake cookies?" Noah asked, once he stopped laughing.

"Let's check if we have all the ingredients first."

As they stepped out of the room, Mabel couldn't help herself but smile. In the past few days, she only cared about her popularity and her new friends, especially Cedric. She realized that she missed those moments, the play-fights with Noah, the deep girly conversations with her Mom and the basketball games with her Dad. It was hard for her to balance both friendships and family but she was sure that no matter what, she could always count on her parents and brother.