After his parents' sudden death, Chester Covington leaves everything behind and moves in with his aunt.
But nobody knows what is going on behind the facadé of a traumatized boy who has watched his parents die that he puts up ever single day of his...
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I watch the forest pass by the car window as music blasts in my ears.
The woods are engulfed by darkness and only a few spots are lit up by the moon as it's peeking through the trees.
It was a cold late-summer night when we arrived at the driveway of my aunt's two story house.
The old house is coated with a run down, yellow colored facade. It's already peeling off the walls here and there, and the color is more of a beige than a yellow. But other than that, it's a cozy looking family home in the middle of the woods. No houses are nearby and the town is a little over 3 miles away.
"C'mon, darling," my aunt, Nicole, says. I take off the seatbelt and open the car door, hissing slightly when an agonizing pain erupts in my right shoulder. As I step out of the car, a cold breeze of air brushes my skin and I shiver at the contact.
I walk around the car to the trunk to see my aunt pulling out my small suitcase. I quickly walk up to her and grab it, before I put it down on the ground and sigh at my weak arms. I've never been the type of guy that works out in a fitness center everyday, hence one of the reasons for my none existent biceps.
"I can do it, Chase. Don't worry, yeah?" My aunt nudges my shoulder, calling me by my nickname. She picks up my suitcase and walks up to the front porch. After a few seconds of watching her struggle to find her keys, I follow suit. When she approaches the front door, she puts down the case and plugs the keys into the keyhole.
She opens the door with a brief look over her shoulder, to see if I'm still there, and lets me in after shoving the suitcase inside. I look around the hallway and see a few pictures hung up on the wall on my left. When I take a closer look at them, I recognize a lot of familiar faces like my aunt and my mother, smiling. At the thought of my mom, my chest tightens and tears well up in my eyes, which I quickly blink away, before I slip off my shoes and my jacket.
"Mom!" a voice yells, as loud footsteps echo throug the room. After only a few moments, a girl comes running around the corner, clothed in a purple pajama and her brown hair up in a messy bun. A wide smile breaks out on her face when she spots Nicole, who had just taken off her coat.
"Hello, dear," she greets the girl, who runs up to her and throws her arms around Nicole's neck.
"Finally, I already thought you'd never come home." The brown haired girl sighs. My aunt lets out a breathy chuckle before her gaze lands on me and she sends me a warm smile, which I return.
"Hey, Chase," the girl, whom I know as my one and only cousin, greets with a wave. Her name is Chloe and she's around my age, though she's a bit younger than me.
"Hey, Chloe," I greet back. An awkward silence embraces us and my eyes wander around the room once again.
"Well then, Chloe will you show your cousin his room?" my aunt asks, breaking the silence. The girl nods her head and picks up the suitcase after giving her mom a quick peck on the cheek. She slowly walks up the stairs, struggling a little bit with carrying the case up the narrow staircase.
