Eye of the Storm -SAFE HOUSE BOOK 2-

4

Thumbing through his reading for World History during study hall, Austin kept glancing at Briana. She wasn't talking and had barely said anything since they left the house in the morning. He couldn't focus on Mayan cults when she was acting like this- her moods always found a way to get to him. Teeth sinking into his lip, Austin sighed. He knew better than to bother her now- that would only make things worse. He would keep an eye on her for the rest of the day and see what happened. If anything too alarming came up, he decided, he would talk to their foster parents- but not before that. Act too soon, she could shut down. Act too late, Briana might spiral out of control. The most he could do now was stick by her side through everything, just like he always had.

Austin flipped his book shut, a low sigh rattling through his ribcage. Why did this have to be so difficult? Turning up the music through his headphones, he swallowed hard and took out a book and his journal. Escaping into a different world always helped to calm his nerves, and he needed that in a place like this. How else was he supposed to keep sane around people who had ties to this town, who had built their lives in a place he was only just finding a home in? His therapist had given him a few prompts, so he pulled the partially crumpled list out of his back pocket and picked the one that stood out to him the most.

I remember when things were different. I remember life before I lived here. I remember life before she died. I remember life before he forgot how to love me. There was light, so much light, pouring in from everyone and everything. I was happy. We were all happy... until that night. The night the sun I had built to cast over our perfect little world shattered into millions of pieces as the light left her eyes. My world was safe, content, and I wanted to be sure I always had a place there, but everything changed that night. That world was taken from me in a split second. She was gone, and the life I had grown to know and love was over.

He never looked at me the same way after that. He stopped telling me good things. I can't remember the last time he told me that he loved me, or that he appreciated anything that I did for him. I'm not sure I've seen him give a sincere smile since before that night. I gave so much to the man I called my father, but he took all that I had. Soon, that began to feel like it was his job to ruin me. I was never good enough. I could always be better at something. I could always be better at everything, at least that was what he told me. The man that used to take me out to baseball games and play catch with me in the front yard was turning into a stranger, and there was no way for me to stop it.

The father I grew up loving left me the day that she died as if she was his will to live and I had stolen it away from him. His blame echoes through my mind to this day, no matter how much I try to convince myself otherwise. His voice is still there- loud and clear. I could go to another town, another city, another country, but the demons I got in this town will always haunt me. I wish I could make it stop.

In a way, I suppose I did. This world wasn't ideal, so I made up a new one in my head. It was a world where she was still there, and we were happy. I went there in dreams, but soon, my father ruined those, too. Ridicule and false truths poured into my head, new additions pouring in each day we spent together... but that's gone now. Now things are bright and positive. I can be happy. I can be the person I was always meant to to be.

Pen in hand, he let his own memories and the promise of new ones guide him as he wrote. Soon, ink was smeared across the page and over his skin, but he didn't care. Austin just kept pushing on, until everything was out, and tears were blurring his vision. He could just sense his teacher stopping before him as his eyes cleared. "Austin, are you doing okay? I can write you a pass if you want." He nodded and gathered his things, closing the door quietly behind him.