21 SINS IN THE ABYSS

Connor

One tear fell. 

The sun rose.

Two tears fell.

Her heart froze.

Three tears fell.

The evening dawned.

Four tears fell.

Death woke up and yawned.

Five tears fell.

The night was beckoned.

6 tears fell.

She met her end...

________________________________________________________

As Athea reached her home, distressed and worried, she remembered him. Her 'special someone'. The one who taught her to get out of trouble. One of her very sins. Who she lost. Forever. Connor. Connor Caidyn Nyx. Her brother. She started hyperventilating at the very thought of him. She tried to push away his memory, but failed rather miserably. She still remembered the day it happened. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Flashback~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

9 year old Athea had run up to her brother's room to show him her new drawing. She was asked not to enter his room without knocking first. It was different that day. The door was slightly open. She cautiously peeked in. She'd always wanted to know what big brother did during his free time. She wanted to be just like him. The 16 year old had always inspired her. 

His back was facing the door and he was looking out of the window. His shoulders were moving, as though he was sobbing. Even if he was, she knew better than to ask him about it. Her mother had told her that it was because of 'stupid teenage feelings'. He seemed to be wearing some type of costume. There was a beige snake-like thing worn around his neck. It definitely wasn't  a rope because it was suspended horizontally in the air from his neck . She assumed it to be a prop from some school drama. Something shone suddenly. It was an object in his hands, that had caught a ray of the sun. The next thing she remembered seeing was a crimson cloth flowing wildly in around him. In a matter of seconds, he had fallen on the floor with a loud thud. She immediately ran to him and screamed at the gory sight. His eyes had rolled back and there was a pool of blood around his wrist. There was a mess of freshly made gashes on it. She started crying frantically as tears rolled down her face. Even to an innocent hearted nine year old, that seemed unnatural.

"Connie?! W-wake up! I'm scared. Don't prank me now , please. Connie wake up!!", she screamed as she shook him. Her parents ran in to the sound of her shrieks. They immediately dragged her away as they witnessed the horrible scene. 

"Mommy ,please! I want to stay with Connie! He's hurt. Mommy, please. Dada tell mommy. I wanna stay with Connie, please!", she struggled and tried to get out of their grasp. There was no point in trying. 6 year old Blaire and Athea were sent to their grandparents' place, much to Athea's dismay. She wanted to be with him. She wanted her Connie. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~End of Flashback~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She never knew what happened after that. The little girls stayed with their grandparents for a few weeks and when they came back, Connie was lost forever. It affected Athea more than anyone. For about two years, she believed what her mother had told her, that his soul had gone with God because Earth was a little too harsh on him. But after that she realised what it really was....

Her tears became stronger and her hyperventilation worsened. Her chest was heaving up and down violently. She opened the main door and ran up to the room opposite hers. Connor's room. She tried opening it, but it was locked. As always. She never knew where her mother kept the key. The crying girl really need to connect with him in some way. She opened her own cupboard and dug through the neatly folded clothes. She found it in no time. Connor's flannel shirt. She'd somehow managed to take one from his room before her mother locked it away forever. She desperately took in the smell. It smelled like an odd mixture of  pinewood and coffee. Like Connor. 

It was her fault that it happened. She should've stopped him. It hurt her. It was her sin because she watched it happen. This memory of him had been buried away deep in the cells of her heart. There was a time when these flashbacks appeared very frequently, but she had gotten over them with time. It was odd that she was reminded of 'it'. Nevertheless, her tears did not cease to pour down her face. She was sitting on the floor with her back against the wall, still trying to catch every whift of his shirt. The scent succeeded in calming her down. After a short while, she wasn't hyperventilating anymore and her crying came down a bit. 

She went down and made sure that the house was locked. Her brain immediately remembered the ordeal that took place before the horrible flashback. Ethan. She'd overreacted. She definitely owed him an apology. Just as she assured herself that she could mend things with him, she remembered something else. Cara. She hadn't spoken to her in a real long time. Why did she keep messing up with people?! She groaned and uttered a few nice words while kicking the floor. Life was going normally. The headaches for the next day were already planned.