The Knight in Dark Armor

Chapter 6

Three years ago

Evelyn was beaming at me as she threw a snowball in my face.
"Just because there is snow, doesn't mean you have to throw it at me!" I shouted at her.
As my sister turned around and stuck her tongue out at me, I couldn't help but smile.
She had put her brown hair up in a bun and was wearing this cute purple jacket and her blue eyes just kept beaming so happily. I wanted to throw a snowball at her to ruin it all. I bent down to start making one, when I was quickly pelted with another snowball from Evelyn. "That's it!" I laughed as I chased her. She screamed and ran away from me also laughing.
We were playing on Evelyn's friends roof making many snowballs because for some reason it had decided to snow heavily that year. Normally in our city it didn't snow or if it did not nearly enough to really notice. This year there were beautiful snowflakes and plenty of snow for snowball fights which is what Evelyn, I and her friend decided to do.
Evelyn's friend was Camilla and she was probably the worst at it. Camilla and I weren't very nice to each-other most of the time but we needed a third person for the fight. I finally made my snowball and threw it at Evelyn who of course dodged it.
I dodged the next poorly thrown snowball from Evelyn and quickly began to make my own again. As I bent down to make one I noticed red drops of blood in the snow. More fell from my finger as I turned it towards me. I must have cut myself on something on the roof.
"Hey Camilla you got bandaids?" I asked.
"I'm not sure, we might have some." She then patted herself off. "Why?"
"I think I cut myself on something up here." I said simply. As I said this Evelyn rushed over to me. She was only a year younger than me but for some reason always tried to act like the older sibling. "Hurry Camilla!" She shouted at her friend.
"It's not that bad." I said as I looked down at it again. It was though as it started dripping faster.
"Maybe we should stop playing up here for now." I said to Evelyn as Camilla rushed off to find bandaids. Evelyn and I went down the steps and into the apartment. We found a place to sit as we waited for Camilla. "Caden..." Evelyn said slowly and sadly for some reason.
"It's just a cut." I said again simply. "I'll be fine." I assured her.
"It's not that..." she started. "Do you think mom is gonna leave dad?"
I knew this was one of the times to be an older sibling and so I knew I had to assure her even if I thought differently myself. "Of course not." I shook my head for emphasis. "What makes you say that?"
She lowered her head. "They are always fighting and dad is always coming home late, also Aidan said he overheard that they might."
Aidan was our older brother. "He doesn't know what he's talking about." I told her. "Mom and dad haven't fought about anything terribly bad yet. I'm sure they will get through it."
We both looked up as Camilla came back into the room with what looked like bandaids. Not wanting to seem like I couldn't handle my own injury I took them from her, quickly took one out and put it on my finger and wrapped it tightly. "Thanks." I said when I was down.
Camilla nodded and then sat down next to us.

****
As Evelyn and I were walking back home from her friends we got to talking about our parents again. We hadn't the worst childhood but it also wasn't the best. Aidan the oldest in our family certainly hadn't made it any easier. We always fought but when Aidan and I fought just one on one it would get brutal. He had taken to calling me Cad because my full first name sounded to similar to mine. Even though we hated each-other, deep down we were still good siblings. He had taught me how to fight however and most of the time brought the worst out in me. I got way too cocky as to who I would pick fights with in school and I constantly got sent home and of course I always blamed Aidan, which just pissed him off. This in turn made us fight again and the whole vicious cycle would continue.
Evelyn of course hated this and would try to calm us both down but the worst of it was when she would get caught in the crossfire. She decided to stay out of most of our fights but when she got involved she always ended up getting hurt.
"Aidan's a liar." I said to her. "There is no way they will split."
"Well you aren't helping." She said back to me. "You are always getting in fights at school which is just making everything worse at the house." She looked at me. "Why do you always fight people?"
I thought about this for a second. "Well I can't just take a beating lying down, whether it be verbal or physical." I stopped for a second. "Plus everyone just keeps pissing me off."
We stopped walking and I just stared at her for a couple seconds. "I'm sorry Evelyn..." I began. "I'm just so angry all the time. I'll try to do better. If not for my sake then for mom and dad." I put my hand on her shoulder.
She nodded at me and we continued walking. We came to a crosswalk. While waiting for the signal to walk we talked about the snowball fight at Camilla's and how bad she was at throwing snowballs. As we were talking the signal finally allowed us to cross and we did. We bumped into some passerby's as they came from the opposite direction. There was no traffic anymore and so we weren't impatient to cross. They seemed to be, and I got a very nasty look from one of them. They were all guys maybe not too much older than I but it was hard to tell.
"Hey, ya gonna apologize?" One of them said to me.  Instead Evelyn and I quickened our pace and made it across. I heard footsteps behind us.
"Hey shithead." The same guy said again. "I said..." He was much closer now. "You going to apologize?" He sounded very upset.
I turned around and looked at him. As I hadn't meant to bump into the guy I might have apologized if he hadn't called me a shithead. Evelyn looked at me and slowly shook her head. Not wanting to make Evelyn upset especially after promising her I would try better I decided against antagonizing the guy.
"I'm sorry." I said simply. Even for me that was hard as this guy was pissing me off.
"Hmm..." the guy drawled. "That didn't seem very sincere." He took a step forward. "Try again."
Again he didn't look much older than me and I probably could have taken him if I wanted to but I willed myself to not punch him. "Im sorry..." I said slower this time, trying to put a slightly sorrowful emotion into it.
Although he wasn't much older he definitely was much stronger than I was. He must have been going to a gym or playing sports in school. I think he knew he was stronger than me because he looked quite confident as he glared at me. I silently willed for traffic to come by and break up whatever this was. What did it look like to the outside world though? Probably just a couple kids messing around.
He took another step forward to me. "One more time." He said menacingly.
"Jack." One of the other guys was saying. "He ain't worth it. Let's just go." There were three of them in total and I assumed Jack must have been the ring leader.
Not being able to help myself finally, I spoke out and I regretted it instantly. "Yeah... Jack!" I started. "Why don't you just let it go." A sarcastic tone coated my voice as if I knew somehow he might have listened to his friends.
Jack took a final step towards me. "That's not an apology." He said.
"It wasn't one." I said as I stepped towards him closing the distance. Certainly in a fighting range and I was getting ready for it. "I just bumped you. Okay? Why don't you let it go and continue on your merry way?" I knew I was antagonizing him but I couldn't stop.
"Oh." He laughed. "I'll let it go." He turned around suddenly and took a few steps away. He then turned around after I let my guard down a bit and punched me in the face.
I was knocked back with my hand over my face. My anger was now at its highest it had been in awhile as getting punched in the face was one of the worst ways you could anger me. I lunged forward, my fist raised to punch him back.
"Caden!" Evelyn was shouting. "No! You promised."
It was hard to hear her as my fist connected with the other guy. I felt pain instantly. I wasn't wrong this guy... Jack, was much hardier than I was and my hand was feeling it.
Jack was only knocked back a little bit. He came forward at me and lashed out. I dodged his first punch but his second one hit me in the side of the head. Jack's friends were now by his side, they also looked ready to fight.
"Alright." Jack said. "Ready to apologize now?"
That was about the last thing I wanted to do for Jack and so instead, I lashed out at him. Hoping one of my fists would connect I swung wildly. Jack's friends joined in and pushed me back.
I was pushed back so hard I was knocked into Evelyn. She cried out and she suddenly was airborne. I hadn't noticed before but we were standing very close to some bars overlooking a short drop down to a parking lot below. As I heard her scream I whipped around to see her flip over the short bars and start to fall. Without thinking I flung half my body over the bar and grounded my feet under the bars to steady myself as I reached out for her.
I felt the soft touches of her fingers as they slipped from mine as she continued falling.
"Evelyn!" I screamed out. Even Jack and his friends had rushed over seeing what was happening. There was nothing I could do as I watched my only sister fall to her sudden death with a sickening smack into the concrete below. I cried out and ran down the nearby stairs as fast as I could hoping against hope, somehow she would be alright. As soon as I reached her... I knew. Evelyn was gone...
I approached her body and held her hand one last time....

****
Jack and the others had of course left the scene. An ambulance had come to take Evelyn's motionless body away, I only saw her face one time before it was draped over with some kind of blanket.
My mom was furious and sad at the same time while my dad scolded me after I had explained.
"You and your damn fights!" My dad yelled at me. "Was it worth it Caden!"
Not being able to think of what to say, I ran from the scene. Bumping into to my crying mother and past a very angry looking Aidan. I just kept running and running. As I ran, I found darkness and I ran towards it. I saw images flash of me fighting and I ran through them as fast as I could trying to escape them. Truly promising to leave them behind forever. Never to even raise my fists again for self defense. Never to speak out to make someone mad enough to fight.
I promised my now dead sister....
Never again........