Break Me // ONC 2022

CHAPTER NINE

At the edge of town is the south bridge. It's the only way in and out of our small community. The place that holds the key to every legend. I should have known. It was where my parents took their last breaths. I haven't left town since they died. There's been no need to since everything I need is right here in Ruby Creek. There are a lot of strange occurrences at the bridge, makes sense that it would be the one place where we can stop this.

Fred and Trish came to pick us up. With Jaime's car window destroyed we needed a car. They hit it off so well at the masquerade that the first person he ran to when shit hit the fan was her, to make sure she was safe.

Jaime and I sit in the backseat. Him on one side, me pressed against the other. Touching him again would break me, and I'm already so far broken, I'm not sure I can handle anymore. But soon, I won't have to worry about that. I'll be pain free and with my family, where I belong. I'll be the heroine, even if I don't feel like I am, because it's what I have to do.

Trish's eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror as we pull up to my house. Jaime is the first to get out, leaving me alone with Fred and Trish.

"Please. Go straight home. When daylight hits you don't want to be on the road. Frank, promise me you'll keep her safe."

I unbuckle and slide up so that I can touch her shoulder. Her eyes meet mine.

"I wish you'd tell me what's going on."

"I wish I could too. Know that I love you." I pause, my voice cracks. "I love you so much."

"Why does this feel like a goodbye?" She swallows hard, unbuckling her belt and spinning in her seat.

Tears spring from her eyes. She sniffles and wipes at her face. I can't help my own, my nose tingles forcing them out.

"It's never goodbye. See you later," I say.

I squeeze her shoulder as the door on my side opens. Jamie's hand dangles as he lowers his head to peek in the car. "It's time," he whispers.

Nodding, I slip out of the car, ignoring his hand.

I can't watch Trish drive away. Once the car is gone, I pull the keys from my messenger bag and toss them to Jaime.

"You offered, right?"

"Yeah. Let's do this."

He squares his shoulders. It's easy to see he's pretending that this is okay. My hand twitches towards him but grip the strap of my bag instead.

We drive quietly through the town streets. While Ruby Creek is small, the bridge is about a ten-minute drive. In the silence that surrounds us, the words on the page continue to haunt me. Part of me wishes we could turn back time, if only for a few seconds. I'm not ready to make this sacrifice, but I'm also sick of watching people die for no reason.

"I'm going to read some more out loud."

I pull out the book from my bag, and then mom's journal. With the journal underneath I lay the pages on top.

"I still don't know how or why my family got stuck with this. And who are the teens?" I shake my head and bury my attention to the three ripped out pages we found.

Before calling Trish, we read the pages over and over. There's no mistaking what needs to be done, but there's still a lot we don't understand.

"It says, two teens, one boy and one girl, were fooling around at the river's edge, right under the south bridge. They crossed under one of the two arches to get to the other side when they spotted something shining from inside the stone. Everyone knew of the gem's rarity, including them. Prying it from the bridge triggered the curse. The spinel is the stone of immortality."