"To the Beginning" (Book 1 of the "K-Pop Mysteries" Series)

Loneliness, the Silent Killer

+I'm sleeping with Rose in my arms, and I wake up to a tap on my shoulder. As I open my eyes, I see Alex standing over me. I smirk.

Me: What up, bro?
Alex: How are you here?
Me: That story will have to wait till everyone is in here.

Alex: I knew you would say that.

He gestures for me to stand up, and Rose gets up with me, rubbing sleep from her eyes cutely. I see everyone gathered in the room.

Me: Okay, Alex, you're learning. Hello everyone. I know you're all wondering how I'm here. After that fight, I ended up waking up in somebody's house. I didn't know whose it was or how I got there. Siyeon, I didn't tell you my plan because I knew you would try to stop me. It was a plan that needed to succeed. Anyway, I willingly sacrificed myself so that we could win the fight, and so I could save y'all. So after I left the house that I didn't recognize, I came back here at 3 in the morning. And I wanted to tell y'all about it now instead of then because y'all needed your sleep.

Siyeon: Andrew, you idiot! We could've found another way instead of you sacrificing yourself!

Me: Coulda, shoulda, woulda, but didn't. This needed to be done. Anyway, I'm back now, so everything is fine.
Alex: Well, what do we do now that the enemy is finished?
Jiu: I think we should return home to get back to our music.
Jennie: Yeah, same with us.
Jamie: And Ben and I need to get home to check on the rest of the family. Come with us?
Me: I'm sorry, Jamie, I can't go with y'all, as much as I wish I could. Tell mom, dad, and Michael that I love them and miss them so much.
Jamie: Will do.

Jamie and Ben hug me before leaving for the airport.+

It's been two weeks since that conversation, and I am still trying to figure out the entire scenario. Whose house was that? How am I alive? Why was no one at the house when I woke up? Why do I still have this super uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach?

Me: This sucks.

I'm so lonely now that it's just me living here. So lonely, in fact, that I can't bear it. I've been going for a drive in the Camaro every single day for the last two weeks, and my creativity has been so dead that I can barely even dance. I don't know what to do. I start debating whether I should move or not.

Me: But where would I move though? Back to Sac or Virginia? To Nashville? Maybe to Dallas? I'm so lost now!

I call Kelleena and tell her how things have been going. She always knows the words to say to cheer me up. Talking to her helps, and after the phone call, I go to bed. The next day, I wake up to the sun shining in my face, and tears leap unbidden to my eyes. Why am I still waking up crying?!

"You're not alone."

I jolt up, looking around for the source of that voice.

Me: Hello?
Mysterious voice: You're not alone, Andrew. You always have Me, and you still have people around you."

Me: Lord, is that You?
Lord: Yes, Andrew, it's Me. I'm always with you whether you gain everything or lose everything. Just trust Me.
Me: But what do You mean I still have people around me? There's no one around me anymore.
Lord: Yes, there are. You just need to figure out where to look. In fact, you already know one place to look, besides right in front of you, where I always am.