How To Stay Afloat (BxB)

Chapter 118: Hopes, ready to shatter

Nothing has changed. They still treat me like they did before, like an unpredictable child.

So my parents know what happened to Noah and kept it from the police and didn't even tell me. That smells like an argument ahead of us.

Luckily both my parents have a day off today and tomorrow. Perfect timing to confront them.

I see Caleb's car in the driveway as I walk up to the front door. Even better.

I unlock the door and throw my backpack aside, stomping into the kitchen with my shoes and jacket still on.

Mom and dad are eating breakfast and Caleb is sitting with them. They all look at me surprised.

"Is there something you wanna tell me?" I ask into the round.

They're all frozen in place. I look at them wide eyed, waiting for an answer. Are they too scared to say something? Are there so many more secrets, that they are scared to say the wrong thing?

"You kept the fact that Noah's body was found a secret from me? For four damn weeks?" I ask them.

"Sammy. Sit down and calm down first, alright?" Mom says carefully.

I shake my head. "No, no, I'm not gonna calm down." I say and throw my fist on the table as I lean on it. "Why? Why didn't you tell me?"

They stay silent once again. I'm gonna fucking rip someone's head off.

"What do you know?" I ask them and look towards Caleb. "What did you tell them? Do they know everything?" I ask him.

"What the hell did you think?" I ask them. "Did you even consider going to the police and telling them the truth or did you just decide on the spot that you'd hide the truth from the world forever without even telling me anything."

"Sit down, Samuel." My dad says with a sigh.

"No! Give me answers!" I shout angrily.

"Sit down. Now!" Dad demands angrily.

I glare at him, clenching my jaw.

I feel my mom's hand on top of mine. I let out the breath I've been holding and sit down on the chair.

"How did you find out?" Dad asks.

"So you're asking the questions now?" I ask him.

"Please just answer the question and then we can answer yours." He begs.

"A classmate told me casually." I say. "I was so confused that I almost busted Adam and myself."

"Tell me everything. I wanna know everything." I demand.

"I'm gonna make some tea." Mom says, as always.

I wanna tell her to sit down, but I'm actually not opposed to the idea of drinking tea.

"What do you wanna know?" Dad asks.

"Everything. How you found out. What I missed. What you know." I say.

He takes a deep breath. "We were informed by the police that Noah was found dead." He says. "On the third of march. Two days after the remains were found and reported to the police."

I nod my head. "They investigated the case, but came to the conclusion it must have been an accident. Whether they just didn't want to investigate a difficult case or they really believed that I don't know." He says. "They believe he left the city, but came back a few days later."

"When we were told how he died we obviously instantly realized that you must have known about it from the beginning." He says.

My mom then speaks up. "At first we thought that what the police said must have been the truth and that you somehow saw what happened maybe." She says. "But then I remembered overhearing your conversation with the other boys and of course when you wanted to tell us the truth." She says.