Questions for Answers

Chapter Eleven

One week later...

It was officially a new year. Kat, Tristen, and I had spent the holiday together and I couldn't have been happier that my best friend and my boyfriend got along with each other. Danny had finally asked Kat out and they shared a cliche, but cute, New Year's kiss! I was glad that she had found someone as well. Seeing my friends happy always made me happy.

I took into account what my friends said, and since my parents did leave behind a ton of money for me, I ended up buying myself a car. I, of course, had to explain to Trisha and Tim how I was able to come up with enough money to buy myself a $7000 vehicle, so I told them that I had a secret job this whole time and that's how I was able to afford it. Which, in turn, made me have to end up getting a real job anyway. So I worked part-time at a gas station. I planned to save the rest of my money and put it towards college for when I graduated high school. I wasn't even sure if I actually wanted to go, but it just seemed like the right thing to do.

Although it was a new year, I was still having some of the same problems. Instead of the reoccurring nightmare of my parent's deaths, I was having dreams of my old house. The dream would start with me standing outside as a child. I could see myself in third person. Then, out of nowhere, a white dog would appear and run straight into my house. I chased it, screaming at it to get out, and it stopped in front of my old room. The dog turns to me and then says, "The answer is in here."

I'd had that dream for three nights in a row. I would've ignored it if it was just once, maybe, but the fact that it was three times made me think there was something more significant about why I was seeing that. Was it something my mind had conjured from the lack of answers I had? Was there meaning behind it? Or was it just completely random?

I couldn't ask anyone about it. Since I'd chosen to continue searching for clues, I was all on my own. I had to decide if it was something worth exploring or not. I wanted to tell Tristen so badly. I hated keeping things from him, but I knew how everything would change if I had told him the truth; Kat too.

I didn't even know what my plan was. It wasn't like if I went back to my old house, the new family would just let me waltz in and go into my old bedroom, they didn't even do that the first time I went back! There wasn't a time when that house was empty. Someone was always there. How was I supposed to find whatever "answer" was in my room if I couldn't get inside of the house?

I wasn't going to make a hasty decision. I wasn't going to break in or try to get Emily to do something else for me. I would simply just go there and explain a little of the situation so maybe they'd be a bit more understanding. I knew Emily said that her mother said she would press charges if I stepped foot on the property, but if I was lucky, maybe someone else would come to the door.

I know, I know, this was stupid. Anyone else in their right mind would just leave this alone. But I hadn't been in my right mind in a long time. There was something...deeper that went on inside of me. Something I couldn't quite comprehend. Like there was some sort of obligation I had to find out the truth no matter what. Sometimes I felt myself trying to go against that and got physical pain from resisting. I needed to do it, it was as simple as that.

Physics ended and I went to the front of the class to confront Ms. Kentri about a previous assignment, "Hey, you got a minute?"

She lifted her head from her desk, "River if this is about the D you got on the last assignment-"

"Just hear me out! I answered every single question on that paper to the best of my ability. It might not have been up to your standards, but I still answered them. And just because I didn't show my work, doesn't mean I cheated or that I don't know how I got the answer. I just wrote down the answer because that's really all you needed. Giving me a D is insane", I blurted out.