Life after Death: The Afterlife of Hezekiah Chamblee

Chapter Thirteen: My Brother's Life (Pt. 2)

"Cameron, are you all right?"

The young man in question inhaled sharply as he soon faced the concerned eyes of Jana as the nanny was in his bedroom. "Sorry, ma'am," he said, exhaling slowly as he backed away from his bedroom door that he locked. "I just had another blow-up with the family again, but with Mariah's future husband."

"Senator Coleman's son named Andrew, yes?"

"Yeah. Mom and Mariah think that I should give that guy a chance to be my brother-in-law...or rather, my foster brother. As if he could ever live up to Hezekiah's standards." Cameron bit back a sigh as he made his way to the bed while Jana came to join him. "They just don't get it, you know? My parents, brother, and sisters have all hated Hezekiah all for no reason other than being born. He did EVERYTHING right by them, yet got treated like trash."

"Any physical abuse?" Jana wanted to know.

"Thankfully, no. Our family just liked to use psychological tactics to get under people's skin. And my brother was the constant target for it all and then some," Cameron replied. "Now, Andy- as he wants me to call him- wants to take over the role that my brother had. But as long as I live, I will never accept that trust-fund brat into my life. It's little wonder why I'm actually considering going into priesthood or live out my days as a monk so I can be free from this madness."

The nanny gave him a pointed look. "Isn't that a bit drastic for a young man your age?" she asked.

"Not when it comes to having a lavish-minded family who has their darkest secrets," Cameron countered. He took a deep breath to calm himself, deciding to switch to German to talk to his nanny. "I'm sorry, Jana. It's just been a chaotic several days before you came here and I'm still not over Hezekiah's death. I'm not even calling it a suicide since something tells me that my parents have decided to have him killed."

"How can you be so sure about that?" Jana asked.

"Because my brother told me that if anything did happen to him, it was not by his own hand but by the orders of our parents. Right now, I wish I had my brother's journal to help me make sense of his life."

"Say no more, my liebchen," Jana said. "I'll bring it over in a few minutes."

Cameron sighed as he sat up on the bed. Fine family I got stuck with, he thought to himself as his nanny left the room to retrieve the item he requested. Hezekiah, life sucks since you're gone. I wish you were still here.

It was the truth, gentle reader, but Cameron knew that it wasn't going to come true. Hezekiah was dead and was never coming back. All the young man had now was the memories written in a hardcover notebook.

*********************

September 10th.

Cameron, two weeks of freshman year at Allendam Christian Academy have taught me three important things as an unwanted member of the Chamblee family name.

1. Being a teacher's pet means ZERO CHANCES of making any friends other than with the teachers who- under your parents' orders- want you to stick with them, even during lunch.
2. There's little hope for any social life with a strict curfew- having to be at the house by four and in your room before any dinner parties can do that to you.
3. Learning one's place in the high-school social ladder quickly means that you're bound to be left alone.

And for my situation, it means all of the above (and a few other important reminders that'll be explained in due time) must be followed to ensure survival as a wallflower.

Imagine if you will, Cameron, yours truly in the lunchroom and sitting at one of the tables under the watchful eyes of the faculty members when I found an unexpected guest waiting to join me- one of the male members of the swimming and diving team. "Is this seat taken?" he asks.