Never Left Me

Chapter 4

The next day Lauren and Madison dive into the overwhelming task of cleaning. Dust dances in the beams of sunlight coming through the kitchen window, and the sisters work side by side, scrubbing countertops, rearranging furniture, and sweeping the corners of the living room that had gone neglected. Their dad had focused so much of his energy on caring for their mother in her final days that the house had slipped into a quiet disarray.

Outside, Tyler is working on an old tractor in the barn, the familiar sound of tools clinking against metal carrying through the air. Every now and then, Lauren catches a glimpse of him from the window, and she feels that familiar knot in her chest but shakes it off as they move to the attic.

The attic smelled of old wood and time, the air heavy with memories as Lauren and Madison worked through boxes that hadn't been touched in years. Lauren wiped her hands on her jeans, brushing off dust from an old photo album when Madison suddenly called out.

"Hey, look at this," Madison said, pulling a photograph from one of the boxes. She held it up, squinting at it through the soft light coming through the attic window. "Oh my God, I forgot about this!"

Lauren glanced up from where she was folding some linens. "What is it?"

Madison turned the photo around to show her. It was a snapshot of the three of them—Lauren, Madison, Tyler, and his sister Tess. All of them were standing in front of a barn, covered in dirt, grinning like they had no care in the world. Tyler had his arm slung around Lauren's shoulders, and they were all laughing, the kind of laughter that only came from endless summers spent together.

"Remember this?" Madison asked, laughing softly. "We were so close with him back then."

Lauren's heart squeezed at the sight of the photo. She remembered that day vividly—how Tyler had helped them with some farm work, and how they'd ended up in a playful mud fight afterward. It had been one of those perfect days before everything changed. She forced a smile. "Yeah, I remember."

Madison watched her closely, her amusement fading as she saw the look in Lauren's eyes. "Okay, spill it."

"Spill what?"

"Don't 'spill what' me." Madison leaned against a stack of old boxes, crossing her arms. "You've avoided this place like the plague for eight year and you've been acting weird around Tyler since you got back. It's like you're avoiding him, or I don't know... something's off. What happened between you two?"

Lauren stiffened, her hands pausing over the stack of linens. "Nothing happened. We just...drifted apart. It's been eight years, Maddie."

Madison's eyes narrowed. "I remember that night, Lauren. The night he brought you home late. You weren't just upset, you were devastated. You can't just brush this off as 'nothing.'"

Lauren swallowed hard, the memories pressing in on her. "It's ancient history. We were just kids."

Madison wasn't having it. "You didn't cry like that over nothing. I heard you in your room that night. You were wrecked."

Lauren's walls were crumbling, but she wasn't ready to let them fall completely. "It's not important."

Madison scoffed. "Lauren, come on. You've been acting like there's a ghost following you around ever since we got back, and I'm betting it has a lot to do with that night. Just tell me what happened."

Lauren hesitated, glancing down at her hands. Why was she doing this? Why was she still holding onto the pain after all this time? Maybe it was the attic, the way everything in this space reminded her of the past, of a time when things were simpler. Maybe it was the weight of losing their mom. Or maybe it was just that after all these years, she was tired of keeping it inside.