The Game of Hearts

Epilogue

Epilogue

"There's a place I go to

Where no one knows me

It's not lonely

It's a necessary thing

It's a place I made up

Find out what I'm made of

The nights are stayed up

Counting stars and fighting sleep

(...)

Everybody got their reason

Everybody got their way

We're just catching and releasing

What builds up throughout the day"

James' POV

6th of June (Kiara's Birthday)

When Kiara's parents called me to ask if I could go over to their house on her daughter's birthday, I was astonished to say the least. I didn't know if they knew what I had done to their daughter, but they certainly suspected of something as they never really saw me again, so I didn't exactly know what they wanted from me.

I didn't try to question them though, because they seemed pretty sad over the phone. So, with my heart bumping in my chest and my mind wondering what could have happened to make them so upset, I drove over to their house, finding not only Kiara's parents there but also all of her friends, Dylan, Aiden, Matthew, Ellie, Lori and Roxy, forming a circle. The only I didn't see there was the one and only Kiara, which made me fear for the worst. I closed my eyes for a second, taking a deep breath, and then walked towards them.

"What is going on?" I asked, interrupting whatever conversation they were having. All heads turned in my direction, eyes narrowing, lips pursing, fists clenching. I made my best to ignore the reaction I provoked on them. The worst reactions came from Aiden and Matthew, though I could see Dylan was pretty upset as well, but he was more reasonable and hid it better.

"She's not here." Dylan answered.

"She left these." Kiara's mother said and I looked at her hands that were grabbing several letters. My pulsation started increasing and millions of thoughts ran through my mind. Where was she? What was happening here?

"After her graduation, she came to us and told us she wanted to leave." Her father spoke up as all of our eyes widened. "She said it was nothing personal against any of us, she said she needed to fly and that this town would not allow her to do that. She asked for our permission to travel and see the world, her biggest desires, and begged us to not be mad at her. After all, as she said, she loves us all dearly, but she needed to move on and find her purpose in life."

"Just like that?" Aiden questioned, his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes narrowing with distrust. "She said that and just left?"

"And where to?" Ellie interrogated. "Where did she go?"

Her parents shared a look.

"We're not sure." Her mother ended up answering. "She said she would go to Europe but didn't give us the exact country. I don't think she even knew the location herself. She'll just wander off. We fear for her safety, but this is what makes her happy, and she's been sad for so long that we just had to let her go."

I shook my head at this. The girl Kiara's mother was describing did not sound like the Kiara I knew. Yes, she was unpredictable, and yes, she was many times unreadable, but she was never crazy like this. I guess she just had too much ambitions and dreams building up inside her her entire life and one day she just got tired of waiting. Could I blame her for that? Could I blame her for finally chasing her dreams, for finally trying to find her happiness? Could I be so selfish to want her here, when she was so obviously not happy here? All I could do was try to be selfless because above it all, all I wanted her to be was happy and if being here didn't give her that, then I just had to understand.