Broken Memories

Chapter 22. Lauren

Chapter 22. Everything will be alright in the end. If it is not alright, it is not yet the end.

'Got everything?' Nicky double checks, holding the front door open for me to pass through.

'Yes,' I smile, carefully shifting the box around in my arms so it doesn't slip. 'And if we've forgotten something, we'll drive the huge distance of 2.1 kilometres back here,' I grin at her.

'Okay!' she shakes her head with a smile. 'No need to be cheeky. We'll be there soon to help you set up.'

'Okay, see you soon,' I jump into the passenger seat of Rose's car where she waits at the wheel. Liam and Scar are in the back, and the last lot of boxes are packed tightly in the boot.

Rose flashes me a grin, full of hope and promise and pulls out of the drive, towards our new home.

In the first school term, when Scar and I became Year 12s and Liam a Year 13, we got every detail of our new life sorted. A family moved into our old home a couple of weeks ago. Our new house was easily paid for by the sale of our old house. We even got plenty of spare money, which Rose says is going straight into savings. I agreed. But we did put a bit aside for now and for studies. Rose is working part time at cafe in town and is almost up to speed with all her papers at University that she missed last year. She's studying to become a primary school teacher, which perfectly suits her personality and it's something that mum had always wanted to do. I'm so proud of my now 20 year old sister.

We've been shifting all our gear to our new home for a week. Honestly, we've been kind of reluctant to leave Nicky's cooking... But it only takes one minute, sometimes two, to drive between the two houses. It's perfect. In fact, we're here now.

Rose expertly turns and pulls to a stop in front of our house. It's an older styled house that Mum would've loved. A sun-kissed veranda runs in a loop around the creamy vanilla white house. It's effortlessly beautiful and simple. One side of the roof is completely covered in solar panels and the other side is just a normal roof. All our belongings and furniture are piled in the lounge. There's a small shed around the back where we will put Dad's lawnmower and tools. In the centre of the front lawn is a big and beautiful cherry blossom tree that will look stunning against the green grass in the spring. Around the fence line of our one acre property are pohutukawa and fejoa trees, reminding me of the home we grew up in, where every tree held its own adventures and challenges.

Rose and Scar are ridiculously excited, bounding around the strong, giant tree like hyper puppies.

Liam takes my hand and a rush of electricity flows through me, just like every other time he's in a 10km radius.

'Let's get everything moved!' he grins and runs happily in front of me.

*

I make final adjustments to our cosy lounge with photo frames full of Dad, Mum and Ben, alongside new ones with Scar, Rose and the Shirelands. All of the people who are in the frames stand with me, turning in circles to take it all in. Finally, we take a step back to admire our handiwork.

'It isn't much...' Rose says with a shrug.

'But it's home,' I wink at her.

Everyone's groan from our cliché is interrupted with a loud meow, followed by the real estate agent after the door slams shut.

'Wow! Loving what you've done with the place!' she gushes, wearing her tight lady suit that I've sworn never to wear.

'Thanks,' Rose smiles kindly. 'Umm... is this your cat?'

'No, no. He comes with the house.' The real estate agent's smile droops with hesitation and says, 'but I suppose I could find him a home if you don't want him...'

The small tabby cat with wide yellow-green eyes purrs and winds himself around my legs.

'What's his name?' I ask, bending down to pick him up.

'Toothless,' she smiles.

'Like the dragon?' I smile back, remembering the famous black dragon from a movie.

'I think so.'

Laughter choruses around the room.

'I love it,' I smile, holding Toothless close to me.

'He'll fit right in,' Rose grins, patting him gently on the head to a loud purr.

'Excellent. Well, I'll be off. Please call if you need anything and I hope you love your new home! And the cat!' With that, our real estate agent swoops out the door just as fast as she arrived.

The door opens once again, like it had never been shut.

'Good news!' a familiar voice calls from the hallway. Sarah and her bubbly grin bound into the room with surprising agility.

'Mike got a life sentence in jail for murder, kidnapping, fraud, using a gun without a licence and a collection of other crimes. His other minions all have 50 years for helping Mike in all his crimes.'

'Yay!' Everyone jumps up and down in delight and we clap and hug each other, knowing we'll be safe for a long time now. Toothless is squashed in my arms several times. Finally, we can re-start our lives and live peacefully.

Of course, we will carry the grief from Cameron, Gail and Ben's deaths, but they will live forever in our hearts, watching over us.

And the people who surround me will heal me and fill the hole in my heart. Nicky with food and her motherly love. Aiden as he is like my father now. Ruby as my little sister. Sarah as another mum and a friend. Rose as my beautiful, strong and loving older sister. Scar as simply my soulmate and best friend. Toothless with his cute little meows and how he's now head butting my arm.

And of course... Liam. His arms wrap around me as everyone else continues to celebrate, and as Nicky organises a barbecue for later at their place. He watches the scene unfold and a smile full of happiness spreads across his face. That smile is my absolute favourite. A content sigh escapes his lips as everything has simply fallen perfectly into place.

His comforting hold eases the pain of my heart and I know the familiar arms he holds me with, and the support of my new family, will always be there to pick me up and guide me whenever I fall.

*The End*

Thank you so much for reading! :) I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I loved writing it! :) Let me know what you thought! :)