A Collection of Short/Long Stories I've Written;

Chapter Six

November had already spent a week living with Drake and Giles. Drake was friendly, and always sent November encouraging smiles as he cooked her breakfast or offered to go out on a walk with her.

Giles, on the other hand, wouldn’t go near November and steered clear. A scowl was permanently set on his face and Drake told November to just ignore his childish attitude.

The wind blew in November’s face, making her cheeks flush as they walked through the woods, heading over to the little river that they’d went to, for the first time, just over a week ago.

“I’m a bad person…” November whispered, just after they sat down.

Drake’s head snapped to the young girl. “What? No you’re not!”

“But everything’s my fault.”

“What’s your fault? I’m sure you’ve done nothing wrong.”

November’s voice didn’t change, and she spoke quietly. “I killed my mother.”

Blinking, Drake sucked in a breath of air, confused. That couldn’t be true, he thought, she couldn’t be a murderer.

She had the power to cover it up, because her father could have easily put the blame on someone else – but what would the means have been? Drake thought this curiously to himself but then shook himself from his thoughts. This fifteen year old girl was not a murderer.

“No you didn’t,” he finally replied confidently, letting the air out of his lungs.

“I did!” November raised her voice and a few birds in the nearby tree flew away.

“I don’t believe you.” The boy said again, but then added, “How? Huh? Come on, tell me. How did you kill your mother?”

“I-I asked her to turn around.” She mumbled. “I wanted my jumper.”

“I don’t follow…” the boy admitted, growing confused.

“It all happened so fast. The deer jumped out before we had time to move or stop. It was one of those ones with the antlers. It went right through the windscreen, and pierced into my mom’s skin.”

Visions of the accident on the cold, dark night came back to the girl and her mother’s scream ran through her ears. But then, when Drake spoke, everything quietened and the dream was gone. “You didn’t kill your mother. The deer did. The only problem is – it was that you were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

He placed his hand over hers and she felt her face heat up, a sensation spreading through her fingers.

“It was still my fault. I made her go back.”

“It’s not your fault. It was by chance. No-one is to blame for this. Don’t beat yourself up about this.”

November suppressed a sob and shook her head lightly, feeling her heartbeat increase ten-fold with fear among a strange emotion she’d never encountered before and she was sure that it was because of Drake touching her.

“I’ve been told it was my fault.”

“By who? I know there are a few judgemental people in the world but you shouldn’t let them get you down. I’m sure they were no-one important.”

“Not to me. But he was too many other people.”

Drake wondered, now, who it was. He didn’t want to pry, but she hadn’t said anything all week and every time he looked at her he just thought about the scar and imagined how it had gotten onto her face in the first place.