The Rift

Chapter Ten: Test of Faith

By the time night has fallen, there are more guards on duty than usual.

I notice this while finishing up two hours of scrubbing away the blood on my front door. Moths hover around the porch light above me, and the hardwood below my knees creaks with any movement.

I drop the drenched rag into the water bucket, done with the job. I get to my feet and wipe the dirt off of my jeans, staring at the clean door. The word painted in blood is almost completely gone, but you can very faintly see the imprinted words. I sigh and start to make my way down the porch steps to the back of the house with the bucket filled with dirty water.
Walking through an alley to the back of the two story house, I hear my dead brother Anthony call out to me, "You should have listened to me."

I don't stop walking when I hear him, I just tip the bucket over some dirt in the backyard, pouring out the soapy water.

"I don't give a shit about what you said. What happened today couldn't have been prevented", I argue to my twelve year old brother as I wipe my hands on my pants.
Anthony continues, "And how could you just, you know, not cry about Henry? Didn't you know him?"

"Crying isn't gonna help anyone in any way, Anthony", I tell him, "Yes, people are allowed to mourn, but I've been mourning my loved ones for two years, and it's done nothing."
Anthony goes silent as I reach for the back door of the house.
"I miss you, David."

I grab the door handle, looking away from Anthony.
"I miss you too, Anthony", I whisper.

I walk into the house, closing the door behind me and locking it. To the right as I walk inside, is the living room where Grace sits on the sofa writing in a journal, her golden brown hair tied up in a bun.
I silently walk into the kitchen to the sink, turning on the water to rinse my hands. Grace puts down her journal and walks up from behind me and wraps her arms around my shoulders. I turn the water off and hold her right hand with my left, closing my eyes.
"You gonna eat dinner?", she asks me, still holding me.
"Not that hungry", I tell her, "Besides, I'm gonna head down to town hall to see if Russ has confessed."
"Do you think he did it?", Grace asks.

"It seems to point in that direction" I reply.
She then adds, "Just remember that everyone is guilty until proven innocent."

"Of course, but still, Russ is an asshole", I tell Grace.
"This is serious, David", Grace's tone becomes stern, "You're accusing someone of murder and holding them against their will."

"I know that", I say to her, turning around to face her with my hands holding onto the sink, "and we're gonna do whatever it takes to find who did it."
Grace's glistening brown eyes look into mine, and she reaches her hand up to touch the scar on my face.
"Just be safe. Be cautious about what you do", she says in a caring tone.

"Don't worry about me", I give a slight smile, placing a hand over hers on my cheek. She sticks her head up and places a kiss on my lips.
After kissing, I gently pull away and grab my gray jacket off of a kitchen chair and head to the front door. I step into the den, and see Bella sitting on the couch reading a book.
"Bella?", I ask, "What're you doing here?"
She closes her book and says, "I needed to talk to you about something. About Evan."

"Okay?", I say calmly as she gets up from the couch and walks toward me.
"I'm sure you haven't noticed, but lately Evan's been a little...distant", Bella starts, "He does a really good job of hiding it when we're all together, but he's been acting weird like he's hiding something. Do you think you could talk to him tomorrow?"

"Uh...sure", I tell her, "I'll talk to him. I'll see you later."
I head out of the house and toward town hall. When I'm almost there, I'm stopped in the street by a tall and heavily muscled guard with a goatee whose name I don't know.
"What are you doin' out here? Don't you know there's a curfew?", he angrily asks me.
"Relax. I'm just trying to get to town hall", I tell him.
I watch as Lauren emerges from down the street and calls to the guard, "Relax, Ricardo. David's with me."