Hidden Behind Walls

Chapter 24: An Empty Space

I think I have to finally admit that this book gets monthly updates. I also am getting no sleep and I'm currently running on music, poetry and my sketchbook for motivation. Thanks for reading, commenting, and voting!!             <(^~^)>
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Raven P.O.V.

    Being grounded, for the first time in my life, wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. Mostly because other than Clayton, Ruri, and Megan I didn't go out anywhere with anyone for anything. Of course I had a few extracurriculars but that was right after school and I always had a ride from Ruri's parents or to be more specific Jeffrey.

    However, when the weekend rolled around and Clayton, nor Ruri, nor Meagan could come over, I felt like an abandoned hermite crab. Lily wasn't home either which was a rarity in itself. I had taken up with the hobby of watching Korean Dramas on Netflix. They were overly dramatic but I started to fall in love with them. I've never seen my introvertedness seem so pitiful.

    It was a Saturday evening, Maman had rolled out a bunch of dessert foods. Cakes, cupcakes, tarts and etc littered the kitchen table. I could feel my stomach collapsing from hunger just from the smells. Christmas was nearing and she was preparing for the influx of family members for the holidays. Everyone came to our house for Christmas, as long as their schedules allowed it and we could accommodate them.

    Christmas was my favorite for the precise reason that I saw all my cousins, aunts and uncles, sometimes close family friends and etc. On Christmas Day, it was insane, the amount of wrapping papers and gifts littering the main floor of the house was too much to get my mind wrapped around it. It was chaos, but it was beautiful and I was seriously in need of those loud noises and warm presences.
   
I was grounded until Christmas Day and it was going to be a long week and a half.

                                                 * * *
    Clayton P.O.V.

    I stood in the middle of the chaos that was my living room. A slow rendition of the Silent Night was eerily playing in the background, but it crackled and buzzed. The Christmas tree was leaning against a wall, ornament shards littered the floor surrounding it with a glittering halo. The presents were tattered, sides bent, ribbons ripped off but unopened; it was still Christmas Eve.

The most striking aspect of this chaos was the blood. It was spilled on the floor, coating some of the ornament shards and staining the crisp white carpet sharply.  There were other shards..they were sprinkled around the body. Everything was slowed down, the blood pumping through my veins, the sobs emitting from Bella and the clang of the knife as it hit the ground. The clang rang harshly against my ears and I winced.

My mind went over the moments leading up to this, each image passed like molassses through my mind strikingly clear.

It was nearing midnight. We've had this tradition, that we'd get to pick out 1 present of ours at random. Mom was visibly jittery and the tittering bottle of cognac that hung loosely in her right hand wasn't making it any better.  Bella and I pretended that the elephant in the room wasn't there. Ollivander hovered stoically next to Mom, he was wearing a pristine white dress shirt and expensive pants and had a glass of alcohol in his hand.

    It was when Alric yanked the bottle of cognac from Mom and plucked the glass from Ollivander that the unraveling of the our picture perfect family began. Ollivander's anger started to seep through his marble armour. Alric didn't see it and went to dump the alcohol down the drain. The next few moments were a blur, Ollivander exploded and went after Alec. Mom stared blankly at them while they screamed in each other's faces.  Bella tried to pry them apart and called out for me to help. I stood where I was rooted to the spot. Bella called for me again, but I couldn't move. If anything I could have done some projectile vomiting and hoped for the best.  My body shook, and my lungs constricted.