Escaping Lights - A Greyson Chance Fan Fiction

Chapter 33: Not Bothering

The next thing I knew, our plane had touched down Oklahoma.

     Home.

     Looking outside the window, I practically gawked at the view. To think that I had left this place for the longest time felt like I instantly became foreign to my own home state in a matter of weeks.

     My family got off the plane uneventfully, went through the arrivals gate, took our luggage, and pushed our carts to where Cliff waited to welcome us back with our car. Without hiding it, he was very much pleased to see me together with my family. "I'm so glad you made it home safely, child. Everyone was worried," he greeted with a look of concern in those kind old eyes.

     I'd give him that. I knew the entire household was shocked when I left. I suspected they never perceived me as one of those kids. I wasn't really in my best mood so I gave our chauffeur a small smile that could be accepted as polite.

     A porter assisted us with our bags before Dad opened his wallet to hand him a generous amount of bills. On the drive home, I couldn't help but bring something up that was bothering me for the entire flight. I spoke up for the first time since the plane took off, and that was hours ago and we were still in New York. I had given my family the silent treatment inside the plane to make them aware of the fact that I didn't want to discuss about any matters. Our communication had been composed entirely of me making eye contact and nodding or shaking my head. Thankfully, our quiet and ingenuous exchange of words only involved questions that were answerable with a yes or no.

     "I remember something," I blurted out.

     All their heads unmistakably turned towards my direction as fast as lightning. I knew they had been subliminally waiting for me to say something the whole time.

     "What is it?" automatically said Mom, her voice calm and gentle.

     I quickly paused to choose the right words to say. "Well... A few weeks ago, Erin told me something. She shared with me a certain secret about a child; her child. I was just wondering if you know something about it?"

     Mom's expression turned from calm to that of bafflement. I couldn't quite put if they were surprised by my statement or merely just confused as I were. Seth, of course, had zero idea about anything. I knew he was pretty much left out about everything lately but that wasn't my fault. It was quite unnecessary for him to be in the spotlight at all times. Not that I wanted all the attention on me, though. To be honest, being the family's center of attention felt really uncomfortable.

     Mom exhaled a breath. "It's tragic, really," she slowly admitted. "I didn't know about her condition before I saw her again a few days ago back in New York, but she's told me that she was involved in a horse riding accident. When they moved she found herself fascinated with horses because there was a ranch an hour's drive away from downtown. Horseback riding became her hobby until one day, she fell off her horse. She said she was taken to the hospital, and that was when she knew that she had been a few weeks pregnant with her boyfriend. Erin is alive, but the fetus didn't manage to survive the fall."

     I knitted my brows together, registering the story and remembering that particular conversation with Erin. "But she talked about it really grudgingly when she told me that she curses the people that took her child away from her. Who took her baby, exactly?" I asked.

     Mom reached for my hand and squeezed it. "Erin believes that the other riders sabotaged her horse. She was one of the finest riders back then," she explained.