The Siren

Chapter 1

It was finally the day. Quinn and I had waited so long for this day. It was the day we would finally be free from our parents--well at least for two weeks, that is. For Quinn's eighteenth birthday, her parents had rented out a nice cabin in Tennessee for us to stay in. It was apparently the nicest cabin available that month and Quinn's parents wanted everyone to know. "Our beautiful daughter, Quinn, and her wonderful friend are going to be staying in the nicest cabin ever in Tennessee," they would say. "It was incredibly expensive and is very, very big. We wouldn't want to disappoint our little princess."

See, Quinn's family is very rich. Her father is a very well-known movie director. He has directed quite a few popular movies and occasionally even let Quinn and I come into work with him to meet celebrities that were starring in his movies. Her mother, on the other hand, doesn't have as big a job. She works in a fancy restaurant in the city. I can never remember the name of it since it's got one of those hard-to-pronounce Italian names. Well, she doesn't make nearly as much as her husband, but she certainly makes enough to satisfy her love for money.

"You have your phone and charger?" Mom asked as I grabbed my suitcase.

"Yes, Mom," I replied. "I've got everything I need. Stop worrying about me so much. I'll be fine."

She sighed, "I know, sweety. I just...I just worry. Ever since your father..."

She trailed off and I could see some tears form within her dark brown eyes. When I was fourteen, my father left for a business trip in New York. He was only supposed to be gone for five days, but after five days had passed and he hadn't come home, Mom and I became worried. She called him over and over, but there was never an answer. She must have left at least fifteen voice mails where she was just crying and begging that he would answer his phone. She shut herself in her room for about an hour just crying and crying and most likely pondering all the different, terrible reasons why Dad wasn't answering. She eventually came out of her room to get her purse. Shortly after she had left her room, there was a loud knock on the front door. I guess she must have thought it was Dad because she ran toward that door as if her life depended on it. Instead of my Dad, there were two police officers standing there with serious looks on their faces. "Mrs. Roads?" one of the officers asked.

"Y-yes?" Mom said, panic clearly taking over her.

The officer took his hat off and sighed. "Your husband, Mark Roads, was found in an alley in New York City completely unconscious and covered in bruises and cuts. He was taken to a hospital not too far away from the location, but it was too late. Mrs. Roads, I'm sorry. There was nothing more they could do."

Mom once again became a fountain of tears and covered her mouth as she tried to muffle her screams of pain. She shut the door gently and then fell to the floor, cradling her knees up by her face. I ran over to her, but she waved me away. "I need to be alone right now, Violet," she said quietly.

So, I left her there. I went to my room and shut the door, but I could still hear her pain-filled cries as she stomped around the house and screamed things out like, "Why must this happen? He didn't deserve this! He was a good man!" And then occasionally she would become a bit quieter and I'd hear her say to herself, "This is all my fault. I never should have let him go. I knew it was a bad idea for him to go there. I should have stopped him. But I didn't and so this is what I get."

It hurt to hear her say these things. It hurt to know she was blaming herself for something she had no control over. I wanted so badly to just run out and hug her for a while and tell her none of this was her fault, but I couldn't.

Ever since then, Mom's been pretty protective. I don't blame her really.

"Alright, so you have everything you need also?" Quinn's mom asked.

"Yep! I even have extra clothes and I made sure to bring all of my makeup," Quinn said smiling.

"You guys better hurry up," her dad said. "You don't wanna miss your flight."

I gave Mom a hug and Quinn hugged both her parents too. "I love you," Mom said, letting me go. "Be safe, okay?"

"I will, Mom. I promise."

Quinn and I began walking toward the boarding area. "Make sure you call me every night!" Mom called out to me. "And don't get into any trouble! I love you!"

I waved to her. "We'll make sure we don't get into too much trouble," I laughed. "I love you too!"

We handed the lady our tickets and waved one more time to our parents before boarding the plane.