Flowers in the Wind

Chapter 8: Chris

Lily had been gone all morning. I was getting a little anxious to where she was. With everything happening right now it was hard not to worry. I laid back down on my bed, something didn't feel right. I looked at the picture of Hannah and I again.

"What should I do? Give me a sign or something." My life felt like it was falling apart and there was nothing I could do about it. My phone started to vibrate on the shelf.

"I know you had something to do with it. -M." The room started to spin. Was this what the police officer was talking about? More importantly, who is M? I grabbed my car keys all of a sudden feeling uncomfortable being home alone. Naturally the first thing I thought of to do is call my brother.

"Hello?"

"Hey Marcus! What are you up to?"

"Nothing at the moment. Why?"

I didn't know what to say.

"Hello?"

"Uh, sorry. Yeah ummm I was just wondering if you would like to get some lunch or something? I can't sit at home right now, not with all the stuff on my mind."

"Yeah sure. Where and When?"

"Could you do in like 15 minutes at Hogan's?"

There was a quick pause on the phone. "Yeah, I'll meet you there."

"Okay see you then." I hung up the phone. Relief instantly filled me. My brother always had an interesting way of making me feel a little bit better even on the darkest of times. Now I needed him more then ever. I looked at my phone one more time. Still no text or calls from Lily. I turned the screen off and got in my car. My brother was waiting outside of Hogan's. He smiled and gave me a slight wave. I waved back all of a sudden feeling sad again. Hannah had really liked going to Hogan's. I shook the memory away.

"Hey little brother long time no see." Marcus gave me a hug.

"Most definitely has been awhile that's for sure." Hogan's was packed with people, but that wasn't anything new. Everything almost seemed normal here.

"So what's going on? What's on your mind?" Marcus broke the silence and kind of made me jump.

"I don't know I guess. Mainly just everything about Hannah. Like every time I close my eyes all I can think about is when I found her." Marcus sat quietly for a moment and looked out of the window. I looked down at my hands, my eyes were starting to sting again.

"Hey." I looked up at Marcus. "None of this is your fault. Hannah was a good kid and she wouldn't want you to constantly feeling like you did something wrong. She would want you to remember all the good things she accomplished in her life. Think about all the times she made you smile or you made her smile. So stop blaming yourself and stop wondering what you could have done to save her. Whoever did this will pay for what they have done. But don't let Hannah's memory be in vain." I smiled at my brother. That was what I needed to hear, although I still missed her and wanted to know who did this to her. But as of now I was going to do my best to remember all the good she had done.