Endlessly

Before

Prologue

A gray and slightly dilapidated apartment building stood among the moonlit rows of shops and businesses. For a dwelling in New York City, the area was quieter than usual, the only sounds being the faint hum and whoosh of distant cars as they drove through the midnight traffic. At this particular moment, no sirens blared and no cars drove down the street adjacent to the apartment building. The apartment looked quite deserted from the outside, but little did the few New Yorkers in the surrounding buildings know that inside the apartment was a girl with vibrant amber eyes and silky black hair that flowed down to her chest. Side bangs covered the left portion of her forehead and fell over her left eye as she sat in a blue swivel chair parallel to a small mahogany desk in the corner of her brightly lit bedroom. A computer sat on the desk ahead of her with multiple tabs opened up as she typed rhythmically and speedily to the steady beat of the upbeat pop music playing  that she loved so much.

Staying up at times like this while her parents were out working was normal for the girl. The computer gave a soft ping, signaling a new chat notification. The girl clicked on the tab of the open chat program and smiled as she read the new message in the group conversation that consisted of she and two of her best friends, Melissa and Dereka.

Wanna come over this weekend?

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard as she mentally invisioned her schedule for the weekend. She'd gone over to Melissa's house many times to spend time with her and Dereka, the trio usually discussing random things and watching corny chick flicks only to laugh--or cry--about them afterwards. Just as she was about to accept the invitation, new messages popped up on the computer screen. The first from Dereka, the second from Melissa.

I'm free. What's the game plan?

Wanna help me play a prank on Ben?

The girl's smile widened slightly at this. Melissa and her older brother Ben were always pranking each other. Most of the time it was for entertainment purposes. Other times, when the pranks were worse and more complicated, were for revenge. Ben's pranks on Melissa were a bit funny, that she had to admit. Like the time he glued a beard onto her face when she fell asleep on the bus on her way to school and Melissa didn't notice until school when Dereka showed her her reflection in the bathroom mirror. The beard stayed glued to Melissa's face for a week and within that week, Dereka and the girl had playfully teased her about her new facial hair numerous times. On the other hand, she and Dereka had assisted Melissa with her scheming countless times and she'd become quite familiar with the astonished and priceless look on Ben's face whenever he was pranked. Despite this, his reactions were still hilarious and made for a good topic of conversation and set a new goal for future pranks. Melissa's pranks, she knew, were built to make Ben's reactions funnier and better each time.

What kind of prank?

Dereka's message popped up on her screen just as she was about to ask that question, mimicking her thoughts. As though Melissa knew that this question would be asked, a new message from her popped up on the screen.

I'm in charge of laundry this week and I'm thinking of ironing Barbie doll figures onto his favorite shirts.

The girl giggled. Suddenly, the loud ringing of her cellphone cut through the happy music coming from the computer. The girl looked at her now glowing cellphone to see her Aunt Georgia's name lit up on the screen. Still smiling, she pressed the 'answer' button and put the phone to her ear attentively. Aunt Georgia's familiar voice as she greeted her sounded slightly different this time. Where it was usually cheerful and enthusiastic, this time it sounded frantic and edged with worry. Her aunt spoke to her quickly and frightenedly, each word sending shivers down the girl's spine and making her smile fade until it had vanished completely. With one final statement, Aunt Georgia hurriedly hung up. The girl's bright amber eyes stopped sparkling. Her naturally pale face turned a shade paler, and her expression was grim as tears started to blur her vision. She dropped the phone and fell to her knees as the tears started to rapidly stream down her cheeks, her aunt's words still ringing in her head.

"Sage, honey, your Uncle Mike and I are on our way to pick you up. Sage, sweetie... Your mom and dad are dead."