Chapter 9
We watched Zach in his room, staring into the abyss. He didn’t really do much for the first few minutes. He just held his phone in his hand and watched the ceiling as if they were having a staring contest. Dallas turned to me.
“Maybe we should go,” he muttered under his breath, like someone else would hear us. I frowned at him, astonished by his eagerness.
“Why?” I questioned. “We’ve only just got here.”
“Yeah, but you wanted to see your family,” Dallas mumbled, looking at the ground and shuffling from one foot to another. “And you’ve seen Zach now, so let’s go.”
“Yeah but what about mum and dad?” I questioned urgently. “I can’t leave without seeing them.”
“It will just make you feel worse,” Dallas ensured me. “You should leave it all behind.”
“But they’re my family Dallas,” I moaned. “I can’t just leave th…”
A loud thud coming from the front door made me, Dallas and Zach look up, shocked, frightened. Zach immediately jumped up, dropping his phone on the bed and standing timidly by his bedroom door, slowly forcing himself out.
“Who’s there?” I asked Dallas, knowing that he didn’t know. He shrugged, creeping up behind Zach.
“Zach?” a voice called out. My nerves dropped as soon as I recognised the voice to be my mums. Zach seemed to lighten up also, and his shoulders un-hunched as he stepped out of his room to greet mum. I glanced at Dallas before also rushing out to find my mum at the bottom of the stairs.
“Mum.” The words came out without me even realising, Of course, there was no response. Mum kept looking at Zach with her large sorrowful eyes.
“Are you alright mum?” he asked.
“Fine,” mum replied in a very unconvincing way. “I’ve just popped into the police station.”
“Has there been any news?” Zach questioned. Mum bit her lip, her hands shaking. She bowed her head sadly.
“Nothing,” was her response. Zach dragged himself down the stairs, hurling himself into mum’s arms, something I desperately wanted to do. Zach closed his eyes tightly, and nestled his face into mum’s chest.
“I wish I could just somehow tell them I was ok,” I whispered, struggling to stay strong. Dallas wrapped his arm around my shoulder and gave me a light squeeze.
“I know it’s hard now,” Dallas murmured. “But it gets easier from here. Trust me Blond, when I had to wave goodbye to my family I thought my life was over, but it wasn’t.” A pause. “Literally, I revived 3 days later. But I still couldn’t go back to them, and slowly, as time went by, I became more and more ok with the idea.”
“How did you say goodbye then?” I asked curiously. Dallas sighed.
“I did what you’re doing,” he said. A pause. “I visited my foster parents, then I left their lives forever, leaving them with each other. It’s best that way.”
“Did you have any siblings?” I asked.
“Nah,” Dallas replied. “I was the only child.”
We watched mum and Zach for a little bit longer, but they soon settled down together in front of the TV and began tow watch. Dallas eventually nudged me on the shoulder.
“It’s time to leave.”
And that’s what I had to do. I know I couldn’t stay any longer. I hadn’t got to see my dad and I knew I was going to miss him, but Dallas was right. The sooner I leave them behind, the better.
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Dead Connections
Mystery / ThrillerDeath was the beginning for Skylar, although she didn’t realise until it was too late. Skylar Una Stone was 14 when she was kidnapped and murdered by a masked man wearing entirely black who went by the name of Unseen. Now, she is desperate to find...
