Walking Through Walls

Chapter 1

I stared at my parents in dismay. How could they do this to me all of a sudden?

"What do you mean we have to move? My whole life is here! I grew up here! This is the only place we have ever lived! You can't just make me leave next week! Why didn't you tell me sooner? I'm old enough to handle this, as long as I actually know it's happening!" I was angrily pacing back and forth across the room as I shouted.

"Amelia Grace Holland! Don't yell at us! We were just trying to do what we thought would be best for you. We didn't want to stress you out with all of your advanced classes and extra work. Plus, we knew that, had we told you, you would have done exactly this, then tried to stop it from happening, and it won't! It won't just disappear. The emotions attached to this house will never leave!" My father shouted at me while tears streaked down my mother's face.

I took the time to glance around the room, calming myself down. I looked around at the pale blue walls and white sofa with the matching ottoman and loveseat. There were blue and white pillows on the couches and designer-esque picture frames in fancy layouts on the walls. My mom loved interior designing, as long as it was in her own house anyways. This room, especially with the wall color, had always somewhat calmed me.

"I'm sorry, I just don't want to leave the only place I've ever known. I don't want-" my voice cracked and I struggled to keep my composure. "I don't want to leave Colin behind."

My parents came to hug me. "We know sweetie," my mother finally said. "We don't want to leave him either. But now that he's gone, we have to do what's best for the rest of our family. Your brother will always be there for you, even if he can't physically anymore. We'll always be there for you too." I smiled a little and nodded, then wiped my tears.

"I guess we better start packing then, huh?"

It took a few days to pack up the house, but we finally did and now we're on the way to our new home in Seattle, Washington, 2,000 miles away from our old home in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Before we left town, we said goodbye to my brother's grave one last time. I lied some flowers on the gravestone and sat there alone, just thinking about him and how much I missed him. I read the words carved into the stone, just like I always did. 'Here lies a wonderful son and brother, Colin Holland. He will be missed. May he forever rest in peace.' Not very creative, I know. Not exactly easy to think of something extravagant while bawling your eyes out.

"Hey Colin, we're moving so this is the last time I'll be able to talk to you like this. It will have to be more discreet at home. I know that you can hear me, so next time you decide to show up, I'll tell you more. Uh, can't talk for a while. Bye." Just as I turned away from the grave to walk back to the car, I saw my brothers face smiling at me as he waved goodbye, mouthing the words 'See you later!'

"Faster, Colin, faster!" A young Amelia yelled as she swung back and forth like a pendulum in the warm summer air. They were at a park near their home with maple trees surrounding a small playground. The playground consisted of whimsically colored slides, monkey bars, and playsets with stairs going up and firemen poles going down.

"I can't push you any more, you'll fly off! You'll have to wait until you're older." Colin grinned as he looked down at his younger sister. She pouted, sticking her lower lip out.

"But I want to now! I'm already five, I can go higher!"

"No can do Amelly, you'll just have to wait until you're older like me!" Colin was 11 at the time. He was Amelia's favorite person, and she his. They would do anything for each other, and that never changed as time went on.

"Colin, can I come?" Amelia, now 11, asked her older brother, now 17, as he began to leave with some friends to go for ice cream.

"Go ask mom, okay? If she says yes, you can come." Colin replied. He waited for her, never going back on a promise to his sister; he honestly didn't care what his friends thought about him or what they had to say about his sister, though he honestly didn't think they'd mind.

Amelia came running back with a huge smile. "Mom said I could come! Let's go Colin!" She ran out of the house leaving Colin to follow behind her, chuckling fondly along the way.

Amelia ran out of the house in tears, not knowing what to do. The 16 year old girl had just gotten into a huge fight with her parents about her future career. She wanted to do something with music, but her parents didn't think that would work out and attempted to make her choose to go to law school instead. She didn't know where to go for the night and it was extremely dark, so she pulled out her phone and called her brother, begging him to help her while simultaneously apologizing profusely for having bothered him and his girlfriend.

Colin pulled up to Amelia and opened the door for her, inviting her in. On the drive back to his and his girlfriend's apartment, she told him what had happened, about her and her parent's fight, and he just nodded every now and then and offered support when she needed it. When they got to the apartment, Colin brought her in and cleared off the guest bed which had previously been filled with his college homework.

"Thank you so much, I'm really sorry again Colin."

"Hey, you don't need to apologize, I'm here. You'll always be welcomed here no matter what; I love you Amelly."

Amelia smiled at her old childhood nickname and hugged her brother; "Love you too Colin."

Amelia was pacing back and forth across the room, waiting for Colin to show up for Christmas dinner. She was so excited to show him her college application that was all prepared for the end of the school year. She wanted him to check it over for mistakes or improvements too, so she wouldn't leave any in the application.

"Mom, Dad, I'm going for a walk, okay?" The 17 year old shouted throughout the house, waiting for the approval to go. When she got it, she left. She wanted to distract herself from her late brother and waiting college application. Amelia walked along the same route she always did, looking for her brother's car on the way. Wait, I came out here to distract myself, she reminded herself, and almost stopped looking around until her gaze caught the park she and Colin used to play in.

She walked into the park and went to sit on one of the benches until she saw something red in the snow hidden slightly behind a bush. She immediately felt dread settle itself in her stomach, a cold stone that weighed her down and made her walk slower. She went behind the bush only to see something she never expected to see.

"Colin? No, Colin, no that can't be you!" Amelia said as she flipped the person on the ground over. The face that looked into hers was her brother's, with his sharp features and brown eyes, but his face was frozen in an expression of pain. She screamed.

"Colin! Colin! Somebody help, please!" She stayed like that, hugging her brother's body in the numbing cold without so much as a thin pair of gloves to keep her warm. She didn't move until she heard somebody call her name; it sounded like her mother.

"Mom, mommy, please, help! Mommy-" Her voice broke with grief, no longer able to look at her brother, who lied there in her arms.

The rest of the time in the park was a blur. She didn't know what was going on, only that she had ended up in her blue living room, huddled under a blanket with tears streaming down her face for hours.