Finding Tristan ✓

24: High Hopes

"Hope is being able to see that there is light despite the darkness that is lingering all around you."

Kylie

I nuzzled my face into my body pillow and let out a hoarse cough. I sat up in bed and wiped the bead of sweat away form my forehead. My fever was starting to settle in as I reached over for the glass of water sitting on my nightstand. As I tilt my head back to greedily drink all of the water, my phone vibrated on my lap. I almost drop the glass in surprise and stared down at the screen.

Ace - 6:42 AM New Message

Ace: Good morning Kylie, how are you feeling?

Kylie: I feel feverish and I have a runny nose.

Ace: What a bad time to catch a cold when you should be celebrating!

Kylie: Why would I be celebrating?

Ace: Mr. Fletcher found a dead body behind a apartment complex in our town. He suspects that it could be your stalker.

Kylie: I don't know if I should be happy about the death of someone, Ace. Does Mr. Fletcher know who it is for sure?

Ace: He said the body itself in appearance looked pretty disfigured, so he's still going to run an extensive investigation on the body.

Kylie: So basically it's going to be either my stalker, or someone that we don't know..

Ace: Are you hoping that it's Marcus?

Kylie: Well yes, because if it is him, then I won't have to suffer anymore and neither will Tristan.

Ace: You better hope that Tristan is still alive then. Later this week, Mr. Fletcher will call the rest of us down when he has everything verified and searched thoroughly.

Kylie: Alright, thanks for letting me know at least. See you and Lynn at school.

Ace: Wait, before you go, have you seen Ashley around recently?

Kylie: I mean yeah, she still goes to school, but I don't know what she's been doing after school. She and I haven't hung out in a while.

Ace: I was talking to her yesterday night over the phone and she sounded like as if she's seen a ghost. Her voice was slightly shaky and her mind seemed like it was elsewhere.

Kylie: I can talk to her later today then and see what's up.

Ace: That would be great, since you are her best friend. I'm just worried that she'll run off or something. You know exactly what happened last time she was acting like this.

Kylie: I know man, but please just bear with it for a while longer. I can guarantee you that once I talk things out with her, she should be fine. She must be having dreams about her mom again.

Ace: Okay, things should go back to normal as expected then. See you later.

I sighed and set my phone and the glass cup down on the nightstand. I rubbed a hand over my face and took a moment to get lost in my own thoughts. As the sun rises in the orange colored skies, light poured into my room with its warmth. I lifted my head up from my knees and stared at myself through the mirror right across from my bed. My hair was messy and in knots, the dark circles underneath my eyes looked slightly sunken in and hollow.

My mom suddenly trudged into my room with her lips in a tight line. "Do you plan to head out to school today? It seems like your cold is getting worse." I nodded my head and slipped out of bed, making my sheets.

"There's no way I can take the day off because I took finals last week, and we're starting new classes and lessons today. I can just take some medicine before I leave for school." My mom shrugged and scratched the back of her neck. She remained standing at the doorway as I went to my closet to get changed for school. "Is there anything specific that you need me to do today?"

My mom cleared her throat and stepped off to the side so that I could pass through. I went to the bathroom and did my usual morning necessities as she continued to speak. "Yeah, a couple things, but I just want to let you know that I sincerely hope the authorities will find Tristan and all. Your father hasn't been able to get much sleep because he's been worried about you. If things go back to normal, we can celebrate y'know?"

"I wouldn't want to list any what if's, but things can happen mom. What if Mr. Fletcher ends up finding him dead? That would be the worse case scenario ever, and I would have to live my life in misery knowing that I was at fault for his death just like any other unlucky person." The sharp glint that she had in her deep hazel brown eyes softened. I wiped my face on the towel and tied my long hair up in a tight bun.

"All that we can do is hope honey. Keep your chin up and we can live our lives on as is. And if things don't turn out for the better, your father and I will give you full support no matter what. Your sister Anna has no idea what is going on either because she is still young, so please be careful around her and set a good example. Be strong is what I am getting at, no matter how hard the road is."

I gave my mom a small smile and hugged her in thanks. She returned the warm embrace and allowed me head down to the kitchen to prepare Anna's lunch. As I scooped spaghetti into a plastic container, the meatballs were sitting in the microwave. I took them out and handled them with my bare hands and rested them on the bed of my mom's special sauce within the container. I closed it off tightly and also cut up some strawberries and put them in a ziplock bag.

I poured a generous amount of potato chips into a separate bag as a side for Anna's spaghetti. Italian cuisines and sandwiches were always good with some kind of crunch. And for dessert, if Anna had any room in her stomach left, she definitely had the option of eating her freshly baked chocolate cookies. I smiled and left her a small note on her lunch bag like the usual. I hitched my backpack over my shoulders.

I grabbed a green apple from the fruit bowl on the dining table before heading out. My mom shouted something from down the hall but I didn't have much time to acknowledge what she said. Before I knew it, I ran up the steep heel along the sidewalk and was met with a construction sight. Bulky and several lanky men in bright green attire were fixing the road. Their helmets and construction goggles were only protecting them to a certain extent.

Their big working gloves enabled them to do dirty work, and it made sure that the flesh of their hands were safe from certain amounts of intense heat. "Little lady, you can still pass through. We're still trying to gather up people and our trucks before we really start anything. But when you're on your way home from school, you're going to need to get a ride from someone." The youngest guy out of all of them kindly tipped his white hard hat for me and smiled.

My cheeks flushed with appreciation as I walked past the group of four men. I wasn't sure if he was related to Tristan in anyway, because he had so many characteristics that were similar to him. But I knew that Tristan was an only child in his family, so that guy could have been a cousin of some sort. I shake my head and continued on my day with caution. My high hopes were still being held by a very thin strand of ribbon.