Elements (Pentatonix)

Chapter 8

"Hey, come on. You gotta get up." I groaned a bit and hid my face as I opened my eyes. He didn't have to wake me up. I'd been awake for the past hour.

"That means I have to face reality and get out of bed," I mumbled against his chest. I heard a soft sigh as he sat up, pulling me with him. "No," I complained as I pouted.

"Sarah. Get up. You can't avoid the facts," he said softly. There was a harsh reality to his words, but his tone was the complete opposite. He was right. I couldn't avoid it.

I reluctantly crawled out of bed as I rubbed my face and looked down as reality hit my chest hard. Moments later, I felt a pair of arms around me, a word not being said. "Go shower and get dressed. I know you don't want to, but you need to," he said as he pulled back.

I reluctantly walked out, going straight to the bathroom. It was weird not hearing constant banging on the door while I showered, but I managed not to have a mental breakdown. Once I got out, I washed my face and brushed my teeth before wrapping myself in a towel and letting out a sigh. I walked back into my room without a word and glanced over at Avi who grabbed a bag I hadn't noticed before and walked out.

I heard the water of the shower starting and I took my time changing, dragging along and sulking. I began blow drying my hair, knowing that my mom would say something if I went outside with wet hair. I finished and began doing my makeup when Avi walked back in.

He wore a simple pair of black skinny jeans and a black button up shirt, his hair down but styled neatly out of his face. It was a good look for him. I turned my gaze back to my reflection and finished up my makeup before standing up. Without a word, I slid on my heels and put on a necklace and earrings.

I touched up my hair slightly, deciding to leave it natural and down rather than doing something with it. I looked over, watching Avi slide on a pair of dress shoes. "Why weren't you there? At the hospital?" I asked suddenly, my gaze remaining on him even as he stood up.

"I wanted to go, but I wanted to give you space. I figured it was time for you to spend with your family," he said, turning towards me. "Esther told me about Nathan when she got home."

"And you still didn't show up for a week," I said, feeling tears pricking my eyes at the sound of his name. "The others came but you never did."

"I..." he paused, looking down and taking a visible breath. He reached over and grabbed his leather jacket. "I just..." he paused before shrugging it on completely. "I couldn't stand the thought of seeing you hurting."

"But last night-"

"The others told me how you weren't talking or eating. I thought back to that party, how I wouldn't even talk to Esther or Kevin, but I talked to you. You helped me, so I figured I could try to help you," he said, catching me off guard. I had nearly forgotten about that.

I closed the gap between us, wrapping my arms around him tightly as I closed my eyes and took a shaky breath. "Thank you," I whispered just before I heard a cough. Pulling back slightly, I looked over to see my dad standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. "Not now," I said, irritated that he was still acting all over-protective at a time like this.

"Don't you talk to your father like that young lady," he said, taken aback at my blunt statement.

"Instead of worrying about me, you should be mourning the loss of your son," I said, tensing up slightly, but I did take notice that Avi's hand never left my back.

"I wouldn't have to mourn if it hadn't been because of you. Come on. We have to go." I watched him walk away, leaving the two of us standing in shock. Without a word, we slowly followed, my movements forced as we headed outside.

They say the worst feeling is loving someone that doesn't love you back, but it's not. The worst feeling is losing someone you didn't realize you couldn't live without. Everyone told me how sorry they were. Lies. I didn't even know who half of them were. I barely managed to hold a conversation with my own friends, and I couldn't say anything to my parents. One was crying nonstop and the other blamed me for it. I wanted to cry. I wanted to cry so badly that it hurt, but I couldn't.  I was pretty sure all my tears were soaked up in the shirt Avi had worn last night.

"We can let the teachers know so you don't have to worry about coming to school tomorrow," Mitch said with a reassuring, sad smile.

I shook my head a bit, wrapping my arms around my waist. I suddenly felt something weigh down my shoulders slightly and glanced over to find that Avi had given me his jacket. I gave a weak smile and looked back to Mitch. "I'm going tomorrow. I can't just stop my life because Nathan's-" I inhaled sharply, feeling the familiar sting of unshed tears, but they never came. "I'll be there."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did I want to go? No. Did I? Only because I had to. I would have went back on my word if Avi hadn't showed up at my door, had a yelling match with my dad, and forced his way inside and to my room. He might not have been one for fighting, but he had his sister's determination. The ride to school was silent, and it wasn't better when we got there.

I got constant stares, some of sympathy, others of confusion, and then some were fake compassion. Their faces said they were concerned, but their eyes said I was gonna catch hell from him. It didn't help that Avi was by my side, considering he always got teased for his religion or his silence, but I didn't mind. I actually liked it. He didn't force me to talk unless I wanted to.

I wasn't really involved in any of my classes. Most teachers expressed their sympathies, but they didn't know. All they knew was my brother and I had gotten into a wreck. They didn't know the rest. They didn't know there was one less person in my life. I kept close to my friends in each of my classes, not trusting myself to be away from them, and I didn't eat at lunch, no matter how hard they tried to get me to eat.

I was slightly relieved when my last class came, mainly because after it, I could go home. Home. Nathan never could wait to get home. He always talked about what he was going to eat or what he planned on doing. It usually involved giving me hell, but I loved him for it. It was part of him and I wasn't going to change that. The day I found out about the picture, I went home and we got into an argument about it. I was irritated at him, but he thought it was funny. Just two typical teen siblings getting into an argument. I never said sorry.

Avi's POV

"Sarah? Sarah?! Seraphine." I watched quietly as the Mr. Edwards continuously called Sarah's name, but she didn't answer. She was lost in her thoughts.

"Sarah? Is everything okay?" I watched her slowly look up to find everyone staring at her. Tears were streaming uncontrollably down her face, but she didn't bother trying to stop them or wipe them away.

"Maybe she's upset about her car. I would be too, but I wouldn't cry over it. Get a grip and move on." My gaze darted over to Rhett who had a smirk on his face. If only he knew. I turned back to find the seat next to me empty, accompanied by the sound of the door slamming shut.

"You really need to learn how to be more considerate," I said, raising my voice a bit.

"It's a car. She can buy another."

"She buried her brother yeaterday. She can't buy another one," I said struggling to keep my voice down as I stood up. "Maybe you should consider why she wasn't here for an entire week. Her brother died in that accident but you're too busy trying to seem all cool to realize that she's a girl and she's got a bigger pair than you just by showing up today. Just do her a favor and keep your distance and your mouth shut. The last thing she needs is for you to make things worse," I said and grabbed my things, walking out of the room.

I pulled out my phone, sending an SOS text to the others before beginning my search for Sarah.