The End

Chapter Two

CHAPTER TWO

The door to my house swings open with a loud bang. I slip off my shoes and start heading upstairs when I hear a voice behind me.

"There you are!"

It's my mom, her smile giddy and happy like always. Once I see her lit up face, waves of anger and sadness wash over me like a tide. I wish I could still love my mom, but right now I just can't will myself to forgive her. It's too painful to look at her with care instead of wanting to block her out of my life. After what she insisted with my Dad...lets just say I hate that she wanted to divorce with him since he joined the army. I hate that she wants to separate from my dad. It's heart aching, really.

"I had made some celebration cake in the kitchen for you. Patrick has been dying for you to come home so he can have some."

"I'm not hungry." I reply calmly, without turning around.

My mother sets her jaw. "Ally was waiting for you at the soccer party. Where were you?"

"Why does it matter?" I spat back.

This takes her by surprise. Her blue eyes cloud with pain as she speaks. "Jaden...what happened between your dad and I...I know it really hurt you. But I'm still your mother."

"Well you don't act like it," I throw at her. "So just leave me alone." I press the button by the stairs and increase the speed of the machine as it carries me up to my room. I can just see my mother's downcast face staring after me and I think I can hear her sigh.

The stairs carry me to a separate hallway that you turn on to bring you to your destination mechanically. I turn off the machine a few feet from my bedroom door, and I'm just about to push the button to open it, when the door swings open, and I jump. My nerves are on end, but then I slowly relax as I recognize Charlie, our family robot, emerge from my room, his arms swinging in controlled motions. He waves to me, and I nod at him as he exits. We used to have two family robots, but my brother broke our other one, Lucy, by accidentally throwing her from the third floor to the ground. The majority of our population owns robots, and sometimes I feel like they have a mind of their own. Our world is so high-techy, I wouldn't be surprised if they inserted a human brain into the head. Sometimes I can't even keep up with technology.

My room is almost transparent. It is built with sheer glass that builds up to a huge dome at the top. I like how open and free my room is. It's on the third floor, so I get an excellent view of the city. The cloud-level skyscrapers. The whizzing cars flying past. And the people strolling along the sidewalk. Sometimes, this view is gorgeous. But other times, I yearn for something more than the same old constant streets and buildings and lights. I shift my view to the trees in the forest and my mind flashes back to earlier; The strange light emerging from the treetops and the unknown object settled in the undergrowth. My imagination whirls and I tear my eyes from the glass to relieve myself from my train of thought.

My room is quiet. It's always quiet. I fill my ears with the steady thump of the fan twisting the air around it. I collapse down on my bed, my body exhausted but my mind racing. I ponder the thought of turning on some rock music to dissolve the silence, but instead, I reach over to my nightstand and pick out a small, navy blue box. I examine it closely, then pop it open and remove the content concealed inside.

My locket.

I open the silver, heart-shaped clasp and study the pictures, intently. One side is my dad and me. The other side is the 4 of us; our family when we took a vacation to California. My dad gave it to me when I was 7, when I was so scared about him leaving to join the army and fight in the war. He had given me this as a piece of him to hold onto. To give me hope. And to remind me that I am loved. I lightly trace the heart-shaped edges with my fingertip. It's been so long since I've seen him. But I don't cry when I pull this out like a normal person would. I keep my face concealed and blocked-off, like I do whenever I'm in public. It's so much easier for me to live that way. I don't make myself welcoming to anyone but my two friends Ethan and Ally. And my dad, obviously. But I don't trust my mom after she tried to push a divorce with my dad, but my dad insisted that they stay together for my and Patrick's sake. But they don't sleep in the same bed anymore when my dad is home. It's that bad. I don't want my mom to get rid of my dad like that, but instead of yelling at her like I used to, I just shut her out and don't show emotion. That's my trick to any problem. To keep me from crying about my dad, or yelling at people who get on my nerves. I have very strict boundaries and rules that I keep to in my life. And it's not a problem for me. At least not completely.