Puck (Kickstarting My Heart #3) (COMPLETED)

Prologue

Chase Parker attempted to kill himself at a little after eleven last night.

His attempt failed.

The first Saturday of October should have been like every other; quiet and bittersweet. My parents usually spent the Summer in Europe but would be home the rest of the year. My younger brother and I had learned to soak in all the moments we did have with them, rather than focus on what we didn't.

I could feel the tension hanging heavy in the air the moment I dragged myself out of bed and into the quiet hall. I peered into my little brother's room, finding nothing but an empty bed and mess of blankets on the floor. It was only a couple seconds after that until I heard his quiet muttering from the living room. I edged my way down the hall with light steps, afraid the tension and heaviness had to do with something my brother had done.

Vic was perched on the edge of the coffee table, eyes glued to the flatscreen in front of him. His left hand was buried in his dark red hair, right gripping the hem of his jean shorts so tight his knuckles had begun to lose color. My parents were on either side of him, staring just as intently at the screen as my thirteen-year-old brother. My mom was clutching her coffee mug against her chest for dear life, lips parted and a sad expression etching its way across her face. Dad stood with a slight slouch, his shoulders continuing forward with every word that left the newcasters mouth.

"What?" I finally broke the agonizing silence. "What happened?"

Nobody answered me for so long I thought they'd hadn't heard me. Finally, Vic looked from the TV to me across the room.

"Chase Parker killed himself last night." He whispered. "Or at least tried to, anyway."

As in star hockey player Chase Parker?

"Turn it up, Dad." Vic pleaded, shooting Dad a quick look over his shoulder. "Please."

I moved to join the rest of my family, leaning into the arm of the couch as I hugged my arms around myself.

". . .his body was discovered by a hiker this morning. His condition was said to be so bad it was a miracle to have survived the jump. Witnesses say that he has multiple broken and fractured bones and many bruises, but is said to survive and make a full recovery."

A sick pinch started in the pit of my stomach at the words. Before they could speak on the matter any more, my dad shut the TV off.

"That's enough." Dad breathed with a sad look toward me. "Did you know him?

Vic snorted. "I wish."

"We were asking your sister, honey." Mom responded, the turned her attention to me. "You guys share a few classes, no? It said he was a Senior at your high school."

I did know of Chase Parker. Everyone did. I just didn't know him personally and didn't care to. He had always been so cold toward me, since he'd accidently knocked me into an open locker in sixth grade, a hatred had sprouted somewhere inside me for him, and frankly, for jocks as a whole. They all paraded around at our school and acted as if they were Gods, walking on Cloud Nine while the rest of us were just pests they could step on to get to the top.

Chase had always had friends. He always wore a smile and had a girl hanging off his arm any time I'd pass by. He had always seemed like one of the happiest people at school.

But I guess he was just good at keeping his emotions concealed and forced deep down. I was an expert at that too.

"You guys know if you ever-" Mom started, but Vic didn't even give her the chance to finish whatever it was that she was going to say.

"Yeah, Mom. We know." He pushed himself up from his spot, heading toward me. He paused a few feet away, eyeing me with an almost bitter expression.

"Don't look so sad, Ronnie." He said each word with such a bitterness I recoiled into myself. "We wouldn't want you to cry over our precious Punk."

Without giving me a chance to get a word in, he shoved passed me and down the hall, slamming his door shut behind him so hard the hinges on the door rattled. My parents exchanged a concerned look before Mom started down the hall after him. I waited until both of them were out of sight to fall back against the wall, bowing my head in guilt.

Vic wasn't the only one that knew of my immense hatred for jocks, Chase to be specific. I wasn't a quiet person, and quite honestly, didn't know how to keep my mouth shut. Chase and I had argued on various occasions, and it had only deepened my distaste for him.

Never, though, would I have wished death on him. Or depression. Or whatever the hell it is that drove him to jump off a cliff last night in an attempt to end his life.

Once I was able to shake myself from my thoughts, I pried myself from the wall and wandered back to my room, pushing my door shut quietly. I casted a look out the window, the first super cold day of the season had appeared suddenly overnight. The sky looked as if it was mourning and grieving with the town over Chase.

I fell back into the middle of my bed, hearing my phone buzzing repeatedly at my side. I knew it was my best friend, but I couldn't bring myself to answer it. I knew without a doubt she wanted to talk about Chase, which I had no desire to do.

Sitting alone in my room, casting a sad glance out the window dewy with condensation, I couldn't help but question what everyone in our small town was.

Why the hell did Chase Parker try to kill himself?

***AN****

*Unedited*

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~ChasingMadness24