Guilt: A Fractured Minds Novel

Chapter Forty-three

Falling to the ground in front of the body of my Father. The innocent man I just killed lays motionless while his red blood stains the carpet. Crawling forward I press my hands against the wound made by the gun. Yet it does nothing to stop the blood from flowing from his chest. Moving my sticky hands away I hug him tight his body still warm. Closing my eyes I can still see him alive. Opening them I let go of my Father. My dead Father. Backing up I stand up with the gun still in my hand.

Raising my hand to my mouth with tears in my eyes I look up to find Jared standing in the doorway. He stares at me before gesturing for me to come to him. He wipes my tears away before giving me a tight hug.

"Do you know what you need to do?" He asks while letting me go. Staring me in the eyes I nod my head in response. Swallowing my emotions down anger still remains bitter on my tongue. Walking past him I don't stop in the kitchen or the living room. As Jared caught up to me while I am shutting the front door of the house. Turning away I walk down the cement steps and to my car.

Opening the car door I get inside setting the gun on the console I take the keys. He shuts the door behind him. Starting the car Jared gets inside just as I'm about drive off he stops me with his words, "Ally you think you know what is going on, but you don't."

"Jared please don't stop me. I need to do this."

He lets out a sigh as I start to drive. "If I can't stop you then at least let me try to help you to understand. Heather isn't where you think she is. She's at Rogue River."

At the mention of Rogue River I remember the last time I was driving up there and crashed the car because of Jared. As I weave my way out of the neighborhood and towards the freeway I ask him, "That night that I crashed the car you told me that you were protecting me. By standing in the middle of the road how is that protecting me?"

"If you follow through with this, you'll end up with more pain."

"It won't cause me pain avenging my sister." Out of the conner of my eye I see him shake his head.

"Ally that's not what I mean-"

"What do you mean then? Huh Jared?"

"I mean that there's still a lot that you don't know."
"Like what?" I ask tapping my fingers against the steering wheel. Flicking on my blinker I glance over my shoulder before changing lanes.

"There's something that you don't know about Heather-"

"Oh, you mean beside the fact that she killed my sister?"

The car becomes quiet after that as I drive the two of us backup to where this all started: Rouge River.

~

Pulling into the parking lot I look for a parking space among the sea of cars. Quickly location one I pull in between a red minivan and black Toyota. Turning off the car I glance over at Jared to find him already looking at me.

"You're one of the closest friends that I have and I never want to lose you." I tell him while pocketing the keys.

"You're one of the few people that I know that I really care about. I'd die for you Ally." He smiles at me before leaning forward and giving me a quick kiss on the forehead before getting out of the car. As the shuts the door I stay sitting there for a few seconds I smile before getting out. Shutting the door behind me I lock the car feeling my phone in my back pocket I meet Jared at the front of the car.

"So where are we going to meet Heather at?" I ask looking around at the few families walking up trails or back to their cars. He grabs my hand before pulling me off to one of the many trails that lead to camping grounds. The trees shade us from the summer heat as we walk further down the path. Suddenly he stops walking and looks around for a bit before pulling me off of the main trail and to a smaller overlooked one.