The Empty Room

Chapter 1

 {Perspective of Tristan Jones, youngest sibling}

Taylor was gone. She just got up and left in the middle of the night. No warning or any goodbyes to any of us. It was just so sudden, unexpected, and made no sense. The only thing that was left was her ¨Empty Room¨ and some of her belongings. Any trace of her existence remained in that room as if she had not left at all.

The adults all reacted differently. Mr. Grubbs was fast to notice her lack of presence and inquired often, eager for some gossip, so we quickly learned to avoid him. On the other hand, Mom was disappointed and heartbroken, often crying loudly in her room. Dad refused to think or imagine why his own daughter failed him. As a result, Dad was always angry and calming him down became a violent and painful chore.

Edgar took it the hardest. Edgar would lock himself in her room for hours on end, even refusing to eat. He was always questioning why his loving sister abandoned him or if he did anything wrong to make her want to leave him behind. Even I knew they were thinking about running away together, but I guess Taylor couldn't wait any longer. Since Mom was truly heartbroken and Edgar refused to get out of Taylor's room, I had the responsibility of cleaning and doing chores around the house.

While there were constant outcries of loss, the house seemed to be enjoying itself, with its lurking shadows and flickering lights, turning the gloom into something more ominous.  Finally, after all the voices had ceased, I took myself to rest. Outside, a storm bellowed and the branches outside lashed at my window, intimidating the silence. With each clap of thunder and flash of lightning, I tossed and turned in my bed, eager to let my mind wander and escape reality. Soon enough, my thoughts overcame my mind and the storm was mostly forgotten.

However, the troubling thoughts of the chances of me never escaping appeared and Taylor became the object of my focus. Taylor Taylor Taylor... Taylor mostly spent her times with Edgar and I had barely known her, having instead been thrust aside like any other youngest sibling and left to read stories by myself or with Mom. Still, there was an empty hole in my heart and I felt incomplete.

Not able to find sleep, I got up and walked down the dark corridors quietly. The floorboards moaned under my weight and I sucked in a hasty breath. Looking up, I noticed a painting near one of the lamps. A paled-skull face man with swollen in cheeks and worried eyes looked back at me. Was this always there? Shuddering, I turned, refusing to see any more.

Down three doors was Taylor's room and I caught something on her door.

As I cautiously inched closer, I saw that it was a red sticky note. Curious, I picked it up and read it, thinking it was another chore I was assigned to do in the morning. Instead, it was a note from Taylor. It read "I am coming back." I let out a small gasp and my heart thundered in my chest. Reading it over, again and again, confusion sparked me. Could she really be coming back? Would she be coming back as the loving sister she was? Or for revenge against our abusive father?

I turned and ran down and shoved the note under the door to Edgar's room, knowing that he would want to see it. I heard Edgar creep across the room, pick up the note, and read it softly to himself.