Broken // Michael Clifford [Finished For Now]

Chapter Seven

Diana'a POV

I drove back to the metro park I had been in when I ran into Sarah. I wasn't planning on just sitting at a picnic table, this time I was going to go to the one place that I could really think.

I made my way through the path with trees on either side, the sound of delicate leaves crunching under my feet was the only noise to be heard.

I watched as two birds flew from the tree they had been perched on to chase each other. It reminded me of when I was a little kid and my mom would take me here. She would chase me around pretending that she couldn't run as fast as my chubby little legs while I giggled with excitement. My dad would sit and watch us as he laid our lunches out on the blanket, smiling at the sight before him.

Memories like that made me smile before everything happened. They made me wish nothing had ever changed, that they had stayed the same. Now when I think of them I doubt the happiness that was displayed on her face. I doubt the things she would say to me. I would doubt everything good that I had remembered no matter how hard I tried not to.

The wind blew causing the trees to shiver in the cold and sacrifice more of their precious leaves. It was amazing to see the leaves twisting and turning as they fell to the ground. I almost felt bad for crushing them to dust under my feet as I continued my journey down the path. It was a shame that something so beautiful was so doomed at the same time. No matter how long the leaves held onto the tree they would still fall, being crushed by the things around them.

I finally reached the place I had been venturing to. It was a little pond that had a small waterfall flowing into it from the creek surrounding the park. Trees stood strong and tall around the pond, giving me a sense of security. The noise created by the small waterfall was relaxing and helped me clear my head. The surface of the pond was blanketed in yellow, orange, and red leaves, covering my view of the swimming fish.

I was still upset about the events that had unraveled at home and what had happened at lunch only made matters worse. I was tired and emotionally worn out. I laid down on a soft section of grass and looked up at the sun shining through the tree tops.

I began to close my eyes, trying to think of a way to tell Michael to leave me alone. The problem was he was going to find out things about last summer and have questions that I knew he would want answers for. I figured I would vaguely tell him about that day and nothing more. Not exactly what I had seen and not what was going on in my life right now. I hoped he would realize how broken I had become and leave me alone. If he thought he could fix me after what I'm going to tell him, he's dead wrong. I'm broken beyond fixing.

***

By the time I got home it was 8:30 and I was silently praying that my dad had already passed out in his room. Unfortunately my prayers were not answered because when I slowly opened the door I heard the T.V playing a movie.

I snuck through the kitchen as I made my way to the living room. I tried to sneak behind the couch and was rewarded when I saw the wood of the steps leading upstairs to my room. I tiptoed up the stairs avoiding the spots that would squeak under my weight.

When I got up to my room and closed the door I sighed a breath of relief. I was ecstatic at the fact that I had successfully snuck into my house after skipping the last three periods of school.

I stripped from my clothes and put my pajamas on before I brushed my teeth and washed my face. I padded over to my bed and was happily engulfed by the warmth of my duvet. A few minutes later I was welcomed by a deep state of sleep.

***

Michael's POV

It was 9:30 at night and I was playing Mario Kart with Calum and Luke while Ashton was 'completing his mission' in his room. When we got home from school I went off on Luke and Calum for treating Diana the way they had at lunch. I also told them what she said about the obituary listings for last summer and that shut them up about the subject for a while. Ashton on the other hand did everything in his power to get a hold of the listings despite my very persistent protesting.

I heard a door slam and footsteps running down the hall. "Guysguysguysguysguys!" shouted Ashton, almost out of breath from his excitement.

"What the hell do you want Ash! I'm about to kick Luke's ass!" I yelled back.

"I found it!" I didn't need an explanation to know what he had found.

"Do we really have to look at it? I mean she was hiding it for a reason, maybe it's a really tough subject for her." I said.

"I did all that work Michael, so I'm going to at least look at it."

I sighed, "Fine, just read it out loud." Moments later all four of us were gathered around the couch looking intently at Ashton.

"Okay, so the article says, 'Yesterday, June 11th the police received a call about a gunshot being fired in the quiet town of Riverbell. When the police reached the scene they were shocked to have discovered a young 18 year old girl named Diana Mathews who was sobbing over her mother's dead body. Courtney Mathews had taken the gun from her husband's study and walked out to the back porch where she committed suicide by shooting herself in the head. Her daughter (Diana Mathews) had discovered her mother's body moments after the shot was fired and minutes before the police arrived to the scene...'" Ashton paused to let everything sink in before he said, "The article continues, but I think that's enough."

All four of us sighed trying to comprehend what we had just uncovered. I understood why Diana was being so secretive about everything and now that I had read the article I remember hearing a lot about it over the summer, it was a pretty big story in this small little town. I just didn't know why she had lied about this morning, it didn't have anything to do with her mother's death; at least I didn't think it did.

"Well, at least now you know what she was hiding." Calum said breaking the silence.

"Yeah." I replied still thinking about everything. I got up from my spot on the couch and walked over to my room.

"Are you going to play anymore Mario Kart?" Luke called from the living room.

"No. I'm just going to go to bed now. Night guys."

Of all the things I thought Diana could have been hiding, not once had I considered it to be about her mother committing suicide.