The Attic

Chapter 7

Drake's POV(flashback)

"Mom!" I smiled and exclaimed 

"Drakey! Come here! How have you been? How's dad and Felicia?"

"They're good. I've been okay. Can I sleep at your house tonight? Where'd you go this time?" 

"You can. I have presents for you! I was in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Moscow." She told me

My mom was a beautiful, blue-eyed, blonde-haired woman with a heart-shaped face. She always tried to look her best even when she was doing things that you don't normally have to look good for. Anna was her name and she was an international lawyer, which meant she was always travelling. I wasn't allowed to travel with her but when she came back she always brought stories and presents from the places she went to.

I didn't only love her because of the presents and stories and ingenuity of getting to see her. She was the one stable minded person in my life. She didn't really understand how life had become at dad's house and I never told her. Felicia, my dad's new wife, didn't like me. She always found something wrong with what I was wearing, what I had done in school, what I had done with my friends, or where I had gone. My dad didn't know what she was really like because when he wasn't working he was drunk and didn't have any clue what was going on around him. 

"How long will you be home for?" I asked her, dreading the answer.

She smiled, "You're going to be excited."

"Tell me! Tell me!" I said jumping up and down in my seat.

"They've offered me a job here in the city and I took it. I don't have to travel around anymore, I'm going to be a corporate lawyer here." 

My face lit up and I couldn't help but smile the biggest smile I've ever smiled in my life. 

"Mom, can I stay with you? Like for forever?" I asked.

She took her eyes off the road for a split second and smiled. "I don't see why not." 

When we reached her house there was another car in driveway. She looked confused. 

"Stay here baby." When she got out she walked over to the car and another person got out of the car. They were visibly arguing. 

They argued like that for ten minutes and finally the person got into their car and sped away. She walked slowly back to the car and got in without saying anything. She pulled in to the driveway and we got out. She put a smile on her face for me, but I could tell it was forced. 

"Mom? Who was that?" I asked her slowly.

'That was...a friend. We had a disagreement and we aren't on the best of terms right now. But you don't have to worry about it. All you need to worry about is getting your presents and going to bed because you have school tomorrow!"

I smiled and ran into the house. 

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"Hey! It's not lunch yet! Don't start putting your things away until I tell you to, please." Mrs. Williams told us. 

There was a knock on the door and she went out in the hallway to answer however it was that came to the door. The class immediately bustled with the excitement that our teacher was no longer in the room. I just sat and read the book that my mom brought back from France for me. She brought it back the last time she was in town and I still hadn't finished it. I was the only person in my 7th grade class who could speak and read fluent French. My mom had started paying for lessons when I was in kindergarten. So as I was learning to speak English I was also learning French. 

"Drake, can you come out here please?" Mrs. WIlliams asked me. A loose tear ran down her face. I picked my things up, confused and went out into the hallway. 

Mr. Parker, the principal, was standing outside. 

"Drake, we have some bad news for you. Why don't you come to my office with me?" I walked alongside him and when we got to his office there were some police officers there. I sat down in one of the chairs and Mr Parker let out an enormous sigh.

"Drake, your mom was in a really bad car accident today. She was hit and killed by a drunk driver. We don't really know how else to tell you this. Your father was the driver who hit your mom." I didn't know what to do. Tears streamed down my face but I couldn't say anything or make any noise. How do you come back from that?

I got up, walked out of the room and walked out of the school. I didn't really know where I was going. I didn't have anywhere to go. They came chasing after me and eventually caught me and brought me back. They told me that my legal guardian was Felicia now and that I would be staying with her. 

The rest of the day was a blur. The rest of the month really. I didn't go to her funeral because I couldn't get out of bed. My life lost all stability. When they read her will, I found out that the person who she was arguing with that night had been her on-again, off-again boyfriend and she had written almost everything over to him. The small trust left in my name I couldn't have until I was eighteen and Felicia was left in charge of it until then. She promptly spent every penny.

I had nothing left of my mother except the small presents that she had given me from her many trips. I didn't even have a picture together with her. My father ruined my entire life and from the day that I finally got out of bed I vowed to protect as many people from drunk drivers as possible. No matter what it took.

Luke's POV

Everyday now Sandy came up and got me and Hannah for a shower and breakfast. Sometimes she brought us small plates of dinner. It was a welcome difference from the sandwiches we got every single day. Hannah didn't really talk to me as much anymore. 

I could tell that she was upset that I was losing hope of ever escaping. What little chance we did have required Sandy to be on board and she was going to be tough. As much as she wanted out she was terrified of what would happen if she got caught. Which was understandable but she was our only hope. 

Drake still had it out for Hannah. She never did anything right in his eyes. She was always getting punished. He would beat her and not feed her. Not feeding her was easily curable enough. I would give her parts of my sandwich. She would thank me but that was all the interaction I got from her.But, when he would beat her there was nothing I could do for her. I tried everyday to get her to open up again. 

Sometimes she would answer but most of the time I got silence. It made life that much harder, but I didn't give up.

"Hannah?" I said knocking on the wall. I heard small, quiet shuffling from the other side. She stuck her fingers through the hole. 

"I miss you sometimes Luke. I just don't always feel like talking or holding fingers or looking at your one eye througha tiny hole in the wall."

"Maybe someday it'll be more." I told her trying to offer some inkling of hope up to her.

"I don't even know why I continue to fight to get out of here. All I have to go back to is some friends and a crappy job. You have a family. A family who's looking for you." 

"You may not have a family who's looking for you. But, you have me."