The Sun is Gone

Unexpected

The drive from the airport to my old house was agonizing. I was clinging to Kurt in the back of the taxi, shaking all over. My chest was so tight I could barely breathe. I began to see all the landmarks of my hometown out the window and my stomach churned with a mixture of sorrow, fear and dread. This was the last place on Earth I wanted to be.

"I've got you, love," Kurt whispered in my ear again, as he rubbed gentle circles on my back. I buried my face in his chest and tried so hard to imagine that we were somewhere else--back in Aberdeen--anywhere. Just not here.

I felt the taxi slow and I knew before I even looked up that we were arriving at my old house.

"You can do this," Kurt told me, as we climbed from the back seat of the car. Kurt paid the driver and we gathered our bags.

I turned and faced the two-story brick building I had once called home. It was beautiful. A stone walkway led to a wide front porch and a giant oak front door. All the windows were adorned with white shutters. From the outside, it looked like a well-kept, middle-class family home. But facades often lie. There was no sign of the hell my mother had put us through, or my dad's alcoholism, or Danny's death, or the fact that a man was found dead here less than 48 hours ago.

In fact, there was no sign of anything at all. The house simply looked the same as it had on the day I left. Except, as I glanced off to the right, I noticed something that made my heart race even faster. There was a car in the driveway.

"Kurt, I don't know who is here!" I exclaimed worriedly, as we carried our bags up the walkway to the front door.

"We'll sort it out," Kurt replied, although he sounded concerned as well.

It felt very strange to ring the doorbell at the front door of my own house, but that's exactly what I did. We waited for what felt like an eternity. I was about to just use my key when the door finally swung open.

"Hello, Elizabeth." My Aunt Patricia's towering figure blocked the doorway.  Her words pierced like razor blades, doing nothing to ease my worries. "So nice of you to finally show up." Her voice dripped with sarcasm. "Why don't you come in?"

"Don't mind if I do," I answered. "Since it is my house and all." She stepped aside and allowed us to enter.

"I see you've brought a friend," she stared down Kurt, whose eyes were wide with confusion.

"This is Kurt. He is my boyfriend. Kurt, this is my long lost Aunt Patricia, who I haven't seen since I was five years old, and yet she somehow thinks she gets to show up now and be a part of my life."

"You can stop with the attitude right now, young lady, and have some respect." Aunt Patricia's cold gray eyes threw daggers at me.

"Do you have any idea what I've been through?" I shouted, my composure finally breaking. "You left when I was five! My mother left when I was fourteen! My first boyfriend's little sister was murdered by her stepfather and then he killed himself! And now my dad is dead! So please, cut me some fucking slack because I really don't want to be here and I honestly can't take anymore!" It felt good to scream and get some of my frustration out, but I immediately burst into tears and took off for the living room where I threw myself onto the couch.

I could tell someone had immediately hurried after me. It was Kurt, and he had me cradled in his arms before I could even grab a pillow to bury my face in.

Aunt Patricia entered the room, her perfectly styled blonde hair flowing behind her. Her narrow face and angular features commanded authority, just like I remembered as a child. And right now she was making me feel like I was five years old again.