8 people. Regan, a fiery rising theatrical star, gets caught in a forbidden romance, not unlike the one she's in onstage. Elena, the sassy eldest child, tries to deal with problems at home and the problem sitting next to her in class. Andy never wan...
I hung up the phone and turned to my brother. "They've got one lead, a man living in Colorado, and they're going to question him."
Ronan nodded and put the lid back on his water bottle. "They called me earlier today." He sighed heavily and ran his hands through his hair. "How many of your classes are you failing?"
I looked at the ground. "Most of them."
"Well, in light of that, I think I'm pulling you from school," he muttered.
I blinked a couple times. "Am I hallucinating or just stoned?"
He shook his head, fighting a smile. "You really shouldn't tell your legal guardian shit like that."
I laughed. "I think since you were that smoked me out my first time, it's only fitting you have to live with the consequences."
"You blackmailed me-"
"I did no such thing, I simply-"
"Said that you'd tell Marissa I was sleeping with Katie." He raised an eyebrow.
"Well, you were!"
"Anyways, your schoolwork doesn't really matter because I've decided we're moving back."
I froze. "Back to the Corner?" The Corner Chateau, so lovingly bestowed that title by my great-great-grandmother, was a massive house built centuries ago, passed down from oldest son to oldest son. When my parents died, it went to Ronan, but he couldn't rent or sell it until he turned 30. Otherwise, it would've been sold to cover Ronan's opioid crisis five years ago.
He nodded. "The investigation is happening in Denver and it doesn't really make sense for us to stay and pay rent here, when we've got a fine house there."
Thinking about returning to my childhood home was overwhelming.
My mother's glittering chandelier, my father's books, her absentmindedly placed jewelry throughout the house, the faint smell of his cigars, everything would remind me of them.
Mustering a grin, because, despite my doubts, it was a good idea, I asked, "when do we leave?"
He winked. "I've already cancelled our lease here. We leave on Monday."
I was running as fast as I could. The trees in front of me seemed to move closer together, making it harder to leap over tree roots without tripping. The snapping of teeth reminded me why I sprinted, the heaving in my lungs why I shouldn't have spent so much time smoking. The darkness threatened to swallow me, but luckily I had my dad's flashlight. Looking down at it, I noticed my hands seemed smaller. My clothes were from the day my parent's died. And as I started to slow, I felt the teeth close around my ankle and-
I woke up, gasping. I was halfway off my bed with the sheet wrapped around my ankle. Sighing and rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I rolled back onto the bed and covered my head with the pillow, pretending to smother myself for a moment. Reaching for my phone, I gasped audibly at a text from Elena.
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I scrambled out of bed, rapidly typing a "on my way" text and trying to pull on a shirt at the same time.
I should've gotten a ticket. I was going 75 in a school zone, but I made it to the Springwood Park in one piece and I didn't kill anything. This park is where Elena and I went after school to talk. The leaves rustled on the ground by my feet and I kicked an errant bear can by my feet.
At the clicking metal sound, Elena looked up from her laptop and frowned, shutting it. "Thanks for meeting me. I don't like the way we left things." She took a deep breath as I sat down. "Now, please don't interrupt me or I won't be able to get everything I want to say out. Hudson," she half-smiled. "I love you. I honestly do. What we had at the beginning made me believe that it could work out. But I don't love who you're slowly spiraling into. Ever since that investigator called, you've kept me at arms length emotionally while still expecting me to leap whenever you say jump. You're smoking and drinking around the clock and it's gonna kill you." She looked down at her hands. "And I know you need someone to help you, but that person can't be me. I would crumble instead of staying strong and keeping you strong. Maybe, sometime in the future, when you've come to terms with their murders," she paused, seeming to think about that future. "We can try again. But until that day, I can't handle you."
I nodded, listening to her silently. I knew she was telling the truth. "I'm sorry, Elena. I did try at the start to be someone who deserved being around you, but, " I hesitated. "I have this emptiness inside of me. I can't seem to bring myself to care about anything anymore except-"
"This ridiculous idea that you'll be the one to catch the man who murdered your parents and bring him to justice." She glared at me. "You realize how that sounds right? A 17 year old with a murderous vendetta? It sounds like the backstory of a Star Wars movie or something."
I flinched. "I know, I know, but I can't help it. What am I supposed to do? Keep living my life like they were never there?"
She just looked at me sadly. I saw pity in her eyes and I felt the murderous rage that thundered in my nightmares start to build.
"Don't give me that look," I whispered.
She shrugged. "You're not gonna like what I'm about to say, but you're gonna hear because I deserve that much, right? People die, Hudson. My uncle, your parents, the neighbor down the street, anyone could die and will at some point. The point of life isn't to keep moving in spite of life ending, it's to keep moving because it ends. Death adds meaning to our lives; what would it be worth if we just kept on living forever and forever? Make your parents worth something, instead of wasting the life they gave you." She stood, shoving her computer into her backpack. The blush on her cheeks had spread to her neck.
To be completely honest, I couldn't believe her. No one had dared to say anything like that to me before. Clasping my sweaty hands together, I smiled. No one else but Elena would dare. "I am sorry. Nothing justifies what I did, but I think you understand better than anyone else. " I bent down and kissed her flushed cheek. "Maybe someday in the future. Goodbye, Ellie."
Her mouth quirked and she looked up at me with tears dropping off her cute little chin. "Bye, Hudson."
