Thirteen's Thirteenth (NANOWRIMO 2019)

Chapter 2 - Nonexistent

Chapter 2 - Nonexistent

Listening to: Lie to Me by 5 Seconds of Summer

Last surviving member.

The words were consuming, guiding my every action as I raced to grab my computer. When I tossed my bag carelessly onto the floor, there was a shrill clatter, but I didn't turn back to check for damage. Taking a seat at the kitchen table and flipping open my laptop, I frantically typed in the words, and sure enough, there it was: Christopher Tretten: Last Direct Descendant of Family 13 Dead in Crash.

I slumped back in my seat, my hand covering my mouth. My heart beat loudly in my chest. I scrolled through a dozen more articles, and sure enough, they all said the same thing. My family line was over. Humanity was saved.

I didn't understand where they got that idea. I looked down at my wrist, blinking twice to assure the number thirteen was still inked there. Having the tattoo made me a legal citizen. Surely proof of this was documented somewhere.

I needed access to the database of medical records. They'd have a log of every person since the time of their birth. If nowhere else, then my name must be there. Frantic, I reached for my phone to scroll through my contacts, desperately searching for someone that could help me.

Dylan Lynn. My finger stopped over her name. Her father was a doctor; she mentioned it often enough. She always went around school sharing stories of her father's transformative trips to save lives in third-world countries. I never talked to her much, but before I could even think of the social formalities, I pressed call.

Much to my surprise, she answered on the second ring. I jumped up onto my feet. "Hello?" she said.

With a single word, a sense of regret pooled in my stomach. My hands were shaky; I could barely keep the phone from slipping from my grasp. "Dylan, hey, this is Evangeline."

"Oh, hi, what's up?" I grimaced.

Words failed me, and I was unable to respond. How could I explain this?

You know that family that everyone thinks is cursed and absolutely despises? Yeah, that's my family. And those people whose deaths you cheered for? Those were my parents. So surprise! Family Thirteen is not dead; I'm still here. Now can you ask your father to help me hack into his medical databases?

I had gone mad.

"Hello?"

I hadn't responded in over a minute. "Oh, um, sorry. Wrong number. Bye." I hung up the phone just as quickly as I had called her while a warm wave of embarrassment pooled in my cheeks.

I couldn't tell her. I couldn't tell anyone. The realization was sickening, and I felt my body cave in. I was hollow. I had no real family, no real friends. I was alone. Everyone hated me because of a small sign drawn on my wrist. No one knew me. Eddie, Caroline, these people I saw from day to day thought they did, but I hid much more beneath the long sleeves of my shirt than they could ever realize. Once they'd find out, they'd run, far far away, just like everyone else. I'd be left behind with no one to turn to, no one to confide in. I was an anomaly in a world that didn't want me. I was trapped, and I was alone.

I collapsed into a chair as my body was racked with tears. Shaking uncontrollably and panting heavily, I lost myself in every gasp. Sobbing became a cathartic release. Weeks of stored up tears, I let free, crying for my parents, crying for myself, and crying for the circumstances I was stuck in. It felt good to let it out, to let myself be sad, but I felt guilty. Crying distracted me from all the worries and questions circling my head.

I don't know how long I was in that seat. After a while, my bottom became numb, and time slipped away from me. I just sat and let myself go, losing awareness of the world around me. Drowning in my thoughts, I didn't register the first time the doorbell rang. The second time, shout brought me back to reality.