What Lurks in the Dark

Chapter 7

I explained everything that I had heard from Evan and Nathan had sat there drinking in all of my words. I could see it in his eyes that he was in shock. He was heartbroken and I would be too. I felt so much pain in my heart for him. He held back the tears that I could see lingering in his eyes.

I limped into Jamie's room and saw him lying there in the hospital bed. There was way too much on my mind, especially considering what I had discovered about Justin. I couldn't help but feel guilty even though I knew none of what was happening was my fault even remotely. I sat in a chair next to Jamie and grabbed his hands softly. "Hey, Edythe," he said while his eyes were still shut.

"James," I gasped, "are you okay? What happened? Who did this to you?" I shot questions at him rapidly because I was so worried. I couldn't imagine what my life would be like without my big brother.

"Calm down baby sis. I'm all right. I woke up blindfolded and in a lot of pain. Then I blacked out and woke up here. I don't really remember what happened. In the car it kinda had that hospital smell, I could tell we were in a car because of my motion sickness," he spoke very slowly and I could tell he was in a lot of pain. "I felt a lot of pain in my neck."

"Turn your head, let me see it." There was a brand of an upside-down cross on his neck. That horrified me. It suddenly hit me that this was personal. The killer was targeting people whom I knew, whom I cared about. This can't be happening. I began to gag on my own saliva. "I'm going to have my partner ask you a few questions, but I won't be in the room. Tell him what you told me." I hugged him tightly but carefully. I got up and walked into the hallway, tapping Nathan's shoulder signifying him to go in. He stopped and stood there momentarily as I was trying to absorb what my brother had just told me.

"What happened?" He asked with a concerned look on his face.

"It's personal," I said blankly, I couldn't quite comprehend what was going on.

"Okay, fine." He said nonchalantly, misinterpreting my words.

"No, I mean, whomever the killer is, he's specifically targeting people whom I have a connection to. This can't be a coincidence. Carter, Carolina, James. It's personal, what am I supposed to do?" I asked sobbing. He grabbed my hands and squeezed them as if trying to reassure me.

"It's okay. We're gonna do this." He hit me with that cheeky grin and then proceeded to go into Jamie's room.

I laid there in the hospital bed, staring up at the ceiling, thinking of all the times my brother was there for me. But this one time he needed someone to be there for him, I wasn't there. I should've been there in his hospital room. I should've been there, beside his bed, waiting for him to get better. But, I was the reason he got hurt. I didn't deserve to be by his side. I was too sick to even be there.

I sat there in the open field looking up at the baby blue sky, only a month after my parents died. "Jamie, I miss mom and dad. Do you think that they went to a good place?" I asked, tears spilling from my raw feeling eyes. My face had already been red and puffy from crying myself to sleep every night for weeks. I was heartbroken.

"They were good people, so I'm sure that they went to a good place," He said, grabbing my small hand tightly. He'd been lying there next to me in the wild grass. "When I get old enough, I'm going to buy a house for us, something that doesn't remind us of our parents. I think that it'd be good for us." I nodded in agreement. People always told us that we were like twins. We were inseparable, always glued to each other's sides. I don't know what I would do if I'd been born an only child.

"Guys! Come on, "I heard Matt yelling in the distance. I wiped the tears away and pulled my brother up. And we ran and ran through the field. That was one of my most precious memories. In the darkest times, I always think about that day. It makes me feel better and gives me confidence. Confidence that I will make it because we made it that day.