Chipped Heart

Chapter 7:

Walking on the beach has always calmed me. Seagulls flew up above looking for a meal to eat, children built sand castles, and families laughed together. A part of me has always longed for a normal day like that with my family. I know that my parents love me, but they're always gone. Would they miss graduation because of how busy they were? Mom always had to go out of town for medical trips, and dad was incredibly busy with being a flight attendant.

Warmth collided with my hand as Declan snuck up on me. A smile resting on his perfect, symmetrical face. Any sign of sadness leaves me because of him being here. "Hello." He says in the perfect British accent, and I can't help but to laugh.

"I'm never going to get used to that accent." I try to imitate the accent while failing. "How has your day been kind sir?"

"That's a horrible accent." Declan smiled as he suddenly remembered something. "So my family wants to go to the Philippines during Christmas break to visit some family. I'm allowed to bring one person, and I was kind of hoping you would come with me."

A confused look comes across my face. He's never offered to take me there before. "You sure? I don't want to intrude."

Declan shrugged while laughing. "You'll be doing me a favor. Spending a week with my chaotic family will be hell." We both laughed at the comment. Once I agreed to go, he started to jump up and down in excitement. A childish act, but it made me smile all the same. The sun was shining at a perfect angle, and it shined directly on us. Having that much light on me caused me to slightly jump. Despite my current living space, things have been extremely dark.

I let go of Declan's hand to stand in front of him. "So Ethan is staying with me, and we're kind of official. Last week I helped him out of a really, really bad situation."

The smile from his face disappeared. A cold frown took the place of his warmth. We stood across from one another, and everything was starting to get cold now. Maybe it was always cold, but Declan somehow took my mind off of it. "Why are you with that guy, Jenna?" I stumbled over my words, but gave up with a shrug. Declan laughed dryly while taking a step back from me. "Didn't you just need saving from him not too long ago?"

"I don't need anyone to save me, Declan!"

"Yeah, well, the bruise on your arm says differently." Tension was thick now. To my surprise, Declan wasn't yelling. Only disappointment was in his voice as he spoke. He never once showed any sign of aggression towards me. "Sorry. Look, you're my best friend. One of the only people that I love, so you deserve better. I know you feel like it's your job to save everyone, but it's not."

Waves brushed against our feet as we continued to stare at one another. I nodded slowly, and placed a piece of hair behind my ear. Was that what my relationship was with Ethan? Was it only a rescue mission instead of a romantic relationship? Clouds started to come out more, but the sun still managed to shine a tiny bit. Declan pulled me into a tight hug, and chuckled. "You still smell like coconuts. At least that hasn't changed about you." I smiled while taking in his smell of Citrus. That hasn't changed, and it made me cling to him more.

"Jenna? Oh my goodness! Is that you?" A high pitched voice called out from behind me causing Declan to let go of me. Long, vibrant curls bounced as one of my old friends ran to hug me.

I giggled as she swung me around in her arms. Everyone always was way stronger than me. "Yeah, Christina, it's me." All of the old memories came rushing. Spending our summers together at Christian camp. We always laughed at how religious everyone was, and it became ten times funnier when they figure out we weren't straight. People tried to bully us, but it didn't make us be straight. "I'm surprised you even want to talk to me. These last past months have-"

"Jenna Isabel Williams don't say anything else. You had reason enough to isolate yourself." As she quickly let go of me, concern filled her eyes and she rubbed my back. "Speaking of which, how are you?"

"Fine. Taking it day by day."

More people started to walk around us, and each of their faces became more familiar. Not too long ago these were people that I considered to be family. All of that seemed like a distant memory considering my life situation. Every weekend was spent with all of us partying and staying with each other. Usually, my house was the hang out spot, so they all became used to my perfect house. Christina eyes darted over to Declan like a predator deciding on it's next meal. I rolled my eyes already knowing where this was headed. "You certainly look different since the last time I saw you." Always flirtatious. One of her light brown curls twirled around her long, skinny finger as she slightly rocked back and forth.

Declan took a small step towards me with both his hands in his pockets. As nighttime crept in, the winds grew stronger, and his hair blew in the wind. It wasn't as long as Ethan's, but there was still some length to it. The signature middle part almost faded away from the wind messing up the locks of hair. "Oh, why, thank you...I think."

A loud laugh came from Christina's mouth, and she took a step towards him. Anyone would be lucky to have someone like her flirting with them. In her swim suit, you could see every curve which made her look ten times more beautiful. I rolled my eyes at them while turning to the others. The conversation echoed from behind me, and I was trying my hardest to ignore them. It was apparent that the conversation was very one sided. Christina tried to flirt too much while Declan was just being friendly, and I couldn't help but to laugh at the awkwardness of it all.

Time passed by in a blur. Everyone welcomed me back with open arms, and didn't question the gray area of my life. I was thankful for that. No pity was found in any of their voices as they spoke to me. They didn't see me as the girl who was responsible for killing her sister. I was normal, and it was so beautiful I could've cried.

We laughed all throughout the night and brought up old memories. Soft music played from one of their speakers, and we sat around a fire. A beautiful, serene experience. Declan held my hand again, and I rested my head on his shoulder.

Bright lights interrupted our private party. Two cops marched up to us with authority ringing in their voices. Nobody was able to gather their drinks fast enough for them to hide, so we got yelled at for drinking. Supposedly it was way past our curfew, and we could get in big trouble for being out so late.

As I stepped past one of the cops, they placed a hand to my shoulder while taking a good look at me. "You're Jenna Williams?" I nodded. "You're under arrest for playing a part in attacking and robbing Bryan Henderson. Anything you say can and will be held against you. You have the right to remain silent."

There's no time to ask anything questions. The cop had me in handcuffs while all of my friends started asking questions about what was going on. All of them tried to rip me from the cops hold as I tried to figure out what was going on.

Everything happened in slow motion. My entire life flashed before my eyes. If this goes on my record, there's no way a good college will have me now, no good job will take me, and I won't be able to provide for my family. What will my parents think of me? Will they wish that Brianna could've stayed alive, and the car would've ran me over? Tears stung my eyes as that painful memory came into my mind, but it was me who had died. Brianna's twisted face had become mine, and I started to breathe heavily.

"She's having a panic attack, dumbass! Look!" Christina voice was somehow heard over all of the chaos, and a swarm of people rushed in front of me. All eyes were on me, and I couldn't help myself.

There was no more air in my lungs. I was going to die. A disappoint to my family. "Stop!" I begged my mind and body. Neither listened to me.

Breathing became even harder, and I collapsed on to the floor. One of the officers called for an ambulance as my body hit the hard sand. People started to scream even more, and my eyes slammed shut. Closing out everything that brought me happiness with it. A dark essence took it's place.