Always

fifty

T A N N E R
"I pull you in to feel your heartbeat.
Can you hear me screaming please don't leave me?"

The shrill ringtone echoed throughout the car, but even with it's constant loud, ear-piercing shrieks annoying me to no end, I didn't reach out to grab it. It was probably one of the team members who saw me run out of the locker room far too early than I had initially planned to and in this moment I didn't care to pick up and explain my actions.

I didn't care about anything except getting home on time and praying to God that what Kyler had just told me was not true, that Luna was perfectly fine and all of this was just a huge misunderstanding.

I stepped on the gas pedal, my fingers curling around the steering wheel so tightly that I felt like I was about to break it off any second. I didn't feel frightened or even panicked, but for some reason my hands were shaking and my entire body shivered restlessly.

But the second I pulled up to our house, all the nerves returned and I felt like I was about to throw up any second. Kyler's words began repeating in my head over and over again and I felt like my heart would burst out of my chest by how fast it was beating.

She was my little sister, even if we weren't related by blood. She was still the little sister I loved more than anyone, the little sister I cared for so deeply, and the little sister who I was meant to protect no matter what. I was supposed to protect her from everything—the people at school, any boy who tries hurting her, a random stranger who makes her feel unsafe, everything.

But never had I considered the possibility of having to save her from her own demons. Never had I considered the possibility of having to save her from herself.

Getting out of the car, I wasted no time in running up to the front door and didn't even care to check if the door was unlocked as I barged inside. The wood slammed against the wall behind it, making a horribly loud echo sound throughout the house—the quiet, too quiet, house.

"Luna?" I called. The hopeful, desperate side of me expected an answer as I quickly made my way to the kitchen. My eyes darted around the empty surroundings, pausing on the phone placed on the wall for a few extra seconds.

A part of me wanted to call someone. A part of me didn't want to see the rest of the house all alone. A part of me did not want to see if what Kyler had said was true.

But the sensible side of me knew I had no time for that. The sensible side of me knew that I had to find Luna as soon as possible, even if doing it on my own frightened me to no end, because for all I knew, I could already be too late.

My panic increased a tenfold when I didn't hear a single response from her. Running out of the kitchen, I rushed up the stairs, still calling out to her and the closer I got to the top, the more it felt like my heart was about to explode.

Everything in me was screaming. I could hear the loud drum of my heart in my ears and my head started feeling light as fear coursed through me. My breathing grew heavy, coming out in loud pants and I was surprised as to how my lungs were still keeping me alive. Pain lined my every limb and every organ and for a second, I felt completely paralyzed as I reached the top of the stairs.

I didn't even care to check the other rooms as I walked up to her door and turned the door handle. I felt like sobbing when the door didn't budge. It was locked.