Twisted Emotions of Your Average Nothing

19 part two: Bittersweet

The drive back to their shabby house was silent. The walk into the house was silent. Everything was silent, even the rain had stopped. When the three walked into the house, Blake immediatly went to him bedroom, and Sarah didn't follow him. She and Derek just sat awkwardly at the table, still in silence, until Sarah said,

"Come with me."

She brought Derek down the hall to Blakes room and told him to wait a minute. She disappeared inside for a moment and came out with an old pair of jeans, a clean tshirt, and some socks. She went to the closet and grabbed a towel, and motioned to the bathroom.

"Here. Take a shower. Sorry for the cold water, but atleast it's clean."

Derek nodded, and quickly kissed her forehead. 

"I'm sorry," He whispered. "I'm sorry that this happened." and closed the door.

~~

Sarah stared at the door for a moment, and then went to the kitchen. She cleaned the mud covered floor and put all of their shoes outside. Searching the cabinets, she grabbed whatever she could find and started to make a stew. She set the table with an extra plate, and made coffee. When Sarah heard the shower tap turn off, she rushed to the bathroom and knocked on the door.

"Are you done?" She asked.

"Yeah, almost. Why?" He called back from behind the door.

"Just wondering. When you're done, just go sit in my bedroom."

"Okay."

Turning, Sarah knocked on Blakes door. There was no answer, but she walked in anyway. At first, she didn't notice Blake. She thought he had left. But he didn't, he was sitting at the foot of his bed, head turned up to the ceiling. No tears, just a blank stare.

"Blake." He didn't even look up at her.

"Blake." No reply.

Sarah went over and sat next to him.

"Blake, thankyou. Thankyou for saving me. I love you, you know that, right? I love you so, so much. And clearly this Savannah girl did too, even if you had just met. What both of you did was so incredibly brave. I know you want her here; I..I do to. I want to meet her, to thank her, to hug her. To cry with her. But I can't. She is in a better place now, and I'm positive that she doesn't want you like this. Okay? Be strong Blake. Be strong. Everything happens for a reason."

Blake blinked and looked blankly at her. He put his arms around her and started to cry.

"Sarah, Sarah I-"

"shhh, Blake." Sarah got up and grabbed him some clean clothes and a towel. 

"Go wash up."

And he did. After he was done, Sarah also washed up. The three of them sat around the kitchen table and ate dinner. They never spoke of the incident, or what Derek knew. All that was said about the past was this;

Blake: "So, Derek..where do you live? I'll drive you home in the morning."

Derek: "erm..I don't..I don't have a home..that's part of the reason I was taken. Being homeless leaves you vulnerable."

Blake: "Well, I'm sorry to hear that bu-"

Sarah: "We have an extra room. You can stay here, with us. We will all keep eachother strong. We will get you registered at the school, and I can get you a shift at the store. It'll work out."

And that was the last they ever spoke of it. And it did work out. Blake graduated, and got shifts at two different stores. He was saving for college. Derek and Sarah were dating despite everything; and they were both getting straight A's, hoping for a scholarship. The lady who owned the store up the street gave both Derek and Sarah extra shifts because they worked so well. Money was getting better, and the little makeshift family ate dinner together everynight. Three jars sat on a shelf in the kitchen, one saying Sarah, one saying Blake, and one saying Derek. Each day, before bed, the three made it a ritual to put all of there pocket change into the jars. They were saving for college.

They visited three graves once a month. First, Blake and Sarah's mother. Then Savannah's father. And then Savannah's. On holidays, they invited Savannah's mother over for dinner and listen to her retell stories from when Savannah was little. Life wasn't perfect; but it was okay. Life was worth it.

I guess you could say that this story is tragic and sad. And it is. But it's also good. All of their lives changed for the better.

What's the difference between life and death?

Nobody knows for sure, what the real difference is.

But "Everbody dies, but not everybody lives."