Chasing a Broken Butterfly

Chapter 26:

There's shadows forming alongside the trees, indicating that it's late afternoon. I've stayed by Lacey's side for hours, not being able to bear the idea of walking away and leaving her all alone.

She's dead...

I can't believe she's dead. I see it, but I don't want to accept it. However, I know that if I want to give her a proper burial and say my last goodbye, I need to go home and grab a shovel. I'll need Mikey's help. I want to bury her in the meadows near the lake that's less than a mile from where I stand. She loved it there. I've decided I'm going to lie to my mother. I'll tell her that Lacey ran away. I can't bear to tell her that Lacey died in the hands of a murderer. She could barely cope with my father's death, and that was by means of a terrible accident. She's still in recovery today.
Tears form in the corner of my eyes as I stand up to leave. "I'll be back, girl. I promise," my voice cracks.

I retrace my steps and soon find myself back on the streets. I look around and realize that I'm in Kylie's neighborhood. From where I stand I can see her street. I flashback to those summer days when we were ten years old, riding our bikes through the neighborhoods, laughing as Mikey chased after us. We were so young and carefree. I remember looking up to her and thinking that she was so pretty. She still is, but her heart isn't pretty anymore. Something about that modeling camp that she went to in the summer of our middle school year changed her drastically. She came back and would have nothing to do with me or Mikey, but sometimes I miss her.

The next thing I know, I'm standing right in front of Kylie's house. I catch a reflection of a girl in the window with mud stained clothes and knotted hair and realize it's me. I don't recognize myself, not just because I look like I was rolling in dirt, but there's something in my eyes that's changed. There's a certain fire in my eyes that I've never seen before. Not the kind that involves feeling alive and in love, but the kind of fire that comes when you've been burned one too many times.

I see the front door of Kylie's house open and I dart behind the silver Range Rover that's parked in the driveway. Kylie steps out looking perfectly polished as usual; her ensemble all white this time. Thankfully, Kylie's car is parked on the street, so I'm not at risk of being discovered. I see her talking on the phone, but as usual I don't hear what she's saying.

I see her frowning into the phone as she opens up her car door. She starts yelling into the phone, but all I catch is "Dammit, I don't want Nathan near her!" She climbs into her BMW and drives off.

----------------------------------------------

By the time I walk back home, I'm physically and mentally tired. Every ounce of energy I might have reserved is lost. I kept thinking about what I heard Kylie say. If they're together, is she the jealous type? Even so, who is this other girl that even has Kylie all hyped up? A spark of jealousy rises in me over this lucky girl, but I push it away.

You don't have time for petty things like puppy love.

I hear voices drift to me as soon as I enter the house. I walk into the living room and see my mom and Nathan sitting down on the couch.

"Honey, what happened?" my mother exclaims, immediately jumping from the couch and rushing over to me. I must look even more horrible than I thought. "Elle, where were you? I was starting to get worried," she snaps at me.

I look over her shoulder at Nathan, wondering what he's doing here until it dawns on me. He was supposed to have picked me up at noon.

"What time is it?" I ask my mom while still holding Nathan's gaze. He looks conflicted, as if he's not sure whether to stay put or express his concern.

"It's two in the afternoon," my mom says slowly and studies me cautiously. "Elle, you didn't answer my question, where were you?" my mom tries again to get an answer out of me.