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Thursday, February 24, 2011

The Darkest Truths: Chapter Eight

Chapter 8


          


"Rayven, are you okay?”

I jumped, which is very hard to do in a tree mind you, but whether it was because of the voice, or the hand on my shoulder, I'm not sure. Nick reached out his other hand to steady me as I turned to face him.
           
           "No. Not really," I answered honestly.
           
            A look of worry and concern flashed across Nick's face, he knew it had to be bad if I admitted that I wasn't alright, "What's wrong," he asked.
           
             I took a breath and responded, "First, we might want to get out of the tree, I have a feeling that if we stay here one of us will end up falling out of it,"
           
             Another uncharacteristic worried glance was thrown my way, but Nick didn't question me and climbed down.
           
             Once we were seated firmly on the ground, I pulled out the papers and placed them gently on my lap.
           
            "I never knew that you had a brother, or that your parents were dead," I said quietly, without looking up.

The sigh he made seemed so full of sad memories that it brought my head up.
           
           "Those are two stories that I've done my best to make people forget so I'd never have to tell them again," he started, I watched intently as Nick's green eyes clouded over and he seemed to be in a different place, a different time.

"My twin brother, Andrew, used to be my best friend, but there was always something a little bit off about him. He would disappear sometimes, only for an hour or two, and he begged me not to tell our parents, so I didn't. But, one time, when we were around Katie's age, he didn't come back. My parents were heartbroken, they looked everywhere and called everyone, but they never did find him," he said to no one in particular.
           
            He doesn't even know his brother is dead.
           
            My heart ached, I hated to make him remember it all again, but I had to know, "What about your parents,” I questioned.

"A few months after Andrew disappeared, an old friend called up my folks and said he had a lead, my parents were ecstatic, they were sure they were finally going to get him back. My mom and dad left that very night, they said that they would only be gone a couple of weeks, and my Aunt Marjorie and Uncle Ted would stay with me until they got back. I never saw them again. A few months passed and we didn't hear a word, the police tried to track down their old friend but couldn't find a thing. It wasn't until six months after they had disappeared that we got the call; they had found my parents bodies. The police had ruled it an accidental death, apparently their car had just gone off the cliff and crashed into the lake. But to this day I don't believe it was accidental," Nick said.
           
           "Why not," I whispered. My question seemed to pull him out of the past because when he answered, he looked me dead in the eye.
           
           "Because my parents didn't drive. Neither of them even had a license," came his whispered retort.

I sat there for a minute, stunned. Nick's parents had been murdered?
           
             It was time to tell him, and I knew it, "Your brother is dead," I said sorrowfully without preamble.
           
             What? How do you know," Nick asked, the tone of his voice begging for me to be wrong.
           
             I didn't reply and handed him the pilfered papers. He snatched them from my hands and began to read.
           
             When he finished he looked up at me, and his gorgeous eyes were filled with such a raw, heart-wrenching, pain, that it nearly killed me for being the bearer of this awful news.
           
            "He really is dead," was his hurt whisper.

I nodded and wrapped him in a hug I knew that both of us needed. He clung to me like a drowning man and buried his face in my hair.
           
            It was a long time before we both pulled away, "I guess we had better tell the others what we found out," I said, attempting a smile but only managing a grimace. We both got up and I began walking towards the cave entrance.
           
            "Hey Rayven?"
           
            I turned around, "Yes Nick?"
           
            "Thanks," he said, not really knowing what else to say.
           
            This time I managed a small smile, "No problem."



3 comments:

  1. really nice, i felt the pain as a read it! so good

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  2. Why did you change her name?
    ~Jade Nance~

    ReplyDelete
  3. I couldn't decide what to name her when I started posting so I used mine, but the other night a light bulb went on and I came up with Rayven.

    ReplyDelete