CHAPTER 1

2393 Words
A sudden wave of overwhelming sadness hits me when I push the door to my parents' bedroom open and I stand still, letting the intense pain consume me. I have this empty feeling in the pit of my stomach and my heart is aching terribly as the painful memories flood my head. I screw my eyes shut in an attempt to shake everything off, to push the scenes out of my mind. It doesn't work. I lean on the door frame for support when my limbs feel extremely weak and I stand there, eyes cast absently on the marble floor while my mind drifts a million miles away. I grit my teeth when tears start to well up in my eyes and I blink rapidly to keep them at bay. I can't do this! I just can't! I am not strong enough. I contemplate walking back to my room, but this might be my last chance. I haven't been in this room for the last four weeks, since that fateful day, and I really need to grab the photo album and a few items before I leave. I suck in a deep breath and take a hesitant step inside, shutting the door behind me. Leaning on the cold wall, I let my eyes scan the room and I feel my heart break into bitsy pieces. I will never see dad or mom ever again. They are gone. The room is sparkling clean, all thanks to Aunt Mel and nanny. I don't know how or when they cleaned up, but they did a great job, they changed the bloody sheets, mopped the floor clean and there is not even a speck of blood on the floor. My parents' clothes and items are locked away yet ironically, everything in this room reminds me of them. I glance at the curtains, they are still closed at this time of the day and they should be drawn open. It's the first thing mom always did when she woke up. Dad's golf club is missing, it is always on the nightstand. I look at the king-size bed that is standing at the center and a lone tear rolls down my cheek when my eyes trail to the spot, just next to the bed. I found both mom and dad lying there, holding each other in a pool of blood, lifeless, dead. And every time I wonder what they would have done to deserve such cruelty. I lost them, now I am alone at the age of seventeen. I furiously wipe the drop of tear away with the back of my hand and a huge lump forms in my throat when another tear rolls down my cheek and another and another. I don't bother to wipe my face, instead, I slide to the floor, pull my legs close to my chest, rest my chin on my knees and I let every single tear fall. It is all I have been doing for the last four weeks anyway. I have been sobbing my heart out every single day, but the pain won't just go away. I miss them so much and this world is going to suck without them. **** I don't know how long it takes, but I am emotionally drained and by the time I stop crying, my eyes feel puffy and I have a throbbing headache. I sniffle as I stand up and wipe my face dry. Sucking in a deep breath, I amble to their walk-in closet and I grab a few things. Among them are my mom's favorite necklaces, dad's Rolex, his golf club, and the photo album. With one last glance, I shut the door and stride to my bedroom. I carefully place the photo frames, the watch, and the necklaces inside the small luggage bag and I proceed to put the golf stick in the big luggage bag. I haven't packed my clothes yet, I was hoping Kay would be here to help me but I think I am going to have to start without her. I take my phone from the nightstand and text Kay, telling her to hurry up. After putting some music on, I get busy grabbing my favorite clothes and shoes, tossing them on the bed as I sing along to You Found Me by The Fray. “Rio?” Aunt Mel calls me a few minutes later. “Your friend is here.” Typical Kayla, she was supposed to be here one hour ago. “Let her in, please.” The door creaks open and a small smile pulls on my lips when Kayla walks in with Ella following her closely. Kayla has been my best friend since grade one and my closest friend. I don't have many friends though, my mom was annoyingly overprotective of me and so overbearing. I have been locked away my entire life and I never got a chance to hang out with other people, plus I suck at making friends. Ella is my adorable dog, a white Maltese that my parents gifted me on my seventeenth birthday ten months ago. She is now one year old and I love her to bits. She is actually my second best friend. “Sorry I am late.” Kay apologizes as she walks inside and I roll my eyes. “I would be surprised if you weren't.” I am the most punctual person I know and then there is Kay, the complete opposite. She is ever late. Ever. “We are leaving in the next one hour, try to hurry up,” Aunt Mel tells me. “And call me if you need anything, okay.” I nod and turn to look at my best friend as my aunt shuts the door. She is in a black tank top, a pair of baggy blue jeans, and black doll shoes. Her platinum blonde hair is pulled up in a messy bun and I can easily see the outlines of dry tears on her beautiful sad face. She has been crying and I bet she didn't have any sleep last night if the dark circles underneath her beautiful brown eyes are anything to go by. She looks terrible, like she just jumped from her bed and drove straight here and I really hope this is not about Alfie, that douche broke up with her. They met once, four weeks ago, and he gave her a very expensive silver necklace with letter A carved on the pendant, then he broke her poor heart. Kay only came out of the relationship with a broken heart and a beautiful necklace. Alfie was her first boyfriend, I didn't even get to meet him because their relationship ended before it even began and we haven't really had time to talk about boys since we have been busy mourning my parents, although, I have tried to dig for more information a couple of times but Kay gave me nothing. She doesn't even talk about him and I assume she is not over him yet. “Are you really going?” She asks absently, her eyes shifting from my half-empty wardrobe to my half-packed bags and I swallow dryly. “Have you been crying?” I ask, narrowing my eyes at her, totally ignoring her question. “Nope.” She answers curtly, flopping herself on the bed that is full of unfolded clothes and Ella starts to nuzzle her legs trying to cheer her up. She always notices when Kay and I are sad. “Liar,” I say walking towards her and I sit on the bed next to her. “What's up?” “You mean apart from my best friend leaving the state?” She sniffles and I sigh, standing up. “Can we save that for later?” I ask, looking anywhere but her face. “We've got lots of clothes to pack.” I get busy folding clothes and arranging them neatly in the bags and Kay is just lying on the bed, her eyes cast blankly at the white ceiling. “Come on, you promised to help me pack.” “Actually, I didn't want to come,” she confesses after a long second of silence and I raise my eyebrows at her in disbelief. “What?” “Don't give me that look, I would rather listen to Barbie lie about her trip to South Africa than help you pack.” Barbie is Kay's worst nightmare, and she always reminds me of my cousin Bri, Aunt Mel's only child. They are both whiny and bitchy, but Bri is damn mean. “How dare you choose bitchy Barbie over me,” I say comically, in an attempt to lighten the mood but I fail terribly at it. “I will miss you.” Kay's voice breaks with emotions, and I take a deep breath. “Will you feed Ella for me?” She blows out some air as she stands up. “You know we'll gonna have to say goodbye at some point, right?” I sigh helplessly and watch as she walks out carrying Ella in her arms. God knows I will miss her. **♦**♦**♦** One hour later, we are all standing outside our huge mansion. Kay is with Ella, probably saying their goodbyes, while Aunt Mel and nanny are busy packing my bags in the trunk of my car. We would have taken a flight but I talked Aunt Mel out of it since I didn't want to leave my car behind, it has sentimental value. It is the last thing my parents bought for me and it was the best surprise ever since I didn't even expect any gift. It was their anniversary ceremony, and the day was supposed to be all about them, but they chose to celebrate me instead saying that I meant everything to them. Little did I know that I was spending my last hours with them, I would have said goodbye, and I think the car was their goodbye present. I am absently glancing between nanny and Kay, the only two people I will regret leaving behind when Kay calls my name, dragging me out of my trance. “This is hard,” she says in a low voice while handing Ella over and a fat tear rolls down her cheek. “I don't want to say goodbye,” She tells me wiping the tear away and I take a sharp intake of breath. “Me too.” Honestly, I never thought that I would one day have to say goodbye to Kay, ever. We were supposed to finish senior school, go to the same college, and become roommates, but again I never thought my parents would pass away and leave me all alone. I never wanted any of this. Kay is trying so hard to balance tears in her eyes and so am I. I wish I didn't have to leave but Aunt Mel is the only family that I have and right now, I need family more than ever, and I can't stay in this house, I need a change of environment. “This is not goodbye, Kay,” I am trying to convince myself not her, but it is not working. “It is.” She sniffles, tears rolling down her cheeks and I blink rapidly to keep mine at bay. “You are visiting me during the holiday, remember?” “Holiday?” She chuckles lightly. “The longest I have gone without seeing you was two weeks and those were the most boring days of my life. I will miss you, you know that, right?” She wipes tears off her face furiously and I blink a tear. “I know,” I take her in my arms and another tear rolls down my other cheek. “I will miss you too.” I tighten my grip on her, and we stay in each other's arms, sobbing for a long time, but I grudgingly pull away when Aunt Mel calls my name. “Take care.” “You too, I love you,” I whisper, giving her a sad smile, and a lump forms in my throat as I walk towards nanny who wipes my tears away before taking me in her arms and she starts to fondle my back. “I love you so much, Riona.” And I know she means every single word. I know she loves me. “I am just one call away.” She reminds me for the umpteenth time and I nod, another warm tear rolling down my cheek. "I love you too, nanny." I manage to say between sobs. “It is time to go, sweetie.” Aunt Mel tells me and I tighten my grip on nanny, I really don't want to let go. "I will miss you so much, nanny.' "I know, I promise I will be visiting often." She tells me pulling away and I am forced to let go. I glance at Kay and sigh as I walk away hugging Ella to my chest with tears running down my cheeks. I hate goodbyes, they are the hardest thing ever. “Hey, come here.” Aunt Mel takes me in her arms. “It is going to be fine, I promise.” She assures me and I nod hopefully pulling away. I catch a glimpse of Kay, who is busy crying on nanny's shoulder, as I get inside the car and I wipe my face furiously, setting Ella on my laps. I buckle up while my aunt walks over to the driver's seat and I feel her gaze on me as she starts the car. My eyes are cast on the side-view mirror as we drive out of the compound, and I can't help the tears that run down my cheeks as I nearly mumble a soft goodbye to the place that I have called home for the last seventeen years. The place I have had my best memories but it is also the place I had my worst memories. And as we hit the freeway, I can't help but wonder what my fate is. Will I ever get justice? Will I ever get over this agony? How do I get used to not having them around? Will Bri and I get along?
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