The Delinquents

The Delinquents - chpt. 11

The Delinquents

Chapter Eleven

           

            Without Travis, the house was quiet. Everyone went about their own business. No one shared anything in circles, no one made jokes, no one laughed. Everyone just kind of lost the colour from their everyday lives.

            As soon as Travis had disappeared Keegan had left me to tell Evan who had spent the better part of the night looking for Travis before calling the police. The police officers took statements for all of us, posted an amber alert on Travis, and gave Evan a firm warning to keep the rest of us under control.

            I hadn't spoken to Keegan since we watched Travis walk out of our lives. He had been avoiding me and I guess in a way I was avoiding him too. I sat by myself during free time, spending my times under the cherry blossom tree.

            Lily took it harder than almost anyone. She was back to being cold and callous, with most of her anger directed at me. Lily thought I should have done more to stop Travis. I couldn't help but agree. Lily mostly stayed to herself, boiling with rage in her own corner of the house.

            Simon spent most of his time sitting in the grass, crying or moping. He still felt incredibly guilty over what had happened with Travis's attempt at suicide. The dominant side of me felt sorry for Simon, but a small part of me wished he felt guilty forever.

            As a result of Simon's recent emotional breakdown, Gabe was forced to spend his time alone as well seeing as he couldn’t stand being around emotional people. He had told me that being friends with Simon was mostly out of convenience, and now that friendship was over due to Simon's inability to stop crying.

            Derek wasn't sure what to do with himself. Keegan spent most of his time exploring the woods―against Evan's direct wishes. Instead of wallowing, Derek spent his time reading the extensive list of books Evan had made for him. But behind the pages he wore a permanent frown.

            Evan was stressed beyond the normal breaking point. His eyes were bloodshot as he spoke back and forth with Travis' parents, lawyers, and the police. When we had one on one's Evan's eyes would sometimes glaze over or he'd snap, getting mad when we didn't speak up or talked back.

            Everything was off balance without Travis.

            We only gathered together for group and meal times, besides that, no one could stand the sight of the one another. The delinquents were quick to anger or sadden and were suddenly more closed off than I had ever seen them.

            It wasn't until the third day that Evan lost it on us. "Someone has to speak up, share something, say something, anything. I don't care if you tell me what your favourite colour is, just―" he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Instead of yelling, he was begging. "Say something."

            I could feel Keegan's nervous energy from across the room. I watched the way his dark eyes flickered to the window whenever Evan spoke, as if staring at the woods would somehow transport him there.

            I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling small as I spoke. "I miss Travis." I could feel their gazes on my face but instead of meeting their eyes, I dropped my gaze to my lap. "I really miss him and I wish I did more than what I did to make him stay, to help him."

            Lily's voice was raw. "He was right there with you, Piper," she blubbered, emotion cracking through her mask for the first time in days. "How could you just―" Guilt grabbed my heart and squeezed relentlessly.