"I may have saved her from the monsters that crawl through the dark, but she saved me from the worst monster of all. She rescued me from who I would have become without her, the monster that would have easily conquered my body."
* * *
Reese Chambler...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
˜˜˜
DEAD LEAVES SHUFFLE around in the breeze, cracking against the pavement as they tumble around. The wind makes a soft whooshing sound as it rushes through the trees, creating an eerie white noise that pushes its way into my ears. On the branches of the trees sit hunched over, un-singing birds. These sounds, paired with both the scrapes of boots trudging up the road and the silence that passes between Carl and I puts an uneasy feeling in my chest.
I can feel his hand in mine, though it is not familiar. His hand is heavy, and I am finding myself struggling to support it. I want to pull my fingers from his grip, but I fear losing him to the cold of the surrounding air.
We walk around the worn bend in the road, watching MJ as she skips a little farther ahead. Her blonde hair bounces around, keeping in time with her excited feet. She hates to be carried now that she has learned to walk properly.
Dragging Carl carefully by the hand, I lead him over to one of the benches perched by the lake. MJ scurries over to us and wedges herself between my bent knees, wanting to remain on her feet. I flick some of her hair behind her little ear, and the girl smiles at me with a toothy grin. The rich, honey colored strands are soft and silky between my rough fingers, and they look alive as they dance wildly in the breeze rolling in from over the walls. Her eyes are bright grey crystals in the pale, clouded-over sunlight. She is so beautiful.
I can feel not just one, but two gazes on me. Carl watches me closely as I stare at MJ, until finally he breaks the silence.
"Reese?"
"Yeah, Carl?" I breathe quietly.
"Who was Meghan?"
A weight pulls down on my heart, but I try to ignore it. Instead, I smile sadly and touch the girl's shoulder, wanting so badly to hug the child to my chest.
"Meghan was... a really incredible girl. She was my little sister," I say slowly, surely.
Carl nods his head along in slow motion, pursing his lips thoughtfully while doing so. We watch MJ as she wiggles out from between my clamped legs and plays in the dirt a few feet away.
Another pang hits my chest, and this time, I don't even try to smile. This time, my voice cracks under the pressure of the water filling my lungs.
"I never said goodbye to her," I whisper.
Carl leans his head in, wanting both to hear my voice more clearly and to be near me. I turn to face him as the first tear slips down. The salty droplet absorbs into my bandana faster than he can wipe it away, so he keeps his hands on his lap.
