Project Element

Project Element (Chapter 10)

Chapter 10:

I sat in the backseat of the car, watching as we left Central City behind us.  It seemed to possess the entire horizon, the buildings brushing the sky.  My family lived in a suburb called Lexington, about 25 minutes out of the city.  I almost felt a sense of relief as I left the noisy city behind me.

Almost.

My mind thought painfully back to Blaze.  Savannah left, telling me there was a car outside.  If I wasn't in it within ten minutes, it was leaving without me.

I'd stood outside of Blaze's door, my hand curled into a fist.  I brought it no more than an inch in front of the door, and stopped.  My breath caught, and I felt tears in my eyes.

I couldn't say goodbye to me.  I was abandoning him.  We'd come into this together, and I was leaving without him.  He'd continue to be a "glorified prisoner".  We had always been there for each other.  I couldn't look him in the eye and admit to him I was moving on without him.

So I walked down the hallway, and got into the elevator, not glancing back.

As I rode the elevator down to the main floor, I thought of Bolt in the basement.  I'd told him I'd come back.  I was letting him down too.  Why was I such a terrible person?  I considered running back up to my room.  For a fleeting second I imagined running into Blaze's room and throwing my arms around him and pretending I was never leaving.

But I couldn't do that.  That's what Aria would do.  I wasn't Aria.  I was Laura.  I was going home.  It was where I belonged.  

"This is your neighborhood.  It's called Ladera Heights." The driver in the front seat said back to me.  We were making a left into a housing development.  The houses were all beautiful, with large landscaped yards and beautiful architecture.  My mouth fell open in awe.

 We got to the end of the cul-de-sac, and the driver pulled into a driveway with a four car garage at the end of it.  There were two more cars in the driveway, closer to the garage.  The garage was attached to a monster of a house.  There was a large front porch with spiraling columns.  The house was a deep brown color, and three stories tall.  There was a large window above the front porch roof.

"Thank you for the ride." I told the driver.  I hadn't brought anything along with me, and I stepped out of the car almost in a daze.  The door slamming shut behind me seemed to snap me out of it, and I raised my arm to block the sun from my eyes. 

What should I do?  Just walk up and ring the doorbell?  The driver was backing out of the driveway, and I watched him go, shuffling form one foot to another.  The front door seemed so daunting, but I took a steadying breath and made my way toward it.  

There was a large doorbell, and I pressed it, hearing the sound echo through the house.  

"Who's there?" A female voice inside yelled.

"It's not for me!" A male voice answered.  

I heard the sound of footsteps, and the front door swung open.

"It's just Laura!" The girl yelled back into the house behind her.   The girl was a spitting image of me, except her hair had a touch more of honey in it, and her eyes were a shade lighter.  She looked to be a couple of years younger than me.  I realized I was looking at my sister.

"Hi." I gave her a small wave.

"Why do you look so dopey?" She looked me up and down, "Why are you wearing scrubs?  Why aren't your nails done....What the hell happened to you Laura?"

"I had an accident." I said evenly.

"You what?" The girl clucked, shaking her head at me, "Come inside, I'm going to get Mom and Dad."  She held open the door for me and I stepped inside, allowing her to close the door behind me.