Nightspell || Michael Clifford

Chapter 30

It was the middle of the night when I arrived at the gates of our house.
My heart was pounding so fast it was almost painful, part of me wanted to turn around and run away but the whole walk here I had riled myself up to the point that I was merely running on adrenaline at this point.
I took a deep breath and opened the gates. No lights were turned on in the front yard but I didn't allow myself to jump to conclusions.
I am stumbling to the front door, My breathing fast. Hard.
I look for the spare key, Alex always forgot his so my parents hid one in the highest planter, a light layer of soil hiding it from view.
Through the window next to the door I could see the lights inside were turned off as well.
Silently, I opened the door and stepped inside. It was like being pushed back in time.
I walked into the kitchen, the excessively large kitchen island still the same it always was.
Empty and with as few decorations as possible.
Exactly the way we left it.
I push the thought away but deep down I know it's true.
The only way to really find out if they're here is to check the bedrooms.
The master bedroom was on the opposite end of the house and I walked over without looking at anything else. Afraid it would give me more clues. Afraid of what those clues would mean.
I notice some anyway.
The air feels different, dusty. Like no fresh air has been inside this hallway for a long time.
I reach the door of the bedroom and close my eyes, tears burning behind my eyelids.
My heart racing, breath catching in my throat.
I throw open the door.
For a wild second, the world seems to stop turning, my brain seems to stop working.
I turn on the light without realizing I'm doing it and find their bed empty.
The bedsheets perfectly made, the same pair of pants my dad had laid over the chair in the corner before we left was still there.
My brain seems to lag, unable to fully process what all of this meant. Trying to come up with better, happier alternatives but that wouldn't make reality any less true.
Tears start rolling down my cheeks as I turn around, facing the hallway.
'Mom?!' I yell. 'Dad?! Alex?!' A loud sob leaves my body as I start turning on more lights around the house. 'I'm home!'
I vaguely notice the layer of dust covering every surface but my brain still resists. Still doesn't want to believe it's true. 'I'm here.'
With heaving breaths, I find myself back in the kitchen and open the fridge, the smell that comes out makes me gag and I shut it as I slowly let myself sink to the floor.
I try to slow my breath but every deep breath is closely followed by a sob.
Taking off my brace I pull my legs up to my chest and rest my head on my knees.
Wishing I wouldn't have come to the house alone.
I should've asked Michael to come with me.
The silence in the house is overwhelming. I used to hate having people in every room working for my parents. I used to hate it when my brother played videogames in the living room with the volume up to 100.
I used to cherish the silence at night, I would often stay up way into the night to enjoy it.
Now I need it to stop.
I need the sound of my brother running through the hallways, I need the sound of my mother yelling into the phone, and my father yelling at the basketball game on TV.
I needed the sound of life.
It didn't come.

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A/N: 
:(