Burning Alone

Chapter 1

Days have merged almost completely into one big blob of time that Kel can't completely decipher. It's been nearly a month since he had last seen any of his friends and he can't stand it. After Sunny revealed the bitter truth about what happened to his older sister, everything got tense again. The memory plays on a loop in Kels mind as he grasps onto any train of thought that may lead him to understanding it clearly.

•One month before•

"I'm so...so sorry. But it happened and... I need to move on. It's going to kill me if I don't tell you all now." Sunny mumbled from the side of his mouth, a small cut on his lip cracking open slightly as he spoke. Kel's eyes were focused on the small bead of blood that sat on Sunny's bottom lip as the boy finished his statement. Silence filled the room. At a certain point, he had stopped listening. He had been ELATED the last couple days hanging out with his old best friend just to have it all crumble around him. Hero was finally happy again. Aubrey was just starting to warm up.

'Why now?' Kel thought, daring himself to speak but he couldn't force the words from his mouth. He tasted iron on his tongue, disregarding how his teeth dug into the insides of his cheeks and ignoring how bad the pain was getting.

"You fucking-" Kel looked up, fully expecting Aubrey to be the first one to talk. She has nothing to lose and has never had any fear in speaking her mind before. He would have assumed the anger she already still held for the boy would have had her ready to fight him on the spot. But as Kel glanced up in Sunny's direction, he sees Hero stepping forward towards the already injured 16 year old.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Hero spat out between his gritted teeth. The tension in the air was so thick, Kel was sure he could slice it with a knife. "She loved you so much, and you lied?!" Kel flinched at the hurt sound of his brothers voice. He heard a sharp ringing in his ears, it was like his brain was desperately trying to protect him from the reminder of Hero's verbal abuse all those years ago after the news of Mari's suicide came to light. He was so hurt then, and his words had stung so bad.

"You let me believe I did something wrong. I spent the last FOUR YEARS wondering how i could have seen the signs and how I could have saved her. What kind of FUCKING piece of shit does that to someone." Kel watched as Hero stepped even closer to Sunny and roughly grabbed his hospital gown from the front. He looked ready to finish what basil had started with him the night before. Hero looked...unrecognizable. Like a completely different person. Without even a second is hesitation, Kel grabbed Hero's wrist tightly. He looked at his older brother through wet, hurt eyes. Kel looked exhausted and Hero looked murderous. Crazed. It was terrifying.

"Stop. You're better than this, Hero. " Kel finally spoke up.

Everyone turned and faced him, even Basil who laid uncomfortably in the hospital bed. He didn't want the attention on him, in fact Kel would for the first time in his life like nothing more than to just disappear. He wanted to be anywhere but in that room. Those feelings alone made him feel like a coward. It made him feel like a little kid. He felt like the 13 year old kid who had held and comforted Sunny after Mari was found. The kid who absorbed his brothers grief directed at him because he knew it was best to stay quiet and take it. Recalling that memory made his head sting. He felt so much hurt of his own, how was he supposed to be the rational one right now?

"I'm not going to see anyone else get hurt. I can't...fucking take that. Let's go." He barely managed to get out at an audible volume. Hero eased up his grip on Sunny's hospital gown and sighed. Without another word, Hero walks out of the room, throwing the door open as he walked through. Kel needed to get out too. He turned around to face Aubrey who appeared to be frozen in place, eyes stuck to the floor. He wanted to look at Basil or Sunny and tell them he still loves them and cares for them but the thought of looking even in their direction made him nauseous. He never thought he would feel so sour toward his best friend in the world. Sunny. His friend he waited four years to rekindle a relationship with. It felt like all those rainey days he spent sitting outside Sunny's house, desperately hoping he would come out were all wasted. Without another thought, he grabbed Aubrey's hand and laced their fingers and pulled her out of the room. He remembered how warm her hand felt in his and how tight she held onto him as he pulled her out of the room. He heard her small sniffle but couldn't see her face behind her hair as they walked.