The Locket

Chapter 18- Broken Window

I woke up. It's Saturday. Today's gonna be another great day. Lucy and Ollie asked me to hang out and stuff, but I told them I couldn't 'cause I had some work to do.

"Lex, you okay?" Lucy asked on call,  concerned "you've been...'working' a lot, lately."

"Yeah, I'm great." I said "just visiting an old family friend."

"Oh" she said "cool. Have you heard from Nathan lately? We only meet in school, and we don't talk very much. He looks...paler than usual. He hasn't been picking up my calls and... what if he's mad at me?"

"What?" I said quickly "Of course not."

"How would you know?" She asked suspiciously.

"Trust me, I know Nathan." I said "he wouldn'tbe mad at you for nothing. Maybe he's just busy, too? Or he lost his phone."

"Maybe." She sounded slightly more cheerful "Well, I gotta go! Enjoy your visit,  Lex."

Oliver wasn't short of worried, either. He kept asking if I was okay, too. What if he thought I was mad at him or something? He wouldn't think that, would he? I should make some free time and visit him soon.

I had to tell them that the reason I didn't come was because I was sick. Nathan said I should come to school, but I feel like I wanna take a break.

Explore more.

Sometimes it almost feels like he doesn't want me to come to The Other Side...maybe he's just worried I'll get lost or something, y'know. Sometimes I feel as if he really is my brother.

I got ready, wore a full-sleeve white button up, and wore a brown sweater. For bottoms, I wore black leggings. I put on The Locket.

I locked the door, and left when I realized I hadn't checked the back door.

I quickly stepped inside, not wanting to get late. I went to the kitchen where the back door was, and was greeted by smoke. And some extreme heat. I coughed as my eyes stinged because of the smoke. I tried to wave around some smoke and saw that the oven was on fire. When did I  use the oven? I quickly grabbed the fire extinguisher and extinguished the fire. I then took some water from the sink, washed my eyes, drank some, and looked around. The back door was locked. But the window was broken. Someone broke their way through here.

I quickly checked to see if they stole anything. They didn't. That's weird. They just...set a fire and went?

I decided not to call Dad, 'cause he would get too worried and come early from the trip. Even though it's a business trip, I know he's enjoying there, and I want him to enjoy the rest of it, too.

I called a repairman to fix the window. He fixed it, and when he left,  I realized I was two hours late. "Well," I sighed "I'll say that I, uh...slept in late or something."

I locked the front door, and went out to thr forest. I showed the locket, it opened, and I went through.

I looked around at the familiar bench and clock. The leaves were brown, yellow and red and looked amazing. I smelled the air. It smelled like...cinnamon. I smiled and took a stroll towards Nathan's tree house. As I climbed the ladder, I heard some light humming. I smiled again, and got to the surface. He had his back toward me when I came. He was sitting on his rocking chair, reading a book. He sounded happy. I quickly went behind him and gently whispered "Nathan."

He yelped, he fell from his rocking chair onto the floor, as his book flew from his hand.

He sat on the floor. Then he scooted back and stared at me in horror.

"Nathan" I said, concerned "you okay?"

He quickly got up, still looking at me pale-faced.

"Yeah, I uh-" He stammered slightly "thought you wouldn't be coming here because you-you were three hours late."

"Two" I corrected "and I'm sorry. I really am."

"It's alright," he said "w-wanna hang out at your place?"

"What?" I asked, confused "I gotta visit uncle, remember?"

"I think he's outside" Nathan said "I heard something like that."

"How would you know?" I asked skeptically. After all, he wasn't exactly close to the king.

"Uh" he pauses for a second "rumors."

I raised an eyebrow "I dont buy it. You're hiding something."

"No, I'm not." He said. He looked as if he really wanted to tell me something, but couldn't. "Let's go back to the real world and hang out with Lucy and Oliver. When's the last time you hung out with them? Or went to school?" He looked desperate

"Don't change the subject, Nathan," I said "You clearly don't wanna talk, or you'd tell me what's up."

"I want to," He whispered "But I can't. "

He looked...worried. He was so pale I thought he would be sick any second. He looked like he hadn't slept in days, either.

"Nathan," I said, putting my hand on his shoulder "are you sure you're okay? How long haven't you slept in? What's up? Is there something that's bothering you?"

Tears were pouring down from his cheeks. He was looking at the ground, his face down.
"I wanna tell you," he whispered. "I really do."

"Is there something holding you back?" I asked, trying to look into his eyes.

He looked up for a brief moment, pain in his brown eyes. He opened his mouth slightly as if he were about to say something, but then his eyes went out of focus.

"Uh," he said, panting slightly "I-I'll take a short nap."

"Okay," I said gently as he sat on the rocking chair "I'll go visit Uncle Erik."

But before he could reply, he fell in a deep sleep.