The Hurt

Chapter 11

"Nothing," I mumble, "I'm just trying to figure out what the next plan of action is."

"Well, isn't it obvious?" I looked up at him confused then realizing what he was getting at.

"No, no way. I'm not going to risk getting separated from Melissa. I've practically raised her and I wont let the authorities separate us. We are not getting the authorities involve, at least not yet." I knew that it was going to happen, but I didn't want to believe it. Melissa is all that I have, what if she gets put with a family that hurts her as well and I wouldn't be there to protect her.

"Okay, fine. But we can't wait long. Sooner or later he'll figure our where you are. And you also need to think about school. If you don't go then they'll get suspicious since you both have already missed a week and if you do go to school you run the risk of having him show up at the end of the day." He was right, either way there was going to be some risk. Now I just needed to decide which one I was willing to take.

I pulled my hands up to my face, "Yeah, I honestly don't even want to think about school right now..." Aaron grabbed my hands in his and looked straight at me.

"We'll figure something out, okay? It's all going to be okay..." I nodded and stood up off the couch.

"I think I'm going to head to bed, goodnight Aaron." He stood up, hugged me, then I whispered in his ear. "Thanks for doing this." He hugged me tighter and gave me a sad smile as I turned to go upstairs.

I slowly trudged up the stairs and went straight into bathroom, shutting the door behind me. Without turning, I locked the door and sank to the floor, tears beginning to cascade down my cheeks. I just felt so lost, and I knew I couldn't breakdown in front of him. I can't be weak around others.

Everything felt so wrong. In my heart, I knew this was the right thing, but all these warning signals that kept flashing through my head were almost driving me insane. This whole thing was just so screwed up and now I was faced with trusting my heart, which has only lead to pain or my brain, which has been protecting Melissa and I for all these years. I'm not going to lie; I was seriously leaning towards my brain.

I pulled myself off the floor and walked towards the Jacuzzi tub across the room, turning it all the way to the left, making the water scorching hot. I dropped a few scented bubble-bath beads then walked over to the mirror and undressed myself. My fingers lightly traced the scars along my hips as I relived my old life, thinking about the relief that it gave me, but I knew I couldn't. Now, more than ever, I needed to keep it together, even though now was when I wanted to fall apart most.

I tied my hair up into a messy bun, walked back over to the tub and shut off the steaming water. I slowly lowered one foot after the other in and cringed slightly at how hot it actually was. Little by little I let the water engulf me as I slowly slipped into a temporary moment of serenity.

*      *      *      *

~Ding Dong~

"Aaron, can you grab that, I'm in my room. It's probably Melissa, school got about ten minutes ago." I yelled from my bedroom.

"Yeah, sure." I heard the door open, shuffling, and then it went silent. I slowly crept out of the room and towards my doorway.

"Aaron? Who's at the door?" I half yelled before I walked through the door and over to the railing that oversees the front porch. The door was closed, but I couldn't see anyone. "Aaron?"

I tiptoed down the stairs quietly. I knew something was wrong, alarm bells in my head were going off, but I needed to make sure he was okay. I cringed after every step as the stairs creaked, echoing through the dead silence that filled the house.

Once I reached the bottom of the stairs and turned towards the living room, I stopped. Parallel to me was George holding a knife to Melissa's throat. Aaron was to the side with a gash above his right eye. My heart shattered all over again and tears began forming in my eyes. I took another step forward and saw his arm tense around my sister's throat.

"No, please don't - " I throw my arm out, even though I knew I couldn't reach her. George and I made eye contact and it was like I could read his mind. I panicked, but before I could take another step, he sliced her throat. I was frozen in fear as I watch as my little sisters body collapse to the floor.

Aaron charged at him, hitting him and wrestling him into the other room, but all I cared about was Melissa. I ran over to her body thinking that if I could just get to her, I could save her, but that was a dismal reality.

"Melissa? Oh my god, Melissa! Please, wake up." I cradled my little sister in my arms like she was a baby again. "Please, Mel. Look at me, please." I began shaking her body, hoping and praying that her eyes will once again open and be filled with life. "Mel, please don't leave me." I knew she wasn't going to wake up, but I couldn't stand the thought of losing her.

I pulled my dead little sister as close to me as I possibly could and wept.

*      *      *      *

My body surged upwards and the water around me spewed from the sides and all over the floor. My heart was beating hard in my chest and my face was dripping with sweat and tears. I brought both my hands up to my face, taking deep breaths trying to calm myself down.

I glanced at the clock and realized I had slept for almost two hours. I got out of the bath, dried myself off, and put back on my tank top, cardigan, and sweatpants before immerging into the silence of my bedroom. I grabbed my coat off the bed before heading downstairs.

The stairs creaked, just like they did in my dream, and my head was immediately filled with the images of my sisters death, murder, at the hands of my uncle. I knew something needed to be done, I knew that the best option would be me calling the authorities; having George arrested and sent to prison and getting Melissa and I sent into foster care.

When I reached the end of the stairs, I put on my sweater and shoes and I carefully opened the front door, praying that it didn't creak then slipped outside into the darkness. The chilling wind caught the breath in my throat and made my eyes water. I certainly wasn't expecting it to be this cold, but nonetheless, I continued into the night.

All these thoughts were running through my head. Doing the right thing, the thing that would benefit us the most, or doing what my gut was telling me. Should I follow my heart, or my head? Everything was so difficult. I knew that I was running out of time and that whatever my next decision was; it was going to change both Melissa's and my life completely.

As I reached one of the busier streets, I reared off to the right and into the woods. As I made my way into the shadows, a figure under one of the streetlights caught my eye. It looks like a young man who was tall with broad shoulders. His hood covered his face, but his eyes stood out. They were the same eyes that Melissa had, that my mother had, but even more important, they were the same eyes that belonged to Him.

I blinked a few times and shook my head. No, that's impossible. He's been dead for almost four years. When I brought my attention back up to the figure under the streetlight, he was gone; just vanished into thin air. I walked back up to the sidewalk, and looked down both streets, he was gone.

Who was he?

Unknown POV

"This must be a mistake, she's been hiding in there this whole time?" I gesture towards the decrepit house across the road. Dr. Isaac's eyes were filled with pity as he gave me a soft nod. How could this even be possible? The framework looks as though it could collapse at any second. The majority of the shingles were scattered around the houses perimeter, while the exterior paint lays chipped and curled; a mere shell of the original colour. The lawn was overgrown and filled with a plethora of weeds almost as tall as the doctor; albeit his stature is only that of 5'5. The windows and doors were cracked and brittle, and decorated with various tags from the local rebellious teens. It was completely abandoned, why would Jess come here?