INTO THE FLAMES

Chapter 2

"Where are you headed to?" Mom asked me as I entered the kitchen. I chuckled off her startle, as I'd forgotten that I'd be seeing my family on a simple path to freedom. She smiled apologetically.

"Just taking a walk," I replied. I've always been awkward in conversation. I never knew how to continue one, how to make it flow, seem natural. Worst of all, I never knew what to do with my hands. They were always dangling from my side or sitting uncomfortably in front of me. I was grateful for my sweater.

I stuck my hands in my pocket and nodded at them. Mom didn't seem to care. Aria hadn't all day. She wouldn't start now.

As I set out on the path to the field behind our house, I thought about Aria. She'd been so happy growing up. She was the light; I was the dark, and not just in hair color.

She was the one that lit up the party, the one that made everyone smile and laugh and look forward to the evening. She was the constant, the life of the party, the favorite.

I was just Avery.

The wind was subtly, but I did feel cold drifts of it as I walked through the field. For summer, it was cold. Temperatures were ten to fifteen degrees below normal for the beginning of June. It was refreshing, though, to be out of Chicago and out of the chaos. It felt like there was never any room to breathe or to be alone.

As I studied the ferns, I remembered all those summers as I watched Aria's long blonde hair float through the ferns ahead of mine as we ran barefoot around the farmland that our house was in, even though we lived at the edge of Cannon, one of the largest cities in the state.

There were so many summers- and years, really- that I'd loved here, and I found myself wondering what went wrong. It was just me, of course, and my opinions on my family, but how had I let them get that way? How had everything been so good, and the next day, I felt like a prisoner in my own home?

I was three months away from spending two years in New York City in a dream position. There was no way that now, everything could change.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

When I went back into the house, dad was sitting at the counter drinking a beer. He looked about ten years older; he still wore glasses, but I could see his eyes were baggy and tired. He looked thinner, and his hair had gotten greyer.

He was a stranger, but when he stood to hug me, everything was familiar.

"I missed you, Av," dad said as he ran his hand down my hair. Last time he saw me on my way to Chicago, it had been down to my butt. Now, it was just past my collar bone.

When he pulled away, his hands took mine. He kept me at an arm's glance, exactly like mom had done, to study the daughter that had left, the one that ran away. It was uncomforting, but I'd hidden long enough.

"Robert?" Mom asked as she and Aria came downstairs. "What is it?"

"It's just me," I replied, detaching myself from dad's grip. But they were talking about who'd come through the door. Dad shook his head at me.

"Come sit, everyone," he said. Mom and Aria rounded the corner in sweaters like I was. I sat next to dad as Aria and mom pushed their seats closer together.

Dad took a breath, but no one couldn't see that he was hesitant about what he was seconds away from saying.

"He's out," was all he said. Mom started to cry, and Aria just sat there, staring at the fruit bowl. Dad's fists were clenched. I was confused.

"How?" mom managed to say between sobs.

"I'm not sure. Detective Cope said they didn't have enough to hold him, but they all know." Then dad started to cry. "They all know," he repeated.

In that moment, I knew they were talking about Aria's stalker. They'd let him out of prison.

And he was going to kill her and us all.

Okay, that's a negative thought, but it's the first thing that came to mind.

"What are they going to do?" I asked out of curiosity. I felt bad that I'd been out of the loop for so long, and I was only just now catching up.

"They're sending someone to stay with us," dad said, " a Detective Branch."

For the next few weeks, we'd have our house infiltrated.

Well, at least it's too cold to enjoy the summer.