Truth

Chapter 1

   I sat in my room after the alarm clock went off. I thought about the peculiar dream I had just had. I pushed open my bedroom door and stumbled outside tiredly. Mary, who was my grandma, rested on the couch. As soon as I saw her, she groaned and pushed herself up off the cushion. "Good morning Tay. Parker made us some eggs! He's really excited for you to try them."

   "Good morning Mary. I wish I could say that I was hungry." I pulled some thick pink socks over my feet.

   "Alright. Well, they are in the microwave when you want them. And-"

   "Wait, Mary, before you continue i have to tell you about the very strange dream I had last night." Mary chuckled at me and nodded. "I had another dream I met Mother and Dad." I paused to think about it for a minute.

    "Go on..." Mary was interested.

   "We... We were in Boston for some reason. They announced my last name and some lady and a man walked up to a stand. They looked a lot like they did in the photographs that were in the basement. At first I was hesitant to say something, but then they saw me.They ran up to me and hugged me. We cried together. It was probably the happiest dream I've ever had."

   I glanced at Mary. She was tearing up. She missed her daughter and her son-in-law. I had a pretty good vibe that they would never be back again. That they were dead. But Mary had told me and Parker that they were gone on a very long business trip and that they would be back anytime. And Parker, being 7 years younger then me at age 8, still believed it.

   "Mary... what actually happened to Mom and Dad?" She shed a tear.

   "Sweetheart..." She lowered her voice so Parker wouldn't hear her. "I can't tell you that. But they will be back someday."

   "You can't promise that, can you...?" I didn't want to see Mary cry anymore, so I wasn't going to straight up tell her that I knew they were dead. I could tell she didn't have a clue what to say, as she wiped away her tear and turned away from me, walking downstairs. I felt bad, because after that, she didn't stop crying for 3 hours. All during the morning while I was doing chores before school I could hear her sobbing through the vents. I wanted to cry myself, but I didn't want people at school to notice my red eyes. That usually happens after I cry for a while.

   The air was fresh,  and the clouds disguised the sun as a shadow in the grey sky. Birds circled above me, observing me  with curious eyes. I heard the bus roaring loudly down the street. I clenched the handle of my school bag, and watched white peices of dandilion float gracefully in the soft breeze. I pulled my hood over my head and climbed up the bus steps. I felt the eyes of students studying me when I made my way down the isle, searching for an empty seat. When I sat with a girl named Jewel, she scooted as far as  she would from me, and shoved her earbuds in her ears. I turned away from the  ignorant girl, and did the same with my earbuds. What have I done to anybody?

   After school, I walked to the kitchen to get dinner made. I set my schoolbag on the stairs. After scrounging through the refrigerator to try to find the carrots, I set the vegetables on a cutting board, grabbing the knife and chopping them into small bits. For me, this was a real stress reliever.

   Parker ran into the kitchen, which was probably the only time he came out of his room since he came home. He's usually playing video games. I looked up and grinned, but as soon as I noticed my brother frowning, I stopped.

    "Taylor... this morning with Grandma... what happened to Mom and Daddy... I heard you guys crying and-"

   "Shh, Parker. One thing at a time" I set the knife down after noticing my hand shaking. I didn't want Parker hearing anything about them, especially since he was so young. I didn't want him worrying. I prayed he didn't hear anything about them never coming back home.

   "I heard you guys crying. and I heard you guys talking about them." He quieted down when he saw Mary napping on the sofa.

   "Parker, me and Mary were just crying because we both miss them very much." I tried quickly to think of something that wouldn't make him think it was something he should freak out about. Again, I didn't want him worrying.

   "But Taylor, a couple days I went into grandma's computer room. I wanted to play pacman, but grandma's facebook was left up." He picked up a piece of the carrot from the cutting board and put it into his mouth.

   "And..." I said, anxiously waiting for him to continue.

   "Grandma had a new message." He said with his mouth full. Then, he swallowed. "I opened it. Trying not to look suspicious, I sat down excitedly and acted like I was playing my game. I read the message, it was from some girl named Louis." He glanced at Mary to be sure she was still asleep. Then he continued. "It said something strange. And I don't know why, but I seem to have pretty much memorised it. It said, 'I'm so sorry for everything. I was looking through some old newspapers and saw your son-in-law's last name on it, and 9-11 attack. Curious, I read it. God bless you and your family. Sorry for bringing things up. Love, Louis.' and I thought nothing of it. I pretty much forgot about it."

   "Parker... We need to search that news article. Mom and Dad... could be... dead." I shuddered. I knew that they were dead, but hearing that I was correct made my stomach drop.

   I dug through my jackets and books in my room. I scanned the room for my laptop bag, but I didn't have any luck. My heart palpitated, and it felt as if my chest was going to burst. Goosebumps arose on my skin.

   "Taytay..." He shook uncontrollably. This was a lot for an 8 year old boy to take in. "Did you leave your laptop at school?"I swore under my breath. I needed it. "Can't we use grandma's computer?" His words were shaky.

   "It's too risky. I don't want grand- uh, Mary, knowing that we know about this... We will have to wait until tomorrow to check. " I swore again  and kicked the pile that I had rumaged through. I leaped onto my bed, and buried my face into my pillows. My arms  and legs shook, and the hairs stood on my neck. I thought about my dream and how I could see the resemblance  between my dad in it and my dad in the photograph I had. I took a deep breath and calmed myself a bit.