The Wish List

Stay Here Forever

"All right, Miss Lys. We better leave now then, before it gets too late." I took my dishes to the sink before grabbing my coat and purse from the coat rack and jogging after Sienna as she made her way toward the SUV in the driveway. She watched me in silence as I climbed into the passengers seat, my mind racing with millions of thoughts that I couldn't control.

What if I was doing this all wrong? What if that eight had been nothing more then an indent from a picture that she had drawn a long time ago and had gone through the thin paper? The more logical and practical thing to do would be follow the list from the start, one at a time.

But Steph had never been logical and practical about things. She had always liked to give me puzzles and strange scavenger hunts to go on.

"Seatbelt, Miss Lys." Sienna said as an after thought as she started the car. I yanked the ratty thing from the holder and buckled it, laying my head back against the seat as we pulled away from the house.

I stared out the window, my eyes on the gloomy sky and slick roads as we drove. I could hear Sienna humming a song quietly to herself, but she didn't try and make any conversation. I guess that's probably why I had always loved her so much, she was always so happy not getting involved in our personal lives all that much, but enough to ensure we were okay.

"It's been so long since I've been down here." I said out loud, feeling the silence starting to creep up on me. Sienna nodded, sending me a small smile.

"I remember, Miss Lys. I-"

"Please call me Alyssa." I cut her off, wrapping my arms around myself.

"Very well. I remember, Alyssa. You were so young then, but you wanted to date so bad." She laughed quietly, "Your brother wasn't too happy about it though." I nodded.

Jason had been beyond pissed when I had let him know that I was going on my first date when I was thirteen. Him being twenty at the time, he had been hovering over me constantly, watching me like a hawk. All that seemed to die down when I went on that date, though. He started to back off, kept more to himself, but still kept an eye on and out for me.

"Ah, Alyssa. We are here." Sienna put the car in park, gesturing toward the rain drop spotted window.

"Would you like me to join you?" She questioned.

"No. Please stay here, just in case it starts to come down harder." She smiled weakly as I climbed out of the car, pulling my hoodie over my head.

"Wait, take this." She handed me a small can, "It's to spray in someone's eyes if they mess with you." I thanked her, tucking the Mace in my pocket with nod before shutting the door and whirling around to stare around me.

I could feel my whole body grow cold, and it wasn't because of the rain or the nippy wind.

People were lined up and down both sides of the streets, boxes or tents up beside and behind them. Some didn't even have that much. I could see from where I stood that only the people further up the road had boxes and tents, everyone closer to me was wrapped in a blanket and laying on the cold, wet ground.

"Purple box." I muttered to myself, avoiding looking at a woman with her young son sitting with a blanket shielding their heads from the rain.

"What are you doing here, girl?" A voice snapped from the other side of the street, "Someone like you ain't got no business here." I lifted my head, feeling my heart pounding against my chest as I stared at the elderly woman.

She looked about the same age as Sienna, with her light grey hair and creased cheeks. I could see her hands shaking as she held on to an unlit cigarette in her hand, her eyes as dark as the blanket of storm clouds above us.

"I. . . I'm looking for someone living in a purple box." I said, trying my best to ignore her previous comment. She stared at me for a minute, taking in my blue rain coat and worn jeans.

"Who are you? Ty don't need someone like you comin' around." I perked up at the mention of the name.

Ty should be in the box, he is cute, I promise.

"Where is he?" I asked, the words I had read on the list bouncing around in my head like a catchy hook to a song.

"Look, girl. The boy is good. He don't need you to come and ruin him, you hear? Why-"

"Why don't you just tell me where Ty is and we'll see what he wants." I finally snapped, irritated.

"Ty? He's down at the end of the street, the last box on the right." The woman with the son said a few feet away, her eyes glistening with hope that I'd give her something for the piece of information. I honestly would have anyway.

"Thank you." I gave her a quick nod before starting to continue down the street, my hands sweaty despite the cold air.

Various pairs of eyes fell on me as I disrupted the street's normal routine. A few men cat called after me, earning a disgusted look out of me and resulted in me walking faster. I was relieved when I saw an obnoxiously bright purple box sitting at the end of the street, sticking out against the gloomy street and neighborhood like a sore thumb.

"How did you even know about this place?" I asked the sky, my sister, as I slowed my pace a little the closer I got to the box. "You shouldn't have been here by yourself. It's dangerous." I probably looked crazy to the onlookers as I passed by, but I didn't care anymore.

I stopped a few feet away from the purple box, about the size of the trunk of Sienna's SUV. It was barely big enough to fit a TV in, let alone a man.

"Ty?" I whispered, stepping in front of it. I felt my heart drop into my stomach when I saw the hunched over figure in the box, his face buried in between his legs.

"Who the fuck are you?" He barked out, lifting his head a fraction to reveal shocked blue eyes.

"I. . . I. . ." Who was I to him? Why had I come here in the first place?

"If you're here for Tess she's with my fucking parents, okay? She's not with mei." I opened my mouth to say something but he went on, "Are you a friend of Lisa's? Did she send you to try and-"

"I don't know who Lisa is. Or Tess." I answered, cutting him off mid sentence.

"My name is Alyssa Morrison. And I. . ." I trailed off, but I could see it, even through the bank of fog that had started to circle around us. I could see the knowing look that set in his blue eyes.

"Steph?" He whispered. I could feel my chest tighten at the look on his face, at how much he knew, at how much he never would. My sister had known this guy, she had known a twenty year old man. How?

"Steph." He repeated, meeting my eyes and sending a shock through my body with his words, "It finally happened. She died, didn't she?"

***AN***

Hope you guys enjoyed!

Let me know what you thought!

~ChasingMadness24