The Missing Tale

Chapter 12

"You know, I went on this date with this girl who loved being in the spotlight. The wannabe actress kind with a rich daddy and all. Back to the point, I took her to a picnic, but apparently she only wanted to be seen with me in public." It must be hard for him to deal with all the attention seekers out there. I know every celebrity always says they'd date a fan, but honestly who ever does? "I'm sorry Alex."
"It's okay since I only wanted to bang her." For the millionth time tonight, I punch him.

•••

After what feels like hours consisting of goofing off and laughing, Alex says, "I actually have stargazed with a girl before." He stops, probably to give me the chance to tell him he's such a player, but I choose to say silent. "Emily," He smiles at the memory embedded in his brain, "this little girl who lived across the street back in my hometown. She was the sister of my best friend in high school and she sure took after him. Same big mouth, getting into trouble and always getting away with it." He says with a lazy grin plastered on his face, "In my junior year I met Logan, he transferred from a town over and he invited me to a party. The party was hosted in his old town where I met his friends, including Matt. We all grew close and started a band." He speaks of them as if they are his brothers and maybe in a way, they are. "One summer we saved enough to take a trip to Australia. In the airport we met Elliot who was flying back home for the summer to see his family. Fortunately, our flight was delayed what gave us the time to get to know each other. We exchanged numbers and a few months later we met up in America." It's a cute story when you think about it, but the real question is if I'll remember it in the morning. "I figured you met the others on tinder." I casually shrug.

He stares at me with an amused expression, yet doesn't speak. So I start again, "You know, you should meet up with your old best friend and his sister sometime, you talk about them like they are related to you."

A brief silence follows. "I'm scared to go back. What if they aren't happy to see me return?"

"The only way you'll find out is if you go home again and it doesn't matter if they're not glad to see you." I say softly. "Why?" His voice soft as if he doesn't want to know the answer. "Because your family here loves you." Drunk minds speak sober thoughts, right? "I admit I do miss my hometown a lot when we're on tour." He responds almost ignoring my comment completely. "Yeah... home, sweet home." I respond bitterly thinking back to the days where I actually had a home.

"Alex, I think we should go to your house, people are starting to stare at us."
"Yeah, you're right. We don't want the paps to find us. I'll call us a cab." He states and laces his fingers with mine.

Finally in the cab, we're back to goofing off. That is until a set of bright headlights catch my eye on the other side of the road. My laughter immediately dies down as the memories invade my mind like a virus.

Trying to focus on my breath proves to be harder than I anticipated as it becomes somewhat shallow. In the corner of my eye I see Alex giving me a strange look, "What has crawled up your butt?" He mocks me. I force out a small smile to reassure him I'm okay, "I'm tired."
"I'm just tired." I repeat which makes me wonder who I'm trying to convince, Alex or myself?

The cab pulls over at Alex apartment. The only one that doesn't live near the other boys is Elliot, the rest of them live in the same street. Alex quickly pays the cabdriver and leads me up the steps towards his apartment. After opening the door he immediately disappears saying something about finding blankets.

"Here you go." He says, handing me the blankets and showing me to the couch. "Thanks Ally and by the way, I think your house is prettier than Matt's." I wasn't lying, his place felt more like home since not everything was neatly cleaned up. My eyes close the moment my head hit the pillow.laid down and closed my eyes when my head hit the pillow.

Climbing into the backseat of my dad' car is always a struggle, but I get through it pretty easily.

My dad is behind the steering wheel and my mom is in the passenger seat. My dad pulls out off the parking lot, heading home. The unmistakable smell of alcohol lingers in the air. Empty beer bottles are spread over the floor of the entire Nissan and mom has a wine bottle at her lips. She offers my Dad a sip which he gladly accepts. "Are you sure you are okay to drive?" I ask him warily. My mother hisses at me before he has a chance to answer. "Don't talk to him like that! You don't have the right!" We all knew what the real problem was, but no one dared to let her name leave their lips. However I'm sick of not talking about it, ignoring her as if she never even existed.

My voice comes out strong, surprisingly, "It wasn't my fault." My mom lets out a laugh laced with a dark undertone. "Sure."
"You keep forgetting she isn't just your family, she's mine too. You think you are the only ones who are affected by her kidnapping?! She is my sister, she is my best friend!" I snap, not able to be the responsible one anymore.

"Stop saying 'is'. She was my child, she was my daughter, but she's dead. You should know she isn't coming back, stop with this new found optimism. It has been three months and you could've stopped them, yet you were too selfish. So don't you dare say it is not your fault!" It isn't the first time she talked to me with such hatred lacing her words, but I never knew she blamed me for everything that happened with gracie. My mother stops to let out a strangled sob. "You killed her. You killed my daughter." The last part echoes throughout the car, "YOU KILLED GRACE!"

Tears blur my vision, but I still see bright headlights rising up behind her. I feel my lips forming a warning, but I don't hear myself say the actual words. Suddenly my body is slammed forwards, knocking the air out of my lungs and everything goes black. Glass pieces make their mark in my neck, my belt constricting me and keeping my in place. Before I could register what has actually happened, I feel an excruciating pain in my abdomen. I yell out in pain before I even open my eyes. When I do I see smoke throughout the entire car. The next thing I notice is the blood splatter covering the dashboard and airbags. Barely able to find my voice, I manage to choke out a soft, "Mom? Dad?" I groan out in agony. After not receiving an answer, I try to slip out of my seat belt, but that only makes the pain worsen. Looking down, I am met with blood changing the color of my shirt from white to dark red. A relatively large shard of metal sticks out of my stomach, making me whimper in fear. Unable to move I scream out one last time before passing out by the pain.