Vacant Hearts [UNDER CONSTRUCTION]

Chapter 30 | I Am Alone in the Shadows of the Stars

SONG FOR THE CHAPTER: Holy Water by Laurel

      When I was eleven-years-old, I remember my mom pulling me out of school during the middle of the day for an emergency. It was unusual, since she never let me stay home from school unless I was on my death bed, and I never got out of school during the day for anything. She also never came to my school unless she had a scheduled meeting with one of my teachers. Even at that age, I understood how my mom worked and was confused as to why it was happening.

      I remember a teacher coming to my classroom and asking for me. Every student watched me as though I'd sprouted another head. At the time, it bothered me. No one liked to be stared at, least of all at school. The teacher – Mrs Oliver, I remember her name being – ushered me to the front office where I found my mom waiting for me. She was so pale, which was hard since she had naturally olive-coloured skin, and wouldn't stop fiddling with the strap of her handbag.

      I instantly knew something was wrong. Mom was never nervous or unsettled about anything. For the first time, she appeared almost human to me.

      My mom hurried me out of the school and into the car without saying a word. She wouldn't tell me what was going on, wouldn't tell me where we were going, no matter how many times I pleaded with her. And when we pulled into the parking lot out the front of a hospital, I felt fear worm its way into my chest. I was young, but I understood the implications of what going to the hospital meant.

      What happened next was something I have trouble remembering. It was so long ago and I was young. Old memories are always unreliable. I just remember finding myself in a room with my entire family, along with two nurses hovering around the bed in the middle. When I actually focused on the scene, I realised who was lying in the bed.

      It was my three-year-old sister, Savannah. She had gotten quite sick all of a sudden, sick enough that she needed to go to the hospital. I didn't remember much else about what happened next, nor what kind of sickness Savannah suffered from, but I did remember the fear of the unknown clawing down my throat and wrapping itself around my chest. I remembered the terror that something bad was going to happen.

      As Julian pulled up to my house, I felt the same terror I did back then. Something was wrong. I just didn't know what, exactly, it was.

       With shaking hands, I shoved open the car door and jogged up the driveway. Pushing open the front door, I hurried inside, my boots slapping loudly against the tiles. The house was silent, not a maid in sight, which was a rare occurrence. I barely registered Julian's presence beside me as I hurried up the stairs, bursting open Hudson's bedroom door. She wasn't there.

      My chest clenched, making it difficult to breathe.

      I don't know what's going on.

      Whirling around, I thudded back down the stairs, rushed across the foyer and burst into the kitchen. It was empty, too.

      Where is everyone? Where is Hudson?

      "Isa, what's going on?" Julian's voice was filled with concern.

      "I don't know," I rasped, glancing around in a panic. "I–"

      The sound of voices murmuring from somewhere in the house filled my ears. I followed the sounds down the hallway and found myself in the living room. My entire family was there, crowding around the brown leather couches we hardly ever used anymore. Once I scraped back the heavy fog of adrenalin and anxiety that was smothering me, I was able to focus on my surroundings and the scene before me.