It had to be Jessica

Chapter 5

At 2 am, I was startled awake by loud banging on the front door, a frantic knocking like someone desperately trying to come inside. Sitting straight up in bed with my heart racing I shot out of bed. Coming into the hallway both my parents were already heading down the stairs with my mom tightly wrapping a bathrobe around her body. As soon as my father opened the door I knew immediately who it was.

His hair was a longer, matted mess, his shirt was torn and he had no shoes on. His clothes were filthy but he didn't stink. He stared at us with eyes that had seen too much to truly shine innocently anymore, and he sniffed through a stuffy nose.

"Mommy?" Max's voice broke, "Daddy? Jess?" His eyes filled with tears as he ran straight into my mother's arms, she fell to her knees and hugged him close to her body as she sobbed into his shoulder.

My legs gave out from under me, my knees slamming into the hardwood floors painfully. The relief that flowed through me was so intense I almost passed out. My whole body relaxed as I leaned against the wall, suppressing a pained chuckle of sheer nerves.

Dad was next for a hug, that didn't last as long as mom's and I was the last to let go. He latched on so tightly I thought he would never let me go. But I didn't care about that, I just held onto my baby brother.. I felt tears streaming down my cheeks as I sobbed into his shoulder loudly. I don't know how long we sat there for, but when we finally separated Max was out cold in my arms. I didn't want to let him go, so I carefully got up, keeping him on my hip and slowly made my way to my bedroom with him.

Our mother alerted the authorities still looking for him that he was now home. An officer showed up about fifteen minutes later, which wasn't all that surprising since this is such a small town but it was surprising that he looked wide awake despite how early it was. My parents talked with him for a minute before leading him to my room where my parents woke him up so he could talk with him, get information on who kidnapped him and how he got away. I was told to step out.

I sat outside my bedroom door, listening to my brother tell an "Outlandish" story of a scary man who drank other kids blood until they died, only for them to come back to life a few days later, super pale with bright red eyes like the man's. He said something about Edward and some people he didn't know who came to save him and the three other boys who were still alive.

The officer took my parents down to the living room, saying something about "PTSD" or something like that, how he must be in shock and misinterpreted the events.

I looked at my brother, who sat on my bed, looking exhausted, his eyes were a dark forest green instead of their usual bright almost grass green. I stood up and went into the room, sitting on the bed, I wrapped him up in a hug. "I believe you Max, don't worry." I whispered.

"It sounds dumb doesn't it, Jess?" He whispered. "It sounds made up, but I swear it happened!" He looked up at me with tear filled eyes. He was only 11, nearly 12 now, but he looked so lost and broken that it made him look so much younger.

"I know Max, but don't worry, I will always believe you." I smiled at him, hugging him tighter.

His shoulders went lax as he clung to me, he started sobbing into my chest, his tears soaking my shirt rather quickly. I just sat still, rubbing his back as I looked out the window. I felt numb, it was a huge relief to know he was okay, but I didn't know what I could do to help him at this point.

On Monday, Max stayed home with mom while I went to my first period with a little more pep in my step then I had in weeks. I actually smiled with I greeted Angela who was genuinely surprised when I came up to her with a tight hug.

"Max is home!" I said happily, and her entire demeanor brightened as she hugged me excitedly.

"That's great!!!" She said happily, grinning from ear to ear which caused me to laugh. She's been my best friend since we were twelve and had a strong bond between our families, so it was only right for me to tell her first. We did that girly thing of doing a little squee while hopping in place in a circle to get the excitement running.