Hello (:
New chapter.
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Underlying Truths - Chapter Seven - "Illuminated"
I pulled up in front of bungalow #13 by the lake in which Spencer, Will, and I spent used to spend our summers together along with our families. Once Will moved away, the tradition left with him. If we couldn't go together, we wouldn't go at all. I killed the engine and stared at the small, wooden bungalow through the windshield of my car. From the dark windows, I couldn't be sure if anyone was inside. The place held so many memories since it was exact same bungalow Spencer, Will, and I shared whenever we spent our summers here. Our families would stay at the slightly bigger ones while the three of us shared the smallest one in the cluster that lined the lakeshore.
I glanced at the clock on dashboard, checking the time one last time before turning the car battery off. 10:50pm. I took a couple deep breaths in an effort to slow down my racing heart before finally unlocking my door and stepping out of the car.
The crunching gravel of the dirt road beneath my feet echoed against the trees around me and the empty cabins whose windows remained dark. Climbing the three creaking steps onto the small porch of the cabin, I glanced around me one last time to see no other car around and no sign of any other person here besides myself. Slowly, as if I was still trying to convince myself that I was making the right choice in doing this, I placed my hand on the bronze doorknob and turned it slowly, finding the door unlocked.
The dark living room was the first thing I saw of the small, one-bedroom bungalow. The lights were all turned off and the slight glow of the moonlight from the night sky above offered the only illumination for the sight before me. Vigilantly, I felt for the light switch on the wall to the left of me, right next to the doorway. As soon as the tip of my fingers made contact with the hard plastic of the tiny lever, I flipped it up and allowed bright light to flood the room before me.
"Hello?" I called out, trying my hardest to keep my voice steady.
My voice echoed faintly against the walls of the old cabin. I took light, cautious steps inside the holiday home before shutting the door gently behind me, all the while keeping my eyes trained directly before me. Not once did I turn around in fear of a sudden, blind attack.
Aside from the light in the living room, the rest of the bungalow's lights seemed to remain unlit. Taking a couple steps forward, I dared not stray too far from the closest exit of the house. I was standing almost halfway through the living room, meaning that I was also halfway between the front door and the hallway leading to the single bedroom and bathroom. My trembling hands were now buried deep within the large pocket of my hoodie, my right one clutching my cellphone tightly.
"I came," I taunted in a loud, challenging voice. "I came. So, where are you?"
A few seconds of deafening silence passed. I was sure that if the person behind all this were here, he would be somewhere down that hallway. I had both a clear view of the kitchen and the living room, making the bedroom and the bathroom the only areas in which I was blind.
A deep chuckle broke the silence that thickly surrounded me, causing my head to snap and lock towards the entryway of the bungalow's sole hallway.
I tried to keep my breathing in check, though when one's heart was racing, there wasn't much you could do. My chest heaved with every shallow intake of air, leaving me almost gasping for my breath.
A shadowed figure started to take form in the dark entryway, its tall stature scaring away what little courage I had mustered up to begin with. My heart threatened to jump out of my chest as the person inched toward the lit living room. Each second seemed like an hour as, little by little, this person's face was illuminated.
My eyes widened in shock and the pounding muscle in my chest almost stopped beating all together as I finally saw who was behind all the chilling, gruesome acts directed towards me.
"Spencer?" I breathed out, completely stunned.
A sick grin made spread widely on his lips, his eyes bloodshot and cold.
"Surprised to see me, Carina?" he asked with a hiss.
My eyes watered once again in betrayal. A boy, a man, that I had seen as my best friend for my whole life had just spent much of his time, after the death of his own father, harassing me. I narrowed my eyes at him as my lips pursed while I fought to keep the tears at bay. This man was not going to see me cry, not when its bound to grant him satisfaction.
He laughed at me and I felt like a stake was being driven through my heart. Never, in a million years, had I ever expected to fear for my life at the hands of my own best friend. I understood that a loss is different for every person, but was it really needed for me lose my life as a result of one already lost?
I didn't know what to do. I was backed up into a corner. To run was out of the question since it would only get more people involved. To attack was pointless since Spencer was both larger and stronger than me. I may not have the smallest brain on the planet, but I also didn't have the cleverest mind. As a last option, I slid my phone open and pressed my left thumb over the speaker of my phone, not willing to risk Spencer hearing even the slightest noise. I then pressed Will's number on speed dial and prayed that the call would connect. There was no way for me to check whether the call had gone through or if it had been dropped. I couldn't even be certain that Will was the one to pick up. I positioned the bottom of my cellphone, where the microphone was, as close to the right opening of my hoodie's pocket while maintaining it out of Spencer's sight, my left thumb remaining atop the speaker. I hoped that had the call actually connected and Will answered, he would at least be able to hear something. Anything, at all.
Taking a deep breath, I asked the question whose answer I came here for, "Why?"
The sick smile on Spencer's face only grew wider as he debated how to word his explanation.
"Why?" he reiterated with a chuckle. "You killed my father."
"I killed your father?" I asked him disbelievingly. "I understand that this is a hard time for you right now, Spencer--"
"SHUT UP!" he yelled, cutting me off.
I immediately shut my mouth.
"I'm tired of hearing that same sentence worded in infinite ways," he growled, his cold, hard eyes narrowing at me in anger. "You killed my father and expect me to let it pass and eventually forget about it?!"
"I did not kill your father, Spencer," I said slowly and cautiously.
"YES YOU DID!" he shouted in my face.
I winced at the volume, the small, instinctual action seemingly feeding his hatred towards me.
"You told me that your father was the best oncologist in the area," he growled. "You told me that he would be the best choice and chance if my father was to live. You're the one that told me he would make everything better. If I didn't listen to you, maybe my father would still be alive!"
I glared at his reasoning. I was not the reason for his father's death, nor was my own dad.
"Don't you think, Spencer, that if I killed your father, that meant that I had the choice to let him live?" I asked him pleadingly, hoping that his thoughts would become a bit more rational.
I got no reply from Spencer, though his glare didn't soften at all.
"Don't you see that if I'm the reason your father passed away, then that means that I had the power to keep him alive that night his heart stopped beating?" I asked Spencer.
"If I killed your father, then I could have made everything better those endless nights we spent at his bedside in the hospital when they told us there was nothing more that they could do?" I asked Spencer as my voice broke. "Cancer did it, Spencer. Cancer had that power that I didn't."
Spencer wasn't wavering, I could see that clearly in his eyes.
"No, it wasn't cancer, Carina," Spencer said defiantly as he spat out my name. "Cancer can go away. If I just didn't listen to your words, heck if you hadn't spoken those words at all! He would still be here."
"But he isn't anymore," Spencer added with a shake of his head. "Much like you won't be, either."
As I stared into his eyes, I knew at that moment that all hope was lost. No matter how pleading I was, reasonable, or correct, Spencer had his mind set and something had changed within him. He wasn't going to alter his stance on this even in the slightest; I could see that in his eyes.
He took a step towards me causing me to step back instinctively. He lifted his foot once more with intentions of coming much closer.
Before I knew it, the door behind me flew open and a hand had grabbed my upper arm, yanking me backwards forcefully.
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A/N:
Note to self: I don't do suspense well. ;P