Dust flew behind his tires, and my brother disappeared around the bend. Tears streamed down my cheeks; I had a gut feeling I wouldn’t see him again for a long time. Jayson is what had kept me going, kept me from lapsing into a crazed shock from my parents and sister dying. Like the hand that was slowly pulling me back up to life as I used to know it, but that hand had just let me go. Now, I was helplessly falling to the bottom, to the sorrowful darkness of having seemingly no one, and sobs began wracking my body. I had managed to keep my head high, move on, not forget about it, but keep it hidden in the back of my memory; now I was on my knees on the porch, angry cries escaping my mouth as I swore at my uncle for his stupidity and for sending my brother away from me. I didn’t care if I got punished, that was the last thing I was worried about. My aunt kept trying to get me to get a grip on myself, but I shook off her hand and ran down the porch, eyes blinded by tears. I’m not sure how long I’d been running, it all was like a blur, but I found myself in the densely wooded area behind the house, back against a tree, caring less if I ripped up the dumb dress.

Raising my head, I saw the blonde boy walking cautiously towards me. I looked at me and offered a small smile. I sniffed and forced a smile back, embarrassed that he was seeing me crying the way I was.

“Eric’s a jerk, y’know?”

I wrathfully turned up my nose. “Tell me about it.”

The boy nodded and stepped closer, leaning against a tree a few yards across from me.

“Your aunt is pretty angry at you.”

I looked away.

“Yeah well whatever. I’m pretty mad at her and my uncle too.”

“I’m sorry he made your brother leave like that.”

I didn’t say anything, a fresh wave of sadness and loneliness overcoming me. The boy looked at me with pity.

“I’m Luke, by the way.”

I sniffed again and looked at him. Luke. The name fit him.

“I’m Cora. But I mean you probably already knew that.”

Luke nodded and slid to the ground. I bent my knees and sat down in front of my tree.

“I know your aunt and uncle don’t seem to love you, but they do. They were getting ready for you weeks before you came.”

I looked at him. Wait, weeks?

“Oh, no, they didn’t know I was coming till a week before I arrived, and my parents weren’t even murdered till two weeks before I came.”

Luke cocked his head and looked at me thoughtfully.

“That’s odd. Remodelers were coming and going from the house like at least three weeks before you moved in.”

I stood up. That made no sense.

“Sorry, but that can’t be right…”

Luke rose to his feet and nodded positively.

“I’m sure of it; we live right across from you and I’d seen them coming and going.”

A puzzled expression crossed my face. That can NOT be right. I shrugged carelessly. Didn’t make much difference whether this boy was correct or not.

“C’mon, I’ll walk back with you; it’s getting dark and you can’t stay out here all night.”

I forced another small smile and walked up to Luke, then matching my pace with his I returned to my unpleasant fate awaiting me.

-     -     -

I tossed and turned. Nightmares of blood and screams plagued me every time I did drift off for a few minutes, only to wake me again. I hadn’t cried much over my family’s’ deaths, but that was because it didn’t seem quite so hopeless with Jayson to hold on to. Now crying was all I wanted to do. Just cry, cry, cry, and never stop. Jayson and I never got a chance to really talk about what’d happened- I was too weak in the hospital, I was too tired on the way to my aunt and uncle’s, an there was no privacy or time enough to discuss anything after I moved in. And now, as my uncle had cared to inform me when I’d gotten back to the house with Luke, Jayson was not to step foot on the premises ever again, and I was not to initiate or try to get in contact with my brother while I was living under their roof.

I slammed my fist into the pillow and fumed with anger. They had no right, didn’t they understand?! I had lost everyone but my brother and now they want to take him away just as the killer had done with my mom and dad and sister.

I rubbed my wet eyes and climbed out of bed, my bare feet going pitter patter on the wood floor as I walked to my door. It opened with a long, echoing squeak, and blinking furiously to keep back my tears, I tip toed down the hall to the bathroom at the end.

“Just let me dad.”

I stopped short at my uncle’s bedroom door, hearing voices arguing from inside. A glance at the clock in the hallway told me it was only ten o’clock; I thought I’d been trying to sleep for a lot longer than that.

“Eric, be quiet. I already told you; no.”  

“But dad, he is just-“

“Ssh, no! I said it once I’m saying it again!”

“DAD GOOD GRIEF ARE YOU BLIND?! You never planned on him being such a problem. He needs to be out of the picture!”

“He is for now. No need to do something drastic unless he doesn’t keep his distance.”

“She refuses to conform and obey you and mom, she is nothing like Lillian was, and she has been causing you both nothing but trouble and grief. She isn’t filling the gap you’d both hoped she would when you took her in. She can’t fill the space in your hearts that Lillian left-“

“No, Eric, please.”

My aunt spoke up now, her voice wavering.

“Eric listen, she’s already been through enough and I wish it hadn’t happened but we can’t give up on her yet.”

“Mom really, you’d both be better off if her and Jayson were-“

“That’s enough Eric. Discussion closed. And you’d better not interfere with anything we decided.”

I held my breath and ran as quietly as I could to the bathroom, shutting the door swiftly and silently behind me. I heard my uncle’s bedroom door open loudly and shut with a bang. Footsteps faded down the hall and I heard Eric’s door slam. The house was once again silent.