Catching Feelings

Chapter Thirty-One: In Family (Part One) (Aidenn)

extra update bcs C H R I S T M A S B R E A K

Chapter Thirty-One: In Family (Part One) (AIDENN)

They burst through the door, the sound of the wood banging against the wall startling me, causing me to flinch.

Aislinn rushes towards me, her hand clutching her chest and Skylar follows closely behind in silence.

I stop pacing to look at my sister. She shoots me a look filled with so much sadness it breaks my heart, but Skylar just looks past us, her face unusually pale.

I open my arms m but she shoots me a strange look, as if I was a stranger and she didn't recognize me, "where is he?"

I point to the family room and watch as she rushes past me, towards the couch, where our uncle is lying peacefully.

Peacefully but immobile, his body still in the exact place he left it, but his heart, his soul and everything he was moved on, to greater places.

Places without us.

I start to move towards Aislinn when Skylar stops me with a firm shake of her head.

Aislinn bends down beside my uncle and starts to sob loudly. She places her head next to his waist and cries.

My eyes water, watching her like this breaks whatever amount of heart I have left inside of me and I get hit with flashbacks of a very similar situation.

Flashes of red and blue.

A firm knock on the door.

Clutching Aislinn's small hand, which was tightened into a fist.

My uncle's face, calm but sorrowful as he glanced back at us in pity.

It reminds me of when our parents died.

My whole body itches to move towards her and comfort her, but I know Skylar was right when she stopped me.

This is something she needed to do on her own.

Aislinn lifts her head from his lap a few moments later and turns it in my direction. "Why didn't you call 911, they could help him!"

I shake my head at her, "Aislinn, he's-"

She looks me right in the eye, her gaze so broken, "don't say it!" she screams. "He's not gone. He's going to wake up. Yeah, he's just asleep and he's going to wake up and smile and laugh at us for being so worried about him. Everything's going to be fine."

"He's not asleep, sweetheart," I whisper, the words choked up in my throat.

"Then why is he just lying there!" she exclaims loudly, her grief blocking her ability to think rationally.

Before I can respond, she gets up from her spot and walks towards me. Her tone changes to a deathly quiet.

"You killed him. This is your fault. He'd still be alive right now if it weren't for you. What's wrong with you, you monster."

Her words effect me a lot more than I'd like to admit, but I reach out to her anyways and pull her into my arms.

At first, she resists, punching my chest but her punches are light because she's not angry. She doesn't want to hurt me, she just wants to understand.

She punches and punches and punches for what seems like hours, her fists hammering into my chest repeatedly, in the same spot, just above my heart, as she mutters words of anger and hate and confusion.