Broken Pieces

[pamy]

Chapter 11

Dear tony,

I’m writing this to express my deepest condolences for the death of your wife….

Jack’s eyes scan the first couple of letters, which seem innocent enough. Jack thinks that maybe they were just close friends, or old friends, but then why would his father lie about it? It’s not like it was a crime to be friends with other women, nothing said he couldn’t do that. Especially if they had gone to school together or something. He knows what he’s doing is wrong, but he can’t shake the feeling of that he is forgetting something, something important about this, but what?

He keeps reading the letters, there are dozens of them.

They must have send them for years, which at the very least would make them friends, but why did his father lie? What was so wrong about it? What was he missing here? By the fifteenth letter he changed his mind, it was not just about a friendship.

Dear Tony,

I can’t wait to see you again, I think about you every second of every day, and I long to see you again. Long to touch you, to feel you,….

Jack thinks he might understand why his dad lied, but it had been years ago, and why did nobody ever mention this to him? You would think someone would mention it, that his dad would have been interrogated or something, but nothing.

He’s forgetting something, he knows he is, he just doesn’t know what it is.

*****

Sometimes Henry thinks his sister is to forgiving.

If it was him, he wouldn’t have forgiven Luke so fast. And he doesn’t think Mattie should do it either, because what Luke did is simply wrong. Still it might be that Luke hadn’t meant to do it, that it was never his intention to hurt Matilda, and that he would never do it again. That the thought of even doing it again was making him crazy. And yet he thinks she forgave him to easily, to fast, she should have waited a while.

But it’s her life, and she has the right to do what she wants.

She might be his sister, his twin, his best friend in the whole world. But he would never tell her what to do, never tell her who to hang out with. She was allowed to make her own choices and mistakes, and Henry had to acknowledge that Luke had acted very good in the past. He really did like him, that this was the first time something happened, but still it had happened. He supposes everyone deserves a second chance, but only a second chance.

She had the right to make her own choices, and she was forgiving Luke.

And he was going to let her, and watch over her from a distance.

*****

Tony never liked this meetings.

He was always afraid someone would see them, someone would know. Nobody ever did of course, because where they met was far away from the living world. Still he didn’t like this meeting, didn’t like to talk about this out loud, always afraid someone would hear. He knew this, he knew that Tony didn’t like meeting like this, so whatever it was it must be important.

The place was deserted, just like he knew it would be.

Except for the one person, but he also knew it would be like this. ‘Hey, glad you could make it.’ ‘Just tell me why we are here.’ George sighed, when he began his career this is not how he thought it would end, and he knew that if the truth was ever discovered he would disappoint several people, but this is how it was and it could not be changed, nobody could ever find out. ‘He’s digging, Brett, he’s trying to discover the truth. My men inside have told me that he’s trying to find out who slept with his wife, and he’s closing in on you.’ ‘An affair doesn’t mean anything. Make him stop.’ ‘He won’t find out the truth, I’ll make sure of it. I just wanted you to be warned, he’s trying to find out, and he’s got many friends now.’ ‘Just make sure the truth is kept buried.’ ‘Always.’ ‘Remember, we’ll all go down together.’ ‘Like I could forget.’

Tony walks away, worried, but he doesn’t think much about it, after all it was just an affair (Brett could not discover anything else).

*****

It’s silent, and she thinks she might be safe this time, but at the same times she knows she won’t be. Suddenly sounds break to the silence, first there is crying, the crying of a baby. Then there is screaming, the screaming of a broken man. She wants to ignore the sounds, close her eyes and disappear, but of course that doesn’t happen. She gets up and opens the door and she instantly knows where she is, she’s home again, and she wants to go to the crying but her feet guide her towards the screaming instead. She opens the door of what she knows is her parent’s room, but when she walks trough it she finds herself in a cemetery instead. She stares at her mother’s grave and her father appears next to it with a gun in his hand, she hears a voice clearly say ‘Guilty.’ And she knows it’s her own voice, something falls from the sky and lands on the ground in front of her, and she watches as the ring rolls away, she looks up and watches the gun being raised and she hears him say ‘Don’t worry I’ll explain everything later…’

Martha sits up instantly, her breaths coming on top of each other. She looks across the small space and for a second she wonders where she is, then she remembers she is in a caravan. Her eyes wonder to Ric sleeping on the bed and she’s glad to see he has not woken up, she doesn’t seem to have screamed. She gets up and fills a glass with water, emptying it instantly. She lied back down and tried to calm herself down, trying to forget about the dream. It was different this time, the ring had never shown up before, and her father had never spoken in her dreams before. She doesn’t want to think about it anymore, she lies down and closes her eyes.

But she can’t quite erase the image of her father holding the gun, no matter how many times she thinks of Jack.

******

Roy arrived at work earlier than usual.

Yesterday he’d spend all his time reading the old file on the murder of Ruth. It had taken up most of his afternoon and a great deal of his evening. He didn’t want to draw suspicion to himself by staying to late, seeing as technically he wasn’t working on any important cases. He knows he shouldn’t have to feel like this but what he overheard the other day haunts him. He doesn’t want to sneak around and hide things, especially not from his old friend, but he feels he has to, at least until he discovers the truth. He hadn’t managed to read Sarah Holden’s file yesterday.

He had thought about taking it home, but he’d have to sign it out.

And that would mean somebody would know that he took it. And they might start asking some questions, because why would somebody take that file home? On an accident, from years ago? So he decided not to take it home, instead he came to work earlier. He could have come to work at the usual hour, but he opted to come sooner. The reasoning behind this was simple, he didn’t want to read the file and have Jack walk in and see it. He had no desire to have to explain it to Jack, nor did he want to bring up any bad memories.

He opens the file on the accident and begins to read, maybe this will settle it.

****

Jack had placed the letters on the nightstand yesterday. He hadn’t read them all, he couldn’t. As he wakes up that morning his eyes wonder over to those letters, and part of him wants to forget all about them. Forget he ever read them, forget he ever knew. Go to work and go out on a date tonight, and simply forget that years ago their parents had had an affair. It’s not like she really needed to know this, it would just hurt her, she didn’t need to know, he didn’t need to know.

But he can’t forget about them, he’s already read them.

Part of him thinks his father might simply feel guilty, blame himself for what happened to her. That if her husband found out about the affair, he might have snapped and murdered his wife. That Tony might feel responsible for what happened to Ruth, Jack thinks this is plausible and might be the reason why his father lied. Still he takes the letters and reads the next one, his eyes scan the letter. I can feel your hands all over me, my body,… Okay now he’s going to be sick. If there is one thing you don’t want to read about (or see in any way) is your father’s sex life. He gets up and gets dressed, he grabs the letters and thinks he’s going to hide them, so that nobody finds them (not that anyone ever comes in his room).

He walks to his desk and places the letters in one of the drawers. He doesn’t notice one of the letters that falls on the ground, and disappears under the bed.

****

Roy reads the file, and he can’t help but feel sorry for Jack.

He doesn’t pity him, not at all, but as he reads the file he realizes he doesn’t know much. He knew the story, just like everyone else, Jack’s mother had died when he was a child. But he had never known Jack had been such a young child when it happened, nor had he know what actually happened to Sarah. To die in a car accident, suddenly, seems horrifying to him. But to die in a car accident with your four-year-old son sitting in the seat next to you must be worse.

He hopes Jack didn’t see his mom die, and if he did that he was to young to understand.

His reads the entire file, finally understanding why Jack hated car accidents. He remembered one of his first day’s here, Roy had decided to take him out of the station to make him see how the world worked. It had been a car accident, and Jack had (as Roy remembered it) had a lot of trouble with it. He hadn’t understood back then, and Jack had not explained, but now he did understand, now he knew why. He turned the page around, ending up on an inventory of stuff Sarah had with her that day, stuff that was returned to her husband and son.

On the third line it read wedding band, inscription inside, From T.H. to S.H. I’ll love you forever.

****

Robbie had only once felt like this.

It had been years ago, and it had only brought him disaster. Destroying some of the things he held most dearly, he vowed then never to feel this again. But he supposes you can’t choose what exactly you feel, and he is feeling this right now. And he thinks, leave it to me, not to only begin falling in love with someone again, but to fall for a person close to Jack. He knows someday he will have to tell Tasha what happened, what he did, but that day was not today.

Today Tasha was sitting in his shop talking to him.

She was telling him about Martha and Jack and the way they looked at each other. She told him that she had never seen Jack look at someone like that, and all Robbie could think was I have, once. But he doesn’t want to think about that, so he focuses on Tasha in front of him. He was beginning to notice things about her, like the how beautiful she was, or how her eyes had the most beautiful color ever.

He felt himself fall in love with this girl he had known for years, wondering how he had never seen any of this before.

****

Tasha was telling him about Jack.

She had noticed a while ago he like hearing her talk about Jack. In the beginning he hadn’t wanted to be friends with her, after finding out she was friends with Jack, but after a while he began to encourage her to talk about him. She thinks she knows why, but she’s not one for guessing, so she doesn’t say it out loud. She notices him staring at her, and she’s wondering if he is starting to feel anything for her at all. A part of her wants him to.

But Jack is her best friend, and he doesn’t like Robbie.

And she has not desire to be stuck in the middle. Still as they spend their afternoon talking and joking she can’t help but feel close to him. When his hand brushes against her shoulders, she thinks it might not be an accident, but that could be just wishful thinking. Their eyes meet, and she sees something in them she has not seen before. HE leans forward, and before she understands it, before either one of them can change their mind, can think of anything at all, their lips meet in a soft kiss.

Tasha thinks she has finally arrived in heaven. Robbie wonders how he could have possibly liked Katie once, when a girl like Tasha was waiting for him around the corner.

****

Mattie applied her make-up.

She smiles, and at the same time she can’t help but feel worried. She’s not afraid of Luke, not exactly, but she’s not entirely comfortable either. He had screamed at her, twice, and pushed her, for ( what seemed to her at least ) very ridiculous reasons. Still she thinks that she should forgive him, because he had never actually done something bad and he loved her, right? This wouldn’t happen again, it was just this one time and he would never hurt her again.

Her eyes wonder to the clock.

‘Hey Henry, I’m going okay?’ ‘Sure, call me if you need anything.’ ‘Of course.’ ‘You meeting him somewhere or is he picking you up?’ ‘I’m meeting him, I’m taking mom’s car.’ ‘Okay. Have fun sis.’ She knows Henry wants to say something else, tell her to be careful, but she knows he won’t say it because she already knows. She says goodbye to her mom and promises she’ll be home on time. She thinks about everything that has happened, and she can’t help but think of Ric as well, and Luke’s strong reaction to him. Truth Ric might think about her, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she’ll cheat on him or something.

As she reaches the car she realizes she has a problem, flat tire.

Great, she thinks, where’s Robbie when you need him.

****

It’s been years since he’s been on a date.

After everything that happened he promised himself he would never put himself trough it again. Still here he was, attempting to choose what to wear. Luke left a wile ago, but then again Luke had been going out with Mattie for years, it wasn’t a first date. Jack wonders if Martha is feeling anything like this, nervous. For a second his mind wanders towards Katie and Robbie, but he shakes his head immediately. He will not think of that, it will not happen again. He thinks he might like Martha very much.

Martha looks in the small mirror.

She’s trying to remain calm, but it’s very hard. She’s nervous and looking forward to it and scared as well. She can’t help but think of her mom who had loved and trusted her father and the way it all ended. She’s afraid because she someone once told her – back when she was in high school, sometimes girl’s really can be cruel – that it was all in her genes, that she had inherited evil (or something like that) from her father. That she to would one day kill somebody she loved.

She’s worried and scared and happy, all at the same time.

It’s going to tear her apart.

****

Ric left to go for a walk.

Really he didn’t want to see his sister get ready for a date, yet at the same time he wanted to stick around. He wanted to meet Jack (ignoring the fact that technically seen he already had ) and make sure he was okay, and wouldn’t hurt his sister. He knows it’s stupid, and overprotective and irrational; but he can’t shake it off, and he knows he has to do it. He knows rationally that Jack has to be alright, because Roy would never ever let Martha go out with someone he didn’t trust, but that doesn’t change what he feels, what he knows.

He found Mattie attempting to fix her flat tire.

Ric didn’t know an awful lot about cars ( he knew how to change a tire, at least he thinks he does) but he’s pretty sure that what Mattie is doing can’t be good for the car. He wants to stick around to meet Jack ( and yes to be around Matilda, he admits that ) but he doesn’t want to seem overprotective either. ‘Hey there, you need some help?’ ‘Hey,’ she looks up at him smiling and he can’t help but notice how beautiful she looks, and he instantly knows she’s probably going on a date, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t notice how good she looks. ‘Yeah, I’ve never changed a tire before and I’m meeting Luke you know for diner.’ ‘Well why don’t you let me take a look, maybe we can fix it fast and you won’t be to late.’ ‘Thanks.’

Ric is pretty sure he’d build a new car for her (even if he doesn’t know how ); all she has to do is ask him.

[pamy]

Chapter 12

Matilda was going to be late.

She knew she was, but for some reason she couldn’t really care. It wasn’t about the boy next to her, really it wasn’t ( or maybe it was a little bit ); it was all about what had been going on. She was actually afraid to be alone with Luke ( she’d never say it out loud), afraid he’d get angry again. Even if she knew ( tried to convince herself ) that he’d never actually thought about it. She was sure of it and knew he was a good person ( or at least the boy she fell in love with was good ); and yet there was a part of her that told her she didn’t know him anymore.

It wasn’t about Ric, it really wasn’t.

Maybe in some way it was, she couldn’t really deny it. He inspired something in her she was sure she’d only ever feel for Luke. It wasn’t love, it was an attraction she couldn’t actually deny it. She loves Luke ( she knows she does), but she thinks that maybe it’s possible to fall in love with someone else. ‘So how long is this going to take?’ ‘I’m not sure. Maybe you should call Luke, tell him you’re going to be late, so he doesn’t worry.’ She knows he’s right, she should call Luke, and yet she doesn’t take out her phone and dial the number. Ric never says he notices she doesn’t.

She smiles at something he said, and he smiled back, and she feels her heart beat faster.

****

Luke had grown worried.

She hadn’t arrived yet, and Mattie was rarely late; if she was she always called. He grew worried after waiting for a while, and tried to call her but she never picked up. He waited for a while longer, but he began growing very worried, and he thought maybe she wasn’t coming. Maybe the forgiveness she had granted him wasn’t lasting, maybe Henry had said something so she could change her mind. He wouldn’t allow him to do that, Mattie belonged to him, and nothing Henry said could destroy that.

He was going to give that Ric kid the benefit of the doubt.

He thought maybe he had really overreacted, after all he was living in the caravan park, so maybe he Mattie was really just being nice. Truth be told he couldn’t help but feel sorry for him, having heard the story before ( he can’t remember who told him though). Really no kid should have their mother murdered, especially not by his own father. So he was going to give him the benefit of the doubt, until he arrived at the caravan park and saw them sitting there.

Two persons laughing at some silly joke, like nothing else mattered in the world.

*****

Mattie was laughing at Ric’s attempt to help her.

Really she should have just walked or called Luke or something, because this was going nowhere. ‘Hey.’ They both looked up, startled, as a person suddenly approached them. Luke. For a second Mattie grew worried, and she couldn’t help but feel scared as well, thinking that maybe he would read something into it. But he smiled at her, and he seemed like the Luke he had always been, that she couldn’t help but smile back.

Maybe he had finally realized how crazy he sounded.

‘Everything okay?’ ‘Yeah, I just have a flat tire. Ric offered to help me out.’ For a second Mattie still wondered if he was someone going to get mad, instead he just smiled at her again. ‘Thanks man.’ ‘You’re welcome.’ ‘Mattie why don’t we get going?’ ‘Euhm..’ ‘It’s okay, I’ll fix you go, have fun.’ ‘Bye Ric.’ ‘Bye. Luke.’ ‘Ric.’ Mattie grabs Luke’s hand and walks away with him, she smiles at Ric once more before she goes.

She doesn’t see the way Luke looks at Ric, she doesn’t notice.

*****

But Ric had noticed the look he gave him.

He hadn’t been really comfortable around Luke. At first he thought he imagined the hostility, after all he only saw him once, but now he was not so sure. The way he looked at him was just unnerving, as if he had just caught him kissing his girlfriend or something. He wouldn’t deny he was developing feelings for her, nor does he want to; but he would never act on it, not while she already had a boyfriend. Still the way he looked kind of scared him, and he wondered if Mattie would be alright.

But then he though, she knows him, and he doesn’t, maybe he’s imagining things.

‘Everything alright?’ He turns around, not having heard someone approach behind him. He had seen the boy around before, he thinks that it’s probably Mattie’s brother or something. ‘Yeah, Matilda has a flat tire and I offered to help.’ ‘Where is she?’ ‘Oh her boyfriend arrived a couple of minutes ago, and they left.’ Was he imagining it or did he see a worried look on the boy’s face for just a second? ‘I’m Ric, I’m staying in one of your vans.’ ‘Henry. So you need some help?’ ‘Sure.’

Ric thinks maybe he’s making a friend, he thinks he might need one.

***

The dinner was great, Martha had to acknowledge it.

Jack was funny, and nice and handsome (of course), and she had enjoyed herself. He seemed to be just as content as she was. Martha had not been on many dates, and she could almost sense he hadn’t been out in a long time. They were both equally nervous, which in a way made her feel better because she wasn’t alone with her nerves. Still as time flew by they grew more confident, they had even talked about their parents, however briefly it had been.

Martha didn’t want to talk about her parents, and apparently neither did Jack.

All she’d learned about his mother was that she had died when he was a child, he didn’t actually speak of his father much but then again neither did she. They’d spend more time talking of their siblings, Jack seemed to love Luke about as much as she loved Ric (which seems right and logical). ‘Did I already tell you, you look beautiful tonight?’ ‘Not in the last half hour.’ ‘Well than you look beautiful, breathtakingly so.’ She smiles and can’t help but blush.

She thinks this might be what love feels like.

******

‘Would you like to go for a walk on the beach?’ ‘Sure.’

Jack made the offer without truly thinking about it. He had always loved the beach, even as a little boy, and he thought the nerves might subside a bit there. He had to admit he was feeling better than at the beginning of the date, he really did like her and he felt like he could talk about everything with her. But he couldn’t forget about those letters, they kept plaguing his mind. His father had an affair with the mother of the woman he was falling in love with, said mother had then been murdered by her husband. It was enough to drive anyone crazy, even though he attempted to block the feeling out.

The beach was beautiful, even at night.

‘It’s beautiful isn’t it?’ ‘Yeah, I’ve always liked the beach. When I was a child I thought the ocean went on forever, never coming to an end.’ ‘I never really lived near the beach, except when I lived here of course. I remember thinking that this was where Ariel lived, you know the little mermaid, I once jumped in the ocean with the idea of looking for her. My mom panicked, I was five at the time, I couldn’t even swim.’ ‘It’s getting late, I should go back home. Before Ric gets worried.’ ‘Okay.’ They walked towards the caravan park talking about old memories. A part of Jack wanted to ask her about Robbie and how they knew each other, but he didn’t want to break the spell they seemed to be under (which is what would happen if he brought both Robbie and Katie into this moment).

‘Here we are.’ ‘Yeah.’ ‘I had a lot of fun tonight Jack, really I enjoyed it.’ ‘So would you consider going out again?’ ‘Is that your way of asking me?’ ‘Would you go out with me again?’ ‘Sure.’ ‘Coffee tomorrow morning.’ ‘Okay.’

There was a brief silence as Jack contemplated whether or not he should kiss her. Before his thought even finished, he found himself unconsciously moving closer to her. Jack captured her lips in the sweetest kiss, it was brief but filled with love. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’ ‘Tomorrow.’

*****

Roy was still at the office, and it was getting rather late.

He had an excuse this time, he was doing paperwork. Seeing as nobody liked doing it, it wouldn’t seem that weird if he had kept postponing it until now. He had settled it this morning before Jack arrived at work ( he had hidden his mother’s file in his desk, he had not desire to make Jack remember that ), the ring definitely belonged to his mother. It was returned to his father after his mom died. So why was it in Martha’s house? Did this have anything to do with what he heard?

He had decided to go over the file yet again.

He couldn’t get over what wasn’t in there, what should be in there. No confession, even though his partner had assured him there was one. He had confessed and then he had gone to trial. Found guilty Roy didn’t have any problems believing he was. But now doubt seemed to plague hid mind and he couldn’t forget that. He couldn’t find any of the other evidence, nothing else that connected him to the crime. Why was this man in jail, if he had never confessed and there was nothing else?

What was going on here?

****

A man sits in a small room.

He clicks his computer on, waiting for it to start. He has spend his entire day walking around Summer Bay, trying to discover the truth. He waits as the files from his camera begin to load onto the computer. One by one the picture appear on the screen, to many to actually count. When he’s done he opens the first file and begins going trough them all one by one, searching for the one that will bring clarity.

Martha outside the caravan. Martha and Ric walking in town. Martha and Ric sitting at the diner. Ric and Matilda talking. Jack and Martha on the beach. Martha again. Ric again. Tony walking towards his car. Robbie working on a car. Henry and Ric talking. Jack and Martha Kissing. Roy walking out of the station. His old partner walking into the station.

He burns them all on a CD, ready to give them to the one that paid for them. He makes copies of them and prints them out on paper, perhaps he would prefer that. His eyes wonder over to the phone, he contemplates whether or not he should call. He doesn’t, he never does.

He presses the delete button, the picture slowly fades away.

****

‘Did I imagine that or did I just see you kiss Jack?’ ‘Yes you did see that.’ ‘So I’m taking it it went well.’ ‘Yes it did.’ ‘you like him?’ ‘Yeah.’

Martha wants to ask him how his evening went, but he looks tired. ‘Why don’t we talk about this in the morning, you look really tired little brother.’ ‘I am. Tomorrow.’

***

He’s floating, at least it feels like he is. He hears crying all around him, it takes him a while to realize it’s him that’s crying. He can’t figure out what the different sounds are that he hears. Shouting, and screaming, crying and shots. He sees his mom, an image he got out of pictures, stand in front of him and smile. He reaches out to hold her, to touch her, like he has never been able to do before. But an image appears behind his mother, his father who holds up a gun and points it at his mom. He wants to scream, tell her to turn around and duck or something, but he can’t. All he can do is cry and watch, he hears a gun shot and blood spatters all over his face. His mother sinks to the ground….

Martha sits up instantly as she hears her brother scream. She thinks this might be one of the only times he’s ever had a nightmare. She gets up and sits beside him, he clings to her like a little child. He’s crying and shaking and all she can do is hold him.

~*~

She’s running, not towards something but away from something. It’s dark all around her, she’s in the middle of what seems to be a forest, and there is no ending in sight. She’s not even sure what she’s running from, but she knows it’s scaring her. She thinks Henry should be near to her, but he doesn’t seem to be. Someone is following her, closing in on her and she keeps on running. A hand grabs her arm and turns her around, she’s facing Luke and she feels her heart race up…

Mattie sits up in her bed instantly awake. She had just spend a great evening with Luke, and he had seemed like he was before. He hadn’t hurt her, he had done nothing. She though she got past it, but obviously she didn’t. She was scared of him, but she didn’t really know why. It wasn’t that he did something, and it could be that she’s just imagining it, but he looks at her different.

~*~

He’s seven and sitting in his room. It’s late but he just had a nightmare and he can’t sleep anymore. He went to look for his father, but he wasn’t home. He thinks it’s strange, because it’s dark outside and his father is always home at this time. He hears the door open and gets out of his room. His father is shaking and crying ( he has never seen his father cry ), he wants to go down there, but when his father turns towards him he notices blood on his hands (or maybe red paint), and it’s scaring him, scaring him beyond anything else, he runs up the stairs and hides under his covers, convincing himself he imagined it….he’s walking past a door, he’s ten years old, he hears three man inside, his father and two others. He doesn’t want to listen in to their conversation, he’s simply passing the door and he hears one of the voices say ‘You killed her.’ ‘I had to.’ ‘We know, but you killed her and he is in jail because of it. Don’t worry it’s all buried, nobody will ever find out.’

Jack sits up, trying to catch his breath. It takes a while before he calms himself down. He can’t remember the dream, he never remembers his dreams, but he thinks it’s a memory, maybe. He lies back down trying to remember, but all he remembers is ‘You killed her.’

*****

Tony isn’t sleeping.

He returned hours ago, but he can’t stop thinking about it. He’s afraid to go asleep, afraid of the memories. He never remembers Ruth, he prefers to remember Sarah. He wishes he knew what happened to the ring, but he supposes it simply got lost in time. He doesn’t want to think of Ruth, he thinks he might have loved her, but that was so long ago he can’t really be sure.

Maybe he had loved her, but she’s dead so what does it matter.

She had hurt him, and she had paid. He saw the kid after he talked to George. He saw Ric and he can’t help but think about it. He thinks it might be his son, probably is his son, he looks like him when he was a child, at least a little. But he can’t say a thing, because he’ll draw attention to himself. He saw Jack and Martha walk on the beach as well, and he prays nothing will ever be found out.

He’s never been there for his son, he doesn’t wish to destroy him completely.

Doesn’t want to be found out.

*****

Luke punched the wall.

He couldn’t calm himself down, couldn’t forget what he saw. He couldn’t believe Matilda would do that again, not listen to him, ignore what he said. How dare she hang around with that kid, and here he was stupid enough to actually give the kid a chance. How dare he, Mattie however had acted normal during the date, so he thinks it might not be her but him. He has to disappear, be taught a lesson, to stay away from Matilda.

Drew and Aden arrive after he punched the wall.

‘You okay? Is it Matilda again?’ ‘Yeah Drew it is. It’s Matilda and that kid, what’s his name?’ ‘Ric. What did he do?’ ‘Nothing yet, but he will.’ ‘Come one you don’t know that.’ ‘Don’t I Aden, I saw the way he looked at her. The way they talked, he’ll do something sooner or later.’ Aden shakes his head, turns away but says nothing else. ‘So what are you going to do?’ ‘We’ll have to do something. Have to teach him a lesson.’ ‘You in?’ ‘Of course.’ ‘Okay, he talks to Matilda, that’s all he did?’ ‘Yeah.’ ‘So if I talk to Matilda you would teach me a lesson?’ ‘No, but you’re my friend.’ ‘He just moved to town, you don’t know anything about him. He might become your friend.’ ‘He still needs to be taught a lesson.’ ‘I think you’re overreacting man…’ Aden never finishes his sentence, Luke punches him hard. He hits the ground and spits out blood (he doesn’t like the taste of it). There’s a complete silence as the two friends stare at each other, this has never happened before.

Aden stands up and simply walks away, Luke watches him go.

Something broke.

Next chapter: Henry and Ric become friends, Robbie and Jack grow closer again, Tasha talks to Martha, Roy diggs deeper, Brett finds out something and someone's life is endangered...

[Red Ranger 1]

Great couple of chapters.Oh gosh, it's beginning to sound like Tony killed Ruth or at least knows who did...Good that Robbie and Tasha and Jack and Martha are getting on well, Lucas shifting his paranoia from Matilda to Ric not so good...

[Barbara]

Two chapters!

I'm so glad things are going well between Martha and Jack and Tasha and Robbie. And I like the idea of Henry and Ric becoming friends.

I think Tony is responsible for Ruth's death. I don't think it could be anyone else because how would that ring have ended up in the Macklins' house? There's no way Tony would have given Sarah's ring to someone else if he loved her that much.

Tony could be Ric's father. I'm still hoping that Brett is his biological father.

I don't like Lucas at all. I wonder what he's going to do to Ric and how Tony'll react when he finds out. Will he be able to stay out of it?

I think Roy is getting closer to figuring things out and the sooner the better.

More please.

[Sabrina]

Wow, two great chapters

Jack and Martha went on their date - and they kissed

Aw, Robbie and Tasha kissed

I hope Ric and Henry become friends.

I really don't like Lucas - he hit Aden and thinks Matilda is his possession

I also think Tony is in some way responsible for Ruth's death.

Hopefully Roy will find out the truth soon.

Update soon please

[pamy]

Alight I have something to tell you. I have no idea how Aden ended up in this fic. When I first started it I had the idea for two friends for LUke that helped him. Somehow it ended up in Aden suddenly in the fic. Can't explain it, really. Oh and for some reasons my chapters are always extremelly long.

Chapter 13

He’s running away from his own friends.

Never did he think this would happen, he hadn’t seen it coming. Still it had happened, so he had to accept it. He’s running from the friends he knows, the only friends he’s ever had. Aden doesn’t even really understand what happened, just that Luke suddenly turned on him. It wasn’t even really that bad, but still, it was bad enough. When he first met Luke he was such a good kid, he thinks he and Drew might have been a very bad influence on him.

Still there are lines that shouldn’t be crossed.

And Luke is leaning closer to them every day. Why would he want to hurt the new kid? Sure he might like Matilda, but what is the crime in that? It’s not like he had actually done something, just helped her out. For all they knew he had a girlfriend somewhere. He doesn’t know what Ric and Drew are going to do, but it can’t be good. He’s worried about the kid, he’s never met him, but he is worried. He wants to go to him and warn him, but why would he listen to a complete stranger? Wants to warn the town, the world of the ticking time bomb (maybe a little exaggerated) that Luke is.

But Luke is the son of Tony Holden, and he’s just Aden, the trouble maker of the town.

Who the hell would believe him?

****

Martha doesn’t say anything about it.

Ric was afraid that as soon as he came back from showering she would want to talk about it. But she doesn’t. She stays away from the topic of his nightmare and instead tells him about her date. It’s a way of distracting him, of making him feel better, and at the same time simply sharing her life. He loves her for it and he knows she’s trying to protect him. She’s always doing that. As she talks he realizes she really likes this guy and he hopes everything will be alright for them, if anyone deserves it it’s his big sister.

She wants to talk about it.

She wants to talk about his nightmare, wants to understand why all of the sudden he’s having nightmares. But she knows he doesn’t want to talk about it, so she doesn’t either. She’ll wait until he’s ready to talk about it. Instead she talks about Jack, and he tells her about Henry and she realizes she’s beginning to like this town. Soon their conversation is about their mother and her murder, and Martha realizes that they’re both seeking answers, answers that were never in the file.

She wonders what she should do next.

*****

Robbie couldn’t believe he had done that.

He had kissed Tasha, and while he loved it and her, it also felt like a mistake. Not a mistake, just something he did wrong. He knew that Jack didn’t trust him, and they had only recently began talking again. He felt like he was going down the same path as before, and he was going to lose Jack again. He knew Jack would never trust him with Tasha, he wouldn’t have trusted himself with Tasha either. But he had kissed her, he had wanted to, and now he’s conflicted.

He knows he has to talk to Jack.

He has to be the one to tell him (this time). He knows now that his biggest mistake last time was the lie. The fact that Jack had to find out from other people, trough other means. He knows that if he had just told him the truth from the beginning things would have ended differently. Jack would have been angry, and they wouldn’t have talked for a long time, but it would have been different. Because he wouldn’t have lied. So he has to tell Jack, has to tell him now before Tasha does.

Which is why he is waiting outside the diner for him to show up.

****

He had ‘run’ into Robbie in front of the diner.

He hadn’t said anything at the moment, but he knew then that it had not been an accident. He had been his best friend for years, he should know stuff like this. Then again there had been so many things he had not seen coming, would never have seen coming, perhaps didn’t want to see. Still he doesn’t say anything, because he actually misses Robbie and would like to see if they somehow could be friends again. They didn’t stay in the diner very long, Jack hated the way Alf and Colleen kept looking at them, this was after all the first time they sat at the same table in a long time.

‘ I need to tell you something.’ ‘I figured as much. Tell me.’

He hesitates for a second then he looks at him and simply sais ‘ I kissed Tasha yesterday.’ And Jack freezes. He doesn’t say anything, doesn’t do anything. He knows that this shouldn’t affect him like this, but Tasha is his little sister, and a part of him (a big part) simply doesn’t trust Robbie. ‘Jack, say something. Please.’ ‘I have to go to work. I’ll see you later, maybe.’ Then he simply walks. Maybe he’s a coward, but he can’t stand there anymore, it’s all to much for him. He should have seen this coming, probably would have realized something at least, but he was thinking of Martha this morning and hadn’t paid much attention.

Tasha had seen very happy, but strangely she hadn’t told him anything.

He had thought at that moment she would tell him later. That maybe it was nothing, and it really wasn’t important. He should have asked. He knew they were friends, had known for years. He hadn’t liked it at first, but since he didn’t really want to tell Tasha the full truth, he had learned to accept it. A part of him is telling him that he’s overreacting, that this is different. After all Robbie did tell him this time, there was no hiding, no secrets. The truth out in the open, and he simply walked away. This is different, he could have hidden it and let him find out on his own, but he didn’t.

But there’s a part that remembers Katie and everything else, and he simply can’t forget that.

****

There are many things he wished he’d never done.

But right now opening that damn file was on the top of the list. If he had never opened that file he wouldn’t know the things he knows now. Wouldn’t feel betrayed, wouldn’t feel disgusted by his former partner’s action. That man had taking him in, had been his best friend for years, his mentor. He had trusted him, believed in him, followed his lead. And now, now he wished he had never met the man. Never known this stuff about him.

He should have never opened the file, but he has and he can’t change that.

He thinks it still might be Brett, it could all simply be a mistake. But it doesn’t sound like a mistake, it doesn’t look like a mistake. No confession, even though both he and Martha (and practically the whole world ) had been told there had been one. He’s not even sure how he was convicted, but he was. Roy doesn’t think that he’s innocent, he might still be guilty, but there are so many holes. So many things he doesn’t know, doesn’t see in the file.

And then there is the thing about the missing evidence.

*****

He’d spend the entire day staring at the phones.

For the first time he’s actually glad for his job. He’s distracted, but from what he has seen of Roy today he’s not the only one. Any other day he probably would have tried to talk to him, but he’s distracted himself, so he doesn’t. It’s not like it’s any of his business anyway. He tried thinking about Martha, but he couldn’t. He kept thinking about Robbie, and their friendship and how it all ended. He’s been thinking about second chances a lot lately, it’s just that he simply can’t trust him.

He only last till lunch, which is when he goes to see Robbie.

Robbie doesn’t actually notice he’s there, he’s busy working on one of the cars. ‘Hey.’ ‘Jack. What are you doing here? Your car break down again?’ ‘No. I just…I’m sorry about leaving that way this morning.’ ‘Don’t worry about it, I sprung it on you.’ ‘Look. I don’t trust you, for obvious reasons, and I don’t know if I can ever trust you again. But … You were my best friend for years, and that’s why it hurt so much.’ ‘Do you think we could be friends again?’ ‘It would be a long road Robbie, but I don’t know, maybe.’ Robbie doesn’t say anything else, can’t think of anything else to say. ‘I just want to say one thing. Tasha, she’s like my little sister. If you hurt her, I swear to God, I will never forgive you. Never.’ ‘Okay.’ ‘I got to get back to work, before I get fired or something.’

‘Jack.’ ‘Yeah.’ ‘Think we could get our friendship back? You know be like we were before the entire Katie thing?’ ‘No Robbie. That’s gone.’

Robbie watches Jack leave, like so many times before, but for the first time he feels an ounce of hope, that they might make it after all.

****

Sometimes he dreams about it.

Finding his wife in their bed, dead with a bullet in her head. He dreams of Martha crying and a baby boy screaming. He doesn’t wake up screaming, he doesn’t cry, it’s jail, you can’t show weakness, not in here. But lately, ever since he saw pictures of them, he’s been thinking about what could have been. The life they could have had, the life they should have had. His eyes wander over the picture of his children, and he wonders if they ever think about him.

Today he’s getting more news, today might be the day he finds out.

He’s realistic, he knows that finding out who his wife had an affair with doesn’t mean anything. It could be that that man had nothing to do with the murder, after all there’s a huge different between an affair and a murder. But he’ll find out who murdered his wife, he will, if it is the last thing he does. The guard approaches him, indicating that his visit has arrived.

‘Hey, so.’ ‘Well a couple of things. First I have a couple of more pictures of your children, they went to see your old house. Second I found who the man was, or at least I’m almost sure I know.’ ‘Who?’ ‘Before I go on you should know, your daughter seems to be falling in love with one of the locals.’ ‘She is? What’s he like?’ ‘Well from what I’ve been able to gather he’s a good man, nice, kind and he seems to really like her. He’s a cop. However everyone that talks about it seems to agree about one fact. He might be a good man but his father isn’t. which brings me back to the original point of my visit. The man you wife had an affair with would be Tony Holden.’ ‘Okay, what does that have to do with Martha?’ ‘The guy s name is Jack. He’s Tony’s oldest son.’ Brett is silent for a long time. He doesn’t know the man, and he might be a good man, but still. The pictures show them happy, but that doesn’t mean anything. Tony was the man his wife had an affair with, he might be a murderer. He didn’t want his daughter near the man.

‘You keep an eye on her, make sure she’s safe. That he never goes near her. And keep an eye on his son to, just in case.’

****

The missing evidence.

It wouldn’t matter, nobody would ever check if it was still there. After all it was a closed file, the guilty party was in jail, and it happened years ago. The evidence didn’t matter, not at all. But Roy believed that all evidence should be preserved, that things should remain as they were, just in case someday someone would discover a mistake was made. But it was gone. The gun, fingerprints, any evidence connected was simply not there.

He looks at his computer screen, to see who last checked it out.

His heart sinks down, he had still hung on to the hope that his partner had simply made a mistake, that he had really done nothing wrong. But there it is, black on white, the last person to check out the evidence. And he never returned it, not that anyone had bothered to check. He wants to hit him, but he can’t. Not until he knows the full truth. His eyes wonder back to the ring, now what did the ring have to do with anything?

Was it even important? What was going on here?

****

He’s not even sure why he did it.

He hadn’t meant to hit Aden, he really hadn’t. He was one of the best friends he had, he didn’t want to hurt him. But the way he talked was just infuriating, it made him crazy. Maybe it’s because there’s a part of him that heard him, part of him that knows Aden is right. That he’s overreacting, that Ric probably was just being nice. That they were just talking. But he couldn’t forget the way Ric looked at his girl. Nor could he forget how they looked when he saw them earlier (he was just helping her, of course he was).

He has to show him what his place is, show him what he did wrong.

He doesn’t know what’s wrong with Aden (what got into his head to defend the guy ), but he’ll deal with that later. First things first. He knows what he’s going to do is technically wrong. But she’s his girl, and no one has the right to look at her that way, only he does. He doesn’t want to hurt her, it’s not her fault not really, it’s his. When he learns his lesson, when he knows he should stay away from her, everything will go back to normal. She’ll be who she always was, Ric will disappear, and it will be as if nothing ever happened at all.

They’ll wait till dark to execute their plan. He knows it’s wrong, technically seen, he just doesn’t seem to be able to care.

*****

Tasha had asked Martha if she wanted to go shopping.

She knew what it was like, moving to a small town where everyone already knew everyone. Of course for her it had been different, she had just lost her parents, and she was entering high school. She wanted to extend a helping hand to Martha, wanted to be her friend. Then there was of course also the fact that Jack seemed to be completely smitten with her. But Tasha also wanted to have a girl as a friend, a real friend one she could tell everything. Jack was a great best friend, but there were simply some things she couldn’t talk to him about.

Martha was just like Jack said she was.

She had never seen Jack so enthusiastic about a girl, so happy as he was this morning. She always wondered why that was, he was cute and nice, he was a great guy. She couldn’t understand why he never dated, but the only time she ever asked he simply told her it was a long story. She knew that there were some things people simply didn’t want to talk about, just like she never wanted to talk about her parents. So she didn’t ask, and she knew that no matter how much she wanted to know, she wouldn’t ask now either. Just like she would never ask what happened between him and Robbie.

Martha could be a great friend, she just hopes they make it.

****

‘So how long have you known Jack?’

Martha liked shopping with Tasha, she was nice, liked to laugh, and never asked about things she didn’t want to talk about. They’d talk about a lot of things. ‘Years. I think my mom was his mom’s best friend a long time ago. They kept in touch. We saw each other during summer’s and sometimes even on holiday’s.’ ‘How did you come move here?’ ‘My parent’s died, and there was not other family. They put in their will that if something where to happen to them, that the Holden’s would take care of me. So they moved me to Summer Bay. What about you and Jack?’

Martha smiles as she thinks about Jack and their date.

‘We met in the police station. I went to see Roy, but he wasn’t there and Jack was. He was nice and I don’t know we got talking.’ ‘You really like him?’ ‘Yeah. What about you?’ ‘Oh no, I do not like Jack like that. He’s been like my brother for years, it’s kind of gross.’ ‘No, not Jack specifically. But some other guy?’ ‘Robbie, which brings a whole load of other problems.’ ‘What’s wrong with Robbie? He’s nice…’ ‘You know him?’ ‘We were friends when we were children, and you know I’m staying at the caravan park.’ ‘You know he and Jack used to be friends, but that was before I moved here, something happened between them. But I’ve never been able to find out what.’ ‘Was it bad?’ ‘You have no idea. They only recently began talking again.’ The conversation changed to Ric and school, but Martha couldn’t help but think about Robbie and Jack.

What could have happened between them?

****

Tony couldn’t concentrate.

His mind kept wondering, memories plaguing him. He doesn’t understand why this is all happening now. For years it stayed buried, nobody looked for anything. Nobody denied what the police said was the truth, the truth was buried. So why now? Why did Ruth’s children decide to show up now? Why did they feel the need for answers now? Why did Brett choose this time to begin to search? He’s known for years, he knows it’s not truth. So why, why did he begin to search now. Did he perhaps already know and was he simply trying to prove it? What?

He wonders how this will affect his children.

Especially Jack. What are the odds, he thinks, that of all the girls there are, his son falls for Ruth’s daughter? How does that happen? He couldn’t have seen this coming, nobody could have. But he has this strange feeling that his son may pay a high price for all of this. He doesn’t want him to suffer, when he saw them together his son looked happier then he ever had. He wanted them to be happy together. But they could only be happy together if the truth stayed buried.

So he had to make Brett stop searching somehow.

****

It was completely deserted.

You would think that after staying in this town for several days he’d know the way to the caravan park. Then again it was dark and he could barely see anything. It was late and he knew Martha would get worried any moment. After all he said I’ll be back in 30 minutes, those thirty minutes ended an hour ago. Which must mean she’ll come to look for him any minute now. He turns around quickly but there is nothing there. He could have sworn he heard something, someone behind him, but there is nothing there. Complete silence, and it’s completely deserted.

He turns back around and keeps on walking.

He’s probably imagining things, the complete silence is making him crazy. He just wants to get to the caravan and out of the darkness. He doesn’t hear them coming, something knocks him on the back of the head. He hits the ground, the world is turning and he’s not exactly sure what happened. They’re beating him, and he’s trying to get away but he can’t. They’re saying something to him, but it takes him a while to concentrate on the words. ‘Stay away from her.’ Stay away from her, stay away from who.

The last conscious thought he has is that Martha will miss him.

Darkness surrounds him.

Next chapter: Will Ric be found in time? Roy leaves his new investigation behind to start a new one, Martha and Jack grow closer, Mattie is worried about Ric and Tony attempt to protect his son...

[Red Ranger 1]

Oh gosh!Poor Ric.Making Aden the conscience of the group was interesting.Robbie told Jack about him and Tasha:You'd expect him to be glad it wasn't Martha...Looks like a few things could be coming to a head soon.

[Sabrina]

I love long chapters

I'm glad Robbie was honest with Jack from the start. Hopefully they'll become friends again at some point.

I like Martha and Tasha's friendship. They seem to be getting on well

Poor Ric I can't believe Lucas would stoop that low I hope Ric will be ok.

Update soon please.

[Barbara]

I love long chapters! You won't hear any complaints from me.

I can see why Jack doesn't trust Robbie but hopefully one day, they'll be friends again. Robbie telling Jack about kissing Tasha is a good start. At least, he was honest about it.

I really like Martha and Tasha's friendship and it's nice that they both have found a female friend to hang out with.

It looks like Roy's old partner was dodgy.

As for Tony falling for Ruth all those years ago and Jack falling for Martha... it's probably in their genes, they're both attracted to the same type of women.

Lucas has completely lost it! Poor Ric! I hope someone will find him soon.

More please.

[pamy]

Chapter 14

Darkness surrounds him.

For just a moment it feels okay, he feels alright, there’s no pain, there’s nothing. He feels detached, like he’s floating or something, and for a moment that’s what he wants. He wants to float away; not feel a thing, not know a thing. Slowly however he feels himself (almost) descend, but it still dark and he doesn’t understand why. Then his brain catches up and he realizes his eyes were actually closed, so he attempts to open them but he actually can’t. It’s like his eyes are glued closed or something, but he feels he needs to open his eyes, because he thinks if he doesn’t he’ll slip away.

It takes him an eternity, probably just a couple of seconds, but eventually his eyes open.

He regrets it instantly, because the world is turning way to fast, and going in and out of focus; it’s making him sick. He shuts his eyes instantly, praying for it to get better; he tries to clear his brain, tries to remember what exactly happened to him. The memories come in flashes, it hurts his head even more, but it does make him realize what exactly happened. Someone beat him up, not so long ago because the world is still dark, and he can’t understand why. They left him here, to die; every bone, every muscle in his body hurts.

He opens his eyes, tries to focus the world, tries to breath. He thinks of Martha, she must be worried about him.

Then the world around him darkens again.

****

He’s running and gasping for breath.

He can’t slow down, can’t stop running, they might get caught. But he’s feeling sick and disgusted with himself and Drew. He feels like he’s going to throw up, but he can’t stop long enough to actually do that; he has to get away. His head hurts, his vision is blurred but he cant figure out why, Drew is running in front of him and he’s having trouble keeping up with him. He takes a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm himself down, but he can’t seem to be able to.

He can’t believe he actually did it, but he knows he had no other choice.

Mattie was his, and only his, and that guy had no right to try and take her away. He had to be taught a lesson, Luke just hopes he got it, because he has no desire to do something like this again. Not ever again, but he’s not actually sorry about it, he just feels sick at the moment. It will pass, eventually he hopes. And still there is a part of him (small at the moment), though he hates to admit it (even to himself) that actually liked it. Having complete control over a person like that, it was kind of great.

It had to be done, there was no other way.

****

She tells herself there’s no need to worry.

At least not yet. He’s not a small child, he can take care of himself, he’s just out having fun. Still she is worried, because despite the fact that he is not a child, he is still her little brother. They have just arrived (or at least they haven’t been here for so long), but still he could have gotten lost, or something could have happened to him. Then again he could simply be a teenager, hanging out doing stuff, and he’ll walk in any minute. She knows she’s overreacting (at least at first) but she can’t stop herself from thinking about all that could possibly happen to him out there.

She told herself it was alright, as she waited for hours, watched evening turn into night.

It gets to late, so she decides to go look for him, but it’s dark and she doesn’t have a flash light. Still she searches for a while, until she thinks ‘What if he comes back and I’m not there? He might go out looking for me.’ An hour later she gets so scared she calls the police station, hoping she might get Roy on the phone (knowing that he probably isn’t working anymore). ‘This is the Summer Bay police station, please leave your emergency…’ She gets an answering machine and for a second she is completely dumfounded because how can a police station have an answering machine? What if there was a real emergency, like right now for example?

She dials Roy instead, she doesn’t care if he’s sleeping.

*****

It’s getting rather cold.

That’s the first thing that really gets trough to him, the second time he wakes up from the darkness. The pounding in his head has gotten worse, and his vision seems to be even more blurred. But he’s awake and he suspects that’s at least something right? As long as he’s awake, as long as he’s breathing (no matter how hard that becomes, no matter how painful) it’s something good, because it means he’s at least still alive. Everything hurts, and he doesn’t think he can handle the pain, he tries to move nevertheless.

Something tells him he better get out of here, and fast.

The earth is cold, he tries to put weight on his arms to get up, but he can’t. It hurts so much and he collapses again, before he can actually get up. He closes his eyes, because the world turns and turns and he thinks that throwing up will only bring more problems. He tries to collect his thoughts, figure out what happened to him, why it happened but he can’t find an answer. He hasn’t been here long enough to get enemies, and it can’t have something to do with his mother’s murder. At least he doesn’t think it can, because they talked about staying away from her.

He can’t figure it out, but his head hurts to much so that might be the reason.

******

The ringing of the phone wakes him up.

He’s tired and he simply wants to sleep, he contemplates for a second ignoring it, but then he thinks what if it’s important? Why else would someone call in the middle of the night. ‘Hello?’ ‘Roy? Oh thank God I found you.’ ‘Martha? What happened?’ He’s awake instantly, she sounds like she’s been crying and she’s obviously completely panicking. For one split second he thinks If Jack hurt her so help me God… ‘I’m not sure. Ric he’s missing, he went out a couple of hours ago and he never came back and now I can’t find him. And the damn police station has an answering machine, and how the hell can a police station have an answering machine?’ ‘Martha honey, calm down. I’ll be right there okay.’ ‘Okay.’

He doesn’t think about it, he gets out there immediately.

For a second he wonders what the hell is going on. He wonders if it’s all connected, Ruth’s murder, the investigation and now her missing son. Still he thinks that that is rather far-fetched, and perhaps the boy is just lost and hiding out somewhere waiting for light. He thinks for a second about calling back up, but then he thinks what if he is just hiding? What if he walks back in in 30 minutes? So he decides to go there alone, in an attempt to find Ric because really this is all getting to much.

He wonders if it’s all connected, and if it is what the connection is.

The more times passes, the weirder it all gets.

******

She’s crying, even though she knows it will do no good.

Maybe coming to this town was the worst idea ever. After all returning to the town where your father murdered your mother, can only bring trouble. Now her brother is missing, and she can’t help but wonder if this is all her fault somehow. She knows she just called Roy a couple of minutes ago, but it feels like she’s been waiting for hours and what if she woke him up for nothing? What if Ric simply walks trough the door now? Still she doesn’t think she did wrong in calling him, because this really isn’t normal and she’s basically going crazy.

She’d always been curious if they attracted it.

If it was just bad luck or some kind of curse. She knows that’s crazy because curses aren’t real, but she had to admit that it was just plain weird. She thinks it’s just the worry that makes her think so much, but sometimes she wonders if it’s in their genes as well. She tries to breath and calm herself down, but nothing works. A knocking on the door interrupts her thoughts, and she can’t say she’s ever been more relieved to see anyone then Roy at that particular moment. ‘Thank God you’re here. I don’t know where he is and I feel like I’m going crazy and…’ ‘Calm down, calm down, You have to explain to me what happened, otherwise I can’t help you okay. So take a deep breath, and talk to me.’

She wonders if someday she felt as safe with her dad, as with Roy.

****

He’s in his room, the same one he has been his entire life. He hears two person’s argue, his mom and his dad, but he’s kind of scared from all the yelling so he doesn’t try to find out. Something breaks, and he almost jumps a feet in the air. He gets up from the bed with the idea to go look for his parents, but he chickens out and hides under the bed instead, there’s a letter there and he doesn’t know why….

He’s awakened by his phone.

His eyes wander to the clock before he actually answers. ‘Holden.’ ‘Hey it’s Roy, listen I know It’s late but I need your help.’ ‘Something happen?’ ‘Martha…’ ‘She alright?’ ‘Yeah she is, but her little brother RIc? He’s sort of missing, I’m going to go look for him but I don’t think it’s a smart idea to go alone, and I’ve already called several others’ ‘I’ll be right there, the caravan park right?’ ‘Yeah.’

For a second Jack contemplates looking under his bed for some kind of letter, but he really doesn’t have the time and it’s just a dream anyway. He’s dressed in under five minutes (some kind of record) and for a second he thinks about leaving a note, but it’s not like anyone cares anyway. He’s coming down the stairs just as Luke is coming in. ‘Hey, you’re out late.’ ‘Yeah, I was just hanging out, lost complete track of time.’ ‘You okay, you look a little I don’t know off.’ ‘I’m fine, just tired. You going somewhere?’ ‘Yeah, Martha’s brother is missing and I’m going to help Roy find him. Go get some sleep you look like you need it.’ ‘Yeah. Good luck.’

The door slams behind Jack, Luke stares at it for a long time.

******

Martha is trying to breath.

Roy is thinking of something to say to calm her down, but there really is nothing. The knock on the door brings them both back to reality, unfortunately it’s not Ric but Jack. Martha begins to cry instead and Jack hugs her close, attempting to make her feel better. Roy can’t help but watch them, he hast to admit they look really good together, but now is really not the time for that and they have to go find him. ‘Martha.’ ‘Yeah?’ ‘Jack and I are going to look for Ric alright, you stay here in case he comes back. You have our numbers.’ ‘Let’s go jack.’ ‘okay.’

It’s dark and cold and Roy can’t help but worry if the kid is out there alone.

He wonders if he’s wounded, he hopes he isn’t because it’s damn near freezing. ‘You and Martha seem to be getting along great.’ ‘Yeah. What do you think happened to Ric?’ ‘I don’t know, I hope he’s alright and simply lost or something, I think they’ve both been trough enough already.’ ‘Yeah.’ ‘You know?’ ‘Yeah Robbie told me. Then again there not the only ones with tragedies in their past.’ For a second their eyes meet, and Roy contemplates asking about his mom. But this is neither the time nor the place, and besides if he doesn’t want to talk about it he shouldn’t have to. ‘RIC!!!!’ They keep screaming, hoping to get some kind of response.

Neither one wants to say out loud that something might have happened.

****

Tries to stay awake, he really does.

But with every breath he takes it gets harder, every second he loses his battle. He’s so afraid, he doesn’t want to close his eyes (no matter how tired he is) because he’s afraid if he does, he’ll never open them again. The world becomes less focused by the second, it’s a complete blur right now. But he can’t decide whether that is because he’s losing his battle, or because he’s crying. He can’t feel the pain anymore, at first he liked that (because it really hurt) but now he thinks that really might not be that good.

It takes him a second longer to realize the cold doesn’t bother him.

He wonders if Martha is out there looking for him, of course she is, she has to be. He tries to move again, but he’s got no strength left, and he doesn’t really care anymore either. Right now he just wants to rest, the only thing keeping him awake is the fear of leaving his sister completely alone. Then he hears it, something that actually gives him hope. Voices are screaming his name, loudly, they’re looking for him. He doesn’t recognize the voice, but he doesn’t think that matters anyway. The voices give him hope, he tries to breath, tries to gather enough breath to scream back but he can’t.

The voices scream his name, it’s the last thing he hears.

The world darkens, he loses the battle.