This is a chapter of a book I've started to write. Let me know what you all think!
Chapter 1
“He deserved it.” His words kept running through my mind. I felt nostalgic, as I remembered the funeral when numerous people there were saying the same thing among themselves. Especially those old ladies, who loved to gossip kept recounting the story for several people, who knew nothing of it. I remembered my brother, Taylor’s, anger at them, when he was about to show them what he had learned in karate all those years, and I barely stopped him, as I probably felt even more hurt by it.
I remember how my mother looked at the funeral. She hadn’t been sleeping well the past few weeks and probably regretted the last words she said to him. I remember how she cried those weeks, when he passed away, as he was the only man she had ever loved. I knew that she was trying to be strong for us, her kids-constant reminders of him.
I tried to be strong for my brothers and sister. I tried my best to act as an adult in front of them, because I knew that if I broke down, then they won’t have anyone to comfort them. The funeral was a few days before school started, so I had to help my younger brother and sister shop for it, although no one was in the mood to buy anything. But we had to get along with life and although I knew that in my mind, my heart just couldn’t seem to accept that fact.
“He deserved it.” I knew that if I believed that, I wouldn’t have much problems coming to terms with the fact that someone who had been a very big part of my life from the day I was born, is not in this world anymore. But I can’t, because I know it’s not true, but I still can’t forget what happened today.
I was walking in the halls in between classes, and I was talking to my friends, when I heard his voice all of a sudden
“He deserved it.”, said my ex-boyfriend Mark, who had suddenly broken up with me a few weeks ago, when I had told him about my family problems.
I felt like hitting him, hard, taking out all of my anger and sadness out on him right there but I knew I couldn’t do that. Not to mention that my mother would be called if I did that, and believe me, no one needs to see her at this moment. My friends Ella and Grace wanted to go and confront him and his friends, but I told them not to. All I could do was run away from there and that’s exactly what I did. I ran, knowing that Grace would make up some excuse for me to our Chemistry teacher, Mrs. Bowman. I ran until I reached the fountain, behind our school which has the statue of the founder of our school. I stayed there for about 10 minutes and then went back to class.
Mrs. Bowman said, “Take a seat, Aria. Are you feeling better?”
I said, “Yes.”, barely audibly.
I could barely concentrate in class, but I didn’t get called on, probably because I suppose the teachers knew about my situation. Hell, the whole town knew! Our town is small, and things get around quickly, so it was no surprise to us that everyone else also found out that my dad was cheating on my mom, with a student no less, just a few days after we found out ourselves. And then what happened the next few days was a blur, almost as if karma was taking its toll.
After school, I had my part-time job at Shutters, although I didn’t feel like going there at all, because I hated photography right now. If it weren’t for photography then my dad would still be here. Being hated by me, but still here, somewhere I could go to him if I needed him.
“Hey.”, I said to John, my manager as I walked in.
“Hey.”, he said, “If you’re not up to working, you don’t have to come here, you know. I could call Geena in for some extra hours.”
“No, it’s okay.” I said, “I want to.” And I did. I wanted to get away from the silence at home, everyone pretending that everything’s okay, while it’s not. I need some chaos, which is exactly what I got at Shutters. I suddenly heard a crash in the dark room.
“Hey.” I said to Allie, who was sprawled across the floor, covered in pictures and negatives of them. “Need some help?”
“Hey. If you don’t mind. Sorry…again.” she said with a little smile. She was the clumsiest person I knew. Falling where there was nothing other than her feet.
I helped her up and helped pick up all of the pictures and negatives. One of them caught my eye. It was of two parents with their child. They were looking at their baby with such adoration, that it seemed that they were living a perfect life, the three of them, without any problems in life, and all they wanted to do was shower their kid with all of their love. It didn’t seem as if one of them might leave them alone someday, to fend for themselves.
“How was school?” Allie asked.
“Fine.” I said.
Someone had just walked in, I went to the desk to see what they needed.
“Hello, what may I help you with?”, I asked them.
It was a guy, who looked just 2 or 3 years older than me. I hadn’t seen him before, which was surprising considering the small proximity of our town, Vendenna. I felt hopeful. I was eager to meet someone new, someone who wouldn’t judge me by the standard my father set up, or feel pity for me. I didn’t want to grieve anymore. Although I don’t exactly want to live anymore, I want to protect my family, from whatever harm others might force on us, or to help them make good decisions throughout their life.
“Are you alright?”, the guy asked, breaking me out of my stance.
“Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry about that. Off in my own world.” I said, smiling a fake smile, while what I really wanted to do was burst into tears. “How may I help you?”
He was still looking at me, thinking I might actually burst into tears. It felt weird. No one else had ever figured out my emotions, as my mind was like a closed box. He finally spoke. “I’m here to pick up my pictures. My name’s Lucas. Lucas Careux."
I called for someone in the back, to bring his pictures. I told them the name. I looked back at him. There was a long pause. He was looking expectantly at me, as if waiting for me to say something.
“What?”, I asked self-consciously.
“Nothing.”, he said, looking slightly taken aback.
I went to the back to get his pictures and gave them to him and he left. I went to the back, about to take my break and as I walked past the pictures, I sub-consciously started looking for the one with the baby and the parents. When I didn’t see it there, I figured who the photographer was. From that moment on, I was eager to meet him again, to meet someone who could capture such an expression on camera.
Chapter 1
“He deserved it.” His words kept running through my mind. I felt nostalgic, as I remembered the funeral when numerous people there were saying the same thing among themselves. Especially those old ladies, who loved to gossip kept recounting the story for several people, who knew nothing of it. I remembered my brother, Taylor’s, anger at them, when he was about to show them what he had learned in karate all those years, and I barely stopped him, as I probably felt even more hurt by it.
I remember how my mother looked at the funeral. She hadn’t been sleeping well the past few weeks and probably regretted the last words she said to him. I remember how she cried those weeks, when he passed away, as he was the only man she had ever loved. I knew that she was trying to be strong for us, her kids-constant reminders of him.
I tried to be strong for my brothers and sister. I tried my best to act as an adult in front of them, because I knew that if I broke down, then they won’t have anyone to comfort them. The funeral was a few days before school started, so I had to help my younger brother and sister shop for it, although no one was in the mood to buy anything. But we had to get along with life and although I knew that in my mind, my heart just couldn’t seem to accept that fact.
“He deserved it.” I knew that if I believed that, I wouldn’t have much problems coming to terms with the fact that someone who had been a very big part of my life from the day I was born, is not in this world anymore. But I can’t, because I know it’s not true, but I still can’t forget what happened today.
I was walking in the halls in between classes, and I was talking to my friends, when I heard his voice all of a sudden
“He deserved it.”, said my ex-boyfriend Mark, who had suddenly broken up with me a few weeks ago, when I had told him about my family problems.
I felt like hitting him, hard, taking out all of my anger and sadness out on him right there but I knew I couldn’t do that. Not to mention that my mother would be called if I did that, and believe me, no one needs to see her at this moment. My friends Ella and Grace wanted to go and confront him and his friends, but I told them not to. All I could do was run away from there and that’s exactly what I did. I ran, knowing that Grace would make up some excuse for me to our Chemistry teacher, Mrs. Bowman. I ran until I reached the fountain, behind our school which has the statue of the founder of our school. I stayed there for about 10 minutes and then went back to class.
Mrs. Bowman said, “Take a seat, Aria. Are you feeling better?”
I said, “Yes.”, barely audibly.
I could barely concentrate in class, but I didn’t get called on, probably because I suppose the teachers knew about my situation. Hell, the whole town knew! Our town is small, and things get around quickly, so it was no surprise to us that everyone else also found out that my dad was cheating on my mom, with a student no less, just a few days after we found out ourselves. And then what happened the next few days was a blur, almost as if karma was taking its toll.
After school, I had my part-time job at Shutters, although I didn’t feel like going there at all, because I hated photography right now. If it weren’t for photography then my dad would still be here. Being hated by me, but still here, somewhere I could go to him if I needed him.
“Hey.”, I said to John, my manager as I walked in.
“Hey.”, he said, “If you’re not up to working, you don’t have to come here, you know. I could call Geena in for some extra hours.”
“No, it’s okay.” I said, “I want to.” And I did. I wanted to get away from the silence at home, everyone pretending that everything’s okay, while it’s not. I need some chaos, which is exactly what I got at Shutters. I suddenly heard a crash in the dark room.
“Hey.” I said to Allie, who was sprawled across the floor, covered in pictures and negatives of them. “Need some help?”
“Hey. If you don’t mind. Sorry…again.” she said with a little smile. She was the clumsiest person I knew. Falling where there was nothing other than her feet.
I helped her up and helped pick up all of the pictures and negatives. One of them caught my eye. It was of two parents with their child. They were looking at their baby with such adoration, that it seemed that they were living a perfect life, the three of them, without any problems in life, and all they wanted to do was shower their kid with all of their love. It didn’t seem as if one of them might leave them alone someday, to fend for themselves.
“How was school?” Allie asked.
“Fine.” I said.
Someone had just walked in, I went to the desk to see what they needed.
“Hello, what may I help you with?”, I asked them.
It was a guy, who looked just 2 or 3 years older than me. I hadn’t seen him before, which was surprising considering the small proximity of our town, Vendenna. I felt hopeful. I was eager to meet someone new, someone who wouldn’t judge me by the standard my father set up, or feel pity for me. I didn’t want to grieve anymore. Although I don’t exactly want to live anymore, I want to protect my family, from whatever harm others might force on us, or to help them make good decisions throughout their life.
“Are you alright?”, the guy asked, breaking me out of my stance.
“Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry about that. Off in my own world.” I said, smiling a fake smile, while what I really wanted to do was burst into tears. “How may I help you?”
He was still looking at me, thinking I might actually burst into tears. It felt weird. No one else had ever figured out my emotions, as my mind was like a closed box. He finally spoke. “I’m here to pick up my pictures. My name’s Lucas. Lucas Careux."
I called for someone in the back, to bring his pictures. I told them the name. I looked back at him. There was a long pause. He was looking expectantly at me, as if waiting for me to say something.
“What?”, I asked self-consciously.
“Nothing.”, he said, looking slightly taken aback.
I went to the back to get his pictures and gave them to him and he left. I went to the back, about to take my break and as I walked past the pictures, I sub-consciously started looking for the one with the baby and the parents. When I didn’t see it there, I figured who the photographer was. From that moment on, I was eager to meet him again, to meet someone who could capture such an expression on camera.
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