“At least I’m not dragging us in circles, getting even more lost,” I retorted, holding his gaze defiantly.
“You’re impossible,” he muttered, turning back around to continue onward. The shadows deepened as night encroached, moonlight scattering across the woods like a lantern’s glow.
“I don’t care what you think. I’m not going any further. I’m tired. It’s dark. I want to sleep.” There was no point in walkingany longer.
Caiden sighed, looking around us as if he were searching for a solution, helpless.
“Fine. It is hard to navigate in the dark. We’ll pick it back up at the first sign of sunlight.” Caiden gave in, defeated.
I made an incoherent, irritated sound, sinking down in surrender. The bickering had grown stale, and I simply wanted to sleep.
He found a spot near me and laid down, and I followed suit, putting my arm beneath my head. It would be impossible to find comfort on this unforgiving ground.
My body ached, a chorus of complaints echoing through my muscles. As I drifted into a dreamless sleep, my last thoughts lingered on the last time Caiden and I had slept near each other.
At least in the motel, there had been the option of a bed. Now, there was no bed to fight over.
THE PAST
AMELIA’S BREAKING POINT
The car that carried Lillian’s corpse faded into a distant speck on the horizon. It felt surreal to remember the texture of her lifeless flesh against my fingers, the acrid scent of her decomposing bones still lingering in my mind.
She was just a sorrowful memory now.
The pavement beneath me felt harsh. I had lost all sense of time as I sat in front of the apartment building, grief anchoring me to my spot, rendering reality ungraspable.
The tears had dried up, leaving my face stinging and throbbing. Puffy redness fanned across my cheeks, a testament to the melancholia swirling around me like a swarm of venomous insects, suffocating and debilitating.
Once the shock settled and fluttered away like a startled bird, I forced myself to stand. My knees wobbled, and I stumbled backward, nearly losing my balance. A woman passing by stopped, her eyes wide with curiosity and concern.
“Are you alright?” she asked.
I nodded, dismissing her with a wave of my hand, struggling to find my voice. “I just lost someone,” I muttered, shaking my head as if trying to dislodge the memory of my dead sister.
“I’m so sorry,” the woman said, placing her hand gently on my shoulder. I recoiled from her touch, the warmth of it sending a shiver down my spine, and I jogged to my car.
“I need to leave,” I screeched hastily, desperation clawing at my throat.
The drive home resembled a frantic escape, a woman unhinged. I swerved across lanes, cutting off other drivers without a second thought. Honks blared around me, but they faded into the background; I was consumed by an urgent need to escape.
When I finally parked in the driveway, I dashed inside and slammed the door behind me. The house was cloaked in darkness, the ebony shades of shadow rattling my already frayed nerves.
I collapsed onto the dusty floor, burying my head in my hands as tremors shook my body.
The crushing silence was deafening, and I couldn’t bear it any longer. I screamed, a raw, primal cry that echoed through the walls, tearing at my throat. I screamed until my vocal cords felt ragged and dry.
Footsteps approached, and suddenly, I was not alone anymore. I looked up through bleary eyes to see my mother standing above me, a frown etched on her face, hands on her hips.
“What are you screaming for? You’re disturbing me!” she snapped, annoyance blazing in her eyes.
I sprang to my feet, anger flaring within me. “Oh? I’m disturbing you? So sorry, Mother!” I shrieked; my voice laced with mockery and indifference. “You should know that Lillian is dead! She’s dead, and she’s not coming back!”
My voice trembled, and that tightness returned to my throat. I swallowed hard, but it only pushed the anguish further up, threatening to spill over.
She froze, blinking in disbelief. “What?”
I scoffed, the bitterness rising within me. She was probably too lost in her haze to even comprehend what I was saying. A dark part of me wondered if she would be sober enough to attend the funeral.
