Chapter 1
Coming Home
She left in a hurry, packed her bags and took off. Without looking back, she left no notes, no messages, just one bare empty room stripped of her presence. But no one ever stays gone forever and she was no exception to the rule.
Sarah drove silently through the place she always left but somehow always came back to. A wedding, she was coming back Llanview for a wedding. Some might have said it was just an excuse to come back to the place she had called home and the were probably right. Her redheaded cousin, was getting married and she still couldn't figure out why she was back. Sarah pushed her Gucci sunglasses to the top of her head when she realized she had pulled up to the Buchanan Mansion. "Here goes nothing" she thought.
Slowly she walked up to the front door and knocked. "Why the hell am I here?" she asked herself and thought about getting back into her car and driving back to New York as fast as she could. Sarah turned around and was getting ready to leave when the door opened. "Sarah?" it was her Grandfather. "Shit" she muttered, "Hey, I know this is probably awkward that I'm here on such short notice and everything but I got a letter from Jess about Natalie's wedding and I thought I'd come by to wish her good luck." she finished lamely.
"Have you been in the area?" he asked, "Um no, I've been in New York since I left." she answered avoiding his sharp gaze. " New York? You told us you were going back to Chicago." "Yeah well, I needed to go somewhere and New York seemed like the best opportunity." he nodded and finally moved aside for her to go in. "Uh listen Jessica and Viki are in there, so I'll tell them you're here and everything." he said quickly.
"Yeah, maybe I should come back later when your not busy." "Don't be ridiculous no one has seen you for three years." He walked into the closed off room and Sarah leaned against a table taking in the room. It was weird being back and it feeling so distant and familiar all at once.
"Will you look at that? It's my lovely runaway niece! Finally decided to show up huh?" he said raising his eyebrows at her. "Sarah! Darling where have you been, I've tried calling you but you never answer." she asked as she pulled her softly into a hug. "Hey Viki, I uh haven't been to my apartment much." she glanced at Todd and saw him smirk at her blatant lie. "Good to have you back, kid" he said before brushing past them.
Viki looked at her and said what Sarah knew was bound to come up sooner or later. "Have you seen Cristian lately?" Sarah's easy going expression she had been working so hard at keeping faded into one of confusion and anger. Brushing past her Aunt she walked towards the front door. Viki knew the answer to her question and called out, "Sarah, you have to go see him, or at least go see her she's adorable." Sarah looked at her one more time and said, " I don't care about them, and I don't have to see anyone."
Sarah looked up thru her sunroof at the gray sky and cursed at the lucky of it raining. She angrily brushed the tears that had formed in her eyes. Her vision blurred and the car in back of her honked at her to move. Pulling over to the side of the road she let the emotions she tried so hard to keep hidden out. She hated the looks her family gave her, such pity and sadness. She gave up trying to remember years ago, now just the mention of her old life seemed to anger her. She brushed the tears off of her face and secured the calm, cool personality she had been so good at portraying. She went back onto the road and found herself in front of his apartment building, she silently gazed at the place she used to live in and fought the feeling bubbling under the surface. She was a hypocrite, she had once ridiculed her own mother for leaving her child behind and wasn't that what she had done? Abandoned her daughter because it got too hard to look at her with no feelings or memories? Life in New York, where no one cared who she slept with or what she did was a hell of a lot better than the expectant looks she got back here, at home
Sarah swerved back onto the road and speeded past the building she had once lived and down the street, she didn't look at where she was going nor did she see the truck coming at her, it was too late by the time she noticed. The sound of metal grinding against medal and the feeling of her body being jolted as is hundreds of little fists were pummeling her she let herself go limp, she tuned out the sirens blaring and realized how wonderful and peaceful it felt to finally let go. Blackness took over and she became less and less aware of her surroundings allowing the darkness to finally take over.