Author's Note: This little one-shot came because I was trying to challenge myself. Five hundred words in thirty minutes about anything. I came up with a line "There is an empty grave in Nebraska, filled only with my heart" and this story was born. I am actually happy with it. It may not be the greatest, but it is one in the morning and it has been a busy few days and I like it. I like the idea, and I like how Rachel isn't crazy about Mr. Solomon because I hate that in the books. Mr. Solomon, I believe, fits with no one. Because Abby has Townsend and Rachel had Matthew.
But anyway, my rant is done and over. I do hope you enjoy this! This could be considered part of my series of scenes not shown in the books, which if you like this, please read. Also, I would love for you to review and tell me what you think! (:
PS: I used a lot of italics. Forgive me.
My Heart
There is a grave, far apart from the rest, in the graveyard of a small church on the outskirts of a smaller town in Nebraska. This grave is absent of the man who supposedly lies there, filled only with my heart.
I could see it in her eyes before she spoke. The tone of her voice just reaffirmed what I already knew. If there was any doubt, it was gone when she spoke her very first word.
She rarely called my daughter anything other than 'Squirt' and never anything outside of Cammie, until she finally did. "Cam remembered, Rachel."
My sister stood in front of me, not the woman I loved or spy that I had grown accustomed to, but the girl I had grown up with. My sister would never been considered anything short of a woman, but there was this girl in front of me that I hadn't seen in years.
I wanted to comfort her, but I stopped when I realized I didn't know how. "She led us to a place, just outside of Rome." She took in a deep, shaky breath. "It was a safe house, Rach. Her initials were carved into the wall."
When a voice continued, it wasn't hers. "They weren't the only ones." And only then was I reminded of the hand inside my own, of the person beside me. I dropped the hand as it became too heavy to hold, and I stood, moving away from the bed. I stopped when my back was against the wall and I could go no further. I stared at the ground, willing her to stop, but she continued on.
"Outside the house is a meadow, Rach," Her voice finally broke, and she sagged against the wall. I looked to her, up from the floor. She had aged years in minutes.
"And inside the meadow?" another voice spoke. This voice was frantic and terrified. It was emotional and weak. I frowned at it. And then I realized that the voice was my own. "Inside the meadow, Abby?" I demanded the answer, even though I knew I did not want to hear it.
"We found him. We found Matt." The girl was crying now, sobbing. Her body shook in exertion. I shook my head back and forth. No. No. No.
I stared at the ground beneath me as my world began to shake. I heard someone screaming. I heard myself screaming. No. I looked up, but I only saw the memories. I could only ever see the memories.
No.
"They took her to him. They took her to her father."
No.
My vision blurred. My head ached. My body shook, and I could feel a wetness on my face even though I wasn't crying. Was I crying?
My husband was dead.
No.
As my vision cleared, I could see him on the bed looking at me, awake. Alive. He wasn't upset. He wasn't crying. He hadn't changed a bit. He had known.
I had known.
No.
The air was stolen from my lungs as I looked at the man I could've loved, in another life. But I could only ever think of the man I did love.
Run.
Run.
Run.
My daughter and I are much alike, despite contrary beliefs.
No.
My husband is dead.
I ran.
I ran away from my sister who wasn't there, who had never been there.
I ran away from the man who didn't know how to be a friend, who I never could truly love.
I ran.
I went everywhere and nowhere. I fled from my demons and my future, and I chased my past.
I ended up within a room just like many others in the Academy, except this one was different from the rest.
There is a school on a hill inside a small town in Virginia. The school is full of many girls of all shapes and sizes, but there is one girl different from the rest. This girl is my heart.