Just a friendly disclaimer; I own none of these characters.
Chapter 7: Confessions
Allison was past tears now. All she felt was anger. The anger in her was so intense it hurt. She felt as if flames were burning, their point of origin in the deepest part of her body.
It wasn't so much Andy's indifference that hurt her; it was the fact that the closeness they had shared was shattered. Allison felt that the bond between them was gone. She wondered briefly if it could ever exist again. She quickly rejected the thought. Andy deserved better than she was. He deserved someone who could…who could…
She waited at the front of Shermer High for her ride. Her mother was supposed to be picking Allison up, but Allison had a feeling her mom would be late. Mary was late for everything.
Allison couldn't even call her mother "Mom". Ever since Allison was a child, her mother had insisted upon being called Mary. Allison's mother was stuck in the sixties, her ideas radical, her arms bruised from the needles. Mary's addiction would kill her eventually. Allison accepted that as fact. The slap in the face had come years ago.
Allison was in the seventh grade. It was a windy fall afternoon. Everything surrounding her was golden; the sky, the leaves, the sidewalks, the cars, the houses all had a bright aura vibrating from them. The waves permeated Allison; her life was perfect.
Or so she thought. She walked through her front door to see her mother passed out in the foyer, a needle dangling from her arm. Her lips were tinged purple. Her skin was transparent. Allison ran to the phone and called for an ambulance.
Mary's secret had finally emerged. What Allison thought was a perfect relationship with her mother was tarnished. Mary would never seem the same to Allison's eyes.
That had been the first and last serious episode with her mother. Allison always had a fear that one day she would come home to find Mary…dead.
Allison gave up waiting and waked towards her home.
Don't think about Andy, she thought. Don't think about Mary.
Allison was lost. She was in a tunnel with no beginning and no end. She was surrounded by darkness.
Tuesday March 27, 1984
Brian got out of his mother's car and shut the door. This morning's ride, thankfully, had passed in silence. Brian hadn't gotten yelled at, for once. He wished all his car rides could go like that.
Behind that silence was a strict tension. Last night his mother had found out about the elephant. The elephant was shattered like Brian's mother's dreams for him. Brian had never felt like such a disappointment. Never once could he be perfect. Never once could he please anyone.
If only the gun hadn't gone off…
"Brian!" he heard a girl's voice call from behind. He couldn't figure out why a girl would be calling him. He didn't have anyone. He was alone…
"Brian! Hello, Brian?" Claire ran from the sidewalk and tapped his shoulder. "What's wrong with you?" Claire was a bit worried; Brian was hunched, had a glazed look in his eyes. "Hey, listen. I need to talk to you. Remember the other day when I asked you if you could keep a secret?"
Brian blinked and stared at Claire. He gruffly cleared his throat. "Yeah. Yeah, I can keep a secret." He wondered why Claire would tell him. She had her girlfriends. She wasn't talking to them at the moment, because she "hates going along with everything they say", but who was to say that she wouldn't be friends with them next week?
"Ummm, can we go somewhere else?" Claire awkwardly raised her hands, and then dropped them, as if she had lost a battle.
Brian wondered at that for a moment but followed after her down the sidewalk. She said as he came next to her, "I used to stay with my aunt for months at a time. She lived in that house right there." Claire pointed at a house three doors down from Brian. "When she died, well, I had no one." Claire led Brian off the sidewalk and into the shelter of the forest. "This was my special place." She went to sit on the base of an old, gnarly tree. "I would come here to think, read, listen to music, whatever. Sometimes my aunt would come with me.
"Brian, I'm going to get to the point here. I was in eighth grade when my aunt died, and I had never felt so alone. She was my only friend. Believe it or not, I never fit in with the girls at that private school I went to, and well, I had to do something. I felt so empty, and lonely, and I had no way out. One day I came out here and I slit my wrist."
Brian could only stare. The girl who appeared so confident, so cool, so collected, she had tried to take her life?
Claire continued. "I'm telling you this because I'm not sure you won't try to commit suicide again. And I'm telling you this because I know I can trust you. It's been a secret that no one but my parents knows. I want you to know because I know what you're feeling.
"I want you to come here whenever you feel alone, and just remember that I'll always talk to you. Just remember that there is always someone out there who will listen"
With that, Claire turned and walked towards the sidewalk. Brian stared after her, then began to cry into his hands.
Chapter 7: Confessions
Allison was past tears now. All she felt was anger. The anger in her was so intense it hurt. She felt as if flames were burning, their point of origin in the deepest part of her body.
It wasn't so much Andy's indifference that hurt her; it was the fact that the closeness they had shared was shattered. Allison felt that the bond between them was gone. She wondered briefly if it could ever exist again. She quickly rejected the thought. Andy deserved better than she was. He deserved someone who could…who could…
She waited at the front of Shermer High for her ride. Her mother was supposed to be picking Allison up, but Allison had a feeling her mom would be late. Mary was late for everything.
Allison couldn't even call her mother "Mom". Ever since Allison was a child, her mother had insisted upon being called Mary. Allison's mother was stuck in the sixties, her ideas radical, her arms bruised from the needles. Mary's addiction would kill her eventually. Allison accepted that as fact. The slap in the face had come years ago.
Allison was in the seventh grade. It was a windy fall afternoon. Everything surrounding her was golden; the sky, the leaves, the sidewalks, the cars, the houses all had a bright aura vibrating from them. The waves permeated Allison; her life was perfect.
Or so she thought. She walked through her front door to see her mother passed out in the foyer, a needle dangling from her arm. Her lips were tinged purple. Her skin was transparent. Allison ran to the phone and called for an ambulance.
Mary's secret had finally emerged. What Allison thought was a perfect relationship with her mother was tarnished. Mary would never seem the same to Allison's eyes.
That had been the first and last serious episode with her mother. Allison always had a fear that one day she would come home to find Mary…dead.
Allison gave up waiting and waked towards her home.
Don't think about Andy, she thought. Don't think about Mary.
Allison was lost. She was in a tunnel with no beginning and no end. She was surrounded by darkness.
Tuesday March 27, 1984
Brian got out of his mother's car and shut the door. This morning's ride, thankfully, had passed in silence. Brian hadn't gotten yelled at, for once. He wished all his car rides could go like that.
Behind that silence was a strict tension. Last night his mother had found out about the elephant. The elephant was shattered like Brian's mother's dreams for him. Brian had never felt like such a disappointment. Never once could he be perfect. Never once could he please anyone.
If only the gun hadn't gone off…
"Brian!" he heard a girl's voice call from behind. He couldn't figure out why a girl would be calling him. He didn't have anyone. He was alone…
"Brian! Hello, Brian?" Claire ran from the sidewalk and tapped his shoulder. "What's wrong with you?" Claire was a bit worried; Brian was hunched, had a glazed look in his eyes. "Hey, listen. I need to talk to you. Remember the other day when I asked you if you could keep a secret?"
Brian blinked and stared at Claire. He gruffly cleared his throat. "Yeah. Yeah, I can keep a secret." He wondered why Claire would tell him. She had her girlfriends. She wasn't talking to them at the moment, because she "hates going along with everything they say", but who was to say that she wouldn't be friends with them next week?
"Ummm, can we go somewhere else?" Claire awkwardly raised her hands, and then dropped them, as if she had lost a battle.
Brian wondered at that for a moment but followed after her down the sidewalk. She said as he came next to her, "I used to stay with my aunt for months at a time. She lived in that house right there." Claire pointed at a house three doors down from Brian. "When she died, well, I had no one." Claire led Brian off the sidewalk and into the shelter of the forest. "This was my special place." She went to sit on the base of an old, gnarly tree. "I would come here to think, read, listen to music, whatever. Sometimes my aunt would come with me.
"Brian, I'm going to get to the point here. I was in eighth grade when my aunt died, and I had never felt so alone. She was my only friend. Believe it or not, I never fit in with the girls at that private school I went to, and well, I had to do something. I felt so empty, and lonely, and I had no way out. One day I came out here and I slit my wrist."
Brian could only stare. The girl who appeared so confident, so cool, so collected, she had tried to take her life?
Claire continued. "I'm telling you this because I'm not sure you won't try to commit suicide again. And I'm telling you this because I know I can trust you. It's been a secret that no one but my parents knows. I want you to know because I know what you're feeling.
"I want you to come here whenever you feel alone, and just remember that I'll always talk to you. Just remember that there is always someone out there who will listen"
With that, Claire turned and walked towards the sidewalk. Brian stared after her, then began to cry into his hands.