For Everything a Reason
Chapter 11: The World Turns
I whip my head around in desperate search of an escape route. There's the sliding door in the living room, but that would put Tate directly in their line of vision. "Where is everyone?" I hear Annie ask. "Declan? Aspen?" My mom calls out. I look at Holden, my eyes wide with panic. He points to the window above the sink and raises his eyebrows. I nod in agreement and grab Tate's bicep, dragging him to the sink. Had we have been in any other circumstance, I would've noticed how toned and defined his bicep was. How his tan skin stretched over the lean muscles, but this what not the time nor place for such ogling. "Holden, go distract them," I instruct in a low whisper. He does a quick nod and darts to the living room.
Tate quietly hops onto the counter and slides the window open. "Holden, there you are," Annie sighs with relief. "Where are my children?" My mom asks. "How was the meeting?" Holden changes the subject. "Did we tell you it was a meeting?" I hear my dad's low voice inquire. "No, but I assumed it know since you never tell us anything anymore," Holden shoots back. That wasn't entirely fair of him since we were hiding things, too, but I couldn't worry about that at the moment because our biggest secret had one leg on the counter and the other leg outside the house so he was straddling the windowsill. "What are you waiting for?" I whisper. "Check the front window to the left of the front door after dinner," Tate instructs. "What?!" I hiss. "Just do it," he snaps. I lean forward and put my hands on his side. My fingertips grip the soft cotton of his gray t-shirt. I can feel heat radiating off of him through the fabric. "Where are you going?" Holden yells out to someone, his voice going up two octaves. I tighten my grip and lunge forward, pushing Tate out the window. His mouth parts in surprise but no sound comes out. There's a quite thud outside when my dad enters the kitchen, Holden right on his trail.
I casually lean my elbow on the edge of the sink and rest my head on my hand. "Hey dad," I smile enthusiastically. "What are you doing?" he asks skeptically. "Oh ya know, just hanging out," I reply innocently. "Where's your brother?" my mom asks. "Right here," Declan announces, waltzing into the room. "Good you're all here," my mom states as she walks in the kitchen with Annie and Johanna right behind her. "What's going on?" Paisley asks worriedly. "Nothing bad," Johanna assures. I examine everyone's' faces, looking for a sign of nervousness. Their eyes reveal nothing and their jaws are relaxed. Even Annie, who is a serial fidgeter, stands calmly. "We know we haven't been around much lately, so we thought it would be nice if we had a family dinner tonight," my dad announces excitedly. "And we have some exciting news to tell you," my mom beams, her big blue eyes glowing. "Fantastic! I'm starving and some good news would be really great right about now," Holden admits. "Alright, get to work then!" I laugh, dancing out of the kitchen. Holden, Paisley, and Declan run out after me.
I'm sitting on the bench next to my window admiring the view before me. The sun is beginning to set therefore casting a pinkish orange glow into my room. I hug my knees to my chest and let out a content sigh as a cool breeze softly brushes my hair against my face. In this moment I am completely relaxed. There are two robins chasing each other excitedly and nipping at one another's feathers. It almost seems flirtatious. "What are you doing?" someone questions from behind me. I gasp throwing a hand to my chest and spinning around. Declan is standing there with a confused expression of his face. "Jesus Christ, Declan, you shouldn't sneak up on people like that," I reprimand. "Yeah, yeah," he brushes it away like it was no big deal," Have you seen Holden? He's not in his room." "No, but I can't imagine he-" I get cut off. "Did someone say my name?" Holden appears in my doorway like a genie; a genie with green eyes and a narcissistic attitude. "Yeah, I need to talk to you about something, "Declan fidgets with his hands. "About what?" I interrupt. Declan's cheeks begin to blossom a red color and he turns away from me as he mumbles some unintelligible. "What was that?" my mouth turns up into a devilish grin. "Just stuff okay?!" Declan stomps out of my room, taking Holden with him. Holden manages to give me a shrug before he disappears down the hallway. I quickly decide that I'm better off not knowing what it is Declan wants to talk about. I shake my head and turn my attention back to the window while I wait for dinner to be ready.
About an hour later Paisley shows up in my room with the announcement that dinner is ready. We're not even halfway down the stairs and I can smell the beautiful aroma of a good home cooked meal. "Mmm, steak," I mumble to myself as we approach the table. I settle into a chair next to Holden while Paisley takes the one on my other side. "Eat up everyone," my mom says as she shoves various plates of food at us. We devour the feast in front of us occasionally mumbling something that sounds like "this is so good". "Did you hear about the fire?" Declan asks between bites. "Yes, and they're looking into it so it's nothing you need to be concerned with," my dad looks directly at me, his gray eyes piercing. I nod mechanically. "So what about the good news?" Paisley asks. "Right, There's going to be a festival in honor of the anniversary," my mom announces in excitement. "It'll be a lot of fun! We haven't sorted out all the details yet, but who doesn't love a good festival?" Johanna adds. Annie bobs her head up and down in support. In theory it sounds like a good idea, but it's also the perfect opportunity for certain people to make a statement. "Sounds like fun," Holden says, elbowing me in the ribs. "Yeah, totally," I put on the fakest smile I can manage. "I love festivals," Paisley adds enthusiastically. "I'd definitely go," Declan says with a mouthful of mashed potatoes. "Great! We'll tell you more when we find out," my dad says happily. I spend the rest of dinner engaging in idle chit chat and exchanging knowing glances with Holden and Paisley.
"Thanks for dinner, it was delicious," I say to my mom as I begin to clear the table. "No problem sweetheart," she pats my head like when I was little. "Since we cooked I think it's only fair that you guys do the dishes," my dad states. "Yeah sure thing," Declan agrees. The rest of us nod cooperatively. "Excellent," Annie says, giving Holden a kiss on the cheek. The adults leave the room to let us get to work. I pile the dishes onto my arm like a waitress and head over to the sink. Holden joins me at the sink with a pile of silverware. "What do you think about the festival?" he whispers quietly into my ear. "I'm not sure. It could be totally fine, but I'm skeptical," I admit in a hushed tone. "What are you guys talking about?" Declan asks, sounding alarmed. "Nothing," I look at him suspiciously. He cheeks are turning that red color again.
"I'm going to my room. You guys can manage the rest without me," he quickly scuttles out of the kitchen. "What's his problem?" Paisley asks from over by the fridge. "He probably thought I was telling you about our little conversation earlier," Holden snickers. "What conversation?" I ask Holden. "Can't tell ya. Purely confidential. Nothing you need to worry about," he smirks. "You guys are weird," I mumble, turning my attention back to the dirty dishes. "Do you think Tate knows about the festival?" Paisley asks openly. "I think so," Holden replies. "Oh! That reminds me!" I drop a fork in the sink and run to the front window.
When I get there nothing looks different. "What's going on?" Holden asks from behind me. "Tate said to check the window after dinner," I explain. I walk closer to the window and slightly bend forward. I press my lips tightly together and then purse them. A steady stream of air escapes my lips as I lightly blow out. A thin sheet of fog covers the plexiglass and scribbled letters start to appear. Paisley and Holden lean over my shoulders. "1:30 thrift store," Paisley reads aloud. "That's pretty clever of him actually," Holden admires. "What time is it?" I ask without turning around. Paisley runs back to the kitchen and yells, "9:30!" "Well, I'll go take a nap then," Holden says, walking up the stairs. "Me, too," Paisley sayd, following Holden.
I find myself sitting in front of the window again. This time I have a pencil and paper pad balancing on my knees. I drag the led across the paper, connecting two lines. I had been drawing miscellaneous patterns for the last two hours. I tried sleeping at first, but I was wired. I was left alone with my thoughts. These secret meetings were exciting to say the least, but I wondered how long they would last. Our parents would find out eventually. That brought another thought to mind. Had my dad and Katniss already seen each other? It would make sense that they were attending the same meetings. What if they confessed that they missed each other? That made me uneasy. "What are you doing?" Holden asks, his voice bringing me back to reality and saving me from my own mind. I realized I was blankly staring out the window into pitch black nothingness. "Just thinking. Is it time to leave?" I ask eagerly. "Yes ma'am," Holden usheres me out the door into the foyer where Paisley is waiting.
The scent of burnt wood and fabric was thick in the air. I could taste the ash with every intake of breathe. "Dear God," Paisley chokes. "Shhh," I caution. The sight before me was horrible. All that was left were mangled pieces of wood and mutilated metal bars. There was one wooden support beam standing out of the pile of debris. A lone survivor. Behind the beam I notice a lock of blonde hair. "Tate!" I whisper yell. "Hey guys," he greets us, flashing his signature smile. "This is so much worse than I thought it would be. They didn't just kill it, they beat the shit out of it," Holden frowns. "Kind of like when someone gets stabbed forty times as opposed to once," I add. "Isn't that considered a crime of passion?" Paisley asks curiously. "Maybe. The 21st century laws were way before our time so I'm not very familiar with them," Tate replies. "Is there anything left?" I ask apprehensively. "Not that I've noticed. Did you hear about the festival?" Tate asks. "Yeah. What do you think about it?" Holden answers. "I don't know yet. I guess it depends if something like happens again," Tate gestures to the mess around us.
They continue to talk but I disengage myself from the conversation. I walk over to the beam and place my left hand on, letting my fingers trail its surface. At first it's consistently smooth, but then I feel something rough. I trace my fingers across the lines. At first I think the lines are random, but then I realize there's a pattern to them. I squint my eyes and lean in closer to determine exactly what it is that I'm tracing. A sharp gasp escapes my lips and I stumble backward. Paisley, Tate, and Holden rush to my side. "What'd you find?" Tate asks worriedly. I soundlessly point to the beam before us. They all lean in and gasp in unison. "Oh my God".
A/N: Thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :) The more reviews the sooner I'll post the next chapter ;)