Chapter Six
Nora sighed as she opened her eyes and rolled over. She had been up very late the night before writing the eulogy for her parents, and to her surprise had slept through the night; something she hadn't gone since her parents had passed. Nora stayed in Lorraine's room, and Maggie and her fifteen year old sister, Olivia, had stayed in there with them. She was glad, as it was good for Lorraine to be around people, rather than isolating herself and hiding in her room like she had been doing. However, the room was empty and her sister and cousins were nowhere to be found.
The eldest Baker child headed down the stairs, where a murmur of sound and the smell of bacon came from the dining room. Walking in, Nora saw that most of her brothers and sisters were dressed and gathered around the table with her cousins, eating breakfast. The table was full of food and drinks and the cousins were doing their best to initiate conversation, however Nora noticed that many of her siblings were not up for talking. Debbie and Rick walked in with plates of more bacon and eggs and set them down on the table.
"Morning," Said Rick, smiling and sitting down at the table. Nora smiled weakly and turned to her aunt.
"Thank you, I... I must have slept through my alarm. I was up pretty late last night."
"We didn't want to wake you. Sit down and get something to eat, it's going to be a pretty crazy day."
Nora thanked them, before sitting down and starting to put food onto her plate.
"All of your aunts and uncles, and your cousins and Grandpa are coming today. Are you excited to see them?" Rick smiled and asked Henry, who was sat next to him.
Henry shrugged silently and went back to pushing his cereal around his bowl.
"Too soon. I get it. Sorry, buddy." Rick patted Henry on the back.
"Mike and Laura should be here at two with the kids and Grandpa." Debbie informed everyone.
Almost no-one was listening to her, Nora observed. It had been just over three months since she had last seen her grandfather. Living five hours away, and having the size of family they did, it was difficult to visit, and the old man was now reaching his mid-seventies and found it difficult to travel to them. Having to tell him over the phone that his beloved son and daughter-in-law were dead was one of the two hardest things she had ever had to do, the other being telling her brothers and sisters. After her Grandma had died six years ago, he had stayed in the house they had bought together after their retirement, close to three of their eight children, who by then already had families of their own. Nora had always been close to her grandparents, and knew from a young age that theirs was a marriage that would last forever, and was based on true love, trust and respect. The eldest Baker child had always known that she wanted a marriage like that. It was worth waiting for. Her grandfather had lost a part of himself when his wife had died, and Nora couldn't help wondering how much he would lose this time round.
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A few hours later, Nora had showered and dressed and was about to head downstairs to tidy up before the rest of her family started to arrive.
"Mark!" She called, poking her head out of the bathroom to see her young red-headed brother passing by.
"I can't talk, I'm busy!" Mark yelled, hurrying off in the direction of his bedroom.
"Mark, wait, we need to talk!" Nora dropped the wet towel onto the floor, before starting to run after him. She knew that she had to talk to him soon. Since the night that his parents had died, Mark had been making many excuses to go off on his own and avoid talking to anyone, particularly Nora. Being one of the less outgoing Bakers, Mark was often overlooked and usually fought for attention, something her Mom had tried to make sure didn't happen. Now, in one of the hardest times, he was doing his best to pass under the radar, as were many of her brothers and sisters. Despite the thirteen year age gap, the two had always been close, ever since Mark was a toddler and Nora was a teenager. She loved her brother and she needed to make sure that he was okay.
Pushing the door to Mark's bedroom open, Nora saw him pulling his clothes out of his drawers and dropping them onto the floor.
"Mark, I-"
"No, I need to fold these! I need to tidy my room because-"
"Mark," Nora began, trying to stop him by taking his hands.
"Nora, stop! I can't, I need to-"
"Mark!" Nora shouted over him. He stopped immediately and stared at her, his eyes shocked and filling with tears. His sister sighed, leading him over to his bed and sitting down beside him.
"We need to talk."
"I don't want to talk."
"Well, I do." Nora said, simply. Mark scowled, avoiding his sister's gaze. "What's going on? You've been avoiding us all since this happened."
"Why do people always insist on talking? Talking doesn't make things better."
"Mom would want you to talk about how you feel."
"Mom's not here." Mark stood up and turned away from Nora, angrily staring at the picture of himself and Kate next to his bed. Despite his attempts to blink them away, tears spilled out of his eyes and ran down his cheeks. He did not wipe them away, hoping his sister wouldn't see them.
"It's okay to be upset."
"I'm not upset... I'm angry. Angry at them."
"At who? Mom and Dad?"
Mark nodded solemnly, still scowling at the photograph.
"They went out, and they knew that a big storm was coming. They didn't wait until it passed, or stay home, they went to drive in the rain. They should have known. They should have known that they would lose control of the car." He continued
The two sat in silence for a minute. This isn't Mark, Nora thought. Where was her brother who was loving and gentle? Who loved his parents more than anything and was the first one to greet her and hug her goodbye? Who was this angry child sitting beside her?
"Mark, they didn't know that. Mom and Dad didn't do this. This isn't their fault."
Another minute passed, and despite him facing away from her, Nora could hear the sobbing that her little brother was trying to hide.
"Why did they leave us alone?" Mark cried, sounding much younger than ten years old. At that moment he broke down and started howling, and did not fight when his oldest sister pulled him into her arms and began to calm him down.
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Nora and Mark lay on his bed, her arms around him, and his head leaning back against her shoulder. The boy looked up at his sister.
"I'm sorry I said that I was angry at them." He had calmed down considerably.
"You don't need to be sorry. You know you can tell me anything right?"
"Yeah... I just... I wanted you to think I was fine, and I could take care of myself. I'm not the only one who needs you right now."
"Mark, I'm here. If and when you need me. Whenever, wherever."
"Thanks." Mark said, "I know it's not their fault. Mom and Dad, I mean."
"And you know they would never have left us, unless it was out of their control?"
The boy nodded in reply.
"I wish they were here."
"Me too. But we're going to be okay. I promise." Nora said, squeezing his hand.
The young boy sighed and said nothing more.
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She was dreaming. Her mother and father were running. They were running away through a field, towards the light, and no matter how hard she tried, Nora could not catch them. She looked behind her. Her brothers and sisters were screaming and crying, calling her name over and over. She looked back and her parents were further away. Branches and weeds began to catch and pull on her legs. She fell, and as she landed, the ground split, and she fell into darkness, screaming for her Mom and Dad.
Nora awoke with a shudder. She must have fallen asleep. She looked around, and realised that she was in Mark's room, her brother asleep beside her. Mark didn't stir as she inched off of the bed.
Walking down the stairs, Nora realised that many of her family members had arrived. She must have been asleep for a while. In the corner of her eye, she noticed that her grandfather was sitting alone in the living room. He did not notice her entering, and instead continued to stare at the framed picture of his son and daughter-in-law on the bookshelf next to him, whilst wringing his hands nervously. Nora sat next to him, and took one of his hands. He turned to her, and sighed.
"You'd think I'd be an expert at experiencing death at my age. But, I don't know what to say. I'm sorry."
"It's okay, Grandpa. They're going to be okay." The older man nodded, before wrapping an arm around his granddaughter and kissing her on the head.
I said in the last chapter that this would be about the rest of the Baker family arriving, but I realised right after I posted that it would be pretty boring to just see each part of the family arriving, and hugs, kisses etc. Next chapter is the funeral (I promise ;) ) I'm sorry I didn't update for so long, life gets in the way sometimes. Thank you, lovely reviewers, the emails from your reviews remind me to update ahahaha xxx