The paramedics were gone, but the house was far from quiet. The house at 1402 Lancaster Lane was filled with the sound of sobs and ringing telephones. Dan was the closest to the house phone, but he didn't seem to care. He just sat in his chair with his head in his hands. Earlier he had managed to usher Diana into bed, where she continued to cry. Natalie locked herself away in her room, tucked under the covers crying silently. She had pillows pressed to her ears to block out her mothers cries. It was 3:00 in the morning before Dan unplugged the phone. The ringing stopped and the house went silent. He trudged up the stairs to check on the remaining members of his family. Remaining. He never thought that he would ever have to say that. He cracked open Natalie's door and found her curled up in a nest of blankets with tear-stained cheeks. He quietly closed the door and went to the bedroom he shared with his wife. Diana was curled up into the fetal position with her back to the door. She must have cried herself to sleep. Dan crept over and kissed her forehead before leaving. He shut the door as gently as possible and walked back to the bathroom. He flipped on the light to see the pool dried blood. His son's blood. The only thing left from that disastrous night, other than an empty room. He sighed and went to get a bucket.
. . .
It was early morning Dan finished cleaning the floor. He dumped the last bucket of dirty water and dried his blood stained hands. The house was still quiet. Dan knocked softly on Natalie's bedroom door.
"Natalie... it's time to get up for school. Natalie...?" He opened the door to find his daughter fast asleep. He sat down on the edge of the bed and gently nudged her awake.
"Natalie. You need to get up."
"Uugh. Why? After what happened last night you expect me to go to school?"
"If you miss, you'll lose your perfect attendance record."
"Yeah, of course. That's what you'd be worried about right now! Get out!" Natalie pushed her father out of her room and slammed the door. Dan sighed and went back downstairs. He plugged the phone in to call into work. For the moment, the phone was silent. He dialed the number for his work and stayed on the line just long enough to call in. He did the same for Diana. Dan sunk back into his chair and closed his eyes.
. . .
He was woken up when Natalie came downstairs.
"I'm going to school." Her voice sounded flat and empty, but Dan didn't seem to notice.
"Okay. Have fun." Natalie scoffed.
"Bye." She left, slamming the door behind her. Dan sighed and pulled himself up out of his chair. He stumbled his way up to the bedroom where Diana was still asleep. Dan fell into bed and wrapped his arms around his wife.
"We'll get through this. Things will get better, I promise." He whispered as he kissed her cheek. Dan closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep.
Hi everyone! I'm really liking this story. I pretty much have the whole story planned out, so there should be fairly regular updates. As always, reviews are super great and make me happy! Have a happy holidays everyone!