Chapter 14

In Alex's Absence

April 19, 1997

David Harper sat at his desk in his bedroom. He was supposed to be doing his calculus homework, but instead he was gazing out the window at the small woods that grew behind his house.

He was remembering the strange flashes of light that he had once seen coming from between the trees. He swallowed and took a deep breath. If I had known that that was the last time I would ever talk to her, he thought.

It had been many months since the Snapes had died, but every day since David wished he had said something different to Alex rather than question her about those stupid flashing lights. Every day since she died he wondered what he should have said differently, but he still hadn't come up with an answer.

It was a gas leak that had killed them; well, that's what everyone was told, a gas leak. But it was weird; the whole thing was weird.

After they died people stared to show up around the Snape house, inspectors they had called themselves. Yes, inspectors were anticipated with an unfortunate accident like this one, but these inspectors were…strange.

Do most inspectors work at two o'clock in the morning or have no car. Or dress in such an odd assortment of clothing that you would think it was Halloween. Do most inspectors suddenly disappear the moment you go to talk to them? No.

"They died in their sleep," a strangely dressed man had told the neighbors the morning after it happened. "They felt no pain. It was just a gas leak."

David knew that the gas leak story was widely accepted and he couldn't think of any reasonable cause not believe it, but some part of him just didn't buy it.

Some nights David would dream of screaming and a green glowing skull in the sky, but he didn't know why.

David heard the phone ring downstairs. "David," shouted Alan, his older brother. David ignored his brother; he really was not in the mood to talk on the phone. "David," Alan yelled again. Then David heard footsteps racing up the stairs.

David reached for his headphones and put them over his ears so that he could have a valid reason for not answering his brother.

Alan swung open the door. David turned around in this desk chair and glared at Alan for invading his privacy. "We're too close to knock," Alan announced at David's look of outrage. Alan was 24 years old; David had no idea why his brother was still living here.

David removed his headphones. "What?" he demanded.

"Well normally," said Alan, "I wouldn't come all the way upstairs to give you the phone, but I thought you might want to take this call." Alan grinned at him. "It is Lacey Bennett, you lucky bastard."

David gave his brother another irritated look. Alan was not holding the speaker end of the telephone so Lacey could hear their whole conversation. "I have calculus homework," David said.

"Did you not understand me?" asked Alan, "Lacey Bennett." Alan placed the phone in between his legs and drew out a large breasted silhouette of a woman in the air. Then he grabbed the phone again and held it out for David to take.

"I'm busy," David told his brother.

Alan rolled his eyes and put the phone up to his ear. "I'm so sorry, Lacey; David is a little busy at the moment. Uh huh, uh huh, of course he will call you back later." Alan shot David a meaningful glance. "He would be stupid not to. Okay Lacey, bye." Alan hung up the phone.

"Why did you tell her that I would call her back?" David asked.

"Because you will," Alan said.

"Yeah, I guess I have to now."

Alan closed David's bedroom door. "What is with you?"

"What do you mean?" David asked defensively.

"What I mean," Alan stated loudly, "is you moping around all the time and you refusing to speak to Lacey Bennett, Lacey Bennett, David! Come on!"

"I told you, I have homework."

"Okay fine," Alan said with frustration. "Forgetting Lacey for a moment, what about Nancy?"

"What about Nancy?" David asked bitterly.

"What do you mean, 'what about Nancy?'" Alan asked. "David, Nice n' Easy Nancy, need I say more?"

"The fact that people call her 'nice and easy', is a completely rational reason to not want to date her," said David.

"What about Sarah?"

"She's not my type."

"She used to be your type," pointed out Alan.

"Well she is not anymore," David said.

"Paulina also used to be your type," Alan said. "Why did you break up with her?"

"We grew apart," David said. "It happens, Alan, people grow apart."

Alan looked at his little brother for a long time before saying, "You didn't start growing apart from Paulina until Alex died.

David didn't say anything.

"She's dead, David," Alan told him seriously.

"I know that." David said sharply.

"David, she was there all along and you never gave her a second thought." Alan said softly. "She is dead now; this is not the time for you to suddenly have these kinds of feelings for her."

"I know that!" David yelled.

"I really don't think that you do," Alan told him.

"Alan, get the hell out of my room," David said. He pointed to the door.

"I'm worried about you," Alan told him.

"Well don't be," said David angrily.

Alan gave David a final look of concern before leaving and shutting the door behind him.

David looked back down at his math homework. He knew that he could not concentrate on it anymore tonight; he would just have to copy the rest of the answers from one of his friends before class.

David packed up his school work and then grabbed a book off his shelf, a year book. He flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for.

A girl with long black hair and blue eyes smiled awkwardly up at him. Alan's words of "she was there all along and you never gave her a second thought," rang in David's mind.

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**Special thanks to my sister Gabi for being my offical editor**