Broken: Chapter-8

Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything that has to do with Harvest Moon, or its characters!

…..broken:

I opened my eyes to find myself in a dark room; a dark room with two doors, and a chair resting in the middle. I looked around, confused and scared… then my hands began to shake. Where am I?

A beautiful, yet eerie voice filled the small room, and then a woman walked in, carefully turning on a lamp behind her. I turned quickly, backing away from the unrecognizable woman. Her skin was very pale, her hair was black, but it had a bluish tint to it… and her eyes… her eyes were something else. The woman's eyes were a dark black, with a little spiral of gold in each eye. She laughed once more.

"Don't be frightened boy. In fact you should be happy to see me."

The woman sat down on the chair, folding her hands politely, staring at me with those menacing eyes.

"Who are you? And what am I doing here?"

She smirked, closed her eyes and began to glow, so much that I had to close my eyes and when I opened them once more, Chelsea sat in the place where the woman once was.

"C-Chelsea is that you?"

Chelsea laughed, just like that woman, and shook her head. "Don't you understand Vaughn? I'm not anyone. But I'm everyone. I can be whoever I want to."

The light, just like before, surrounded her. But instead of one person, she began to shift in to everyone that I've ever met, making her seem just like a blur of people and faces. Soon, she morphed back into her original form.

"I'm the angel of choice. Heh, more people refer to me as a demon than an angel though. But I don't create the evil that consumes my soul though. It's people. They make the decisions that cloud there judgment, make the easy choice, the choice that benefits them, and hurts others. But as you can see, not all are evil… some make the choice that helps. As you can see from my eyes, almost all of it is black, but there is still some light; some hope."

My heart was still racing, and questions still ran through my head. All I wanted was to leave!

"Angel of choice-"

"Call me Luna."

I blinked. "Ok… Luna, what exactly am I doing here? Does everyone come to this place?"

Luna sat back in the chair and huffed, "Not everyone comes here, Vaughn. But there really is no reason, no reason I'm allowed to tell you anyway, about why you're here."

My shoulders dropped, and my hair covered my worried eyes. Am I ever going to leave? What if I make the wrong choice? But most of all, will I ever see Chelsea again?

Luna looked at me curiously, whispered something to herself and smiled. "Vaughn, I will, in my own way, help you with the right choice. Sometimes I make it more difficult, and sometimes I make it clearer. But I will help. And you will go back, home that is. No one expects you to make a choice like this in an hour."

Feeling a little more reassured, I looked up at Luna. The gold in her eyes were swirling around with the blackness… I jumped back a little, making Luna giggle.

"You better get used to that. Well what do you say? Do you want to go home?"

I nodded slowly, and Luna began to mumble something in a different language. Soon, a glass door appeared. Luna told me this was the door back to the mortal world, and all I have to do is think about home, and I will go back. I placed my hand on the door knob, closed my eyes, bit my lip, and concentrated. I thought about the trees, the house, my room, my uniform, and Chelsea. Soon enough I was back, but not in Chelsea's house… but at a hospital.

I sat up quickly, looking around for familiar faces. Gill and Hikari were there… and so was Chelsea, but she stood close to my bed. She was holding my hand tightly, her eyes red from crying.

"Vaughn! You're ok!"

Chelsea wrapped her arms around me tightly, crying into my shoulder. I hugged her back, wanting to make all her tears go away. "I'm fine Chelsea… you don't have to worry about me."

Chelsea's parents walked out into the waiting room, whispering something about adoption, and how Chelsea and I will react. But at the moment, I was focused on Chelsea, and trying to make her feel better.

"P-Please don't do this ever again Vaughn."

"I pinkie promise."

Chelsea smiled; let me go, only to hug me again, only tighter this time. The next few hours we talked about school and how creepy Regis was. Chelsea, once again, never left my side.

Soon, Dr. Trent came in and told us that I can go home tonight. But he recommended that I go to a different doctor. Something called a physciatrist.

The drive home was awfully quiet, and when we got home, Gill and Hikari told me and Chelsea that they had something important to tell us. We all sat down around the table, and I couldn't help but notice Hikari was holding back tears.

"Vaughn, Chelsea… we all know that Vaughn was going to be leaving at some point. Well..."

Hikari paused, then shook her head, covering her face, and she began to sob. Gill held her closely and looked up sadly at us. "Vaughn has been adopted by a woman named Mirabelle. We're not sure if he'll be able to stay at this school, but he's leaving by the end of the week."

Chelsea stood up, knocking her chair over. "No! Vaughn can't leave… he's my best friend! Please don't take him from me! Please!"

Gill glanced up at us, pleading to forgive him and Hikari. "Chelsea, I know you and Vaughn are close, but you knew he couldn't stay forever. I told you this the first day he got here."

"But Daddy, h-he needs me… and I need him! Please don't take him away," Chelsea said with a shaky voice.

I then grabbed Chelsea's hand, and turned her towards me. Maybe she'll listen to me. "Chelsea, it doesn't matter where I am, I'll always be your friend. I won't forget you."

"Vaughn… I thought you liked it here."

"I do! I love it here… and I love being you're friend. And I always will love it here, and be your friend. Please understand."

Chelsea yanked her hand away, glared at me then her parents. She clenched her fists, shut her eyes tightly, making tears roll down her cheeks. "I hate all of you!"

She ran out the door, slamming it shut, leaving an awful silence behind. My heart felt as if it had been stomped on. The worst things she could ever say to me was that. The words I hate you lingered in my head for what seemed like hours.

We all waited patiently for her to come back, but when she didn't… we all went out looking for her. It was already dark, and I was tired. My arms ached, and my feet felt as if they were bleeding. But I had to find her.

"Where are you," I huffed. Then I realized… I know where she is!

I ran to the spot where I knew she would be; the secret lake me and her go to when we have no where else to go. And just as I thought, Chelsea was lying in the field, where most of the flowers were growing. I slowly walked up to her, and laid down next to her, sighing in relief.

"What are you doing here," She hissed.

"I came here to find you."

"Well I don't want to be found! So just leave me alone!"

Chelsea started to get up, but I grabbed her hand just in time. I stood up next to her, continuing to hold her hand gently. Our eyes locked for a moment, making Chelsea's eyes water. She tried to pull away from me, but I stood my ground, and didn't let go. Soon enough, she gave up and I pulled her close to me, and hugged her.

"I'm sorry I have to leave Chelsea."

"I'm sorry Vaughn… I said so much horrible things," she sniffled.

"It's ok… no matter what, Chelsea… I will always be there."

"I love you Vaughn."

I smiled to myself. "I love you too Chelsea."

We stayed like that for a while, and then made our way back home. The rest of the week, I played with Chelsea and we hung out just like any normal day. The night before I left, Chelsea didn't speak though. When I packed my bags, she wouldn't look at me or her parents. And on my last day; she cried. So I took her to the lake one last time.

The sun was shining brightly, and it couldn't be a more perfect day.

"Chelsea, do you want to climb the tree?"
Chelsea shrugged. "I guess."

We climbed up the branches, scraped our arms and legs on the way of coarse, but when we reached the top, it was worth it. We could see the water glisten in the mid-day sunlight, the flowers being blown back by the wind, and the clouds rolling by.

"Isn't it beautiful, Chelsea?"

Chelsea laughed. "I remember saying something like that to you the first day we came here."

"I'm really going to miss you Vaughn."

"I'll miss you too. But we'll still be friends right?"

Chelsea nodded enthusiastically, "Friends forever!"

We linked pinkies together, promising we'll never forget… friends forever.

….broken

By sunset, we both knew it was time for me to go. We slowly walked back, hand in hand, trying our best not to start bawling like little babies. Hikari and Gill were standing on the porch with my bags, both looking almost as sad as us.

"We'll miss you Vaughn," Gill smiled as he patted my back.

Hikari wiped her eyes, and kissed me on the cheek. "You will always have a home here," she whispered.

I could hear the car that would take me away driving up the road. I looked around, trying my best to get one good, last look of the trees, the dirt road, the blue mountains that seemed to touch the sky, and most of all, Chelsea's sweet face. I knew in my heart, she was more than a friend, but at the time I was too young to notice it. My throat began to dry, and I had no idea what to say to her.

"Friends forever Vaughn, we pinkie promised."

I smiled warmly, "I know… I guess this is goodbye then?"

Chelsea kissed me on the cheek, leaving my heart racing, and my cheeks blushing.

"Goodbye Vaughn."

Just then, a small gray car pulled up and two ladies got out. One was in some sort of business suit, while the other was wearing an orange shirt with a blue dress over it. She looked kind, and gentle. Her hair was a golden blonde and her eyes were a soft blue. I kind of hoped this was Mirabelle.

The cold, business lady pulled out a clipboard, and the two women approached us.

"Is this the residence of Gill and Hikari Furukowa?"

Gill nodded. "This is. And are you Ms. Langston from North Carolina Child Services?"

Ms. Langston pulled out her business card, confirming she was who Gill was asking for. She handed Gill the clipboard, and after he signed it, she handed it to the other lady.

"Alright, Mirabelle, congratulations. This young man is now your son."
Mirabelle smiled. "Thank you Ms. Langston."

Mirabelle shook Hikari and Gills hand and made her way towards me. She got down to my level, giving me a warm, reassuring grin. "Are you ready to go home Vaughn?"

I brushed past Mirabelle coldly, and wandered over to the car. Mirabelle ignored my cold response, and we all got into the car. Hikari, Gill, and Chelsea stood together, waving goodbye to me. I waved back, until they were no longer insight.

I turned around in my seat, and stayed quiet, ignoring Mirabelle and all of her questions.

I closed my eyes, and before I knew it, I was back in that dark room with Luna.

The gold and the black continued to dance in her eyes, while she smiled darkly. One door opened just a crack, and then another door appeared.

"The test has begun."

…

Author's note: Well, I guess I'm going to finish this thing! Please tell me what you think by leaving a review! :D