"One day, Bethany's nightmare will not torture you, and the harm will not be everywhere, and you will be able to breathe again. I can assure you that everything will be fine."
I nodded, he was the first person to tell me this I truly believed. I believe his words because he knows; he understands my feelings better than anyone else. Over time, through the treatment my mother forced me to accept, through the lasting love of my family and friends, and my own growing understanding of the world and myself, things got better. As he promised. But at that time, his promise was the only thing I could rely on for the first few hours, days, and weeks. In order to hold on to the world around me, to keep breathing, the only thing I need to hold on to.
"Bethany!" My mother called again, with impatience and anxiety in her voice.
"I have to go." He nodded, pulled me to his side, and kissed me softly again, but this time on his mouth. I stared at him in awe; my lips trembled because his warm lips hit mine. I just received my first kiss, it was so sweet and uplifting. All this was what I had dreamed of, even in that terrible cold night, and it was always with him. "Good night Cade."
He barely smiled; when he let go of me, his black eyes gleamed in the darkening moonlight. When I walked out from under the tree, his entanglement on me made my legs tremble. "Goodbye, Bethany," I think I heard his whisper.
When I looked back, I could barely see him sitting on the bench, watching me walk towards the house. In the next few weeks, I have been expecting him to show up again, and I will even go to the garden to wait for him, but he never showed up. I will see him in school, but I have been blamed before, so I am shy and dare not approach him, and he did not approach me. Then, with the passage of time, normal daily life once again became dominant. I no longer waited for him to appear again, and finally forgot that night.
Until now.
Now I am surrounded by those memories, emotions, losses, and the tranquility of the night long ago that he gave me. I cried again.
"It's okay, Bethany." I heard him whisper through the mist that haunts my memory. "It's okay to cry."
Those familiar and unforgettable words made me sobbing. I lowered my head in front of him, and he stroked my cheek comfortingly. I think he knows where my thoughts have gone and what kind of memories haunt me now. "You didn't come back after that night. You didn't come back then."
His hands were on my cheeks, and his forehead was resting on my face. "I can't." I understand. My recent grief opened his newly healed wound. That night, he came to give me as much comfort as possible, but he could no longer comfort me. "This time, no matter what happens, I will come back to find you, Bethany, I promise. I will always come back to find you. But you must stay here, with your sister and your mother."
I want to argue about his decision, but I can't do it. He stuffed something into my hand, then closed my finger. "When we left, I locked the store. If I don't return in three hours, you and Abby will have to send your mother back to the room. Bring enough things for a week. Bethany, you must do this Do." I shook my head hurriedly, and he increased his tone.
"I can't. That room."
He lifted my face and took a step closer to me. "This is the safest place at the moment. You have to find something to help you take your mother there, and you will be fine there. It's not a problem with the car, Bethany."
His words made me flinch and wince in front of him because he hit the core of the problem. I tried to free my face from his hands, but he refused to let me go. "If they find us, we will be trapped there like mice." I managed to stammer in defense of myself.
"They can't find you."
"How do you know!" I fired back, trying to hide my anxiety with anger.
"No," he murmured. "I don't know, but this is the safest place for you now. If I can't get back in time, I'll be there to meet you."
He kissed me again and ended my protest with his lips. I sighed at him and stopped being angry, because the ease and happiness overwhelmed me. I slid my fingers into his thick hair, and when I opened my mouth again, I pulled him closer. This is great, he is great, I never want to end it all. But it must do so. I don't know what it means, but I know I can't keep him here.
This time I left. I put my hands on his strong arms, held them tightly, and left. He must go, we all know this. We don't know what will happen if he does come back, or if he doesn't come back. But he must leave now, before I can't let him leave.
He swore: "I want to return to Bethany."
I nodded, barely squeezing a smile. I watched him walk out of the room until he disappeared. I feel part of my heart is leaving with him. Abby walked to the door, and when she stared at me, her brown eyes were round like a baseball. "Well, one thing is certain," she said after a long silence.
I licked my lips nervously. My body was thrilled when I realized that my toes could still be tasted when they curled up. I swallowed desperately, trying to get my dry throat wet. He must come back, he must come back. "What's that?" I finally couldn't help but jailed.
"If that man is not frozen, if we find him, he will be very angry."
I opened my mouth, took a sharp breath, and shook my heels in shock. This is the first time I think of Bret, my dear boyfriend, he is very good to me and always so loyal. How could I forget him? When I slumped in the sex, guilt and frustration flooded me. I have forgotten him, but if he is still moving, I know he has not forgotten me. Even for a second, he will not forget me. In fact, if he is still moving, I am sure he will be here as soon as possible, with his best friend, my brother.
It took a lot of effort for Abby and I to move our mother to the piece of plywood I found behind the sunken cabin. At first we planned to transport her in our old red truck, but we couldn't walk through the woods quickly and quietly. I had to stop repeatedly to wipe the sweat on my forehead, trying my best to walk our motionless mother onto the small plank. I hope Abby can persist to the end. She is strong but not used to manual labor.
If there is no help, it will be tiring to walk back to the antique shop.
Abby stroked her mother's hair, tears running down her face. I was fascinated by the amazing similarity between them. Even if our mother leaves us forever (this is something I can't even consider now), her life in Abby's heart will be longer than in Aiden's or mine.
In any case, as long as I can keep Abby alive, I will realize with a burst of eagerness. Abby is now my responsibility and I must keep her safe no matter what happens.
I walked to the window and opened the curtains carefully. The street lamp has a timer and only turned on a few hours ago. Almost all the houses on the street were pitch black. Some homeowners accidentally forgot to turn off the lights when they went out this morning, or they forgot to turn off the lights in order to get home later tonight. None of them seem to have ever returned home. If there are other people outside, they will keep secrets like us.
The outside world is so lonely, so sad, so terrible. When I tried to hide my worries from Abby, I shuddered. "It's been an hour," Abby whispered.
"He will come back." I replied for myself, not for her. "Stay here, Abby."
She sprang down from her pussy and walked towards me staggeringly. "Where are you going?"
"I want to pack something. Keep away from the window."
Before she protested further, I left the room. Leaving her there, I feel bad, but I must have some time to think alone and try to solve this whole situation. This is impossible. I hurried to the bedroom that Abby and I shared. Even though I am a total clean addict, Abby is just the opposite. It's hard to recognize the messy clothes on the floor next to her bed, and it's hard to avoid tripping over them. I haven't seen or heard any movement for several hours, but I feel that if I do, the smallest sound will be transmitted all the way to the moon.
I took out my backpack and dumped all the contents in it. This is the first time I have not bothered to put them neatly. No need, I don’t think I will come back here, nor will I go back to school. I quickly packed my clothes and packed them into my backpack along with shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, and toothbrush. I want to bring more luggage, but I must keep my luggage as light as possible, especially not driving anywhere. I grabbed Abby's backpack and started stuffing clothes in it. Abby prefers to pack things by herself, but doing so will take an extremely long time. I'm now strangling that little problem in the cradle.
I carried two backpacks with pitiful things in them, and went to the hall and put them by the door for later use. I walked down the stairs cautiously, trying not to trip over my own feet, and fumbled forward. I tiptoed into the kitchen and took out a garbage bag from under the sink. I only brought a few perishable things. We have to eat them right away, but I decided to bring as much food as possible and not too many canned food. I covered the bag with a paper plate, spoon and fork and threw it into a can opener. I took out a box of water from the storage room, then took some Aiden’s Gatorade and some soda water. Finally, I put the soda back in, Abby will want it, but they only make the plywood heavier. (To be continued) (End of this chapter)