WARNING: This chapter does talk about death and guns (and does talk about suicide), stuff like that. So if you're not comfortable with that, I'll place a "+++++" when you can read again.

(F/n) = Father's name

Chapter 10 - Memories

"Why did you invite him?"

I watched as my mom put her hands on her hip, staring down at me. She was mad, to say the least.

"Mom, he's not-"

"You know I can't have you hanging around with those types of people. You know what happened to your brother because of those types of people. You know what those type of people did to him."

I felt my chest throb when I saw the tears start to collect in her eyes. She was just trying to keep me safe, safe from all of the bad influences in the world. But what she didn't know is that in order for me to learn, I needed to experience it for myself.

"You know I can't let those people take you. You know I made that mistake before."

I felt my heart racing as tears started to pool in my own eyes. My mom is still heartbroken, and I am too. After all, we lost two people that day.

"Mom, please don't cry," I choked, reaching for her when she started to wipe her eyes with the back of her hands. "I won't get myself in that sort of trouble."

My mom pulled me into a hug abruptly, squeezing me into her chest. "I can't lose you like I did them," She said, taking deep breaths.

"You're not going to," I told her, wiping the tears from my own eyes. "You will never lose me."

•••

I didn't get much sleep the night after. Every time that I closed my eyes, I could hear the dreaded phone call that my mom and I listened to years ago. I could remember it word for word, and every emotion that flooded into me. At the time, I was in shock and didn't believe anything was real. I thought I was just some kind of nightmare, but it turned out to be real.

My dad's best friend was crying on the phone, repeating that he was sorry. He was the first one to call us, he was the first one that gave us the news that would break us as a family.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm s-so sorry."

My mom frantically grabbed the phone in my hand, putting it to her ear. Even though it was so far away, I could still hear his voice from how silent it was in the room.

"He's gone! He's gone!"

It was abnormal to hear my dad's friend cry. He was a stubborn, hard-headed policeman. He was my dad's coworker and best friend.

"Andy, tell me what happened," My mom said, her hands shaking.

"(F/N)'s dead."

Soon after that, we got another call, telling us that Andrew, my older brother, was also dead. Andrew made the mistake of going out with his friends late at night and getting into a fight with the wrong group of people. The people that killed him were his friends from the year before. Andrew knew that they were bad to hang around with, so he left them. There had to be more to the story but his "friends" refused to say what caused them to pull the trigger.

My dad was apparently put on the scene, and was so heartbroken that he decided to take his life away when no one was looking. I thought he was selfish. He took his life away only to leave my mom and me in misery, wishing that he would come back. Now, I knew how much of an earth-shattering thing it was. To see your only son laying on the floor dead, was heartbreaking. I imagined that he couldn't think of anything at that moment.

+++++

"(Y/n), get up, you need to get ready!" My mom called from downstairs. The time flew by, and I was left with pink puffy eyes with dark circles under them. I felt like I didn't want to go to school, but I knew that I couldn't make up an excuse. It's been years, I should be over it by now.

I trudged downstairs once I got my clothes on and brushed my teeth. I gave up on my face, just leaving it alone. There was no way I could cover it up with makeup without it being noticeable.

I winced when I heard my mom drop a plate in the sink. I had a pounding headache, probably caused by my lack of sleep.

"Hey mom, I'm going to head to school early."

I wanted to leave earlier because I hoped to avoid any conversation with Gene in the morning. If he saw my face, I wouldn't know how he would react. Of course, he would most likely bug me until I told him what was wrong, but I didn't want to deal with that this morning.

"Okay (Y/n), take this with you at least." She handed me a granola bar, smiling at me. From the look of it, she seemed to have as hard of a night as me.

"Bye mom, I'll see you after school," I said as I shut the front door.

Luckily, Gene wasn't outside yet so I could go to school in peace. I hope he doesn't wait outside my house all day, though. Then he would get really mad when he sees me at school. Hopefully, I can get some sleep in class before I talk to him.

No matter what, I knew he would find me somehow at school today. I would have to face the confrontation soon, and I dreaded it.

༺༒༻

Sorry for making it such a dark chapter but what can I do haha.

If any of you are having trouble with anything, please talk to someone. I don't check my Wattpad every day but you can always send me a message. <3

Have a great day/night!

- Author~Chan