Everyone except Arder had left the classroom. She tucked her bulky green binder into her bag and zipped it shut. The hallway was still cluttered with people pushing and shoving their way through, but there was one thing that stood out. Grey was standing on the other side of the hall, staring directly at her through the sea of bodies. Arder made her way across to where he was.
"Don't you have class?" she questioned.He nodded before stating, "I need to tell you something." Arder studied his expression, trying to figure out what he was talking about."What is it?" she asked. Her eyes widened as a thought crossed her mind. "Is it about Cyrus?"Grey shook his head. "Can we go outside?"She hesitated, unsure of what this was about. Curiosity taking over her, she obliged and followed behind him.Outdoors, the wind had stopped blowing. Arder could still feel the grip of winter in the air around her, but she wasn't cold. She jumped up onto the frozen concrete wall and sat down."Arder, your father.." Grey hesitated, but continued, "I knew him." She stared at him, the smile falling off her face."What are you talking about?" she asked. "That isn't possible; he died in a car crash before I was born.""No, the car crash-" Grey cut himself off, hesitating again. "It happened after your mother had you. It was why Cyrus left this place."The girl's eyebrows furrowed. She didn't understand. She knew her mom was lying about something, but it couldn't be about this. "What do you mean by 'why Cyrus left'?" she questioned. Grey jumped up and sat next to her so they were shoulder to shoulder."Your father was in Canada when he he got into the accident. The authorities had no emergency contacts except for the ones on his phone, so they called Cyrus," he explained.Arder stared up at the dark blue sky. This couldn't be right. "How did you know him?""He stayed with us while Cyrus was here with you."She frowned and moved so she was facing him. "Why was Cyrus even here? Why wasn't my father?""I shouldn't be telling you all this. Your mother can do it," Grey said, the gold in his irises sparkling in the sunlight. She saw that he wanted to tell her; his eyes were giving him away."She won't and you know it," the girl stated matter-of-factly, glancing around.Grey flinched, not wanting to explain. "Arder, I can't.""Fine. I'll go home to figure it out." She hopped off the wall, thoughts about what Grey had said swirling in her mind. Had her father lived to see her after all?This can't be true. Why don't I remember him then?She was itching for answers and angry with all the lies."I'll go with you,' Grey said, standing up. Arder nodded, wishing he would just tell her everything. She started walking towards the gates, but he grabbed her hand."I do want to tell you. But you'll understand why I can't when she explains." The girl, eyes wide in surprise, looked down at her hand held captive in his. Grey quickly let go when he noticed this. "Sorry," he mumbled.Arder smiled lightly. "Let's go."Grey nodded, following her out of the school yard and down the busy street.___Arder could see the expression on Grey's face when they reached Adam's house. It was the same expression she knew was on her own. A forced smile caused by the idea of living in the mansion.The house wasn't as beautiful up close. The door was unlocked so Arder just walked inside, leaving it open for Grey.Inside, she could hear arguing. It wasn't just a normal disagreement though; it was more like a screaming match."This is my fault?" Arder frowned as her mother's voice rang down the halls. "This is because of you!""Screw you," she heard Adam yell. Seconds later it was the sound of his heavy footsteps becoming louder as he approached that she heard.When he rounded the corner and spotted them, his features hardened. "Shouldn't you be at school?" he snapped. "Who is this?" he asked, noticing Grey."My-" Arder looked around the corner to see where her mom was- "My friend."Her stepfather shook his head, clearly not caring. He walked up the stairs to the third floor without looking back."Mom," Arder called, walking towards the kitchen with Grey by her side. There, her mother was leaning against the marble counter with her head in her hands. Seeing them enter, she stood up straight and smoothed down her dress."You're back?" she questioned, her face emotionless."You lied to me, Mom," Arder stated, on the brink of tears.Aubrey's eyes momentarily widened before returning to normal. "What are you talking about, Arder?""The fact that my father didn't die before I was born," the teenager exclaimed, her voice rising. She was angry, but she also felt a sense of control with Grey's presence behind her. If her mother didn't tell her the truth, he would. He was Cyrus's son, and she felt as safe with him as she had with Cyrus. Taking a deep breath, she asked, "What happened, Mom?"Her mother waved her off, "Arder, I don't want to talk about it." She then noticed Grey standing by the entrance. "You," she said, staring at him. "You're his son."Grey nodded, a dark smile on his face. Her mother just shook her head and walked back to the bar stools. "I don't know his name, if that's what you want," she mumbled.Arder's face scrunched up in confusion. "How could you not know my father's name?""Arder," she sighed. She looked up from the counter. "I don't know who your father was or is. All I know is he died in a car crash."Arder stepped forward, staring at her. "What does that even mean?" she demanded. "That doesn't make sense.""We adopted you. Your biological father died when you were nine. At least, that's what I was told." Taking in Arder's bewildered expression, her mother stood up, shaking her head. "That obviously isn't the response you were looking for. You should have listened to me when I told you to forget about it."With that, her mother left the room. Arder turned to Grey, feeling like someone had just punched her in the stomach."Grey?" she whispered, begging for him to say it wasn't true. He shook his head, a deflated look on his face. She reached out, steadying herself against the wall."I just-" Grey began, taking a step towards her, "I thought you would want to know.""I'm fine," she muttered, nodding. She looked up at his green eyes and smiled weakly. "I'll be fine."When he grabbed her hand this time, she didn't move."I should've known. How didn't I know?" she said under her breath. The boy stepped forward again until they were toe to toe and quickly pulled her into an embrace. Arder didn't back away. She just leaned into his arms and let the tears slowly fall.Grey felt horrible; he was sick to his stomach. Everything about this girl made him want to stay. He wanted to throw away what he was told to do, pretend it wasn't the reason why he met her.He could feel her tears staining his shirt. In his eyes, the truth about her father wasn't a big deal, but that obviously wasn't how she saw it. Grey had so much more to admit to her, but in that moment he knew it would break even the strongest of spirits.He moved his hand up to Arder's head and stepped back to look at her. "We should go," he said, brushing her bright hair away from her face.She too stepped back from the embrace, seemingly embarrassed. She nodded and started towards the back entrance, wiping the tears away in the process. "Grey?" she asked, once they were outside."I can take you back to school," he told her, scanning the yard to make sure they were alone."Could you take me to the cafe?" she asked, following his gaze around the property. The short oak trees surrounding them
Arder felt torn apart, as if someone had taken a part of her. Her mother took her entire life and called it a lie, she missed who her mother use to be. This wasn't the woman who raised her. That woman would have told her a long time ago and she wouldn't have been so harsh.Arder crossed the Cafe grabbing Lexie's attention. Lexie smiled at the sight of her and stood up. "Where were you? I couldn't find you at lunch," Lexie asked. She was clueless of what was going on and Arder debated telling her a lie. The lies were building up all around her, like infinite walls she could not break.She sunk into the chair opposite Lexie and tore a piece of one of the pizzelles that was on the table. She sighed, it was her favourite dessert and she had been craving them all week. "I went home," Arder said vaguely."Why? Did something happen?" Lexie questioned. Arder tugged her wild curls together and tied them back behind her head into a short ponytail."I talked to my mom," she admitted. Lexie stare
The clouds blocked the moon creating a dark shadow, everything felt pointless in that moment. She didn't know why she was walking to the factory, all she knew was there was no where left to go. The abandoned buildings on the street looked beautiful with the shadows dancing across them. They had uneven levels that created an artistic feel to them and the glass that littered their front lawns were like the loneliness that Arder felt. She took a moment to sit on the curb next to one of them, and just watched. She could see the silhouettes of the few birds flying across the sky and a tipped over metal garbage can rustling back and forth. A woman wearing a bunched up jacket and only one glove looked up from behind it. A few gray hair strands peaked out from under the light blue hat she had over her head. Arder jumped up and continued to walk, not wanting to disturb her further. "Arder?" A voice asked, making her jump. She spun around to see Grey standing in the middle of the street.This
The weather the next day was like that single moment before it starts to rain. The window was fogged over from the small heater Sophie left in the guest room, and all Arder could see was the dark sky. "What time is it?" Lexie asked, turning over and covering her face with the blankets to block out the light. Arder smiled, thinking about how late they stayed up the previous night. "It's almost nine-thirty. We should go help Sophie," she replied. She walked away from the window, an odd feeling that she couldn't quite decipher overcoming her. She shook it off and walked into the bathroom to get changed. Choosing dark green jeans with patches over the knees and a plain white shirt to wear under her leather jacket, she yelled, "Are you up yet?" over her shoulder.Arder could smell the scent of fresh coffee wafting up from the cafe, and she quickly ushered the other girl into the bathroom to change next. "Okay, just give me a minute," Lexie said."I'll meet you downstairs." The smell of
Arder felt like she was drifting through a dream and that she would wake up at any moment. Sophie was yelling, but it was all background noise. And then the sirens came, slowly getting louder and louder, waking her up to the reality of what happened. Her mind was screaming, and her fist clenched around the knife. This was what killed my best friend. The phrase ran through her mind at a million miles per hour, and it destroyed her. "What do I do?" she asked Sophie. The flashing lights of the police cars were fast approaching, and Arder was the one holding the murder weapon.Sophie shook her head. "Just give it to me," she instructed. She snatched the knife from the redhead's hand and ran out the back door, only to return moments later. "There was no knife. You never saw it," she said, eyes wide and hands shaking. They were committing a crime, and they both knew it. Arder nodded from her seat on the floor. The image of Lexie's broken body just steps away was the worst she could think
Arder hadn't left Sophie's guest room in four days. The colour that was once in her life was gone. She had never woken up during the night because she was never asleep. Everything seemed pointless: every breath, every word, every blink of the eye. She couldn't even rely on Grey, who had never returned her call. "Arder, I'm going downstairs," Sophie called through the door.Arder didn't reply. She just sat silently, staring out the window. The sky was a light blue, and it seemed like a perfect day to be outside. At least, it was for everyone else-- not a single part of her wanted to leave the room. "Your mother's coming over today," Sophie said. Arder looked behind her at the closed door."Why?" she asked. There was no answer for a few moments, making her believe that the other girl had already left. She turned her attention to the phone on the desk in front of her. No one had called, not even Lexie's other friends."She said she wanted to check on you," Sophie finally responded. Ar
"Why?" Arder asked. His question confused her in ways she didn't want to admit. Nevertheless, everything became uncertain the second she saw her best friend lying cold and bloody in that bathroom.He shrugged. "I don't know. I just thought that if I were you, I'd feel better knowing the person who did it was locked up." The girl hesitated, her hand feeling heavy in his. She told herself that there was no need to ask anymore questions, that she could trust him. "Well, hopefully they will soon. They might have some of the killer's DNA, actually," she said. She carefully watched his expression for any signs of fear, but if he knew anything, he certainly didn't show it. His expression stayed stone cold, almost angry. He stared straight ahead. "That's good." "Where were you all this time?" she blurted out. The question had been nagging at the back of her mind for every second of those four days. It had caused suspicion, and she hated it. Arder looked down, seeing her hands shake. He to
Arder walked to the nearby street in a daze. She felt like she could no longer trust herself; what she had seen was impossible. She thought about what she could do, going through every possible option, but the only one that made sense was heading home. Maybe I've been asleep all this time, her mind suggested. But it wasn't true and she knew that. The wings had been right before her eyes, stretching out towards the sky almost like a crow's. "Dark and mysterious, like a reflection of himself," she scoffed, referring to Grey. The road back home looked cracked and jagged now that she was on foot. Arder hadn't even noticed the many potholes when she was in her mother's car, but it was hard not to now that she was walking. With the hot sun beating down on her, she started her long trek. The bright road ahead made her feel like the day was mocking her. It was perfectly sunny, the fully bloomed flowers on the side of the pavement looking lush and beautiful. Turning onto her street, she t