Under The Moonlight

Prologue

THREE MONTHS AGO IN
MAYEVILLE

With adrenaline coursing through his veins, Erick's feet slapped against the pavement.

Water droplets splashed onto his pants as he stepped into a puddle. He welcomed the chilly air that almost froze his ears solid.

His mind was blurred by memories of what went down earlier.

He felt angry.

All the while he ran he kept thinking, 'I can't do this. It's too much.'

On top of the weight that was already on his shoulders, he remembered the hate he still harboured in his chest for his sister.

That thought made him run even faster. He jumped over cars at an alarming speed and ran with the wind.

If it wasn't for the heavy rain swallowing everything into a blurry mess, his identity would have been exposed to the oblivious civilians.

The thousands of cold, water droplets that fell on him in a splattery mess didn't faze him in the slightest bit as he raced to safety.

A place where he could escape from his own thoughts before he went full on madman.

EARLIER THAT DAY

Erick stepped into the house. He sighed and placed the wet umbrella in the basket on the table next to the door.

The place was oddly quiet but he wasn't complaining. Silence was better than hearing Josh's loud music or witnessing Shawn's obsession with playing video games while cursing at the tv.

Then suspicion creeped in as he remembered that today was a Friday. And Friday's always called for a celebration because it was the end of the week.

"Josh? You here!" Erick called.

No answer.

"Shawn!"

No answer.

"That's strange," he mumbled to himself. The place is hardly ever quiet at this time of day.

He rounded the corner to the living room and stopped dead in his tracks.

He wished he could turn invisible right there in that moment. Maybe that was what it felt like when you haven't seen someone's face in over fifteen years. Especially when you left things on bad terms.

It was Veronica.

She was seated across from Shawn and Josh on the large, ivory armchair.

Their faces paled upon seeing him.

"Why is she here?" He growled.

"Hi Erick." Veronica smirked. "It's nice to see you haven't changed at all."

Erick grit his teeth and flexed his fingers into tight fists.

Remembering his nephew's presence, he glanced at him. "Josh, go to your room."

"Why?" He prodded knowingly.

"Josh," Erick stressed with a raised brow, completely disregarding his question. "Now."

Noticing the strict tone that he used, Josh rolled his eyes and mumbled "fine" before leaving the room and jogging up the stairs.

Josh stopped at the top of the staircase for a few seconds before slowly climbing back down to eavesdrop.