GUILTY | CONRAD FISHER

can i kiss you, s?

The house of Erik Haden seemed cold and unexpectedly uncomfortable. The family that has been living there during the whole summer was sitting on the back porch silently. It was nothing to talk about, nothing to discuss.

There was nothing they hadn't experienced before, right?

It didn't seem too different for them, it didn't matter if it was the end of August or December - everything felt the same. Pain. Denying. Anger. And guilt. That feeling was haunting the family since they learnt about Erik's sickness.

After their returning home, none of them said anything. Judith and Francis made some tea, they were calmly watching the darkness, listening to the ocean. They needed to be distracted. But then, some time passed, and somebody ruined the peace the four of them have been having for hours now.

When Sara and Theo noticed a familiar boyish figure, they immediately stood up from their chairs. Steven was rushing towards them, every movement of him was filled with anger, hatred. When he reached the duo of his friends, he didn't bother to even greet them.

"You knew everything," he hissed, looking at the girl in confidence. He wasn't asking her that, he was stating the fact. "You knew everything and said nothing. Again."

"Stevie, I—"

He shut her up by his hand movement. "Don't. You. Dare," the Conklin boy was frustrated and upset, it was obvious, but why was he acting that way with his best friend? "I'm so done with both of you. All you have been doing the whole summer was telling lies to me. At my face, at my back. You were lying to me every single day."

"It isn't true, Steven," Theo defended himself and his 'sister'. "We had so much fun together, you're our best friend."

"Best distraction from your fucking problems, T," Steven said. "You know that you're not the only ones who had some shit happened in your lives? You had absolutely no right to act like you were acting with me, with all of us!"

"Steven, I'm afraid I have to ask you to stop right there. You will regret it," Francis stepped in the conversation, slightly pushing his children back.

"Okay. I will stop, Francis," the boy said, making some steps back. "But the only thong I regret is making friends with both of you. Don't try to talk to me anymore, our friendship's over."

Steven Conklin didn't give them the opportunity to defend themselves. He simply walked, started the car and drove away form their house.

Theo and Sara managed to exchange one single look before their bodies crashed into each other's, before both of them begad crying in pain. That year took a lot away from them, lost of their best friend was a last straw.

Judith hugged her children softly, kissing their heads in comfort. Francis joined them, sooner or later, making the same thing as his ex-wife.

"I hate Cousins," Sara whispered. "I need to leave," she didn't see her friend but she felt that Theo started to nod in agreement.

"Alright, when?" Francis asked.

It wasn't the first leaving Cousins in a hurry, he was in that situation many years ago, when Erik told him the exact same thing his daughter was telling him now. He was ready to take his kids home as soon as they wanted him to, even if they wanted to go away in ten minutes.

"Today," the Haden boy responded. "I'm not going to sleep here anymore."

"Same."

They finally separated from each other. Judith looked at the pair of two broken teenagers that kept getting hurt from time to time. She was sick of watching her beloved people suffering from something she couldn't control. She wanted to control it, she needed to keep them safe.