The Bus Ride

Chapter Thirteen

As Luke and I rounded the corner on our street I felt increasingly more nervous. Try as I might, I can't predict how my parents will react to seeing me. We have never been a really close family, and affection is not our strong suit. I know they will be happy, but I think they will be incredibly uncomfortable, and I can't blame them. After all, who wants their only daughter to come back from a week long ordeal in which you had no contact, and learn that she has killed someone. I sure can't think of anyone. After walking a little bit further Luke and I finally reach the front of our respective houses. The cars are in the driveway, so both sets of parents must be home.
"Good luck." I say, and Luke just turns to me, gives me a little nod, then briskly walks up the walkway and rings the doorbell. I stand there watching, as his mother opens the door, shrieks with joy upon the sight of her son, then engulfs him in a tight hug, sobbing. Soon after his father comes out, and hugs him, then they all go inside. I smile. Good for Luke. I know he has missed his family. My turn.

I slowly walk up my walkway and pause in front of the door. I still can't believe that I am actually home. I raise my hand and rap the door with my knuckles, then wait. I hear footsteps coming from inside, then the door is slowly opened. My mother stands there, struck dumb by the sight of me. Not quite the response I was looking for, but it will do.
"Hi Mom. I'm back." I smile warmly at her. She doesn't respond. Ok, something is wrong. "Mom?" I try again, and it seems to work as she snaps out of it and looks at me. We stare at each other for a second before her face breaks into a grin and she grabs my hand.
"Celia! Darling, we were so worried about you. I'm so glad you are home, safe and sound." My mother exclaims happily. "Harry! Get down here! Celia is back!" Mom shouts and I hear more slow footsteps coming from upstairs, which can only be my father. A second later my father appears in the doorway and grins at the sight of his daughter, but it almost seems forced. Something is clearly wrong, but that is a matter for another time.
"Why are we still standing out here? Come in my dear, come in!" With that my mother ushers me into my house and closes the door. As I step into my house and look around, I am almost surprised that nothing has changed in the week I have been gone. I keep forgetting that the world didn't stop spinning for the past week, and that not everybody's lives came to a screeching halt like mine.
"Ok honey, I'll take that, and you need to have a bath or something. You stink! Didn't they have any showers or even soap there?" I stare at her in disbelief. Seriously? Does she really think that we got showers there? Frankly, I wouldn't want to shower around those pervs.
"No Mother, there was no showers. There was no soap. We were in the middle of the woods!" I say icily with my temper rising.
"No need to get mad with me honey, I was just asking. My goodness, you get mad so easily!" She replied hurriedly. I guess some things never changed. I've been here for ten minutes and already I'm irritated.
"I'll go take a shower now." I mumble under my breath and run upstairs to my room. As soon as I got into my room I immediately relaxed. This at least was right. Everything was right where I left it, from my gym bag in the corner to the clothes spread across my bed. I flopped onto my bed and closed my eyes. For a couple minutes I just lay there, thinking. After a couple minutes I sat up and looked around the room. My eyes fell on the corkboard where I had pinned pictures of my friends and I. I pulled one off the board and looked at it. This particular one was from last year's school pinic, and it was a dumb selfie. Nicole sticking out her tongue, Dallas staring at the camera, Luke towering over all of us, and me smiling and posing sweetly. We were so happy then. Suddenly the tears start pouring out and I double over, my body wracked with sobs. I stumble backwards until I land in my desk chair and sit down. I will never see Nicole or Dallas again. I will never take another selfie with them. I will never talk to them again. They are gone, and there is nothing I can do about it.

For a few minutes I just sit there with my head in my hands and cry quietly. Slowly I get off the chair and walk over to my bathroom and look in the mirror. I am stunned at what I see looking back at me. Who is this girl? She can't be me. The girl in the mirror has dark circles under her eyes, and dried blood under her nose. Her hair is a complete mess, and her entire face is covered in dirt, not to mention the pretty nice bruise on her cheek. Most of all, her normally bright green eyes are dull, and the lens on one of her glasses is cracked. She looks haunted. I stare at the girl in mirror for a few moments more, then turn away. Stepping out of my filthy clothes and removing my glasses I turn on the shower and step inside. It feels so good to scrub away all the dirt on me, but as the dirt disappears, it only serves as a reminder that no matter how clean I am on the outside, I will never be truly clean on the inside. No amount of soap will scrub away what I've done.

When I'm done I pick out a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt from my closet and throw them on. I then go sit at my desk and boot up my laptop. I quickly check my social media sites, and am pleased to see that there are many messages on my wall, hoping that I will return safely. I debate posting something saying that I'm alright, but decide against it. They will figure it out. I also check out Luke, Dallas', and Nicole's, finding similar messages. I guess when you go missing, everyone cares about you, but in a month, I guarantee that no one will care.
"Celia! There's something on the television that I think you should see!" My mother calls from downstairs, effectively breaking my train of thought. I shut my laptop lid and walk downstairs, where my parents are sitting on the couch, clutching each other in fear. I glance at them and sit down on the opposite side of the couch. My mother glances at my outfit, and I can see a look of disapproval flash across her face. My mother everyone! Always concerned about appearances. Cut me some slack. I was just abducted and held hostage for a week. My wardrobe should be the least of her worries. I glare at her for a moment then turn my attention to the television. I immediately recognize the man on the screen. It's the leader, standing the mayors office, with the mayor tied to a chair, and a gun pointed at his head.

"Citizens of this fair town, please give me your attention. As you can see, I have returned your children. I kept my end of the deal, now it's his turn. I am the new mayor. If anyone has any questions, my men would be more than happy to deal with you. Now, it's time for a little demonstration. In case anyone forgot about my last video, here's a refresher." With his trademark creepy smirk, he pulls the trigger and shoots the mayor in the forehead, without taking his eyes off the camera. After a few seconds the television goes black, and I look at my parents. My mother is crying softly into my father's arms, and without another word I get up and head back to my room. The mayors death didn't affect me like it affected my mother. I have seen so many people die, it just doesn't affect me anymore. One thing is for certain, now that the leader is in charge, my life, and everyone else's life, will never be the same. However, I make myself one promise.
"I will avenge you Dallas and Nicole. I will kill that pathetic excuse for a human being if it is the last thing I do." I mumble to myself and sit down at my desk. I have a lot of thinking to do.

So the leader has officially taken over the town, and Celia wants to kill him. Will she succeed? Who knows? If you enjoyed this chapter please vote and comment. Also, Happy Thanksgiving to any fellow Canadians out there!
Cat