Light Up My Heart *Super 8/Cary Love Story*

10: I've Lost Everything.....

Cary actually let me walk home. Well, for two minutes. Then he went into Preston's yard and grabbed his bike. "Cary! You can't just take that!" I yell as he wheels it over. "He won't miss it," Cary says while smirking. He hops up on the seat and signals for me to get on. I sigh, but climb up onto the handlebars.

As we ride, I think of BlackJack. Where could she have gone? She has always been the most obedient dog in the whole world. She even left the house without being told her could. And now she's gone. My good girl. I feel tears forming in my eyes again, but I can't wipe them away while holding onto the bike. And when Cary pulls up to my house, he immediately sees the twin rivers flowing down my face. He reaches up to wipe them away, but I jump away off the bike. "Thanks for taking me home, Cary," I mumble. He opens his mouth to say something, but suddenly his eyes go wide and his jaw drops. "Cary?" "Holy sh*t," he says and points behind me. I turn around, but only catch a glimpse of what he was pointing at. But a glimpse is all I need to send me shaking form head to toe. A giant.....a giant creature disappears into the woods behind my house with a person locked in it's hand. Aunt Sara. SARA!" I scream. I try to run after her, but Cary wraps his arms around my waist and holds me back. I kick and fight and sob while screaming at him to let me go, but he doesn't budge. Finally, I give up and sink down to my knees. I stare at the spot where Sara and that thing disappeared with blurry eyes. Cary sits down next to me and pulls me into his chest. He rubs my back while I sob into his shoulder. He doesn't say anything, because he knows that there is nothing he could say that would make me feel better. Because I lost BlackJack. I lost Sara. I lost everything. I don't care that I'm being touched. I don't care what Cary thinks of me. All I care about is that someone is here for me.

And that someone is Cary.

After a while when all my tears were cried out and I had nothing left to cry, I looked up at Cary. His face was a mixture of shock and sadness, and his eyes were glassy. He looked down at me and gently wiped the tears from my cheeks. "What was that thing?" I asked, my voice a whisper. He shakes his head, telling me he doesn't know. I bury my face into his shoulder again.

I can't exactly tell you how long we sat like that. All I know is that when we got to my house, it was 2 pm. And when I finally untangled myself from Cary and stood up, the sun was setting. I stared back at the spot she disappeared again. "C'mon Chloe, you're staying at my house again," Cary says and grabs my hand. I let him pull me back to the bike and I numbly climb on.

As we ride to his house, I constantly keep my eyes open for Sara, BlackJack, or that monster. That thing didn't kill her, did it? Maybe she still has hope. Maybe I still have someone.

As we turn onto Cary's street, Joe rides past us on his bike. Cary and Joe both brake, almost making me fall off. "Hey Cary," Joe greets. His eyes are watery. I wonder what's wrong? I hope his Dad wasn't taken too... "Hey Chloe." I don't know why I am surprised that he said hello to me. Joe has always been the one, after Alice and Cary. He's just a bit shy. Like me. Martin is kinda full of himself and a little scattered sometimes. Preston constantly freaks out and drops out and won't give me the time of day. And Charles is a pompous, bossy, self-centered jerk. "Hey Joe, where are you going?" Cary asks. I wave at him and weakly smile. He manages one back. "I'm going to go see my Mom, were you two going?" "My house." Joe grins at him and punches his arm lightly. "Hey, I'm being a good friend!" Cary defends while his face turns bright red. I turn to Joe as he begins to ride away. I bite my lip and jump off. "Joe, wait!" He stops again and turns around in his seat. "I'm sorry about your Mom," I say. "I was going to talk to you all those months ago, but I got scared. I know that you saw me and I know that running away was awful of me to do, and I'm really sorry. I was going to tell you that I know how it feels to lose a parent. I was going to tell you that it gets better after a while. I was going to tell you to hold onto anything you have from them because if you don't, memories start to fade. It's a horrible thing to not remember what your Mother' laugh sounds like or your Father's smell when he gives you a hug. I was going to tell you that you could talk to me anytime about it. About anything. But I chickened out and ran away. And I'm sorry." Joe pulled a locket from his pocket and held it up. It must be from his Mom. I held up my bracelet and our eyes met. An invisible understanding passed between us and he smiled at me. "Thank you, Chloe. I'll remember this," he says and puts his locket back in his pocket. We nod at each other and he rides off. I breathe a deep breath and turn back around. Cary is staring at me, smiling slightly. "What are you staring at?" I ask as I climb up again. Cary kicks off and rides down the street. "Just you," he says.

Instead of going inside, Cary takes me around to the backyard. I sit down in the grass as he runs behind a tree and burrows something out from under a hole. He pulls out a backpack and his lighter. "What is that?" I ask. Cary smiles his braced smile and pulls some firecrackers. "Just the coolest thing ever!" He looks in the window to make sure his parents aren't awake and then puts them onto this stone tablet. "Is this safe?" I ask. Cary stops for a moment and shrugs. "Most likely not." "Then why are we doing this?" "Because it's fun!" I roll my eyes and back up a bit more. My leg has been throbbing all day. I make sure Cary isn't looking and then look at the cut. Oh sh*t. The cut is purple all around the metal and little red lines are spread out in all directions along my leg. That can't be good. I quickly cover up the cut again as Cary pulls out his lighter. He set fire to his fuse and then quickly sits next to where I am. We both watch in awe as the firecrackers burst into light and color. I found myself smiling and laughing as they spit jumped into the air and made loud popping noises. As they continue to go off, I feel something on my hand. I look down and see that Cary's hand is over mine. I look up at him, but he's watching the fireworks with a smile and a glint in his eye that only a pyromaniac would have. I intertwine my fingers with his and watch his smile grow bigger a bit. I turn back to the fireworks and happily sigh.

I've lost BlackJack. I've lost Sara. But I haven't lost everything. Because I still have Cary. And I won't let anything take him away.