Shadows

Departure

Once I read the letter I put it back in the box along with everything else and shut it tight. My hands remained firmly clasped around the corners and my eyes never once diverted either. I felt a hand press on my shoulder and I jumped, coming back to my senses I realised it was Dante, telling me it was time to go. As we stood up however Jane lurched forward and grabbed my hand,

“Please” she pleaded, but I pulled my hand from hers and walked to the door. There was nothing left here for me in my view, anything that I thought I was going to hear didn’t happen and instead I was told I’ve been lied to my entire life. I urged Dante to go on ahead of me so that I could turn around and utter the few words at them that I knew would hurt them,

“Goodbye James, goodbye Jane” I didn’t even wait for a reply, as far as I was concerned these were just two people who minded me for 18 years. Nothing more, nothing less.

  I went upstairs to my old room and decided that I would pack a few things, these were still my belongings and to be honest I was not going to let Hannah have my clothes or books. Once I walked in the room however I was horrified to find most of the furniture and clothes… missing.

“What happened in here” Dante’s voice startled me and made me jump. He chuckled and wrapped his arms around my neck, placing his head on my shoulders “Looks like they didn’t waste any time”

“Indeed” I muttered, grabbing his hands, turning around and pulling him in with me “You can help me pack whatever they left though”

“Am I now?” he smirked, eyeing the mess that surrounded us. I let go of him to grab one of the few suitcases in the corner. I still couldn’t believe how quickly they cleared my stuff, it had only been two months… how did they know I would or wouldn’t come back? Grabbing a hand full of some of the clothes and folding them up neatly, I placed them in the suitcase until it was full and gave it to Dante. I told him to go run that one down to the car because by the time he would be back, the second would  be done “I’m on it boss” he winked before turning around and heading off. As he walked out of the corridor I was frustrated to see that my… well Jane was stood in the hallway.

“Don’t waste any time do you?” I snarled, holding my arms out “Most parents wait 5 years before they can even touch or go in a missing child’s room, but not being your child I guesse you didn’t care much”

“Don’t you dare say that!” she snapped “Of course we cared, we were worried like hell”

“Bullshit, I saw the so called appeal you gave, not a tear and not even a choke” that stung her, I could tell. She probably didn’t think I even knew “Two months” I muttered before returning my attention to packing again.

“We did our best” she breathed

“You didn’t even notice when I was sad. You said I was attention seeking when I got beat up by that bitch Serena! I know why she was like she was now… but for you to say it was attention seeking! How the fuck was that supposed to make me feel!” I glared at her with all the anger I could muster, my cheeks flustered and my chest heaving.

“You were beat up?” she placed her hand on her chest in an overly used dramatic gesture.

“Yes, and when I tried to tell you about it I was ignored, so I resorted to other methods” shaking my head, I began to pack again. Moments later I felt a hand on my shoulder and shivered from the sudden contact “Don’t touch me” I spat.

“What happened?” I sighed in response “You used to be so bubbly, so full of life. You met this man and suddenly you changed”

“No” I breathed “Flip that and put it in reverse, I have always been miserable here. His name is Dante by the way. Also his family make me feel welcome, unlike you Jane” She soon stepped away from me.