Highest Bidder

Chapter 25: Lost

It was a long.

It was a dreadful night.

It felt like it was never going to stop.

Yet when the sun rose.

Everything came back to life.

Then the news came on.

And the life drained from all of us.

................................................................................

Staring at the blood stained floor, I can barely breathe. I can barely move. I can barely think.

Last night, I worked hard to keep everyone calm. I worked hard to keep myself calm. But they were frightened. I was frightened. The whole thing was a mess. I'm a mess. I can't even fathom what comes next. I can't even fathom, what I'm to do.

"Helen?" Amy comes in with Luna and I remain staring at the mess on the floor. I can't believe it. I can't believe any of it. "Luna's been crying for you...can you take her?"

I slowly look up. The gingered girl is holding Luna, who hasn't stopped crying since early this morning. It's like she knew. It's like she knew how terrible this day ended up. I take her and hold her close. Kissing her forehead, I stare at the mess. I close my eyes and shake my head. I tried. I tried.

Now this is all that's left. Pain. Sorrow. Agony. Anguish.

I haven't moved since it all came to light. I haven't even tried to take a deep breath. To cry. To feel. I'm numb. I'm numb already. Gone.

They're gone.

I can't can't feel my heart any more. I can't feel it's beat. It's rhythm. Luna pats my cheeks gently and I squeeze her tight. She's not crying any more. She tuckered herself out. I kiss her head and just stare at the mess.

"Helen?" Marcus comes in. We haven't spoken since it happened. Devastating. The whole night. Devastation. I can't speak. I can't think. I can't breathe. "We made..um...we made food."

He's broken...broken like me. Yet he's trying to put himself together. To make sense of everything. I can't. I can't do it. I have no pieces left. So many are missing. So many have been gone for a long time. I stare at the mess. I tried. I tried.

"Helen, it's been well over 6 hours. You need to move. You need to get some fresh air. Something to eat." Martin puts his hand on my shoulder. He squeezes it. But I feel nothing. He can barely look at me. I don't blame him. Luna has run off a while ago. Having been tired of staring at the mess I've made. "Helen, there was nothing we could've done."

I close my eyes and just listen. Silence. Across the whole house. I can't fix this. I can't. I tried. I tried.

My body aches, but I barely register it. My whole body is on fire. And I can't extinguish it. It's not fair. None of this was fair. None of it.

The baby cries.

Tears fall from my eyes.

I tried.

I couldn't fix this.

I tried.

I can't feel anything.

I tried.

I couldn't fix this.

I tried.

Tears fall from my eyes.

I tried.

The baby cries.

6 hours Earlier: 2:00 a.m