Legends

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Main Street, Saint Charles

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Since Asher had walked in the direction she needed to go, Elena had made a detour to go home. It was a longer way, which gave her a bigger chance of running into someone she didn't want to see. So she kept her gaze on the ground. It was harder to do when she knew she was walking down Main Street.

Main Street was where Asher used to live.

Even without looking up, she knew when she was passing the Singleton's house. Or was it their former house? She didn't know if Mrs. Singleton still lived here. Asher didn't, her mother had said.

Without realizing it, she was looking up at the brown house. There was only empty space where Asher's red pickup used to sit in the driveway.

She sighed, and dropped her eyes back on the ground. These stones had often passed her view. She and Asher would go running together. His house was the first they passed when returning home. She would always complain that she still had a longer way to run.

He would offer to run with her, but she would always refuse. It was so warm that it wasn't healthy to run too much. But Asher would do it for her.

She would joke and tell him that it was her way of becoming a better runner than him. It had never happened, which didn't surprise her. She blamed it on the fact that men were naturally stronger than women, but he would remind her that she ran more than him.

"Only two streets!" she would argue.

"And a half," he would add.

They left with a kiss, after which he could enjoy the cool air in his home and a glass of water. She still had to conquer some more heat before she got that.

Elena shook her head and turned away from the house. There were so many memories in Saint Charles. A part of her wanted to forget them all. They haunted her. Everything that used to feel good and make her happy, now makes her sad. Even a stupid flower that still grew in between the same stones of the sidewalk made her heart ache.

The other part of her was grateful for the great times she had had. She had laughed and smiled a lot. Her years in Saint Charles were the best ones of her life. In Denver she had not been able to find that happiness again.

But every smile from then, now felt like a stab in her heart. Everything in Saint Charles was familiar, yet unknown at the same time. She wasn't sure how she felt, but her head told her she should leave as soon as possible.

The sudden honking of a car startled her visibly, and she quickly turned around. Her father's car was driving her way, with Emily behind the wheel and Kay in the passenger's seat.

"We're going to Mom," Kay explained. "Do you want to come?"

Elena nodded, then stepped into the car. She wasn't ready to write the information for the obituary.

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As they entered the hospital room, it was obvious that Mia wasn't doing well. She looked alright, but her eyes almost fell shut in fatigue. The look on her face showed that she wanted to cry, but didn't want anyone to see it. It wouldn't surprise Elena if her mother had cried when they left the day before.

Elena, nor her siblings, said anything of it. If there was one thing more annoying than feeling weak, it was being told you looked weak. So they pretended their mother was alright. Elena held Mia's hand and squeezed it every once in a while, showing her mother she felt compassionate.

It was hard for Elena to know her father was gone. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to have her husband be dead. Mia hadn't talked about the accident, but Elena wondered if her mother had seen her dead husband. Had she seen it happen? Did she realize it was real?