She’s gone. She stabbed my aunt and vanished. It’s all well-planned and executed perfectly. Why did she kill Lydia instead of me?
“Please stay awake, aunt. Please...” I pleaded, and I desperately need her back. I want her to be alive.
“Iam going to die, Sydney. It’s not your fault. I deserve it,” she said as her eyelids started to close.
“No, No. You don’t. Please stay with me. Don’t close your eyes. My mom and dad will do something to save you. There are going to find a way,” I said those words believing she can be saved like how Leona was saved. There must have been a way to it.
“They can’t. It’s over. Can I ask you one thing?” she asked, her voice is barely audible to me.
“Tell me, aunt. Tell me,” I urged as I burst into tears.
“Can... can you forgive me?” that’s her last words and her mouth stopped moving.
“Aunt. Aunt. I have forgiven you. Please say something.” I shook her shoulder. I hoped that she heard me.
But it’s not true. She’s dead. She’s dead without hearing me say ‘I have forgiven her’. I should have forgiven her earlier. Now the time is gone. I didn’t do what she wanted. Her last wish.
“Dorothy and Cassie are gone,” Peter said as I turned towards him with red eyes from crying.
“We can’t search for them now. Sapphire needs us. She lost Lydia,” Victoria, my mom said, giving up on finding them.
“No. I don’t need you to be with me, mom. I can manage myself. Find them. Don’t let them escape,” I ordered my mom. I don’t want them to escape. If they can’t find them, I will hunt them down.
Victoria and Peter nodded and left me alone with my friends and Lydia, who’s dead. Still, I can see her as my aunt. Nothing’s going to change in that.
“I’m sorry, Sydney,” Amelia said. Iam still so familiar with this name. The name is called by everyone and called by my aunt all the time. The name she has given me. Suddenly, something struck my mind. Jacen.
“Jacen, you said Lydia accepted me to come here,” I questioned him in doubt and walked towards with wet blood in my hands which I got after holding Lydia.
“That’s... Iam sorry Sydney,” He stammered a lot.
“What are you sorry for? Tell me now,” I demanded the answer.
“She never accepted you to go there. I lied to you,” he strongly said without looking into my eyes.
“What? I trusted you, Jacen. How can you do that? Why did you lie?” I feel like Iam being betrayed continuously. What’s going to happen next? I can expect the worst.
“I wanted you to come with me. So, I lied. I didn’t know anything about you, Sydney,” he said.
“But...now she’s dead. If you didn’t lie. I would have stayed with your mother and nothing would have gone wrong. It’s because of you,” I blamed him in all anger I got inside me.
“Don’t throw all your anger on me. I was with you all the time. You found your family. Isn’t it important? What’s wrong with losing one person?” he simply said without knowing or feeling my pain.
“Do you think it’s simple? I lost her, Jacen. She means the world to me. She took care of me all this year. Without her, I won’t be here tonight. Can’t you see that?” I shouted.
“Let’s not fight about it now. It’s not the right time, Sydney,” Noah interrupted.
“Stay out of this, Noah. You aren’t involved in it,”
“Are you?” I added in doubt.
“Iam. I mean, I came to know about that later.” Noah confessed. Why everyone is keeping secrets from me?
“What do you mean later?” I furiously asked, looking at him.
“I know it before the Paranormal games. Then after we brought Leona back from death, I tried to tell you when Jacen is angry that ‘I have feelings for you’. But he stopped me and you believed him. You didn’t hear what was I about to say.” Noah said, with disappointment. I didn’t let him talk. I didn’t.
“Why this is a matter now? It’s all over. I can’t go back in time. Your aunt’s dead,” Jacen yells, not taking this issue seriously.
“Don’t say that word again,” I warned him.
“Stop acting like this to me, Sydney,”
“I won’t stop. You should have told it at least later. You kept it to yourself all these days. If I knew it, I would have gone back to my aunt...” I didn’t finish talking, but Jacen interrupted me.
“I know it. That’s why I didn’t tell you. I don’t want you to go back and be locked in a house again. I don’t care about your aunt. First of all, she’s not your aunt at all.” he said harshly, hurting me with these words. This is not him. This is not how he talks. He’s acting like a selfish person.
“I hate you, Jacen. You didn’t even feel sorry for her. I didn’t expect this from you. I didn’t expect you to talk like this when Iam grieving,” I started walking away from him and everyone. I need to be away from everyone. For some minutes.
“Don’t walk away just like this, Sydney,” he shouted behind me.
“You know what, I should have not trusted you. You are a stranger.When you lied to me that’s not my fault. You preferred to keep it to yourself. That’s not a fault too. The fault lies in me. I should have not trusted anyone.”
“That’s it. You are just considering me as a stranger for a simple lie I told. You are the one who desperately wanted to join an academy,”
“I did, but I didn’t want you to tell a lie. Don’t you know, a simple mistake and lie have consequences. The day you lied, brought me here to see Lydia ending up dead.” I said, standing seven feet away from him.
“I would have not done that if I know it. Don’t make a big issue from this. Come back, Sydney,” he ordered madly but Iam not going to do whatever he said.
“Never. I don’t want to see you ever again. We are done,” I made myself clear, and he gave me a confused and shocking look on his face. I didn’t expect a problem with us because he kept a lie from me months ago.
“What? You are fucking kidding me. You are not breaking up with me just for your aunt who is not even alive,” he disrespectfully talked about Lydia till now. No one can understand how much it hurts to see her dead. The person who saved me from death and died for me. I don’t want Jacen to bring her back, I want him to say ‘sorry’ and respect her, but he’s not giving damn care about it at all.
“Yes, Iam. Every time I see your face, all I can think of is my aunt. Iam not going to see you again. Please don’t try to talk to me. We are over,”