Page 2 of Forget Me Not

Our room is on the first floor of the three-story building, and only the second door in the hallway, so we are not far from the exit. When we enter the hallway, subconsciously, I do the one thing I knew I shouldn’t do. I look down. The first thing I notice is that everything is white. Gunpowder covers the walls and floors while also giving the hallway a smoky hue. The next thing I notice is red. Blood. I quickly avert my eyes from it only to see something so much worse. A body.

I snap my eyes back to the person’s head in front of me before I witness anything else. As we quickly file out of the hallway and exit through the doors outside that lead into the rest of the school and the senior parking lot, there are officers scattered everywhere.

“Run.” I’m not sure who says it or how many people do, but I don’t need to hear it more than once.

My feet instantly start pounding the pavement, as do the rest of my classmates. I run faster than I think possible. I run all the way through the gate of the parking lot and across both sides of the street until I finally stop in the grass across from the school.

Sirens and screams surround me as chaos continues to unfold. There are people next to me, but I’m not sure if any of them are actually talking to me. I don’t think I could find it in me to care if they were. Despite all the running, I don’t even feel out of breath. It must be the adrenaline.

I’m still clutching my phone deadly tight in my hand. I haven’t put it down since I first took it out and my knuckles are white from the strength with which I am gripping it. Still nothing from my sister. Putting my phone to my ear, I start calling heragain while I search around for her. She may have gotten out of there already.

It goes to voice mail again and the knots in my stomach intensify. Just as I’m about to start calling again, I hear my name being screamed.

“Logan.” The screaming becomes closer, and I turn my head toward where it’s coming from. I feel a whoosh of air release from my lungs as my sister’s small frame comes running toward me.

“Lennox, thank God.” I pull her into my arms, squeezing her into me. My sister’s here. She’s safe and she’s not hurt. So, why isn’t that pit in my stomach going away? Ignoring it, I pull back and begin to check her, making sure with my own eyes that she isn’t harmed. It isn’t until I look up and see her tearstained face that I know my instinct is accurate. Something still isn’t right. I go to open my mouth, worry written all over my face, but she cuts me off.

“Not now,” she chokes out. “Just not yet. I can’t. Please, Lo.” She starts frantically shaking her head and wiping her eyes.

“Len, hey, it’s okay.” I try to get her attention back on me. Lennox has always been the more emotional and caring of the two of us, so in the moment, I know I need to be the one to take control before she breaks down altogether.

“Come on. I’m going to call Mom and we’re going to keep walking as far away from here as we can so she’s able to get to us.” I grab her hand and pull her with me through the crowds of people without waiting for her response.

With one hand grasped in Lennox’s and my other holding my phone, I click my mom’s name and bring it to my ear. It barely rings once before she starts shouting through the phone.

“Logan, where are you? Are you okay? Where’s your sister?” Her questions are fired one after another and it doesn’t sound like she plans on stopping to let me get a word in.

“Mom,” I swiftly cut her off. “Relax. Len is here with me and we’re both okay.”

I hear her sigh of relief before she continues rambling again.

“Do not tell me to relax, Logan. It’s madness over here and I had no clue where my girls were or if you were okay. Can you imagine what I’ve been going through?” She huffs. That’s my mother for you, Julia Hart. She’s good at understanding her own struggles and emotions, just not so much anyone else’s. I’m not saying she doesn’t have a right to be worried, but sometimes she forgets that other people are going through the same situation as her. My mom loves us, and she cares about us deeply. Sometimes she just doesn’t know how not to care about herself a little bit more.

“We’re approaching River’s Edge, the neighborhood about a block away from the school. Can you meet us there, Mom?” I hurry out before she can continue to tell me any more about how hard this whole situation has been on her.

“Yes,” she says quickly. “I love you, Lo. Tell Lenny I love her too. I’ll see you both in two minutes.”

“We love you too, Mom.” I hang up the phone.

I look over at my sister, whose hand I can still feel trembling in mine. She looks like she’s minutes away from completely falling apart. I squeeze her hand a little tighter and smile softly at her just as my mom’s SUV speeds up next to us, screeching to a stop. I pull on Lennox’s hand, open the door to the back seat and climb in next to her, not wanting to leave her side.

“My beautiful girls,” my mom cries as soon as we are in the car. “Thank goodness you’re okay.” She smiles genuinely at us both. “I love you both more than anything, you know that right?” she says, eyeing us up and down with concern.

“We love you too, Mom. Let’s just get home,” I say.

She nods, smiling at us both before turning her eyes back to the road. Lennox makes no move to converse with me or my mom, staring blankly out the window.

“Hey.” I nudge her, and she turns toward me. Her pained eyes stare into mine. “Everything is going to be okay, Len. We’re all okay.” I try to smile at her reassuringly, but her expression just crumbles even more.

“Not all of us,” she whispers so quietly I barely even hear her. My eyebrows pull together, confusion marring my face. “Emersyn’s dead,” she barely manages to get out before loud sobs rack through her body. I freeze.

I stare at my sister in complete disbelief as she sobs. Emersyn has been mine and Len’s best friend since we moved here when we were five years old. She was practically our third sister. We used to joke and tell people we were actually triplets to see how many people we could get to believe us. Emersyn couldn’t really be dead, yet my gut tells me that it’s true.

Len’s head falls into my lap as she curls up into a ball and continues to sob. I blindly stroke my hand through her hair hoping to offer her some of the comfort that I’m definitely not feeling right now. I’m not sure if my mom has heard any of what was said, but her eyes stay firmly on the road as she drives us away from our high school that has now turned into a crime scene.

I stare out the window, numbness beginning to take over me. Most people in my situation would probably be crying, much like how my sister is, but I can’t do that. I just sit here stone still as the rest of the world spirals around me.

We aren’t next to the school anymore, but the crime scene spreads on for miles. My sister is sobbing, there are cop cars and ambulances everywhere, students are rushing around not knowing where to go, and parents are jumping out of their carsfrantically looking for their children. It is complete and utter chaos.

---