Over by Zella Ace

Author:Zella Ace [Ace, Zella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-01-05T16:00:00+00:00

fifteen

Tessa was surrounded by what must’ve been a dozen beer cans when Isabelle opened the front door and stepped in. She was dozing off and the same sour smell was so strong that it almost knocked the air out of her lungs. She drew closer to her mother and noticed little pieces of paper around her body where she was lying, which was on the ground. She picked them up one after another and saw that they were all pictures of Ryan. The memories came crashing back for Isabelle as she stared at each and every one of the pictures. Ryan celebrating Christmas, pretending to be Santa even though he was still a kid. Ryan, standing shyly next to a girl he had just met in school, giving away with his body language that he liked her very much. And Ryan, eating his last dessert of his life at the family restaurant, where he left the world a few minutes later. Isabelle held back tears from flowing down her cheeks and she was about to pick up the next photo on the ground when she heard her mother shifting.

“Isabelle?” Tessa said.

“Yeah? I’m here,” she said as Tessa sat up. Her eyes focused on what Isabelle was holding in her hand and grief washed over her mother’s expression.

“Ryan was perfect, wasn’t he?”

“Yes, he was,” Isabelle said. “I miss him everyday.”

“I wish I never asked to go to that family restaurant. I wish we stayed at home.”

“I wish we stayed at home too. But I think it’s time we stop blaming ourselves. What’s done is done,” Isabelle said but she knew deep down that the guilt would never truly go away. It had stuck around for more than a decade, so there was no reason to believe that it would desert them anytime soon.

“Do you still remember that night?”

“I do. Vividly.”

“I remember every detail. How our boots crunched in the snow and you nearly tripped. How the waitress was so short with us, and how you stuck out your tongue at her. How we discussed whether she had purposely messed up our order because of that. How we tried to return the food, but they told us that they weren’t going to exchange it for us after all. I remember that the food was hot, and even though we did not order what had come, we still loved every bit of whatever we ate, because we ate it together as a family.”

“I remember too.”

“I’d give anything to turn the clock back, and save Ryan -“ she said as she choked tears back. “Save him. And save our family.”

“I know you guys split, but you know we never stopped loving you, right? We talked about you often back in Stalton, and Dad remembers you fondly.”

“Does he blame me?”

“No, never. I don’t either. It’s not your fault. You are as much a victim as Ryan was. I know the accident broke everything, but it’s the dark moments that give meaning to the ones filled with light.

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