Darkness Before Dawn

Eh...not my style," he says and I can hear the smile in his voice.
    "You're an idiot," I mutter.
    "Yeah, you've said," he replies, still smiling.
    "So tell me," I push.
    He groans. "My sister's twenty-four, has a three-year-old son. Cutest little boy in the world, really." My heart skips a beat, hearing the pride in his voice as he talks about his nephew.
    "Do you have pictures?" I ask, already knowing the answer to that.
    "Of course I do, what kind of uncle do you think I am?"
    His phone lights up and he begins to scroll through his photo album. I try not to look too interested in seeing his pictures, I mean, I don't know if there are any naked people on there, but I'm too curious to care. I end up scooting right beside him and watching as he scrolls through photos of him by himself, with friends, Alex, and other people I don't recognize. There are a couple of him with a pretty brunette, he hovers on one of them before clicking on one of him with the most adorable little boy. In the picture, Dean is wearing a navy blue Cubs T-shirt and carrying the little boy, who is wearing the same outfit, on his shoulders. They're both smiling happily at the camera. I put my hand over his slowly, taking the phone from him, and he lets me. I can feel his eyes on me the entire time as I sit there, staring at the picture of him and the little boy. Tears fill my eyes as I look at their bright smiles and the bright sun and green grass around them. They're so happy. So free. And I'm so jealous.
    "He really is the cutest kid ever," I say with a sniffle. "Can I look through the rest?"
    "Sure," he whispers.
    I scroll through the photos, stopping at the one he hovered on before. It's him and a beautiful girl with shoulder length dark brown hair and caramel colored eyes. She has a button nose and a dazzling smile, and Dean is standing beside her with an arm draped over her shoulder as he kisses the side of her face. The strangest sensation moves through me as I stare at them together.
    "Who is she?" I ask in a clipped tone.
    He laughs softly and scoots closer and he cups my chin to look at his face, which I can make out with the phone's light. "That's my sister Sandra," he replies, his eyes boring into mine. We look at each other for a long moment, drowning in silence, before he brushes his thumb over my cheek. I lick my dry lips, watching as his eyes drift down to them and his own lips part. "Do you want me to kiss you, chick?" he asks in a whisper that I can barely hear through the loud pounding in my ears.
    My breath falters for a moment as I stare at him, wide-eyed, pondering his question, even though there's nothing to ponder. He can't. We can't.
    "I'm pregnant," I whisper back, as if that places a chastity belt over my lips.
    "I know," he says back just as quietly, moving his face closer to mine until I can feel his breath over my lips, though they're still not touching. "Fuck," he mutters before barely brushing my lips with his. The smell of cinnamon and cigarettes makes me snap out of the moment and I gulp down loudly while backing away from him. He follows suit, scooting his body so that our knees are no longer touching.
    "Sorry," he says quietly.
    I shake my head even though he can't see me without the light of the phone. "No. I just-"
    "I know," he responds before I finish my sentence.
    He takes the phone from my hands and gets up, muttering his good night as he steps out of the room, leaving me staring into the dark.
    What the hell just happened?

 

    Aimee and I pull up in front of her parents' house, our parents...I guess. I look up at the house I haven't seen in twenty-two years and feel absolutely nothing. According to Aimee, when she told her mom, Colleen, about me a couple of weeks ago, she fainted. Her dad, Camden, still doesn't believe it, and I don't blame him. I don't think I would believe it either. I step out of the car and look around, and that's when I see the house across the street and my chest starts to ache. The Home Alone house. Blake. I can't go anywhere without seeing her in everything I do. She's rooted so deep into me that no matter what happens, Blake has ruined me forever. She fixed me and broke me all at once.
    Aimee stands next to me, wraps her arms around my waist and lays her head on my chest. "Don't worry. She'll come back to us, I know she will," she whispers.
    I want nothing more than to believe that, but it's been so long. I do believe it, but I think she needs to be found, and I'm going to look