Obsession 2

Chapter 2- Empty

Funerals are never easy, but there's something especially solemn about ones that no one shows up to.  My mother didn't have a lot of friends in Dallas and no family either. Her family in Japan didn't have time to make it here before today, so it's just me and the handful of people that knew my mom well- our neighbor, Cecilia and her daughter that's my age, Sadie. Our mailman, Mr. Anderson. And of course, my father's only living relative, his brother, Simon.

I don't have any tears left to cry, so I don't try and force them for show. My mother knew I loved her. She knew I was there for her. In the end, I guess that's all that really matters.

The ceremony is short and sweet, exactly the way my mother would've wanted it. She's finally at peace, laid to rest next to my father whom she loved dearly for nearly thirty-three years.

I can't help thinking that this isn't the way things should've turned out. Of course it's not. If it weren't for Sammy, mom would still be here with us. I'm certain of that. But losing my father and only years later, losing a son too, albeit, not to death, it was just too much for her fragile soul to bear.

After the funeral is over, I stand next to her open grave long after everyone else is gone. I think about the old days, when our family was happy. When we didn't have a care in the world. Dad worked hard to provide the best life for us and mom loved us so well. We couldn't have asked for a better childhood.

How did everything go so completely wrong? What changed in Sammy's life? What caused him to spiral out of control?

I look over when I feel a small, soft hand clasp around mine. It's Sadie, my neighbor and childhood friend for as long as I can remember. We haven't seen much of each other since high school, but she always stopped by to check on mom when she was at home visiting her family.

Her short brown hair is pulled up, revealing the tattoo of a star just behind her left ear. She got it when we were eighteen, as a high school graduation present to herself. Her mom hated it, but my mom thought it was neat. But then again, mom loved Sadie. She always wanted a daughter and Sadie was the closest thing to a daughter she ever had.

Which is weird since Sadie and I dated for three years back in high school.

Sadie doesn't say anything, she just stands next to me in respectful silence. She has no idea how much it means to me that she's here- or how much it would mean to my mom.

"Thank you for coming," I whisper after a while.

She looks over at me and gives me sad smile, her bright green eyes glistening with tears.

"I think she loved you more than she loved me," I say, smiling to myself.

"You play too much."

I let out a chuckle, much to Sadie's and even my own surprise. "She said that a lot, didn't she."

"You have to take life seriously for life to take you seriously," she goes on, quoting my mother.

"But don't forget to smile every once in a while," I add.

She leans in closer, smiling. Having someone so close to me, someone familiar, makes me feel better than I thought it would. I expected Sadie to come today and I even expected her to speak to me. But things seem like they used to between us, before she left me and moved to New York.

I won't bring that up, of course. It was five years ago now. She's moved on with her life and so have I. She'll always mean a lot to me though. She'll always be my first love.

Sadie and I walk back to my car, hand in hand. I look around, but I don't see her car anywhere.

"Did you ride over with your mom?" I ask her.

She nods. "Yeah, I told her I'd walk back. I wanted to...see you...alone."

I look at her, expecting her to say something else, but she doesn't. She probably wants to ask about Sammy. Everyone does these days. But Sammy's story is on display for the world to see. Everyone in the country knows about him.

When we make it up the hill to my car, I stop and look around. "So, do you need a ride?"

"If you don't mind," she shrugs.

"Well, I suppose it won't be too far out of my way," I smile at her.

She smiles back and my heart flutters at the warmth that suddenly takes over. I have spent the past few days thinking about how alone I'm going to be, but I had convinced myself I didn't need anyone. I could get through this on my own.

But can I?

My whole life is falling apart and I have no one to lean on through this.

Sadie and I make the drive back home in silence. I glance over at her from time to time, wanting to say something, wanting to tell her that her being here with me like this means a lot to me. But after all that's happened between us, I'm afraid to say too much.

"What will you do now?" she finally asks, keeping her gaze on the window and watching the world pass us by.

When I don't answer right away, she looks at me.

But I haven't even thought about what I'll do from here. Will I stay in Dallas? In the same house my family has lived in for the past fifteen years? For the first time in my life, I don't have anyone to take care of, no one else to think of other than myself. I could go anywhere.

"I don't know yet," I finally answer. "I haven't given it much thought."

She nods, accepting my open ended answer and thankfully, not asking more questions. The last thing I want to talk about is moving forward. I'm barely able to get out of bed each morning. I definitely can't venture off into the unknown while my mind is the equivalent of the peanut butter mush that fills the inside of Reese's Cups.

"Well...I'll be home for a while...if you need anything," she says, just before she gets out of the car.

I watch her walk inside, letting her hair down along the way. She shakes her head and her soft curls bonce out, like they were begging to be let loose. She takes her heels off just before she gets to the front porch steps and holds them in one hand while she unlocks the door with the other.

It's hard to believe I considered her an enemy before today. We've talked many times since our break up and after a while, we started to say things like it's all in the past, it's water under the bridge, we were just kids back then. And while all those things are true, I held onto a bitter grudge for nearly four years. It was stupid to think a high school romance would work out forever, but I was stupid back then, what can I say? Sadie was more than just my high school sweetheart. She was my best friend. She was the person who knew all my secrets. And I guess when she decided to end things before she moved away, I felt like she betrayed me.

But today, she proved to me that was never the case. She was there. Really there. Even if no one else was.

I sigh and drive a few feet forward to my own driveway and pull in. As soon as I step out of the car, a swarm of police cars pull up, surrounding my house on every side. I look around in confusion, wondering what the hell is going on.

"Michael, I'm so sorry to show up like this on today of all days," Detective Crosby says as he approaches me with his partner by his side. Because of my brother, he and I have had to see a lot of each other lately. "Your brother escaped police custody this morning and we though maybe he made it out to the cemetery. We didn't find him there, but I was wondering if you saw him."

"No, I didn't," I reply, furrowing my brows in confusion.

"I know today has been tough, but if you could just cooperate-"

"I said I didn't see him!" I snap, cutting Detective Crosby's partner off. 

He stares at me with a mixture of confusion and shock at first. I don't know why. He knows I've never liked him. When he and Crosby were investigating my brother, it's clear this guy was only riding Crosby's coattails through the investigation. He knew nothing of the case, nothing of my brother, yet he still liked to get a word in, pretending he had all the facts.

He's short and slender, especially compared to Crosby's tall, large, muscular frame. It's like looking at Kevin Hart standing next to Terry Crews. Only little man isn't funny. I can't even remember his name, despite the fact I can't stand the guy.

"Look, he wasn't there," I repeat, this time, more calmly. "And how did he escape police custody anyway? I thought you took extra measures to ensure it wouldn't happen again."

"We did, but...something strange happened. We think maybe there was a glitch in the security cameras in solitary. He was in his cell one minute and the next, he's gone. The door was still closed and locked," Crosby explains.

"You really expect me to believe that?" I scoff.

"No, which is why we're here," his partner says. "He couldn't just get up and walk out on his own. He had help."

"Oh, that's right. You're here to blame me? You think I helped him escape?" I ask.

"No, but we do believe someone helped him," Crosby says.

"What about cameras around the exit? Or anywhere else in the prison? Did they glitch too?" I ask, rather sarcastically.

They share a look that tells me that's exactly the case.

"So you're telling me, every single camera in the place glitched," I say, using air quotes, "and my brother was gone in the blink of an eye?"

Crosby nods. "I know it sounds crazy, but we both know he's escaped under similar circumstances before."

"On the day of his mom's funeral, we thought he'd have to make an appearance at the cemetery. But if he did, there's no trace of him," his partner says.

"Sammy didn't care about our mom while she was alive. What makes you think he suddenly gives a s**t?" I ask.

Crosby gives me a look, but then he sighs. Because he knows I'm right. Sammy probably knew the cops would look for him here or at the cemetery, so it would be his chance to make a clean getaway. This will be the fourth time he's escaped police custody without so much as a footprint left behind. Every time he was caught, it was almost as if he wanted to be. He always willingly went back, only to escape again a few weeks later.

They moved him into solitary after the last escape and since then, until today anyway, he hasn't attempted to leave.

"Do you mind if we check around the house?" Crosby asks.

"Not at all," I reply, motioning for them to go ahead.

While they lead their team into the house and around to the back yard to search for my brother, I walk over to the curb and sit down. How does Sammy keep escaping? I mean, I've never heard of anything like this before. A prisoner may escape once or twice, but they're usually caught right away and even if they're not caught immediately, it's only a matter of time. The few times Sammy got away, he turned himself in, he was never caught.

Which means he'll show back up eventually. I only hope he doesn't hurt anyone until then.

After an hour or so, the police clear out when there's no sign of my brother. I promise to call them if I hear from him and they move their search elsewhere.

I walk into the house and look around. It's so cold and empty here now that it's just me. I guess that's how mom felt after dad died and Sammy and I were away at college. It's a big house for just one person. It's lonely...sad...broken...

And so am I...

I sit down on the sofa and pull out the box of old photo albums mom kept in the sliding drawer of the coffee table. I probably haven't flipped through one of these things in years.

I open it up and the first photos I see are mine and Sammy's school pictures from 2005, when he was fourteen and I was ten. My hair was a mess. It's hard to believe mom ever let me go to school looking so goofy. The thick, black framed glasses didn't help my look much either. Mom always joked that I was an okatu, or a video game nerd. Instead of making friends and playing outside like a normal kid, I came home from school, studied and hit the video games until bedtime.

Sammy, on the other hand, was the handsome one. A great smile, perfect jawline, dad's golden brown eyes...the ladies loved him. In addition to being one of the smartest students at our private school, he was also an outstanding soccer player.

He had so much going in his favor, so much to live for...

How could he give it all up?

I jump when I hear a commotion at the back door. I stand and in a panic, looking around for something to defend myself with. I grab an umbrella and cautiously make my way through the kitchen and to the door that leads out into our backyard.

I jump back when the door suddenly opens and Sammy walks in covered in blood.