I Promise

There's a certain house on Ridgewood street in the small town of Kellington, Indiana. There's nothing spectacular about it from the outside- it's a normal house like you'd find anywhere else. It's not too big and it's not too small. There are stones of different shapes and sizes leading up to the rickety front porch. The steps are creaky and the wooden hand rail needs to be replaced. The screen door hangs slightly crooked on it's hinges, so that it doesn't close completely and clanks against the door frame when the wind blows. Brightly colored flowers pop in the garden and there's an old oak tree growing out front.

There's nothing different, either, about the inside of this house. In the living room there's a black leather couch on one wall and a matching chair in the corner. Opposite the couch is a wall unit that holds the TV, candles, and glass figurines. There's a wooden coffee table in front of the couch and another, smaller table by the door. It holds the mail and keys. Pictures of the children cover the walls.

Hanging the tiniest bit crooked above the couch is a family portrait. In this picture everyone is sitting on that leather couch. A man with black hair and purple colored eyes sits on the left side, wearing black pants and a white button-down shirt. He isn't smiling, but looks happy none the less. A little girl is sitting on his lap, her blue eyes sparkling. Her curly blonde hair is held back with a pink ribbon which matches her sparkly dress. Her bangs fall and frame her laughing face. Next in line is another girl, looking to be about ten, with the same raven hair and purple eyes as her father. She has on tight black jeans and a purple shirt with a little vampire girl on it. Her hair is straight and her long bangs cover one eye. Her smile is mesmerizing. Sitting next to her with a arm around her shoulders is a teenage boy- twelve or thirteen. His long black hair is messy and falls in his face, but his eyes are the same bright blue as his mother's. His wide smile lights up his pale face and makes him look quite handsome. He wears a pair of dark jeans and a black shirt with a little vampire boy on it, matching his sister's. A beautiful young woman is last in line, sitting all the way to the right of the couch. She is smiling lightly, cradling a sleeping baby wearing a white dress  in her arms. Her long blonde hair is wavy, covering up part of the black dress she's wearing.

So you see, there's nothing special at all about the house itself. No, it's the people living there, or rather just the father. The man the community knows and the man his family now knows are two completely different people.

You might hear crying late at night, coming from that house on Ridgewood Street. But surely it must only be the baby, you think. But you'd be dead wrong. If you looked through the bedroom window you'd see that teenage boy, so happy and healthy just months ago, broken. He'd be curled up on the bed hugging himself, his dark hair covering his face and his eyes now dull and filled with sorrow and hurt. You'd see his broken and bloody body. He would lay there and stare out the window at you, but he wouldn't really see you. He would be staring through you, gazing at the moon and wishing on those stars. And if you think it's the battered boy who's crying, well you'd be wrong again.

For it's the boy's younger sister, the one who looks so much like their 'father'. She clings to him, mindful of his bruises, and cries for him.  She stares out the window too, her tangled hair falling into her puffy red eyes and hiding her splotchy face.

All she knows is that she can't let go. She's afraid that if she does, he'll disappear and she'll lose him forever. You'd see her tiny form shake with the force of her sobs. She tries saying soothing words, but right now she's the one who needs consoling, not him.

''Stop that, Lila. Don't cry for me.'' he whispers.

''But if I don't, who will?'' she asks through the tears.

''I'm okay, Lilac. I'll be fine. It'll all be over soon.'' he whispers the last sentence.

''Don't say it like that.'' she says, sadly.

''Will you promise me something?'' he asks.

''Of course, anything,'' she replies quickly.

''When I'm gone-''

''Don't talk like that!'' she cuts him off.

''When I'm gone,'' he continues, ''promise me you won't cry.''

''I can't do that Conner! I love you too much! You're not gonna die so quit talking that way! Please.'' she says followed by a heartbreaking sob.

''I'm going soon, I can feel it  Just promise me Lilac. Promise!'' he says.

''I... I promise.'' she chokes out after a long silence. He smiles weakly and she gives him a sad one in response.

You'd leave after that, not wanting to see the rest. And you'd miss it.

She stopped crying and they layed there on his bed for a long while. She put her head on his chest, listening as his heart beat became slower and slower. She could feel the life leaving him. She listened to the sounds of his heart beat and light breathing. And when all was silent and he became very cold, she kept her promise.