Original Stories Fan Fiction / Realism Fan Fiction ❯ When Dreams Fade ❯ Two Mysteries Solved, But... ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Author’s note: Yeah. New chapter. I have no idea where this is going, honestly. Also, I had to go back and change something in chapter one because it was inconsistent with this chapter. It’s nothing major, though.

“Is…is that it?” I whispered to Hana when we reached the address on the piece of paper she carried. “Does Erik really live here?”

Hana nodded. “I guess. That’s what it says here,” she said.

“It looks…normal,” Nikolas said, frowning. “Why wouldn’t he want us to come here before?”

Hana’s face grew cloudy. She shook her head and her face was back to normal again. She smiled. “Well, let’s knock on the door, okay?” She ran up to the door before Nikolas or I could stop her. She turned around halfway up the driveway. “Come on, it’s not a haunted house!” Hana placed her hands on her hips and stared at us. “Are you coming or not?”

“Let’s go,” Nikolas said. I followed him up the driveway. Then we all stood at the door, waiting.

“Someone should knock,” I said, finally, after we stood there for a moment.

“Yeah,” Nikolas agreed, looking at Hana.

“Fine. What, are you guys too lazy to knock?” She shook her head in annoyance and knocked on the door. Then she stepped backward toward us.

“So, who did you call?” I asked her. “Did you call his brother again?”

“Yeah. I called and said I needed to drop off a late birthday present that was too big to bring to school.” She smiled. “I lied, basically.”

“Uh…Hana? Won’t his brother notice that you don’t have a present with you?” Nikolas asked, but the door opened before she could answer.

“Um…you’re Erik’s friends?” The man standing at the door must have been Erik’s brother. They looked sort of the same. They had the same dark hair and eyes, anyway.

“Yeah,” I answered. “Is he here yet?”

“I guess. I don’t know. He’s probably in his room, or out back or something. Come in. I’ll see if I can find him.” He yawned and wiped the sleep from his eyes. Nikolas stepped inside and wrinkled his nose.

“This house smells funny,” he said. “It’s familiar, but…”

“I know. I told you Erik smelled funny yesterday,” Hana said. “I don’t recognize the smell, though.”

I followed them inside and was hit with the same smell. I recognized it. “Marijuana,” I said suddenly. Hana and Nikolas stared at me.

“How did you know that?” Hana demanded. Nikolas looked slightly amused.

“My mom had some she made my sister and I smell when we were younger so that we would know what it smells like,” I said. What a lie. “Nikolas, you said it was familiar.”

“Yeah, I’ve smelled it before. I don’t know where, though.” He shrugged. “I guess we were right about Erik’s brother’s parties involving drugs. Oh well.”

“Don’t you think that’s kind of…dangerous?” Hana asked. “I mean, isn’t his brother supposed to be his legal guardian?”

“Yeah,” I said. “But it’s not so bad. Marijuana on its own isn’t as bad as they say. Not if you don’t go driving or something stupid like that.”

“Yeah, well, I know for a fact that Erik’s brother drinks, so it’s not on its own,” Nikolas said.

“I guess…” We caught up to Erik’s brother, who peered into Erik’s room.

“Erik, are you in here?” his brother asked. There was no response. “Erik, your friends are here.” He still didn’t answer.

“I guess he’s not in there,” I said.

“Erik!” His brother turned on the light. Erik was curled up in a corner, hugging his knees. “Erik, what are you doing?”

“Don’t hurt me,” Erik pleaded. “Please…”

Nikolas took a step forward, but Erik’s brother held out an arm to hold him back. “Erik, I’m not going to hurt you–“

“Yes, you are. You hurt me earlier…you’ll hurt me again…”

“Erik! This is the pot talking. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“I didn’t take drugs,” Erik said quietly.

Nikolas ducked under Erik’s brother’s arm and knelt beside Erik. “Hey…Erik…” Erik looked at him. “Are you alright?”

Erik stared at him for a minute and then stared at his brother again. Then he removed his hood. “See? I told you.” His face was covered in blood and he had a black eye on the left side of his face. “He hurme…” Erik buried his face in Nikolas’s chest and sobbed.

Erik’s brother stared at him with loathing. “You’re…you’re crying? What kind of…of…pussy,” he spat, “Are you?” I cringed at the language he used, while Hana stepped forward, her left hand clenched in a fist.

“No,” I whispered, putting my hand on her arm. I gestured with my hand in the shape of a phone and put it up to my ear. I mouthed the word, “Cell phone.” Hana nodded. She discreetly pulled the phone from her purse and handed it to me. I backed out of the doorway and around the corner to the kitchen. Then I made the call. As I hung up, I heard a horrible sound.

There was a loud thud and a scream. Was someone hurt? It was silent after that. I ran back into the room. Hana was standing in front of Erik’s brother, who was on the ground. There was blood streaming from his head. I looked at Hana’s hand. She was holding a baseball bat, which she’d apparently picked up from Erik’s room. Then I looked at Erik. He was trembling, still latched onto Nikolas. Nikolas was staring at Erik’s brother.

“Is…is he…?” I tried to ask. Hana dropped the bat.

“I don’t know,” she said after a moment. Then we heard the sirens.