Original Stories Fan Fiction / Realism Fan Fiction ❯ When Dreams Fade ❯ Don't lose hope... ( Chapter 5 )

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

Author's Note: Blah. The old chapters look so disorganized. The author's notes and stuff, I mean. So I cleaned them a little. Yeah. That said…I guess I'll write this chapter, huh?

When Dreams Fade

Chapter 5

It seemed like an eternity had passed during the time the police questioned us. We were still inside Erik's house at that time. They led us out of the room and spoke to us each individually. I think we all told the truth. I did, anyway. I wasn't in the room for the actual attack, of course, but I found out that Erik's brother had come after him with a knife he kept in his pocket. Apparently he was still holding the knife, so it wasn't too hard for the police to believe us. Still, they said, they had to arrest Hana.

I'm sure it was terrifying for her. She was only sixteen, almost seventeen. And yet they were hauling her off to jail like…well, like a criminal. She did commit a crime, but it wasn't bad…she was protecting her friend. Everyone knew that. We knew that there was no way that she'd be convicted of murder. No way.

I was also worried about Erik. We knew what had happened to him, mostly, but we had no idea how severe his injuries were. He was carried out to an ambulance and taken away while we were still being questioned. I guess they didn't want to take any chances. But there was another thing regarding Erik that troubled me. His brother had been his only family. His father was in jail and his mother was dead. He had no other relatives, as far as we knew. He was eighteen. That was old enough to live on his own, if he could provide for himself financially. Unfortunately, Erik could not.

Nikolas and I were alone later that day, after Hana and Erik were taken away. We met at the park and sat on a bench, watching some kids play on the playground equipment. We sat in silence for a long time.

“I can't believe this happened,” Nikolas mumbled suddenly. “I just can't…”

“I know.” I looked at the ground, kicking a piece of mulch. A phone rang. Nikolas looked puzzled as I dug through my purse for the source of the ring.

“Hana's phone?” he asked. I nodded, flipping it open.

“Hello?” I asked. Hana had given me her phone in case I needed it. Meaning, if something happened and Erik's brother actually died, we would know. As far as we knew, he was still alive. However, the phone call changed that little detail. “Thank you,” I mumbled into the phone as I hung up. I slipped the phone into my purse and stared blankly at the playground.

“So?” Nikolas prodded. “What's going on?”

“He's dead,” I replied. “Hana's in real trouble.”

Nikolas and I got to see Erik in the hospital the next day. It was a Saturday. I woke up that morning, opened the window, and looked outside. It was raining. What an ominous start to the day. I went downstairs to the breakfast table and saw something that surprised me: My father.

My father had never been around much. He worked nights most of the time, so I really only saw him for about one hour out of every day. I was always in school when he got home, and I woke up on weekends around the time when he went to bed. So this morning he must have either stayed up later, or he hadn't gone to work the night before. Judging from the lack of exhaustion he was exhibiting, I assumed it was the latter.

“Hey, dad,” I said, sitting down at the table. “What are you doing here?”

“I thought you might need to talk,” he said.

“Oh?” I asked. I gratefully accepted the bagel he offered me and took a bite. “About?”

“You know…your friend's in jail…” He sighed. “Look, I know that you consider yourself a bit of a loner, but…”

“A bit?” I asked. “I had no friends until ninth grade, Dad. Well, not really.”

“I don't see why you don't like people. Obviously your taste in friends is…” He seemed to be searching for the right word. “Lacking,” he said finally.

My eyes narrowed. “Lacking? What do you mean? My friends are great. They're funny and they actually, you know, care about me. They're always there for me when I need them. I think my taste in friends is fine.”

“I don't know the circumstances of your friend's arrest, but she's being charged with murder—“

“Wait.” I frowned. “How do you know that? I don't know that,” I said. “I thought they were going with a manslaughter charge.”

“She's in the newspaper, honey,” my mom said. She came into the kitchen carrying a copy of the newspaper and a cup of tea. “It's definitely murder.”

I grabbed the paper and studied the page. “But…” It was true. Hana was being charged with murder. She was on the front page and everything. “But she was protecting Erik!” I protested. “His brother was drunk and high and had a knife!” Tears welled in my eyes and I flung the paper away. “I'll be…somewhere,” I mumbled. I ran out the door.

As I ran down the driveway, a thought occurred to me.

It's Hana's birthday…