Chapter Twenty-Four

Troubled

Savannah woke up sore, feeling so accomplished yet so empty at the same time.

She was a high-school graduate.

She survived the year that tested her the most. She was glad it was over.

It was a quiet Saturday morning.

She lay in bed as the soft sun rays peaked though the blinds.

She felt relieved, but there was a peculiar looming sense of dread. A sort of 'what now?' feeling.

By now Leon was on his way out of the country.

All she wished with all her heart was that he stayed safe and possibly call her as soon as his feet meet foreign grounds.

She wished she'd spoken to Mitchell more, but figured she'd have plenty of time to do that over the summer, not to mention next year at University.

Come to think of it, it's just her and Mitchell now, no Leon to hold the group together.

She got up and stretched, yawning like how she imagined a lion would.

She walked towards her dresser and picked up the notebook Leon had given her last night.

It was a brown, A4 sketch book bound with a spiral spine.

For something that looked so simple, it was breathtakingly beautiful.

She put the down the notebook and picked up the photos herself, Leon and Mitchell took last night.

She smiled like an idiot at.

She was so overwhelmingly grateful for a night like last night.

She didn't feel empty that it was over because now, she gets to cherish those moments forever.

She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled.

She was at peace with everything. She looked tired but well rested at the same time.

She got all tingly thinking about all the books she could read now that her summer has technically officially begun.

The feeling of freedom was short lived as she remembered that she is yet to clear out her locker.

'Damn it!' she snapped at herself.

She had been putting it off for so long, not because she was lazy, but because she'd honestly forgotten to; when she was swept into the whirlwind of study, exams, retreat, general friendship drama and graduation preparation.

She'd thought she had been inside the gates of Holy Cross High for the last time but apparently not.

She jumped in the shower and washed away yesterday.

She threw on a pair of blue jeans and a simple striped, crop top.

She emptied her school bag and threw it over her shoulder.

She tiptoed downstairs to the kitchen in search of some light breakfast before she leaves when she's greeted with a scene unfolding before her that made her uneasy.

Her mother was sitting on the dining table, sobbing hysterically as her father rubs her back soothingly.

Savannah doesn't know what to do, her mother would cry often after the loss of her sister, but never this... dramatic.

Savannah had thought her mother had overcome the loss of her sister.

It didn't add up. It made Savannah feel as if something terrible had happened.

She didn't want to think the worst had happened to any more family members but she didn't want to ask, as her mother is clearly not in the state to answer any questions Savannah has.

And she has plenty.

When her mother looked up and set her eyes on Savannah she wailed loudly.

This wasn't pretty.

Her father tried to calm her mother down.

Savannah panicked and ran out the front door, she jumped onto Leon's bike, which she never returned since she borrowed it on the night of the winter formal.

She peddled as fast as she could, her mind was racing, something terrible had happened.

The death of her Aunt was the first time Savannah had seen her mother cry.

She couldn't help but wonder what might've happened.

The only thing she knew was that this was going to be tough for her mother to overcome.

Although it was a beautiful Spring day, something felt strange.

Like Savannah wasn't a participant in her own life, but she was a bystander looking on waiting for something terrible to happen.

But she figured, seeing your mother cry like an infant will do that to a person.

She came to a screeching halt when she arrived at the year 12 block entrance.

She hurried up the stairs and made it to her locker.

As she emptied her textbook, papers and stationary into her bag, she refrained from jumping into conclusions over what her mother was crying about.

Which was difficult.

All that seemed to enter her mind was the worst.

She cleanout out her locker and walked absentmindedly towards her bike, running into Miss Mewdan on her way.

Great.

She looked at her.

And for once her face wasn't tight and up in the air and her hair wasn't in a neat tight bun, but it was in a loose ponytail.

Her face was soft and droopy, the lines on her face weren't as sharp as she always remembered them to be.

For a woman who showed no emotion, Savannah could see the sadness in her eyes.

She put her palm on Savannah's shoulder and gave her a look that she could only interpret as sorrowful remorse.

What was going on?

Miss Mewdan walked away without a word.

Fear and panic invaded Savannah's mind, her breathing quickened.

She needed to get home and find out what was going on.

This was all that was on her mind the entire time she peddled vigorously home.

She barged into her quiet home.

Something strange was definitely going on.

Her house was never quiet, the eeriness of the atmosphere made Savannah feel incredibly uneasy.

She walked into the dining room and found who she was searching for.

Her mother, accompanied by her father as they sat holding hands.

"Savannah dear," began her father, "Have a seat. Your mother and I have something to tell you."

There was something in the air, something in the atmosphere, something in her father's voice that made her feel as if she was about to receive the worst news of her life.

Her heart pounded against her chest as it echoed in her ears.

Slowly, she took a seat opposite to her parents, bracing herself for what she was about to hear.

She took deep breaths and stared at her parents hopelessly.

"Savannah," said her mother, her voice soft, but strong,

"It's with great sorrow and difficulty," she began, reaching out her palms and placing them on Savannah's,

"that I say," tears quickly built in her mother's eyes and her voice broke.

"Leon sadly passed away last night-"

No. there's no way. She din't know what her mother was saying but she knew she was highly mistaken.

"He overdosed... took a something and his body couldn't handle it," chimed in her father.

Savannah was numb.

She felt nothing, yet everything at the same time.

She wished with everything in her that what they were saying wasn't true.

She all of a sudden forgot how to breath, think, feel.

Nothing, nothing, could've prepared her for this.

She could hear her mother talking but she didn't know what to make of the words she was saying.

She could see her mother looking at her teary-eyed but she didn't know what was going on.

She felt like she was in a trance or a nightmare waiting to wake up and snap back into reality.

What her mother told her replayed in her mind over and over again.

No. There is no way.

Savannah needed to get away from here.

She got to her feet and felt lightheaded.

Her body felt heavier than usual.

She got into her room and slammed the door behind her.

The air had become so thick it become hard to breath.

Savannah felt like she was suffocating, like the walls were closing in on her as her chest rose and fell rapidly.

Her head was spinning, she felt as if she'd been set one fire, too hot to breath and every inch of her body ached.

She wanted to rip out her own hair as the reality of what her parents just told her came crashing down on her like a fall of a hundred-storey building.

Her legs gave in and her body roughly collided with her carpet floor.

She was still conscious but she wished she wasn't.

She couldn't move, paralysed by shock and pain.

She tried to take a breath in and breath it out but screamed instead.

She lay sobbing hysterically, hot tears flooding down her face.

She heard footsteps approach as someone entered her room.

She felt arms being wrapped around her and hold her tightly, swaying her from side to side soothingly.

"Shhh... it's okay, I'm here," said Mike, kissing his sister on the forehead.

She felt nothing but pain, saw nothing but blurry colours, heard nothing but the sound of her cries.