It took him a second to gather up the courage to knock. Did he really want to walk into the house where he knew his little sister waited, dead? But he knocked anyway.
Knock knock. He prayed he knew the person. He couldn't afford to breakdown in front of another stranger.
She walked over to the door, opening it to see Georgia's brother. "They took her already. She's gone" she muttered, taking in a shaky, deep breath.
"She's freaking gone" she muttered, beginning to sob.
Dylan stared at Natalia, studying her stained face. It was over. Like she'd said, Georgia was gone. He stumbled back, trembling, falling backwards into a heap. A scream ripped through him, wracking his body with violent shaking. "You're lying!" he shouted at Natalia, head down.
Natalia’s whole body shook at his reaction, his words driving more tears from her eyes. This was a time that she was grateful for her interest in acting. She placed herself down near him on the floor, sobbing, not bothering to wipe her tears. She spoke in a shattered voice, “I damn well wish I was” she cried back at him, her vision blurry from the tears
He sucked in a breath and made every effort to contain his tears. "Why didn't you wait for me?" His voice was now deadly calm. "She was my sister."
She went dead silent as well, her eyes throwing daggers into his own. “You think i had a choice? They took her from me!” She yelled back, her voice cracking often
"You should have told them—" He inhaled sharply, gathering his thoughts. "You should have told them they should wait for her family."
Georgia was watching. She at the upstairs window, looking down, tears streaming down her face.
“They were already loading her into a truck when I got here! I would’ve, I swear to god I would’ve, but they already took her” she cried back at him, burning hot tears streaking down her cheeks
"Okay," he spat. "Okay. I'm leaving. I hope you feel bad, Nat. I really do."
And he was off, shoulders hunched and shaking, fists clenched.
As soon as he left she nearly broke down. Her brother was an amazing guy and never deserved anything like this, but he’d want them to live rather than get hunted down by the government. “He’s gone” she called out to Georgia, her hands shaking
Georgia was still stood by the window, watching her brother's car drive off. Possibly for the last time.
Everything was going way too fast and she had no idea how to handle it.
Natalia just sat there, blank expression on her face. What would her parents think when they found the note she typed up to match the one that was left when they already took the body? ‘Sorry for your loss’ is all they’d get, not even an ‘I love you’ or a ’goodbye’.
How could she have left them like this?
(Hey, sorry! School has started up again so my schedule might get weird)
Carefully, slowly, Georgia walked downstairs. “How about you?” she murmured. “Who would have found you?”
(Ditto!)
She turned around to the stairs, looking up at her with tear stained eyes. “I-I…” she couldn’t get the words out of her lips. She needed a hug, and the helpless look on her face hinted at it freely
(Sorry I'm away up until Sunday now because of a school trip, but I'll see you in a week!)
Georgia watched her friend at the foot of the stairs, helpless and frozen. She looked so broken… as broken as Georgia herself felt inside.
Her own eyes welled up with tears, and in a single fluid movement she was down the last stair and wrapping Natalia in a tight, hug, head in her shoudler.
Natalia melted into the hug, the tears burning into her cheeks as she nuzzled her face into the other’s neck, her body going limp as a coping tactic to all the pain she was feeling from how every breath she sucked in felt like she was breathing in steaming hot water
Georgia almost buckled under the weight of her friend, but fought to stay and carry them both. “Listen to me,” she started, pulling away just enough to look Natalia in the face but still carry her whole weight, “we have to run. This… won’t go well if they find us. We need to stick together, protect each other. Which means I will not leave you, and you won’t leave me. We need each other more than ever before. Okay?”
She wasn’t sure where the words were coming from. Inspiring as they might be, they stemmed from the pain of seeing her older brother how she had. That, in all the years she’d would manage to live from here on it, she would never forget.