Previous Chapter
Related Chapters
Gloom Chapter 225
As I approached him, I noticed the cigarette butts scattered on the floor. How long had you been smoking? I looked carefully at my brother, wondering what could have happened to him, what he could have learned that made him look like this, so distraught. So… devastated . Could it have something to do with Jessica, perhaps?—Hey, what do you have? —I inquired cautiously, knowing that Anthony did not like people digging into his problems.“I solve my shit on my own ,” was what he had told me on more than one occasion. And woe betide anyone who tried to delve into his dilemmas, because he got quite angry... Especially with someone as nosy as me."Anthony?" —I insisted when she didn't respond. I reached out an arm toward him and hesitantly touched his drooping shoulder. She was aware of how likely it was that he would react aggressively. But instead, he didn't move a single muscle at my touch. Come on, what's wrong with you?His shoulders spasmed repeatedly and he let out an unintelligibl
Gloom Chapter 226
It couldn't have been real to me, not even when I saw it on the news.According to what the reporter stated on television, it was an armed robbery that got out of control. Two criminals entered the same store my parents had recently entered, for who knows what. The store owner, who also had a gun, pulled it out to defend himself. It was not known who shot first, but five people were injured: an innocent customer, the owner of the store himself, one of those unfortunate guys... And my parents.My mother was shot directly in the chest. Knowing how my dad was, who never allowed anyone to harm his wife, he probably attacked the guys blinded by anger or grief, and ended up with one shot in the leg and two in the torso. One of those damn bullets hit him in the lung. By the time the ambulance arrived, Dad had suffered a collapsed lung and, like Mom, massive bleeding that they couldn't control. Neither of them made it to the emergency room of the nearest hospital...I closed my eyes tightly.
Gloom Chapter 227
My grandparents and my aunt got bored of offering me transportation, but I didn't want to leave, even though I couldn't stand being there either. All of them were tired, sad and hurt as much as I was, so they decided to give me the time I needed and gave up, but not before telling me that their houses had the door open for me in case I needed them at any time. I thanked each one of them, but deep down none of it made me feel better.Another vague period passed, a time that for me was as indeterminate as everything had been since the previous night, when suddenly I made out the figure of my brother standing next to me.Suddenly, his strangled voice brought me out of my musings:—I don't understand... I've driven drunk, smoked and even talked on the damn cell phone. I went into stores on the worst sides of the city in the middle of the night, and nothing ever happened to me. —His head shook in a slow, tenacious denial, as if, even at this point, he couldn't believe it either—. The old m
Gloom Chapter 228
—You can go, guys. We stayed with her. —A different voice, one that he knew very well, sharp and soft at the same time, made him suddenly take his eyes off the tombstones.As I turned on my axis, the first thing I ran into was Nat's small, thin figure, next to a taller and more athletic one, one that I had only seen behind a bar: Tyler's.Something in the center of my chest shifted and thumped at an abnormal speed when I realized that, in addition to Nat and Tyler, just a few steps away were Claire, Diana and David. All of them had different sad faces, although the only one who was crying was Diana.I wasn't able to greet any of them. I was not able to connect my brain with my mouth to articulate any words. The only thing I could do was look at them in confusion.I had said absolutely nothing to any of them."We'll stay with her as long as she needs it," Tyler told my brother with an encouraging inflection, then pointed one hand in a distant direction. We came in my car, so we'll take
Gloom Chapter 229
Of the small group in front of me, Diana was the one who managed to get along the most with my parents, because she was my oldest friend. Even with what had happened between us over the past few months, the anguish emanating from her entire face let me know that this had affected her too."I'm sorry," he said, his voice muffled and barely audible. I'm so sorry... For everything , Amy.That was all his collapse, because then he let the tears that had accumulated in his eyes fall down his face. He pronounced everything in a different way, loaded with feelings that I couldn't distinguish.He didn't have to explain anything else. Because, even though we hadn't spoken to each other for weeks, I knew her so well that I knew exactly how far that "everything" went .The lump in my throat tightened so much it hurt like I was being strangled. I closed my eyes tightly, nodding my head. My eyes burned for wanting to do the same as Diana, for wanting to collapse there and let out, even a small par
Gloom Chapter 230
I requested that Claire be the first one Tyler dropped off at his house, as I was worried that his mother would start making calls and causing a fuss because she had escaped from his care. My friend said goodbye to me the same way she gave me her condolences: with a hug so strong that I felt like she had broken something in me.Both Tyler and Diana expressed concern about me being left home alone, but Nat nevertheless urged them to let me do whatever I wanted. If I wanted to be alone, to be at peace, they would listen to me... At least, for today.I rubbed my forehead with the arm that was not Diana's prisoner, in a vain attempt to calm the painful pulsations that attacked my skull. The only thing I wanted to do for now was get home… And, at the same time, I didn't want to. I didn't want to get to that place, where I had had my last conversation with them. Where I last saw them.Finally, before I knew it, Tyler turned the car keys and it stopped in front of my house.“Thanks, guys,” I
Gloom Chapter 231
I took a deep breath and turned around, not in much of a mood to deal with either of them.They were at the entrance to the kitchen, side by side. Akhliss leaned her back against the wall, giving me a smile whose joy could not touch his violet eyes. I immediately fixed my gaze on Khaius, who had his arms crossed over his chest, his expression impassive.“You told everyone,” I said in his direction. I didn't mean for my words to sound reproachful, but they did.He had been the first to find out, he heard it from afar in my brother's mind. The shock that I saw on his face yesterday, at that moment before he entered the house and saw Anthony crying and that I believed - wrongly - that it was his problem, was due to that.He knew before I even entered the house.Khaius pursed his lips tightly and looked away, without answering me. He knew that he had not dared to go see Nat out of sheer recklessness. He understood that her intention was good, but she still wasn't sure if his decision had
Gloom Chapter 232
My eyes traveled to the broken phone placed on the table. My phone. The device that, despite not being old, for the time in which we live where technology advances by leaps and bounds every day, could already be considered old-fashioned.I stretched out my hand to reach for it and examine it carefully. I pressed the side button to turn on the screen and see, more clearly, the black corner caused by the break that prevented me from seeing the entire image.Then, unconsciously, an almost imperceptible smile appeared on my face.“My parents gave me this cell phone,” I explained in a low voice, not being aware if any of them were paying attention to me.Akhliss's hand caressed my forearm in a gesture that was intended to be comforting, and I couldn't ignore the burning that her touch caused in me. Because the fact that she and anyone else did the same thing was not equal. Because she wasn't human, and her mere touch reminded me that we were different.I alternated my view between the two.