Eternal Echoes: A Dance with Darkness

“So what did you think of her?” His voice was hopeful.

“She didn’t seem very sociable.” To be honest, from this meeting, I couldn’t see what Will saw in her. Hopefully, I would find it soon because he did care about her a lot.

“She was just nervous…” His voice trailed off. “Do you think Mom and Dad will like her?”

“I think you should spend some time with them before springing this on them,” I replied, thoughtfully. “It’s not that they would disapprove; it’s just, I think there has been a lot of excitement this past week and you know how mom is…”

"Does she still have those mood swings?" Will asked, a hint of disdain in his voice.

"Something like that," I replied, a bit uncomfortable.

"Some things never change, I guess," he muttered.

As we walked home, I spotted Easton walking towards us. I prayed he wouldn't see me, but of course, he did.

"Hey, Ember," he greeted, a familiar smile on his face. "Haven't seen you in ages. What's new?"

“Oh, nothing… I just haven’t been feeling very well… I’ve been going through some things…” I paused, trying to think of something else besides the disgusting vision of him from that night… but I simply couldn’t. I wanted to get as far away from him as possible. The silence that once gave me comfort now made me feel threatened, weak, and defenseless.

Easton gave a pained expression for a split second before recovering his jovial facade.

“So… Where is Sara?” I asked concerned because she has been with him every day and night this past week.

“She’s at work,” he replied with a smile before looking at my brother. “Hello,” he greeted as he extended his hand out to shake Will’s, “I’m Easton.”

Will returned a smile, “Will. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Well, Ember never told me she had a brother.”

“Is that right?” Will looked at me teasingly with a sad face.

I shrugged my shoulders. “Never came up. Easton is a private person and we never conversed much in high school,” I replied defensively.

Easton’s smile faded before returning; strained. “Well… I must go pick up Sara.” He said goodbye to Will and then looked me dead in the eye. “Hopefully we will see you sometime soon.”

“Yeah…” I said slowly, trying not to allow my true feelings to show, which was unsuccessful.

He gave me an odd look filled with regret, guilt, and pain. “See you later…” his voice was filled with melancholy.

Will and I started walking back to the house without speaking again. There was a lot of tension coming from Will as he thought of meeting Mom and Dad for the first time in over a year.

“Calm down, I can feel your anxiety from here.”

“Sorry.”

We turned the corner and saw our parents' car in the driveway. Will hesitated, a look of uncertainty on his face.

I looked at him questioningly. Is he really that anxious about seeing Mom and Dad?

“Should we go in?” He asked nervously.

“I don’t know about you, but I’ll have to eventually,” I replied, rolling my eyes playfully. Will skittishly followed behind me. Noticing his demeanor as I walked in, I turned to him and said quietly, “You’re being a child! You are getting married soon, so act like a man for Pete’s sake!” He looked at me sternly before fixing his posture, standing tall and gaining courage.

As we filed in, we noticed Dad was sitting in his recliner watching TV as my mom was making dinner in the kitchen. Will and I gave each other a blank look.

“Mom, look who I found,” I announced.

She turned around and almost fell to the floor. “Will…”

“Hi.” He said awkwardly with a fake smile.

My dad entered the room, grunted before saying, “Where you been hiding, boy?”

*****

The dinner conversation dragged on, focused on Will's life, his job, and his fiancée. My parents were genuinely interested, peppering him with questions. I sat through the meal, lost in my thoughts, barely touching my food.

Just as I was starting to feel restless, Sara walked through the door. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw Will. "Hey," she greeted him, a blush creeping onto her cheeks.

"Hello," Will replied, a knowing smile playing on his lips. "I hear you've got a serious boyfriend."

Sara blushed again. "Yeah..."

"That's good," Will said, turning back to my parents.

I excused myself and led Sara to my room.

"Why didn't you tell me your brother was back?" Sara asked, closing the door behind her.

"He just showed up a few hours ago," I replied.

"What happened?" she asked, expecting some dramatic reason for his return.

"Nothing. He's just getting married," I explained.

"Oh my God! When?" she exclaimed, excited.

"He didn't say," I replied, sitting on my bed.

"You don't seem very excited," she observed. "Is she a bitch or something?"

"No, not a bitch," I chuckled. "She's just. kind of spaced out, always thinking about something else. She doesn’t seem too interested in anything. Everything just seemed to be boring to her." I shrugged my shoulders. “I’m hoping she was just nervous.”

Sara nodded, understanding.

“So, what have you come to tell me?”

"We haven't seen each other in a few days," Sara said, confused. "I thought we could hang out."

"Did you get tired of Easton already?" I asked, a bit too sharply.

"What do you mean by that?" Sara asked, her tone defensive.

"Nothing," I muttered. "I'm just in a bad mood."

"Why?" she pressed.

“Because everyone is smiling, laughing, and sharing stories as if nothing ever happened! Will was gone over a year, no one knew if he was dead or alive, he never wrote or called to see if I, Mom, or Dad was ok.” I started a rant and kept going with it, laying all of my frustrations out on the table. “On top of that, I can’t even discuss with you other things because it deals with Easton. But above all, I feel like I am going insane because I may or may not have made Aiden up in my mind! He hasn’t called or tried to get in touch with me whatsoever!”

Sara stared at me, a mix of anger and concern on her face. "You're not going crazy," she said firmly. "I saw Aiden at the diner. And your family is just being your family."

“I think I just need to be alone," I snapped, feeling overwhelmed.

“I think you’ve spent enough time alone.” She countered. “You wouldn’t be this agitated if you had someone with you, someone to talk to.”

"Just go hang out with Easton," I retorted, anger clouding my judgment. "That's what you really want to do anyway."

Sara looked hurt, her eyes welling up with tears. Without a word, she gathered her things and left.

felt terrible about how I'd treated Sara. I knew I'd been harsh and unfair. I sulked in my room, replaying the argument in my head.

A couple of hours later, Will announced he was going to meet Cindy. As he left, I went outside to say goodbye. When I returned to my room, I was shocked to see Aiden sitting on my bed, a wide grin on his face.

"Happy to see me?" he asked.

I slammed the door shut and glared at him. "Where have you been?" I demanded.

"I've been doing what I said I would," he replied calmly. "Spying on Easton."

"You need to explain yourself, and you need to explain it now!" I yelled, frustration boiling over. "I've been worried sick, thinking I was losing my mind! I've been avoiding Sara and Easton, isolating myself, all because of you!"

The smile faded from Aiden's face as I recounted the chaos he'd caused. "I'm sorry, my love," he apologized. "I never meant to make you doubt yourself. But finding you this time was more difficult than usual." He sighed, his expression troubled. "It would be easier to just show you."

He moved closer, taking my hands in his. "Just breathe, love. You might feel a bit disoriented at first, but it'll all make sense soon enough."

I pulled my hands away, confusion etched on my face. "What are you doing?" I asked, wary.

"Showing you everything," he replied, his eyes intense. "From the beginning."