Aftershock

honestly i don't know what to call this. i wrote it at least a year ago and forgot about it.

We’re all standing around this rickety house, staring at walls, thinking everything over. Nothing is ever going to be the same. I know it’s not, but I don’t want to believe it. I think I’m going to be sick. Her presence hasn’t left this place, I can feel it. I think she’s watching. I think she’s smiling at Herself, satisfied.

 

That was a horrible thing to think. Why did I even consider it?

 

Let me back this story up to three weeks ago,  the last time I saw Her alive. Now, this Her has a name: Evelyn. Hardly anyone calls- called her by her full name, usually it was just Evie. Evie is fourteen. Evie’s dead.

 

                          ~x~x~x~

 

We were leaving this godforsaken house for a reason. Dante and I had to take Seth and Ally to a party. Throwing open the door of our truck, I growled as I stomped in the house.

 

“Dante, let’s go! We have to get to the f*****g party!” Shaking my head, I looked to my right. Evie and Danielle were sitting at the table, grinning. Danielle was laughing behind her hand, staring at her phone. Evie looked at me and raised her eyebrows. That made me even angrier.

 

The girl looked at Danielle, twenty-six, who just shook her head and got up to pour herself something to drink. “Your uncle wastes all of his time on videogames.”

 

“Everybody does. You’ve lived here, you should know,” Evie snorted.

 

“Well, some people should realize what’s really important. You may not have much time to do what really matters.”

 

“Yeah, maybe, but not everybody has that choice.” I didn’t really know what she was talking about, so I just yelled for Dante again. Dante is Evie, Josh, and Cara’s uncle by blood; and we’ve been engaged for five years. He proposed a week or two before we found out I was pregnant with Ally.

 

“What?” Dante snapped as he pounded down the old stairs.

 

“We have to go, jackass.”

 

“Jesus Christ, calm down. I was just saying goodbye to Josh.”

 

“Yeah, well now we’re going to be even f*****g later than we were before!”

 

We banged around the house for a few more minutes before we were actually on our way. As I was heading out the door, Evie smiled in a way that few can. Her smile is mocking or sincere, you can’t tell and that’s the way it was meant to be. “Bye, Aunt Sierra.”

“Bye, Evie,” I growled in frustration.

 

~X~X~X~

 

I wonder if she knew she was going to kill herself even back then. The doctor’s guessed that she probably had depression and it went untreated.

 

But that just didn’t make sense. Evie was such a happy girl. She was always joking, always making us laugh. I remember one night in the summer she had played DJ while her dad and I played A*****e.

 

It hurts to think of such happy times. The memories are now tainted. I look at Seth, my son. He looks so tiny now.  Seth and Evie were close. Oh God, I hope he’s okay.

 

My eyes shift to Ally. She doesn’t know Evie is dead. Or maybe she does. I’ll never know; she doesn’t talk.

 

Dante. Dante hasn’t made a joke since we found out. He’s been staying up later than usual and sometimes I just catch him staring into nothing. Dante looks bad, but nowhere near as bad as her father.

 

Will looks like he hasn’t slept in weeks. That’s probably accurate. He’s agitated and always looks ready to punch something. I imagine I would be the same if my daughter killed herself.

 

I clutch my stomach and run to the toilet. I heave. I slump.

 

No, it’s never going to be the same.

Author's Note

This is written in my aunt's point of view. I changed every name except for Will, because I couldn't think of any other one. Reviews?

Reviews

[Jordan's Back]

i think Aftershock is a good title, i loved it.

[Rhea752]

amazingly written. now don't go killing yourself because i like ur writing. k. k good. :P

[Owlgirl]

wow. . . . . it's emotional, and powerful. . . very well done.

[Sophie]

Hm... considering what I know about you and the name Evie....
Also, in the first section the sentence "Evie's dead." Would have more impact and go better with the sentence before it if it said, 'Evie is dead."
Really good :)
could use a bit more detail though.

[Amanda]

Yeah I'm not gonna lie. Evie is me. Sierra is my auntie Andrea. Dante is my uncle Eric. Danielle is Tiffany. Josh is Nick. Will is my dad's name.

[Sophie]

AH HAH! *points dramatically* I knew it!

[Amanda]

ah well yeah, you already knew i was suicidal. wasn't tht hard to figure out :P

[Sophie]

:'( yeah

[Michael X]

this is the type of story that throws the mind for a loop, and perfectly
written paragraphs bring the tragedy to life. excellent, dark real, raw.