Shattered
We Go Together or We Don't Go Down At All
Austin’s POV
All I could think about as we stood in front of the beat up red jeep was how this could happen. How could we all go through this, risking life and limb, just to have our precious girl torn out of our grasp?
I mean, it kind of made sense after Cole and Skye Syre’s stories were explained. They had run away and had to stay far from their daughter to keep her safe and so that the evil man, Nicco could never find her. Now that they were moving to Europe, they wanted to have their girl back with them before because now they would never return to the U.S.
My brain wasn’t functioning properly. We had been through hell and back. I thought she would die when she was with Miles. I thought she was out of my grasp when she boarded the train and escaped after I hurt her. Now, she was gone for good.
There was no turning back.
I didn’t want Nicco to even have the chance to find her. Kynder belonged to her parents, now that they had basically risen from the grave, she deserved to be with them. Besides, if she stayed here, she would be in danger. Nicco’s men were tracking her parents and now that they stopped to pick her up, she might be in his radar.
“I don’t want to leave you!” She sobbed into my jacket. I held her tightly, tears pouring down my own face. It didn’t take eyes to tell that the other boys were crying as well.
I never wanted her to leave. I wanted the most beautiful girl in my arms to stay with me forever. I wanted to marry her one day and show her the beauty in the world, not just the ugly evil.
“Shhh, darling. You know I love you so much, I really do. You’re my girl, my world, my everything, and I would do all in my power to keep you safe and by my side.” As hard as I tried, my voice started to break with every word until I started to match her sobs with my own. I pressed my face into her hair and breathed in for what might be the last time the floral smell that always lingered around Kynder.
Kyn had to do this. I’d rather her be alive and safe, even if we would never meet again, than dead at my side. This was for her own good. There was a greater danger in this market than I at first thought. From the look in her tear stricken face, I could tell she realized this as well.
After a quick sniff, she went and hugged the rest of the group. I looked forlornly at the ground, trying to imagine life not with her anymore.
There would be no more morning wake up calls.
There would be no more nights where I could watch Kyn fall asleep in my arms.
There would be no more warm surprise kisses.
There would be no more jokes with Phil and Alan.
There would only be lonely nights where I fell asleep alone and cold.
When she whispered to Alan something I couldn’t make out, he just turned and sobbed into Aaron’s shoulder. Kynder came back to me and just rocked back in forth in my arms. Her parents were impatiently waiting, but I didn’t care. They were the ones taking her away from me.
“I love you so much, Kynder. Never forget that.” I whispered to her. She pulled me up and kissed me, a final goodbye. It would be for the last time and it’s not right.
“I love you, Austin. Nothing could change that. You were the only one who fixed the pieces after I was so shattered.” She responded, heavy hearted. I held her tighter to my chest, trying to absorb her sadness. I didn’t want my Kyn to be sad. I would rather me bear the pain than it fall on her small shoulders.
Her fingers lingered on my hand as she was forced to turn away. Tino and Phil were sobbing just as loudly as Alan and Aaron, who were tightly hugging each other, the only anchors they had in the world.
I watched as the vehicle that took Kynder away from us pulled out and started along the drive. I saw her wave farewell and I forced my hand up to return the gesture. It seemed like the universe was beating my heart with a machine gun.
I would never see her stunning smile again.
I would never look into that ocean of blue called her eyes.
I would never hold her small hand in mine.
No more fireworks or bonfires.
No more gardening with Tino.
No more watching her grow up by my side.
No more dreams of asking her to marry me.
No more dreams of stealing her last name and replacing it with mine.
No more dreams of seeing her in a crystal white gown, walking down the isle.
No more dreams of sitting together in the house filled with stolen kisses and warm laughs.
No more dreams of coming home from the hospital with a child.
No more dreams of being a father.
No more dreams of the boys becoming the kid’s godparents
No more dreams of watching our kid leave for college and helping Kyn through the worry of seeing her adult leave the nest.
No more dreams of getting to visit our grandchildren and seeing them grow.
No more dreams of growing old together and watching the sunset each night.
It was all taken from me in a moment’s notice. Kynder was gone and so was my heart. I gave it to her and she had now left. I didn’t regret that decision at all. No, not one bit. There would be no letters, no phone calls, no emails or anything. She was going to be somewhere safe and out of my reach.
Eventually, Alan had to take my wrist and pull my heavy feet into the house. Everyone was still trying to gather their selves together as we all sat around the house, wondering how we could let this happen?
I wanted her to be safe, that’s all I wanted. I never expected her parents to come back and make that a reality. Wasn’t today the anniversary of their death, anyways? The dead rose from nowhere and now drag Kynder back with them.
It’s for her own good, remember not to be selfish! My brain backlashed. I put my head in my hands and slid down the hallway wall. Life wasn’t fair.
So for two hours, the house was silent. No one moved from their spot, except for Alan who went and locked himself in his room. He turned on the shower at one point, but that didn’t even obscure the loud sobs he emitted.
So in the afternoon, when the phone rang, no one went to answer it. It was my own cell that blared the familiar ring tone of I’m a Goofy Goober from Spongebob. I knew just from the first few opening notes that it was Alex. I didn’t want to talk to them. They would just ask about Kynder and I would just break down again.
Did I really want them to know?
The phone fell silent again and I was relieved. I didn’t want to talk to anyone, I didn’t want to answer, I didn’t want to move, and I didn’t want to go on.
“I’m a goofy goober, YEAH! You’re a goofy goober, YEAH!” The ringtone started up again. I could feel Aaron’s eyes penetrate the side of my head and mentally scream at me to answer the phone. I pulled the phone out with numb fingers and slid the phone so that I could hear Jack and Alex’s panicked voices in the background.
“AUSTIN!” Alex screamed at me. It was loud enough that Aaron and Tino turned to give me an odd stare.
“Alex, calm down.” I told him drearily. Jack’s heavy breathing was filling in the empty noise in the background. Alex tried to calm him down, but his own panic attack was starting up.
“These men in grey, they passed through town. Jack and I overheard them. They, th-they were looking for Kynder! A-A-Austin, you have to get her to safety. They said that their boss has found her and he’s going to shoot her full of holes!” Alex choked out. I stood straight up and bolted for the kitchen, throwing the phone on speaker. Alan poked his red face around the corner, seeing what the commotion was about.
“Alex, she left. Permanently.” I explained to him. Maybe this was nothing.
But this “nothing” had a gun.
“W-what do you mean?” Jack asked. The four other gathered around me, silently waiting as the anxiety drew around us like a curtain that blocked out the light of the sun.
“Her parents weren’t killed by a robber. They were chased down by a man and now had run out of time. They found the house, came to us, and took Kynder. She’s moving to Europe with her parents before the man finds them all and kills her. Kyn’s living their permanently. She’s never coming back.” I stated flatly, feeling tears start to jerk at my eyes.
Jack and Alex fell silent.
“Jack, Alex, did either of you hear the name of the boss?” Alan asked to the men on the other line. It was dead quiet.
“It started with an ‘N’. Nick, Nero, Nemo…” Jack and Alex fumbled for the words.
“Nicco?” Phil asked.
“Yes! That was it. They also mentioned the meet up at the MCPA for the final stand, right Alex?” Jack whispered from the far end. MCPA? What was that?
“She’s in trouble.” Phil mouthed to me. I nodded, knowing that there must much bigger danger than first thought.
“When did Kynder leave?” Alex asked quietly. It seemed that the weight that had settled on me was transferred to their shoulders.
“A couple of hours ago.” I responded. Jack let out a whine of sadness of the loss of a good friend.
“So she hasn’t left?” Alex asked again, a higher note of worry strung into his voice.
“Depending on where the airport is.” I sighed. With this threat, I sure hope she’s left already. Alan pointed pulled up a screen on his phone, showing me four words and a drive time.
Middle California Private Airport. Drive time: Three hours.
Kyn was out there, and so was Nicco. She was in danger.
“Nicco’s the man trying to kill Kynder. He’s the one who’s chased Kyn’s parents around the country! HE’S GOING TO KILL HER!” Alan screamed in revelation. Jack and Alex went into full on howling, rage, anger, sadness, and revenge mode. It sounded like a mosh pit had broken out in their house.
“RUN, YOU FOOLS! GO GET HER BEFORE SHE LEAVE FOREVER OR DIES!” Alex blasted through the speaker. I didn’t need telling twice! Around me, the other four burst into chaos as they packed up knives, a gun that Aaron had taken from the cabinet, their phones, and Bob the Club.
“How are we going to get there in time? Kyn’s car is already two hours away and we’ll never make it!” I howled. Alex froze his screaming.
“Call Ronnie!” He insisted. Why Ronnie?!
“Why him?” I complained. The others were screaming for different reasons.
“RUN FASTER, AARON!” Phil yelled.
“WHY DIDN’T THEY CALL SOONER?!”
“WHERE’S BOB?!” Alan screamed like a banshee. Alex and Jack were still on major panic mode at the house.
“He has a helicopter!” Jack yelled as something crashed in the background. I think he might have run into a wall.
“Why does Radke have a copter?” I questioned and grabbed my keys to the truck.
“I don’t question the man! Just call him and he flies it on the weekends! JUST CALL HIM!” Alex screamed to me. I hung up on him and called Ronnie.
“YO!” He yelled. The whirl of blades above him masked part of his greeting.
“I NEED A LIFT!” I yelled back. My voice was already hoarse. I hopped into Alan’s truck as Aarons was already backing out. The door wasn’t even shut before we were zooming down the road at full speed.
“WHY?” Ronnie yelled back. The withered grass was a big blur as the truck squealed against the dirt.
“KYN IS IN TROUBLE! JUST GET YOUR ASS DOWN TO CHECKERED MOUNTAIN IN TEN MINUTES!” I yelled. Checkered Mountain was a mountain about twenty miles out in the middle of nowhere. It just stood alone, looking a little out of place. It barely passed for a mountain, but it would be our meeting spot. If we went at the speed we were going right now, we could get there in half the time it normally took.
“I CAN DO IT IN SIX!” Ronnie laughed and clicked off the phone.
It was a full on race.
All I could think about as we stood in front of the beat up red jeep was how this could happen. How could we all go through this, risking life and limb, just to have our precious girl torn out of our grasp?
I mean, it kind of made sense after Cole and Skye Syre’s stories were explained. They had run away and had to stay far from their daughter to keep her safe and so that the evil man, Nicco could never find her. Now that they were moving to Europe, they wanted to have their girl back with them before because now they would never return to the U.S.
My brain wasn’t functioning properly. We had been through hell and back. I thought she would die when she was with Miles. I thought she was out of my grasp when she boarded the train and escaped after I hurt her. Now, she was gone for good.
There was no turning back.
I didn’t want Nicco to even have the chance to find her. Kynder belonged to her parents, now that they had basically risen from the grave, she deserved to be with them. Besides, if she stayed here, she would be in danger. Nicco’s men were tracking her parents and now that they stopped to pick her up, she might be in his radar.
“I don’t want to leave you!” She sobbed into my jacket. I held her tightly, tears pouring down my own face. It didn’t take eyes to tell that the other boys were crying as well.
I never wanted her to leave. I wanted the most beautiful girl in my arms to stay with me forever. I wanted to marry her one day and show her the beauty in the world, not just the ugly evil.
“Shhh, darling. You know I love you so much, I really do. You’re my girl, my world, my everything, and I would do all in my power to keep you safe and by my side.” As hard as I tried, my voice started to break with every word until I started to match her sobs with my own. I pressed my face into her hair and breathed in for what might be the last time the floral smell that always lingered around Kynder.
Kyn had to do this. I’d rather her be alive and safe, even if we would never meet again, than dead at my side. This was for her own good. There was a greater danger in this market than I at first thought. From the look in her tear stricken face, I could tell she realized this as well.
After a quick sniff, she went and hugged the rest of the group. I looked forlornly at the ground, trying to imagine life not with her anymore.
There would be no more morning wake up calls.
There would be no more nights where I could watch Kyn fall asleep in my arms.
There would be no more warm surprise kisses.
There would be no more jokes with Phil and Alan.
There would only be lonely nights where I fell asleep alone and cold.
When she whispered to Alan something I couldn’t make out, he just turned and sobbed into Aaron’s shoulder. Kynder came back to me and just rocked back in forth in my arms. Her parents were impatiently waiting, but I didn’t care. They were the ones taking her away from me.
“I love you so much, Kynder. Never forget that.” I whispered to her. She pulled me up and kissed me, a final goodbye. It would be for the last time and it’s not right.
“I love you, Austin. Nothing could change that. You were the only one who fixed the pieces after I was so shattered.” She responded, heavy hearted. I held her tighter to my chest, trying to absorb her sadness. I didn’t want my Kyn to be sad. I would rather me bear the pain than it fall on her small shoulders.
Her fingers lingered on my hand as she was forced to turn away. Tino and Phil were sobbing just as loudly as Alan and Aaron, who were tightly hugging each other, the only anchors they had in the world.
I watched as the vehicle that took Kynder away from us pulled out and started along the drive. I saw her wave farewell and I forced my hand up to return the gesture. It seemed like the universe was beating my heart with a machine gun.
I would never see her stunning smile again.
I would never look into that ocean of blue called her eyes.
I would never hold her small hand in mine.
No more fireworks or bonfires.
No more gardening with Tino.
No more watching her grow up by my side.
No more dreams of asking her to marry me.
No more dreams of stealing her last name and replacing it with mine.
No more dreams of seeing her in a crystal white gown, walking down the isle.
No more dreams of sitting together in the house filled with stolen kisses and warm laughs.
No more dreams of coming home from the hospital with a child.
No more dreams of being a father.
No more dreams of the boys becoming the kid’s godparents
No more dreams of watching our kid leave for college and helping Kyn through the worry of seeing her adult leave the nest.
No more dreams of getting to visit our grandchildren and seeing them grow.
No more dreams of growing old together and watching the sunset each night.
It was all taken from me in a moment’s notice. Kynder was gone and so was my heart. I gave it to her and she had now left. I didn’t regret that decision at all. No, not one bit. There would be no letters, no phone calls, no emails or anything. She was going to be somewhere safe and out of my reach.
Eventually, Alan had to take my wrist and pull my heavy feet into the house. Everyone was still trying to gather their selves together as we all sat around the house, wondering how we could let this happen?
I wanted her to be safe, that’s all I wanted. I never expected her parents to come back and make that a reality. Wasn’t today the anniversary of their death, anyways? The dead rose from nowhere and now drag Kynder back with them.
It’s for her own good, remember not to be selfish! My brain backlashed. I put my head in my hands and slid down the hallway wall. Life wasn’t fair.
So for two hours, the house was silent. No one moved from their spot, except for Alan who went and locked himself in his room. He turned on the shower at one point, but that didn’t even obscure the loud sobs he emitted.
So in the afternoon, when the phone rang, no one went to answer it. It was my own cell that blared the familiar ring tone of I’m a Goofy Goober from Spongebob. I knew just from the first few opening notes that it was Alex. I didn’t want to talk to them. They would just ask about Kynder and I would just break down again.
Did I really want them to know?
The phone fell silent again and I was relieved. I didn’t want to talk to anyone, I didn’t want to answer, I didn’t want to move, and I didn’t want to go on.
“I’m a goofy goober, YEAH! You’re a goofy goober, YEAH!” The ringtone started up again. I could feel Aaron’s eyes penetrate the side of my head and mentally scream at me to answer the phone. I pulled the phone out with numb fingers and slid the phone so that I could hear Jack and Alex’s panicked voices in the background.
“AUSTIN!” Alex screamed at me. It was loud enough that Aaron and Tino turned to give me an odd stare.
“Alex, calm down.” I told him drearily. Jack’s heavy breathing was filling in the empty noise in the background. Alex tried to calm him down, but his own panic attack was starting up.
“These men in grey, they passed through town. Jack and I overheard them. They, th-they were looking for Kynder! A-A-Austin, you have to get her to safety. They said that their boss has found her and he’s going to shoot her full of holes!” Alex choked out. I stood straight up and bolted for the kitchen, throwing the phone on speaker. Alan poked his red face around the corner, seeing what the commotion was about.
“Alex, she left. Permanently.” I explained to him. Maybe this was nothing.
But this “nothing” had a gun.
“W-what do you mean?” Jack asked. The four other gathered around me, silently waiting as the anxiety drew around us like a curtain that blocked out the light of the sun.
“Her parents weren’t killed by a robber. They were chased down by a man and now had run out of time. They found the house, came to us, and took Kynder. She’s moving to Europe with her parents before the man finds them all and kills her. Kyn’s living their permanently. She’s never coming back.” I stated flatly, feeling tears start to jerk at my eyes.
Jack and Alex fell silent.
“Jack, Alex, did either of you hear the name of the boss?” Alan asked to the men on the other line. It was dead quiet.
“It started with an ‘N’. Nick, Nero, Nemo…” Jack and Alex fumbled for the words.
“Nicco?” Phil asked.
“Yes! That was it. They also mentioned the meet up at the MCPA for the final stand, right Alex?” Jack whispered from the far end. MCPA? What was that?
“She’s in trouble.” Phil mouthed to me. I nodded, knowing that there must much bigger danger than first thought.
“When did Kynder leave?” Alex asked quietly. It seemed that the weight that had settled on me was transferred to their shoulders.
“A couple of hours ago.” I responded. Jack let out a whine of sadness of the loss of a good friend.
“So she hasn’t left?” Alex asked again, a higher note of worry strung into his voice.
“Depending on where the airport is.” I sighed. With this threat, I sure hope she’s left already. Alan pointed pulled up a screen on his phone, showing me four words and a drive time.
Middle California Private Airport. Drive time: Three hours.
Kyn was out there, and so was Nicco. She was in danger.
“Nicco’s the man trying to kill Kynder. He’s the one who’s chased Kyn’s parents around the country! HE’S GOING TO KILL HER!” Alan screamed in revelation. Jack and Alex went into full on howling, rage, anger, sadness, and revenge mode. It sounded like a mosh pit had broken out in their house.
“RUN, YOU FOOLS! GO GET HER BEFORE SHE LEAVE FOREVER OR DIES!” Alex blasted through the speaker. I didn’t need telling twice! Around me, the other four burst into chaos as they packed up knives, a gun that Aaron had taken from the cabinet, their phones, and Bob the Club.
“How are we going to get there in time? Kyn’s car is already two hours away and we’ll never make it!” I howled. Alex froze his screaming.
“Call Ronnie!” He insisted. Why Ronnie?!
“Why him?” I complained. The others were screaming for different reasons.
“RUN FASTER, AARON!” Phil yelled.
“WHY DIDN’T THEY CALL SOONER?!”
“WHERE’S BOB?!” Alan screamed like a banshee. Alex and Jack were still on major panic mode at the house.
“He has a helicopter!” Jack yelled as something crashed in the background. I think he might have run into a wall.
“Why does Radke have a copter?” I questioned and grabbed my keys to the truck.
“I don’t question the man! Just call him and he flies it on the weekends! JUST CALL HIM!” Alex screamed to me. I hung up on him and called Ronnie.
“YO!” He yelled. The whirl of blades above him masked part of his greeting.
“I NEED A LIFT!” I yelled back. My voice was already hoarse. I hopped into Alan’s truck as Aarons was already backing out. The door wasn’t even shut before we were zooming down the road at full speed.
“WHY?” Ronnie yelled back. The withered grass was a big blur as the truck squealed against the dirt.
“KYN IS IN TROUBLE! JUST GET YOUR ASS DOWN TO CHECKERED MOUNTAIN IN TEN MINUTES!” I yelled. Checkered Mountain was a mountain about twenty miles out in the middle of nowhere. It just stood alone, looking a little out of place. It barely passed for a mountain, but it would be our meeting spot. If we went at the speed we were going right now, we could get there in half the time it normally took.
“I CAN DO IT IN SIX!” Ronnie laughed and clicked off the phone.
It was a full on race.
Notes
Thank you all SOOO much for being wonderful readers! You're comments make me smile(Or fear for my life depending on how the last chapter went and if you're raging or not) everyday and I want to say that it's because of you guys that I keep writing!
I do fear for my life sometimes XD
Anyways, we have ONE MORE VOTE before we reach our goal! ONE MORE!!!! Please take the time to remember and vote! I love you all so much and I hope you enjoy these next few chapters!
*so off topic* IM FROM UTAH C:
2/8/16