Raising Chandler

I gulped....so that's why he looked so familiar. That is..was.. Ella's father. The question was repeated and I timidly nodded my head, which proved to be a bad idea because it sent a fiery pain coursing through my head. I gasped and clutched my forehead, stumbling backwards a bit.
The officer placed his hand on my shoulder gently to steady me.

"How old are you, kid?" he asked. "Thirteen," I croaked, then cleared my throat and repeated myself a bit more clearly. He nodded and wrote something down on a little pad he'd removed from his shirt pocket moments earlier. "Was this man attacking your family, son?" he asked, making eye contact with me over the top of his glasses. "Yes, sir. And he'd been abusing my friend as well, this was her father," I explained, never breaking the mutual stare.
He smiled a little, which made no sense to me. How could anyone smile at that news? He asked a couple more questions, like Ella's name and age, and if I knew where she was now. I answered all of them honestly, and when he stopped writing, he made eye contact again and said "well, thanks to you, this man will never bother anyone again. You did good, boy." He tousled my hair and walked back over to the other officers.

I was so confused... I'd expected to get put in handcuffs, taken away for murder... yet he commended me? I very slightly shook my head again and walked into the house, where Lilly and Jack were being questioned and Aubrey sat on the couch in some sort of daze. She stared at the floor, and it took only a moment to realize what she was looking at- the dried blood from where I'd slit the bastard's throat.
I suddenly felt a wave of anger rush over me.

Why'd I just kill him? Why'd I do it in a way that he wouldn't suffer long? Why'd I kill a man like that with mercy? I should've tortured him for the things he did to Ella, and for the way he attacked my family. The man had the audacity to come into my home and threaten my family, and I gave him a quick death. Why?

I looked back up at Aubrey's blank facial expression and the thoughts disappeared. I still saved her. I saved Jack and Lilly. I killed the killer.

I went back out the front door, telling Jack that I was going on a quick walk. He told me not to be too late coming home, and be safe. I gave him a thumbs up and walked out the door.

I walked at a brisk pace until I got back to the beach where I first met Ella. It was around noon, so the beach was full of families splashing and playing in the warm salt water, kids building sand castles and dog's chasing frisbees, everyone so blissfully unaware of the tragic events that had occurred mere hours earlier in my life, at my home. I walked over to the edge of the water and closed my eyes, letting the breeze carry the sounds of the laughing children and chattering adults away from me. All I could hear was the wind and the crashing of the waves against the somewhat rocky shore. Then I heard something else- my name.

"Chandler?? Chaaaandler...Chandler!" I opened my eyes when it registered that the voice calling my name was that of my sweet Ella. I felt a rather dainty hand on my shoulder and turned around. She stood and stared at me, seemingly a bit shocked at how fast I moved. "Hey, I heard something happened and Jaime took me by and there were police and Jack said you took a walk and...I just knew you'd be here. What happened? Are you okay?" she blurted at once.

I opened my mouth but quickly realized I had no idea how to tell this girl I'd killed her father. I guess the best option is just rip the band aid off, huh?

"I killed your dad this morning," I muttered. "What?" she breathed. "I killed your dad, Ella," I repeated. Her mouth opened and she looked down, then back at me. "Are you serious?" she asked. "Yes," I replied. She took a breath. " I gotta go," she said quickly, then turned and sprinted away.

"Tough break, kid. Get a girl and kill her asshole dad, and she leaves you. Damn," I heard my father say. I looked next to me and sure enough, Vic was standing there watching Ella disappear. He looked down at me. "She'll come back, son. Just give her a little time," he said, then tousled my hair the way the officer did.

"Dad?" I asked. "Yes?" he replied. "How do you know?"

"Trust me son," he answered, "you're her hero. The hero always gets the girl."

Notes

Five months. It's been five months since I've posted a chapter...I'm sorry guys xD I kinda lost touch with my passion for writing, my passion for everything actually.
I don't wanna grow up! Somebody stop it! Ahhhh!

~Savannah