Narrative

Prelude

Shaylan

1990

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

4:30am.

Ugh, thought ten year old Shaylan as she rolled over to turn off her alarm clock. She was always doing this! Setting her alarm when she was already half asleep and messing up the numbers. Her alarm should have been set for 7:30. Plenty of time to get dressed and ready for her first day of 6th grade! She was surprised she could sleep at all, what with all her excitement.

Shaylan couldn’t wait to start middle school. She was a straight A student, high honor roll each marking period. Had a ton of friends, but a core group of three girls who called themselves the Brat Pack, after the 80s movie their moms wouldn’t let them watch. Eric always let them, making them pinky promise and cross their heart that they would never make a reference to it, never discuss Emilio Estevez in front of their mothers.  Eric was twenty one, and always volunteered to babysit Shay. She loved it! Eric had so much going on with finishing college and working at the garage. Then there were those “lost years” as Shay came to call them. But she tried not to think about; she was almost too young to remember that time anyway. But regardless, she loved when Eric made time for her.

She remembered one time it was just her and Eric hanging out one Friday night while Mom and Dad went dancing. Mollie, the middle child, was 17 at the time and living up her senior year of high school before she started college in the Fall. Mom and Dad made Eric swear he would have Shay in bed by 10 and absolutely, under no circumstances, was he to allow her to have ice cream. They believed she ate way too much sugar, despite her pediatrician assuring them she was normal. Eric nodded like the good son he was and assured his parents that his baby sister was in good hands. And she was. Just sneaky hands as well. The moment Mom and Dad were out the door, Eric handed her a bowl of her favorite ice cream: mint chocolate chip with Hershey’s syrup and rainbow sprinkles. They two of them laughed uncontrollably at their deviousness and rolled on the floor until the stitches in their side subdued, finally enjoying their dessert.

Shaylan closed her eyes and smiled at the memory. She loved her brother and was thankful she had him in her life.

Just as she was beginning to feel the heaviness of her eyelids as sleep began to pull at her, she heard the doorbell ring. With one eye half slit open, the clock read 4:42-still not time to get up and definitely not the time for the doorbell to be ringing. Nervous of who might be outside their door, Shaylan slowly got out of bed and threw on her bathrobe. She felt reassured as she heard her parents footsteps tentatively making their way down the stairs. She followed in their wake, silent though as not to frighten them. She saw her father peer through the peephole and fling open the door. Her mom stepped up close next to their dad and grabbed his hand. In front of them stood two uniformed police officers, illuminated under the glow of the porch light.

“Is everything okay officer?” her dad asked, trying to mask the panic creeping into his voice.

“I’m afraid not Mr. Marrin. May we come in?” said the shorter of the two officers.

“What is this about?” her mother’s voice quivered with fear and dread.

“Your son Liam has been arrested.”

“WHAT?”

“Why?”

Shouted her parents in disbelief.

“He was found standing over your daughter Mollie’s body. Holding the knife.”

The last thing Shaylan saw was her mother fall to the ground, her father catching her in his arms and cradling her as their sobs became one. The police officer and Shay made eye contact. And at that moment, she knew, somehow, that there was more to the story.

Chapter 1- Shaylan wakes up from a nightmare and goes to her first class of the day. Introduce her boyfriend.

“AHHH” I bolt upright in bed, clutching my chest and gasping for breath that doesn’t seem to come. I touch my forehead with the other hand and I can feel the familiar stickiness of sweat as I try to calm my heart rate. My clothes are soaked all the way through to my sheets. I close my eyes for a moment, gathering my bearings as I steady my heart rate. When I’ve calmed, I reach for the glass of water and migraine medicine I sleep next to for moments just like this.

They happen more often than I like to admit. My therapist calls them “episodes”, but I call them nightmares, or my curse. I shouldn’t be surprised really-today’s Eric’s birthday. I can pretty much guarantee an “episode” on either of their birthdays, the dreadful anniversary, any holiday, and pretty much any time in between.  My therapist swears they’ll go away, that when I work through my issues I’ll be able to sleep. I stare at her every time she says this, literally at a loss for words. How can she think I’ll ever work through my issues? Come to terms with the fact that my brother murdered my sister? I try not to think about it too hard, it’ll just bring on another migraine. Besides, today is not the day to think about my therapist’s shitty advice. Today’s my midterm and I absolutely need to pass Professor Callahan’s class or I can kiss that summer internship goodbye. So pushing all thoughts of my siblings out of my head, I drag myself to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. As I wait for the sweet smell of Sinful Delight to envelop my tiny apartment and prepare to bring me back to life, I brush my teeth, splash cold water on my face, and pull my blond hair back into a ponytail. A ponytail means I’m serious. And today I need to be serious.

Pouring my coffee into a To-Go mug, I grab my backpack and an apple and I’m off! Time to crush this test. And crush all thoughts of the birthday I can’t celebrate with my brother.

I walk into class and immediately the butterflies hit me. Do I have a pencil? What about my little blue book? Or is this midterm on the computer? Do I have my computer? I’m too busy lost in my thoughts to hear Adam come up behind me. I jump as I feel his arms slide around my waist and his lips touch my neck.

“Hey beautiful! Didn’t mean to scare ya,” Adam laughed at my impulse as he pulls back.

“Well ya did jackass!” I playfully punch him in the shoulder. “But that’s okay because you also protect me.” Now it’s my turn to slide my arms around his waist and planted sweet kisses on his neck. I love that I can feel his laughter as I kiss him. He pulls me close and I can feel butterflies for an entirely different reason now as he kisses me deeper.

“One more for good luck?” I ask as we take our seats for the test. Adam laughs and leans in for one more kiss. We’ve been together since we started school, as newbie freshman who knew nothing. That was two years ago. I wouldn’t have survived college without him. Adam’s quiet, not in a nerdy way, just in an observant way. He’s thoughtful, and he reads a ton. But what drew me to him was the way he makes me feel normal, like I’m just like everyone else. With him, I’m not the girl whose brother murdered their sister. I like that.

We hear a murmur as the class begins to quiet down and our professor walks in. “Alright folks. My assistants are passing out your tests. You will have one hour and twenty minutes to complete it. Good luck.” And just like that Professor Callahan began the test, and all my thoughts turned toward 15th century England.

Enjoyed the setup and progression-seems like the beginning of a longer story?! Very intense storyline makes me want to read more!

Chapter 2- Shaylan’s friends decide to go to a party but she leaves and ends up home thinking about her brother.

Walking out into the crisp October air after handing in my midterm was like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. Instead of heading back to my apartment, I paused for a moment to take it all in. It was the beginning of my Junior year of college. I was at the most beautfil school, had wonderful friends, an amazing famly, and have already overcome so much. This is what “making it feels like” huh? I thought. I can’t imagine things getting any better!

My therapist always suggests that I don’t take enough time for myself. She thinks it’s because I’m afraid of the “alone time” in my head, and maybe she’s right. But today, not feeling afraid, I stop to take in the vibrant reds, golden yellows, and still there greens that hang from the trees, yet dot the ground. I’m mesmerized and as I take a deep breath, I’m filled with more than just the fall air. I’m filled with a sense of calm and peace that I haven’t allowed myself to pay attention to in a long time.

“BOOM! We DID IT!” shouts Adam as he runs up behind me, lifting me off my feet and twirling me around. My heart stops for a quick second until I realize it’s my boyfriend who’s taken me by surprise, and not the wind that’s lifted me off my feet.

“Yes we did! Now put me down before I show you what I ate for breakfast,” I playfully tease. I have a weak stomach and Adam knows this, so fearfully he drops me and backs up about ten feet.  Laughing, I walk towards him and we link arms heading back to my apartment.

“Shay! Adam! Wait up!” my friend Carlee calls to us from across the quad. As I turn around, I see that Carlee is with a few of our other friends jogging towards us. “Wanna grab a beer at Grottos?” Ben, Carlee’s boyfriend, asks.

Adam turns to me and shrugs, a gesture I’ve come to know really means he wants to go. I’m caught in the realm of indecision. On the one hand, I did just finish my midterm and should celebrate, like a normal college student would. But on the other hand, I’m not a normal college student. The fact that it’s my brother’s birthday ceases to escape my mind. Screw it, I think to myself.

“Yeah let’s go!” I muster enthusiasm for the blue moon and popcorn that awaits me.  

Carlee links arms with me as we walk to the bar. “So after the bar, let’s go home and shower and stuff and then do you and Adam want to come over to my aptartment to pregame?” Carlee asks. “We’ll probably head over with Sara to the Sig Ep party on Ashford. It’s not their nicesest house, but it is the most fun!”

“Um yeah sure that sounds fun.” I tell her. With the mention of the party, I’m brought back to another party I was at with Carlee, this one a little less fun.

The music is blaring, Justin Timberlake singing about bringing sexy back. This is my first college party and my roommates dragged me out of my room. I can see Sara and Katie dancing with two guys, although I don’t know if you can really call that dancing? I don’t know anyone else here. This is so awkward, I should just leave but I will literally never hear the end of it.

“Hey sweetheart, want a shot?”

“Sure,” I say, not even bothering to look at the guy, I grab the shot, down it and walk away. Okay okay, I think, that one was better. Maybe that’s why Sara and Katie are having the most fun. I go the bar, which isn’t really a bar at all, just a wooden bookcase with cups and a keg next to it. I elbow my way through, fill my cup, chug it, then fill it again. This time, with cup full I make my way to my roommates and proceed to “dance” with them and their dates. The same boy who called me sweetheart keeps stopping by with shots on shots and I continue to take them.

“Woah slow down killer!” Katie laughs. “It’s not water. Maybe we should put that one back,” she says as she grabs the shot I just grabbed from my hand. But at the mention of the word killer I snatch it back and take another. Katie rolls her eyes and shrugs like “I tried.”

Later, I got the spins. I can’t think straight or see straight and I just want to get out of here. What I think is the front door turns out to be the bathroom, and thank god too because I am about to be sick. Right before I knew I was going to be sick, a blonde haired hippie burst through the door laughing. “Oh sorry!” she says. “I didn’t realize someone was in here.” But with one look at me, she shuts the door and pulls my hair back for me, rubbing my back as I got sick.

“Thank you,” I say, wiping my mouth when I was finished. I am disgusting and I can only imagine what this stranger is thinking.

“No problem! I’ve been there-wayyyy too much Jungle Juice! What’s your name? I’m Carlee.”

“Hi, I’m Shaylan. And yeah it was a combination Jungle Juice, shots, and first party jitters.” Why the hell am I telling this stranger all this?

“I don’t blame you. My sister goes here and she’s two years older, so she showed me the ropes. First thing, never drink because you’re nervous! Trust me it never ends well.”

“Ha okay I’ll keep that in mind.” I say. “I should be getting home. I clearly am not feeling well.”

“Where do you live?” Carlee asks.

“Up on North Campus. Charity Hall.”

“THAT’S WHERE I LIVE!” Carlee shouted, surprising me. “Let’s go together.”

And that was the start of our wonderful friendship. Forged over vomit, frat boys bathrooms, and a good hair tie.

“Helloooo Shay. Ya in there?” Carlee knocked on my head.

“Oh yeah, sorry what did you say?”

“What are you going to wear tonight?: