by K E Osborn
Hux and I were getting closer and I started calling him Dad, even though in my heart Colt would always be the father I wanted. But Mum’s attempts to fall pregnant failed and then they were happy to just have me. They got married just after Annie’s fifth birthday party. I was twelve and was warming to the idea that maybe love was something worth fighting for.
Mum loved Hux, even when she was in a relationship with Colt, but she loved Colt too and didn’t want to hurt his feelings. When Colt finally told Mum he loved her, and Mum had slept with Hux a few weeks earlier, Mum freaked out because she felt so guilty and decided to leave Colt.
She was pregnant and didn’t want Colt to put his career on hold for her and me. Colt was making it big and she didn’t want to break up the band. Hux was upset when Mum left and apparently he tried to call her and get her to come back. Hux missed having her around, even though she wasn’t technically his, and they’d only been together the one time. But Mum didn’t want any of them to know she was pregnant. And because she was only with Hux the once she thought the baby – me – had to be Colt’s. If only she’d checked before she made a scene and broke Colt and Lia’s marriage apart. Luckily Lia and Colt got back together when everything came out. I can’t imagine them not together. They love each other so much. I just hope I can have that kind of relationship one day.
I was doing much better after the kidney transplant and everything seemed to go back to normal. I was healthy, I could run, I could kick a ball, I could play the guitar for long hours and not get tired. It was amazing, and I can’t thank Nanny enough for donating her kidney to me. I know Hux was really sad that his prior bad boy days and drug habits had stopped him from donating, and I know he would have if he could. I know Hux…Dad loves me, and as I’ve grown up he’s taught me many things. Our relationship now is more like mates and I wouldn’t swap that for anything.
Colt took a long time before he would see me again, but he did eventually, and even though he was nowhere near as affectionate, I could tell underneath it all he still cared for me a great deal. In the small time we had together we had bonded, and I respect him for taking a step back to save his marriage. At the time, I didn’t, but now I do. And in a way I’m glad I wasn’t his son because I don’t think Colt and Lia would have worked things out if I were. And then they wouldn’t have adopted my cousins Annie and Ella, and I can’t imagine my life without those girls. Even though they annoy the shit out of me sometimes.
Through all the shit though, there was one guiding light.
Indi. My Indi.
She was there all through my sickness and through the mess that was Colt and Hux. She came from a really crappy childhood, so she knew what it was like to be disappointed in your parents. Her parents were both drug addicts and they cared more about each other than about her. Often leaving her to fend for herself for periods of time when they would skip out for a music festival, or some other reason that I felt wasn’t good enough to leave your only child home alone.
She would come and sit with me while I became sicker and sicker. She would tell me stories of magical worlds and we would escape to another place where she was a princess and I was a knight protecting her from the evil and fierce dragon. If we weren’t in our magical world, we’d be making plans for our future.
Now that I had a rich and famous father and uncle, the options were limitless. We would talk about how, when we were old enough, we’d have parties and invite all our friends, and then we’d remember that we didn’t have any. We would always feel a little sad about that, but then realise all we needed was each other.
Indi was in awe of the life I found myself in. Going from a poor to rich kid overnight was something Indi was proud of. She said she always knew I was destined for something better, and finding out that I was a part of the family of the most famous rock and roll brothers in the world, certainly slotted me into the right category.
Mum had known Indi for as long as I had. I met her in the first grade at school. I was the tall kid that everyone made fun of until Indi walked in and sat next to me. She told them all to buzz off and wrapped her arm around me for comfort, and from that day we were best friends.
I honestly could not imagine my life without her. And I never wanted my life without her, but the world works in mysterious ways. A little after Annie’s fifth birthday, I started a band with Ella, Chad, Annie and Aston. All the kids of the world famous band – Slayed. We had all been raised on music. The others from birth, and me when I met the Slade brothers at seven-years-old. So music was running right through all of us.
We worked well together and Chad was playing the drums better than some professionals and he was only four. Obviously, he still had a lot to learn but he was good. Aston was the same, he played the bass guitar like he owned it and he was six. Annie and Ella were also great on their guitars. The only difference between Annie and Ella was that Ella needed to read sheet music. We were all still learning, so playing in the band was just something we did for fun. But as we all grew up and grew closer, our music became a lot tighter. We gelled well together and everything started sounding almost as good as the original covers we were playing.
Colt and Hux were really proud of us all and said we should start trying to write our own songs. So I sat down with Annie, she was the most emotionally charged of the rest of the band, so I knew she could bring raw feelings into the lyrics. Which she did, perfectly. Annie and I wrote the first few songs for our new band – Staked. We decided on the name Staked because we wanted it to be similar to our parents’ band. We figured Slayed is kind of like what you do to kill something – you slay it – so we decided to go with Staked because that’s how you kill a vampire. Yeah, we were really into vampire movies back then.
While I was getting more and more involved in music and spending more time with my family and friends, Indi was drifting away from me. I didn’t like it, but I was having fun with the band. Indi was growing up quickly. Her parents were leaving her on her own more and more and even though we talked a lot, we didn’t see each other as often. I would watch as she struggled to keep herself on top of things and when I tried to give her a hand, she’d push me away saying she didn’t need my help. We were growing older and older, and even though she was still the light of my life, she’d forced me away.
I don’t know why and I hated it. I loved her, probably more than I should have at that stage, but she’d been with me through everything. She was the reason I saw the light in the dark. She made me love music and accept it into my life. At first, I didn’t want to be like my dad, but when Indi said how exciting it was when I played music to her, it made me want to play every second of every day.
I am where I am because of her.
We were seventeen at this point. I was heavily into the band, but I was trying so hard to get Indi to open up to me, but she was shutting down. I knew I had to be there for her when she fell, and I knew it was coming. Her parents were arseholes and treated her so badly that it made my skin crawl. Why they even had her was beyond me? I tend to think maybe she was an accident because her parents were so young when they had her. Her mother was sixteen and her father only a year older. They missed out on their teenage years to have Indi and I think maybe they resented her for it.
Then came the day that changed everything. I was at home in London and I hadn’t heard from Indi for the last twenty-four hours. That, in itself, was weird. I’d messaged her multiple times and she didn’t reply. I figured she was busy studying for her final exams. I was studying too. We were in our final year and even though I spent a lot of time in Oxfordshire with the band, I had to keep up my grades as this was my final year. I was fully aware Mum wanted me to finish school, but Dad was on the fence. He knew I’d be able to make it in the music industry, but he also thought it was good to have an education behind you. Even though my dad was famous, I kept going to the same school because I didn’t want to leave Indi behind.
My cousins and Aston were all homeschooled, and I know Hux desperate
ly wanted me to be too for safety reasons, but he understood that I wanted to stay with my friend and he was fine with it as long as the paparazzi stayed away. Which they did. Mostly.
I was lost in the history of the Roman Empire when I heard a sudden and rampant banging on my bedroom window. I rushed over to see Indi looking hysterical. She was crying hard, her eyes were red and puffy and she had panic written all over her face. My heart raced suddenly as I wondered what was wrong. I quickly opened the window and she came rushing through it.
“Indi, what the hell is wrong?”
She sobbed and raced across grabbing hold of me for dear life and resting her head against my chest. I wrapped my arms around her solidly and held her to me trying to comfort her as she cried heavily into my chest.
“Indi, talk to me.” I brought my hand up to rest on her cheek. She looked up at me, her eyes all red and swollen. She was really upset and I wanted to take her pain away.
“It’s Dad,” she whispered and I tensed up immediately.
“Did he hurt you?” I asked in a low voice, knowing that if he had I would personally choke him to death.
She shook her head and I relaxed slightly in her arms. “He’s dead,” she said and I furrowed my brows in confusion.
“Wait? What? What do you mean?” I was confused, even though I understood her perfectly.
“He overdosed, and now Mum has locked herself in her room and I can’t get in there. Everything is falling apart, Caleb,” she said and my heart broke for her. I held Indi so tightly that I’m sure I was squeezing her to death.
“Far out, are the paramedics at your house?”
“When Mum and I found Dad, she ran to her room and wouldn’t come out. She left me in the lounge room with his body and I didn’t know what to do.”
I held her so tight to my body, I could feel her erratic heart beating through her chest and I knew that this moment would change everything between us.
“Okay, I think we need to go and help your mum.”
She nodded. We raced through the open window and ran as fast as we could back over to her house. Luckily we only lived a block away from each other, so we got there quickly. It wasn’t until we walked into her house that I noticed she was in her nightie and had no shoes on. I was sure her feet would be cut from running on the streets. We didn’t have time to tell my mum and dad what was happening. I just wanted to make sure Indi’s mum didn’t do anything stupid. So time was of the utmost urgency. We raced into her lounge room and I saw her dad on the floor. He was pale and had foam on the edge of his mouth. I looked at Indi and she had no expression on her face. I could tell she was shutting down.
“Indi, call an ambulance.”
She did nothing as I raced over to her father to feel for a pulse.
There was nothing.
He was cold and I don’t even think the paramedics could have saved him then. I looked up at Indi and her eyes were welling with tears as she stood over her dead father’s body. She was holding her arms around herself tightly like she was trying to hold herself together.
My heart was racing and I felt sick. I’d never seen a dead body before and the sight before me was making my stomach churn. I stood back up and grabbed Indi’s elbow to drag her away. She was just standing there staring at her dad. I couldn’t imagine what she was feeling right then, but I knew she wasn’t coping by the look in her eyes and the fact that she wasn’t saying anything.
“Indi?” She had a glazed look that told me she wasn’t with me in that moment. “Indi,” I said again and she still didn’t respond. So I took her with me toward her parents’ bedroom. I turned the handle and the door was locked so I knocked on the door and there was no answer.
“Mrs. Malone are you in there? It’s Caleb,” I called out. Indi was still looking off into space and not saying a word.
I banged harder on the door, and there was nothing but an eerie silence.
I looked at Indi and I didn’t know whether to make Indi wait in her room or whether I should just knock down the door to get to her Mum. I decided I better do the later, so I took Indi’s face in my hands and forced her to look at me.
“Indi, I’m going to break down the door, okay?” I asked and she finally looked at me and nodded slightly. I nodded, let go of her face and turned to the door. I took a step back and brought my leg up kicking the door as hard as I could. It broke right by the lock splintering the wooden door frame as the door swung open. I couldn’t see Indi’s mum anywhere, so I rushed inside and noticed the door to the en-suite was shut, but the light was on.
An eerie sensation washed over me as the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I knew I wasn’t going to like what I saw in there, but I had to make sure.
While knocking on the door, I said, “Mrs. Malone, are you okay?”
Indi slowly walked up to me. She was still in a dazed state and I wasn’t sure how much of this she was taking in. I swallowed hard and turned the handle of the door. I heard the water flowing and I saw the pool of red water on the tiles before I saw her. I gasped as the red water was running down the drain hole in the middle of the floor. I looked back and Indi was still standing in the bedroom and I was glad for that. I didn’t want her to see what I was about to.
I walked in and turned the corner to see her mum in the bath, pale as a sheet with her arm hanging out of the tub. I looked down and her wrist was slashed multiple times. I cringed at the amount of blood pooling on the floor and in the overflowing bathtub.
“Jesus Christ,” I murmured as I inched closer to Mrs. Malone. I walked slowly because I was dreading getting close to her, but I had to see if she still had a pulse. When I finally got to her, her eyes were wide open and it was like she was staring right at me. It shocked me at first and my heart started racing so fast I thought it was going to burst out of my chest. I felt sick. I never was good around blood and seeing this much made me very queasy.
I swallowed hard and leant in putting my fingers against her neck to check her pulse. I couldn’t feel anything. Suddenly, her head slipped to the side and I jumped back falling over in the bloodied water scattered over the floor. I looked up and saw her mother’s head tilted to the side facing me, her eyes wide open and it was like something from a horror movie. I scurried back against the wall in fear, and then I noticed Indi looking at me and it was like watching the switch suddenly go off inside her. She went from a glazed stare back into reality as she rushed in, and before I had time to react she saw her mum and she screamed so loudly it stung my ears. I scurried up off the floor wiping my bloodied hands on my jeans and then wrapped them around Indie’s small waist and tried to pull her out of the en-suite. She was hysterical. She was hysterically crying, so much so that I felt her pain right along with her. She pushed out of my arms and rushed over to her mother’s lifeless body.
“Mum, wake up!” she said and I raced up behind her and put my hand on her shoulder. “Mum!” she said again and moved her hand to her mother’s shoulder and shook her. Her body slid further down into the water and then her head went beneath it. I pulled on Indi to get her out, but she was determined for her mother to wake up. She slid her hands into the bloody water and pulled her mum up out of it, but she kept slipping back under.
“Indi!” I said trying to get her to stop, but she wouldn’t. She was freaking out and I didn’t know how to help her. “Indi, stop! She’s gone,” I said and pulled her back away from the bathtub. She struggled against me and I held onto her tightly. Her nightie was soaked with the bloodied water and she looked terrible. I held her close, but she was so strong. She reared up against me and her legs were kicking up in the air, she was screaming at me to let her go as I dragged her out of the bathroom.
We both watched as her mother slid down into the bath water again and water splashed out everywhere. I rushed Indi out of the en-suite into the bedroom and we slid down to the floor. Indi’s frenzied crying was so loud I will never…ever…forget it. I held her against me so she couldn’t leave and be witness to th
e mess that surrounded us. She was trying hard to break free from me and the emotion coming from her was so rife that even I started to cry.
I never liked her parents, but I never wanted this to happen. Her father overdosed and then her mother killed herself, leaving Indi entirely alone. I hated them at that moment and I knew Indi would be damaged from this forever.
The neighbours must have heard Indi’s screams because soon after the police arrived and came in to see me on the floor with Indi. By that time, she had stopped screaming and crying and was just a limp body in my arms. She was exhausted and I realised I needed to be the one to take care of her now. The police called the coroner and I sat on the floor with Indi and a nice police lady, while they removed her parents from the house. I asked the policewoman to call Mum and Dad and they rushed straight over. Mum smothered Indi making sure she was all right and Dad talked to me making sure I was okay. I wasn’t okay. To be honest, I was far from okay. I’d just seen two dead bodies. The parents of the girl I loved more than anyone in the world and when Indi hurts, I hurt too.
Eventually after all the questioning and, after Mum helped Indi into a shower and then into some clean clothes, we took her back to our house and that’s where she stayed from then on. We discussed it and my parents agreed, she would live with us. She was still a minor and needed parental supervision. If we didn’t take her in she would have to go to a foster family and I didn’t want that for her. Neither did my parents, so we packed up as much of her stuff as we could and brought it all home. The spare room across the hall from mine became her bedroom.
I felt sorry for her and I knew she’d be damaged from all this for the rest of her life. I just hoped I could be the one to help her through it. And my God was I going to try everything in my power to heal her. She was my best friend and her world had just collapsed around her.