Ellie's Return

"Flight one ninety-seven, now boarding." The intercome called out. I rushed through the airport to catch my flight. I had been gone for almost two months. I was ready to come home and see my wonderful husband Daren and my beautiful daughter Melody. I hadn't talked to either of them for three long weeks, and I was coming home to surprize them. I also had an even bigger surprize. I had finally quit my demanding job so I could stay home with them. I just knew they would be so excited.

I boarded my plane just in time. Time to settle in for a six hour flight. I glanced around at the people around me. There was a large man to my right in the window seat and an old lady across the aisle. The "fasten your seatbelts" light flipped on. I snapped into my seat and prepared for take off. After we were permitted to remove our seatbelts, the man beside me decided to take a six hour nap. His snoring was unbearable. I realized that there was a child in the seat behind me because he started kicking my seat. I turned around and glared at him. "Could you please stop kicking my seat?" I asked him politely. "I'm sorry miss." His father said. I turned back around. Of course he began kicking again. I would just have to deal with it for the next six hours.

I arrived at the airport around lunchtime. I spent around an hour going through security and baggage claim. Of course I always ended up in the longest lines. I finally walked out the revolving glass doors onto the busy sidewalk. I came to the edge near the road and waved my hand in the air. A yellow cab stopped in front of me and I opened the door to the backseat. I shoved my luggage inside and slid in the seat beside it. The man in the drivers seat looked back at me. His eyes were sunken in and his square jaw was clenched tight. He was extremely tan and hadn't shaved in weeks. I told him my address and he turned around and put the cab in drive. The meter clicked as we left the big city in the direction of my suburbian hometown.

The drive home was long and tiring. I couldn't wait to fall into the arms of my surprized husband. I wanted to hug my daughter and kiss her on the forehead. I missed them so much. The driver pulled to a stop in front of my large brick home. I payed him the money I owed and thanked him. I pulled out my luggage and stepped out of the cab. I shut the door and he drove away. I took in a deep breath of air. "There's no place like home." I said to myself, giggling at my movie quote. I slowly walked up the familiar stone steps. My luggage noisily dragged behind me as I walked. My key slid into the lock and I turned it. I pushed open the heavy door and pulled my luggage inside. I looked up, ready to see my familiar surroundings. But what I saw made me shiver. My luggage hit the floor and I froze.

The living room was destroyed. Blood was everywhere. I looked around with tears in my eyes. The coffee table was shattered and covered in blood. Pools of blood were all around. the fire poker was bloody and thrown in the floor. There was a line of blood that came from the corner and suddenly stopped in the middle of the floor. That's when i realized my rug was missing. I took a few steps into the room. I didn't bother closing the door. My foot made a crunching noise as I went forward. I jumped back. I had stepped on the broken glass from a picture frame. I picked it up. It was a picture of Daren with a little Melody on his sholders. What had happened to my family?

I fell to my knees with the picture clutched to my chest. Tears flowed from my eyes. I sat in the bloody room for what seemed like hours letting my emotions out. After I regained my composure, I stood up to explore the rest of my home. I walked down the hallway and into the kitchen. The sink was filled with water. I noticed more water splashed all over the floor. The stove was on and turned on high heat. I walked over to it and turned it off. I just couldn't comprehend what had happened. I decided to investigate the second floor. I slowly walked up the stairs, horrified at the things I imagined I would find at the top.

I finally made it up and into the main hallway. I looked around to find it perfectly neat and untouched. I decided to go to my room first. I came to the door and grabbed the knob. I sucked in a huge lungfull of air, closed my eyes, and swung open the door. I opened my eyes, and to my surprize the room looked as normal as possible. The large bed was made and everything was clean and dustless. I let out my breath and shut the door again. Time for Melody's room. I slowly walked past the stairs to her room. I pushed open the door and expected the worst. Again I was surprized to find a normal room. Of couse it was a little messy, but overall it was fine. I stepped in and looked around. I went to her dresser and looked into her mirror. My eyes were bloodshot and every wrinkle on my skin stared back at me. I had mascara streaks down each cheek and I was still shaking.

I looked around at the pictures stuck around the mirror. There were a few snapshots of Melody and her friends, but one picture caught my eye. It was a close up picture of Melody with bright eyes and the biggest smile on her face. To her left, a boy had his lips pressed to her cheek. "Derick." I said out loud. Of course. He was almost always with Melody. He should know where she was. Thats when I went on my mad search for the boy my daughter loved.

It wasn't hard to find Derick. He was a teenager after all. After asking a few boys I had found at the mall, I had a phone number and directions to his house. I followed the directions and found myself at a beautiful home only a street over from mine. I walked up to the door and knocked. A pretty woman answered the door. She looked about the same age as me. She had curly blond hair and the prettiest smile. "May I talk to Derick please?" I asked her. She gave me a funny look, but pointed me to his room. I walked up the stairs and knocked on the door. "Come in." A voice came from the other side. I opened the door to find a handsome young man sitting in a corner with a book in his hands. He looked up at me and then stood up. "Where is my daughter?" I asked in a shaky voice. He dropped his book and a tear fell down his cheek. "She's gone." He replied. I walked over to him and opened my arms to him. He fell into me and we cried together for our Melody.

For the first time I learned of the horrible deeds of my husband, Daren. Derick explained everything to me. I was astonished. I was just now realizing what a horrible man I had married. After our long talk, I had forgotten all about the fact that Daren was still missing. We had decided to have a late lunch together to finish our talk. We went to a local diner and sat in a booth next to a giant window. We ordered our drinks and our meals. He explained how Daren was a drunken fool. Our food arrived, and then he continued. He told me the story of the horrible day he walked in on a beaten and broken Melody. He kept talking, but in his eyes I could tell he was hiding something. He finished his heart breaking story. "Would you like to come back and see it?" I asked him. He looked down at his plate that he had barely touched. "I guess it would help me get it out of my head." He told me. We payed our tab and left the diner. We walked the way to my house in silence.

I opened the door to see the horrible scene once more. It was as just as horrible the second time. We stepped in the door together. Derick stood in silence. I started crying again, but not as hard as before. I looked at him in dispair. Tears formed in his eyes. He fell to his knees and covered his face with his hands. I walked over to him and placed my hand on his back. "We can do this, Derick. We will get through this together." I tryed to comfort him. "Thats not it, Ellie. You should hate me." He responded. I was confused. "Why would I be mad at you? You tryed to save her." "Ellie, your husband Daren is dead." He explained through sobs. "How do you know?" I asked as I teared up again. He stood up. He was much taller than me and his green eyes were bloodshot as they looked down at me. "I killed him, Ellie!" He yelled. I gasped. I couldn't imagine that such a gentle boy could do such a horrible deed. He walked away from me and up the stairs. He went to Melody's room. I waited in the living room for his return. I heard a few noises from upstairs. It sounded like he was looking for something. after a few minutes, he retuned. He held open his hand to reveal the shining revolver he had retrieved.

"I gave this to Melody before she died." He explained. "I hoped she would use it to protect herself from him." "Derick, what are you doing?" I asked him. "I simply can't live with the fact that i killed a man." He said. "Derick, no." I said, realizing what he was planning. "I have to Ellie! The last few weeks have been unbearable. I just can't do this anymore!" He yelled. He slowly lifted the revolver to his head. "Derick, don't do this." I calmly tried to stop him. "I loved her! I can't live without her, and I won't live without her!" He yelled. I could hear the pain in his voice. He clicked the safety to the "off" position. "Derick, no!" I yelled. He wasn't focused on me anymore. I couldn't do anything to stop him.

"I'm coming, Melody." He whispered. He closed his eyes and pulled the trigger. The bullet went through his head and killed him instantly. His blood splattered all over the wall and he fell to the floor. He had died right in front of me, for my daughter. He was gone. I could do nothing about it. I couldn't bring my daughter back. I truly had nothing to live for anymore. I looked down at Derick's lifeless body. He still had the revolver in his hand. I took it from him. I ran my hand over the gleaming barrel. I slowly put it up to my head, just as Derick had done.

Right then and there, I ended it all.