Haddix Luck

Chapter 1- Beginnings and Endings

Rain. Rain everyday for almost a week. It’s beginning to become a hum in the background of my dreams. Though, I try to not sleep much nowadays… Ever since Jess’s Leukemia treatment failed, I get these dreams… Flashbacks really… They take place Back when we first adopted our daughter Lily. She was four at the time. We were in a field at the park, having a picnic. When we started playing music and dancing. Of course I didn’t dance with them though. Instead I took a video. “ The Haddix Family: Starring: Lily, Melanie, Timothy, Jess, and Aidan Haddix.” Is what I called it. Kind of stupid really.

Jess, as always, looked beautiful. not just because the sunset’s light shined on her perfectly silky, long, black, wavy hair. Melanie and Timothy… They were something else. They were so kind to little Lily. They dancing in circles, held hands, laughed, and in all their beauty, they were happy. Little did they know, four year old Lily, nine year old Melanie, and thirteen year old Timothy would soon lose their loving mother.

Thankfully, the kids and I had our best friends to keep us company when we lost her. Seven years, and I still haven’t packed up her things. I still come home from work expecting her to be asleep in bed. I still have dreams about her every night. When I wake up in the mornings, I expect her to come out the bathroom wearing her cute teacher outfits. I expect calls from students on weekends, asking for help on homework.

Even though she was adopted, Lily was hurt the most after Jess’s death. Lily’s mother died in childbirth. When Lily’s father was found dead in an alley, Lily went to live with her aunt. Lily’s aunt was a drug addict, an alcoholic, and she was very abusive. When Lily turned three, her aunt had a heart attack and died. Jess and I had been waiting for about a year for a girl between the ages of three and five. When the agency called us saying there was a girl that just came in she thought we would want to meet, we finally had hope of having the family we had always wanted.

We immediately left for the adoption agency. When we got there we could see Mrs. Janelle, a person that worked at the adoption agency, was very excitedly talking to a little girl. We knew that was our little girl. It took a while to get the papers set up, but we eventually got our little girl.

Shortly after Lily’s fourth birthday, Jess was diagnosed with Leukemia. A few month’s after that Jess passed away. We all were depressed. But her death opened a new path for us. It opened a door for Lily and I. We had never been very close. But after her death, we bonded. It was the end of a beautiful relationship, and the start of a new, profound relationship.

 

Chapter 2- Convincing kids

One morning I woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs. I could hear laughter coming from the kitchen. The first thing I thought was that it was a dream. I could have sworn that was Jess’s laughter. But when I got out of the bedroom, I could see Melanie and Lily making Bacon , eggs, and pancakes. They seemed happy. That doesn’t happen often.

After a few moments of me just watching the girls, Lily looked back and saw me. She called me over and put together a plate of breakfast. When I got to the kitchen, Lily had already set up a place for me at the counter. She pulled up a stool for me to sit on, and she put the plate in front of me. As I ate the girls just watched. It was quite awkward.

After I finished, Lily asked me if it tasted good. And, of course it was! Melanie was taking classes and training to go to the country’s best culinary school. And I’m quite sure she was already better than the rest of the students there, even though she’s only 16.

I should’ve known they were just buttering me up. After I cleaned up my dishes and started the dishwasher, the girls asked me if we could go camping with the dog we just got. I tried keeping my laughter in, but I just couldn’t! The dog’s an Irish Wolfhound for goodness sakes! That dog wont fit into the car, let alone a tent! That dog is almost bigger than me, and he’s a puppy!

Just as I explained that Patrick, the Irish Wolfhound, wouldn’t fit in the tent, Nick came bounding in through the front door. (Nick had been my best friend since high school). Patrick followed happily behind, prancing and panting. Just like any other dog would after a walk. Apparently Nick had been standing outside for a while, because when he came in he said that the tent wasn’t a problem. “ Ah come on Aidan! You know the tent isn’t a problem!” Nick shouted. I explained to him that I didn’t have a big enough tent for a huge dog, an adult, two teenagers, and a little girl, but that wasn’t a good enough argument.

Nick was super rich. I don’t even know how it’s possible for a cop to be that rich. I guess his dad owned a big oil company and, even though Nick is forty-three years old, his dad still gives him money. Nick never got married. In high school he was always acting like he was madly in love. He would tell me that he planned on marrying this girl, though he never told me who the girl was. After high school, we went to separate colleges. We would still hang out though. Our schools were only a few miles apart, we could hang out on weekends. Most of the time he would come over to my school. He told me the girl he loved went there. He still never told me who she was though.

When I met Jess at the college bar Nick and I went to all of the time, I knew I was in love. About a week after we met, we started dating. Nick started coming over more. Every time he came up to my dorm he looked really upset. One day I saw him outside my window, but he was leaving. And crying. He hadn’t even come up to my dorm that time. The next time I saw him, I told I had started dating someone. When he asked who, I told him I would tell him if he told me who the girl he loved was. He didn’t tell me. After that day, he never came to my college. I never saw him, he didn’t answer my calls, I thought he was dead! But after college we ended up getting the same job at the same place. By that time Jess and I had gotten married, I figured he had gotten married to the girl he had fallen so madly in love with.

The first day of work, we started talking and he noticed the ring on my finger. I told him I had married the girl from college. Then when I asked if he had married the girl he had fallen in love with, he grumpily said that she married someone else. We started being friends again after that. The rest is history!

Because Nick is so rich, he bought a tent that could fit everyone from 19 Kids And Counting! I should have known! “ FINE! But first I have to call the chief and let her know we are going.” I told them all. But apparently Nick had already told her.

“I already called her. She knows that we’re going. And plus, all the cops that worked 15+ years at the Santa Barbara Police Department had been invited to take their families to this camping trip in Wayside Village!”

“Is she going too? She’s worked there for like 25 years!”

“No, someone has to stay behind and tell the other officers what case to work on!”

“Why not leave Boone. It’s not like he’s capable of having fun or anything. That guy takes it seriously when crazy Ozzy calls in saying there’s a leprechaun in his house! Does he not realize its either a prank, or crazy Ozzy is just really crazy?”

“Boone’s worked there just as long as we have. He’s coming too.”

There was only one thing I could do. I looked over at the girls and told them to go pack. I gave Nick a grumpy glance and went to go wake Timothy, but Lily and Melanie beat me to it. I could tell Timothy was upset about it. Apparently he had plans with his friend Ryan. I guess their favorite baseball team was going to be in town and they wanted to go see them play. Whatever. Family’s more important.

 

Chapter 3- Arrival

The Trip to the camp site was very quiet. Other than the blaring Rock music Nick picked out. No one spoke a word. Lily was playing with her dolls, Melanie was on her phone, and Timothy just stared blankly out the windows. Nick would normally sing along to the tracks he played, but he could feel the tension between Timothy and I. The entire car ride, he didn’t eat, drink, speak, or go to the bathroom. Once in a while he would use his phone. I was quite sure he would be like this for the entire trip. At the camp and all.

By the time we got there, We all really had to go to the bathroom. Well, Melanie, Nick, and I did.

“ Timothy, I know your not too happy about being here. If you could try to have fun, you might just enjoy this trip.” I tried to speak to him, but he just stayed in the car. I told Lily and Melanie, “ I don’t want you two getting lost or hurt, so if Melanie needs to go to the bathroom, Lily, you go with. And If Lily needs to go to the bathroom, Melanie, you need to go with her.” Thankfully, they understood. I hope…

After going to the bathroom, Nick and and I set up the gargantuan tent. Neil could not be happier. At the camp site, The officers set up a fenced in area so the dogs could run around, socialize, and not run away. All of the little kids would go to a cabin not too far away, they would make crafts and stuff. I was glad there were kids and teenagers there. Lily and Melanie would have been really bored if there weren’t people they got along with here.

I didn’t really understand the whole point of the camping trip. The chief was sending all of her best officers on a vacation. What if there was a homicide and the BAU had to come check it out? The chief’s best officers would be on vacation, and she wouldn’t be able to contact us! There was no signal up there! Our phones didn’t work up there! Melanie was NOT happy about not being able to use her phone.

That night we all had a campfire. We cooked dinner in pots above the fire, and roasted marshmallows until we couldn’t eat anymore. As soon as every one started heading back to their tents, a car pulled into the parking lot. The chief decided to come after all!

The morning after we got there, I noticed that Boone’s tent was camped next to ours. I could see his shadow on the outside of the tent. I could tell it was him because of the wrestler shoulders. I could have sworn he was a wrestler in his past life. His blonde hair poked out of the door of his tent, when he stepped out of the tent I found it strange he wasn’t wearing his usual suit and tie. Even when we weren’t working, I would see him on the streets and see that he would always wear a suit. Except that moment. It took me by surprise. I just stared. He was wearing short khakis and a maroon long sleeve V-neck.

After a few moments of me staring in awe, he noticed I was staring. That didn’t stop me from looking at him. I just kept looking. Finally I raised one eyebrow and lowered the other one, then looked at his outfit then him. He smiled and nodded at me. What a freak.

Boone and I had once been friends in college, but when he met Nick he started acting weird. He kept telling me that Nick was a bad guy, that Nick wasn’t really my friend. When Nick found out, he said Boone was just jealous and wanted to be my one and only friend. After that I wasn’t friends with Boone anymore. Boone would try so hard to get Nick to stop being my friend, but it didn’t work. One day he came up to me and told me that if i am friends with Nick for the rest of my life, I will regret it sooner or later.

After we had dinner by the fire, everyone headed back to their tents. I made sure the kids were asleep before I went to bed, but when I did fall asleep, I wasn’t ready for what I would wake up to.

 

Chapter 4- Gone

I woke up around 3:15A.M.. I heard Patrick barking. I knew it was Patrick because all of the other dogs here are police. They wouldn’t be barking. Only if something was wrong would they get their owner. But Patrick just barks a lot. Whether something is wrong or not. He still is a puppy, and he hasn’t been trained yet.

I waited a few minutes to see if he would stop barking, but he didn’t. I wondered how he got out of the tent, maybe he had to go to the bathroom so somebody probably let him out. When he didn’t stop barking I decided to get up and see why he kept barking. I was guessing he just wanted back in.

When I left the tent I saw that Patrick wasn’t near the tent he was facing the tent from the woods. When he saw me come out, he started jumping up and down. I started calling him over but he kept barking and ran into the woods. When I ran inside to get the leash, Timothy woke up and asked what was happening.

“ Dad? What’s happening? Where’s Patrick? He was just next to my sleeping bag!”

“ Patrick got out, he just ran into the woods. Go wake up Nick so he can help us look for him.”

About a minute later, Timothy came back into the middle tent room. “ Nick isn’t in his sleeping bag.” He looked so confused after he said that.

“ Well where else could he be?”

“Maybe he took Lily to the bathroom.”

“ Why do you say that?”

“ Because Lilly isn’t in her sleeping bag either.”
“ What do you mean she isn’t in her sleeping bag?!”

“ I mean she isn’t in her sleeping bag!”

“ And Melanie is asleep?!?! Lily is in SO much trouble!”

After speaking with Timothy, I decided to give him the leash to look for Patrick. I would go look for Nick. Maybe he has an idea where Lily is, I hopefully thought to myself. My mind was practically racing itself. One thought led in after the other. What if she got stuck in a ditch? What if she drowned in the lake? What if she- My thoughts were interupted with the horrifying image of my little, blonde beauty dead… I shouldn’t have been thinking like that. It was only scaring me more.

I don’t know how long I had been walking, for my thoughts were all I could focus on. Not time. Just my eleven year old daughter, lying there. Blood oozing, blonde hair stained, mistaking blood for freckles, seeing tears crawl out of her pale blue eyes….. Her fair skin looking like a silky white dress in the moonlight.

Once again my thoughts were interupted by something. Except this time it wasn’t another horrific image of my daughter. It was a sound. Not a sound I thought up in my head… A door opening and closing. I looked up from the floor, realizing tears were flooding my eyes. I saw Nick. “ Oh thank God!!! Ive been looking all over! Have you seen Lily?!?!”
I couldn’t help but shout the words that were flowing out of my mouth.

“ I was thinking maybe you had seen her. I woke up a little while ago, seeing that she was trying to wake up Melanie to go to the bathroom. I told her I would take her. Melanie had a long day, and she was really tired. And, to be honest, I really had to pee. When we got here she went into the girls room, and I went into the guys room. I just got out a second ago, and I thought she would be done by now.”

I decided to open the door to the girls room. When I put my hand on the latch, I heard a scream. I recognized it. It was Timothy’s. I knew it because that’s how Timothy screamed when he broke his arm. He also screamed like that when he thought there was a ghost in our house. Except then it was a little more high pitched, he hadn’t hit puberty yet.

He screamed, then called for me. I ran towards where I heard the scream from. It was near the parking lot. About half a mile behind the bathrooms. Nick raced after me, he seemed worried. But not about Timothy.

When I reached Timothy I was totally winded. But what Timothy found, took my breath, and nearly my heart, away. He found one of Lily’s shoes. Except something was different about her shoe. It was covered in a thick, dark colored paste. When I knelt down to see what it was, my mind came to a realization that it was lily’s blood.

With hesitation and caution, “ Lily’s gone.” my voice cracked as I said the words I never wanted to hear myself say.

 

Chapter 5- The Search

Timothy immediately stood up. He turned around and started walking towards Patrick. He still hadn’t stopped barking. When Timothy finally reached him, Patrick ran towards the parking lot. Timothy chased after him, it took me a minute, but I started running too. As we ran I heard a car start. I couldn’t help but run faster. I reached the parking lot and immediately searched for a car that could possibly be running. Before I could even catch my breath, I saw Boone’s car pulling out of the lot.

I should’ve known! That man was so mad about me not wanting to be his friend, that he kidnapped my daughter! I jumped in my car, pulled the keys out of my jacket pocket, and started chasing after him. Thankfully I had sirens and a microphone installed for my job. Sometimes I would have to go on a chase before I could get my hands on the squad car, so I would have to use my own car.

I chased after him for hours it seemed like. It was only a few minutes though. When I pulled him over, he patiently sat in the car. Even though it only took me a few seconds to get out the the car and get over to his, I felt like I took a decade to get to him.

“ Where is my daughter?!?!”

“ Aidan, what are you talking about?”

“ My daughter is missing! One of her shoes was found bloody near the parking lot at the same time that you were pulling out! Now where is she?!?!?!?!”

“ Aidan, I didn’t take your daughter. My wife isn’t feeling good so I’m going to the drug store that’s a few miles away. If you don’t believe me, search my car. I di-“

“ GET OUT OF THE CAR!!!”

As I searched through the car, all I found was camping gear and dog treats and food. I couldn’t believe it. Maybe he hid her back at camp! I know it was him. He is the only person with motive. He is the only person that I can think of that would currently be holding a grudge against me.

“Where is she?!?! I know you have her!” I instinctively lowered my voice to show intimidation. It was seemingly impossible how good of a liar he was. He kept on insisting that he had no idea where Lily was. Everything became blurry, my head hurt like crazy, and everything I heard was just a hum. I turned around and headed back to my car.

Why, of all times, would she be stolen from me now? It seems like just yesterday the love of my life was taken from me. This trip was supposed to be an escape. An escape from the environment I’d been hiding myself in for years. This year is supposed to be different. The family was supposed to move on with our lives this year. Why do we have to be the family people punish? I already lost my wife. My kids already lost their mother. Why do we have to lose a sister and a daughter too?

I’d been so wrapped up in my thoughts while driving back to camp that I almost drove some one off a cliff. I needed sleep, badly, but there was no way I was going to let my little girl be taken from me for good. I was going to find her. I prayed that she was still alive, but there was something in me that told me I wouldn’t fid her alive.

As i drove back into the lot, I could see Patrick barking and pacing in and out of the woods. I looked on the opposite side of the lot where the camp was, and saw Timothy and Nick waking up the other officers. I saw Melanie crying, and one of the officers calling some one. I was guessing she was calling the chief.

After parking, a few of the officers came up to me and told me to rest while they look for Lily. But there was no way that I was going to sleep before I find my little girl. How could I? One of my beloved children is missing, and I’m supposed to relax while people I barely know look for my daughter? They probably don’t even remember what she looks like!

After the chief showed up, Timothy noticed Patrick still barking and pacing in and out of the woods. Patrick only barks for minutes at a time, so it was strange he had been barking for over thirty minutes. We knew something was up. The chief, Timothy, and I decided it would be best if we all split up. Timothy, the chief, and I followed Patrick. Everyone else got into groups and chose different area’s of the site to search.

Every once and a while Patrick would stop and wait for us to catch up. We all were winded by the time we came to the clearing at the top of the hill. The hill was almost too steep to walk on, so we were all basically climbing the hill. Except for Patrick. He was able to jump on the huge rocks leading up the hill.

After taking a moment to catch our breath at in the clearing, I peered to the other side of the massive landscape, and spotted an old cabin. It looked like it had been built maybe fifty years ago. I couldn’t help but run towards that dreadful cabin. I could hear Timothy, the chief, and Patrick running after me. I didn’t even bother trying to open the door. I just ran up the porch and rammed into the door. It came down easily. When I ran inside, I didn’t know where to look.

To my right was a dining room, to my left was the living room, down the hall was a bathroom and a bedroom, at the end of the hall was a loft with a screen door leading to the back porch. First I ran into the bedroom, then the bathroom, then the loft. As I was about to look out on the back porch, I heard the chief call my name. She sounded worried, so I didn’t hesitate to run into the living room where she stood.

“ What is it Lauren?”

“ Look behind you Aidan…”

The look on her face was unforgettable. Her eyes were screaming with sadness and pain. I didn’t want to look at whatever was behind me. The way she looked at me already told me what it was. At that point I couldn’t take it anymore. I knelt down on both knees, and didn’t hold back the tears. I needed to prepare myself for this moment. I never thought I would have to go through that pain. But there I was. Helpless. Defenseless. Doubtful.

 

Chapter 6- Just My Luck

Timothy sat on the old couch next to me. As he plopped down onto the old piece of furniture, the dust arose making all of us sneeze. I had waited about two minutes before I stopped crying. I knew that me sitting in the middle of a filthy old living room isn’t helping anybody. I wiped the tears from my face, stood up, and turned around. I should’ve stayed sitting and crying.

It was her night gown. Her little white night gown. Torn, tattered, and spotted with blood. Blotches and blotches of blood, nearly covering the entire night gown. Not only was the gown covered in blood, but the blood was oozing onto the dark oak flooring. I couldn’t feel anything but anger. I needed to find out who did this. If it was the last thing I’d do.

I knew that it would be hard, but I had to at least try. Whoever took my girl away from me will have to pay.

About an hour later, We all got back to the camp. It was almost dark, and I needed sleep. Badly. I had been up since before the sun rose. I barely got any sleep before I woke up that morning. I needed to wait for Melanie an Nick though. Everyone sat around the campfire after the chief announced our finding. I’m sure it wasn’t just me that was tired, but every one else I guess couldn’t sleep with that grief. I’m sure they all were wanting to wait for Melanie to get back, so they could know that she is safe. At least I hope….

I dozed off for about thirty minutes. I woke up to a blood curdling scream. I looked around the campfire, some where still asleep, and some where looking around curiously, and a worried look took place on their faces.

As I looked around the group around the campfire, I noticed Nick and Melanie still weren’t there. When I came to realization that Melanie was the person screaming, I jolted up out of my chair and took off towards where the scream came from. Just my luck! Of course the people I love are being taken away! I knew there wasn’t much I could do, but I had to at least try. I couldn’t bear losing another one of my girls.

 

Chapter 7- More Searching

I ran even after my legs felt like they were about to collapse underneath me. I was so angry. I wasn’t going to show it until I found the person that did this. I was hoping all the anger would release onto that monster. Everything, once again, became a blur. I could see, but not clearly. I weaved past the trees with ease, but everything on the ground I couldn’t see. Not only was it dark out, but the ground was also covered in rocks. It was quite hard to maneuver around the dangerous holes and ditches.

I had been running for at least thirty minutes, when I fell into a hole. I couldn’t see a single thing. I tried climbing out, but the hole was in dirt, so there was nothing to hang on to. I waited for a few minutes to see if anyone would come, but nobody did. So I slept for a few hours.

I woke up to the sun rising just over the horizon. It wasn’t much light, but it was enough for me to see my surroundings. The hole wasn’t just a tiny circular hole like I thought. It was about six to seven feet deep, and it was quite a long rectangle. It took me a few minutes, but I realized what it was. It was a grave.

I stood up and tried jumping to reach the top of the grave, It worked. The problem was, I didn’t have anything to grip onto. So I couldn’t hold myself up. I heard a sound nearby. I was probably an animal, but I didn’t want to take that chance. I started digging with my hands a staircase. It took maybe an hour.

By the time I got out, it was daylight. I looked around the area, noticing I was in the middle of a circular clearing. Whoever took my girls did this. They planned me dying in the middle of the woods. I was even angrier than before. I couldn’t let whoever this was get away with this!

I looked around the trees on the edge of the clearing. I heard grumbling behind me. I turned around as fast as I could and held a defensive fighting pose. I early fell to my knees at what was before me. It was Melanie. She had her hands tied, her feet tied together, duct tape on her mouth. I dropped down to my knees, tears crawling into my eyes.

I was still stunned, so as I walked towards her I stumbled on rocks and nearly fell into her. I ripped at the duct tape around her hands and feet, but I carefully took the duct tape on her mouth of. It took her a few minutes to calm down, but when she did she told me to look behind the tree she was next to.

I looked at her with confusion. Why did she want me to go behind the tree? I carefully stood up and peeked my head around the tree. I nearly fainted at the site. It was Lily. Ripped to shreds. She wasn’t in pieces, her skin was ripped apart. It looked like a bear attack and like she was stabbed multiple times.

I took my hoodie off and wrapped it around her. Her blonde hair now stained red from her blood. Her white under gown shredded, her blue eyes faded. Blank. Her perfectly plump lips ripped from whatever cut her into shreds. Just moments after wrapping my gray hoodie on her, the gray was now brown. The blood still oozed. The day before, when we found her dress, she was still alive. She died only a few hours before being found. If she died the day before, her blood wouldn’t still be flowing out of her body. It would have pooled out already.

I helped Melanie stand up, then picked up Lily. We headed back to camp tears flowing down our faces. I couldn’t bear to look down at Lily. The once beautiful little girl was now a rotting corpse. Looking at what this person did to my beautiful little girl filled me with hatred and anger. I NEEDED to find whoever did this. When I find the monster that did this, they should only count on attending one more event. Their funeral. I thought to myself.

 

Chapter 8- Vengeance

When we got back to the camp, everyone was eagerly waiting by the dimmed fire. They just watched as we walked to the nearest park bench to set Lily down. The chief was the first to speak.

“ Someone call the paramedics, and a coroner. Ask one of the officers at the station to send five detectives. The officers here don’t have the right experience for finding this man. And also ask for two FBI agents. If this guy is that dangerous, we are gonna need more than a few officers.”

Not too much later a paramedic and a coroner showed up. Timothy went with Melanie to the hospital to get her stitches. ( She also had many cuts and bruises. Just not as many as Lily….) The chief insisted that I go with them, but I had to make sure that monster got caught. Everyone had no clue who could do this, but I knew exactly who it was. He might’ve had a clean car, but that can’t mean its not him. He hadn’t gotten back since he left yesterday.

We all decided it was best for a few people to go out and look for Nick while others nap. I heard that and basically passed out once I got to my tent. With all that was going on I didn’t think I’d ever be able to sleep again, but then I got in my sleeping bag. I was out. I was so worried about everything, but somehow I was able to manage sleeping.

I woke up, I don’t know how much later, to darkness. I figured it was just dark out, but then my entire body bounced up. I heard a loud crunch, then a tire squeal. At that moment I knew, I was in a car. I tried moving my hands, but they were bound together with something sticky. Most likely duct tape. Same with my feet.

I reached both my hands up to touch my face, but there was a bag covering it. I tried yelling for help, but my mouth was also covered in duct tape. I reached my hands up and took the bag off my head. I was in the trunk of a car. I knew what I had to do. In a self defense class I took my kids to once, I remembered that the instructor told everyone that if you are ever stuck in a trunk, kick the lights out. And when a cop pulls your kidnapper over, make noise so they can hear you.

I looked in front of me, didn’t see anything, so I turned around and saw the glass close to my feet. I kicked it once, and it shattered. I couldn’t see anything from where I was, so I punched the one near my face. I was out of luck. It was daylight, but I could tell that we were on a private road. That or we were in the middle of nowhere, weaving through the woods. I waited in the trunk for about an hour before the car came to a halt. The man driving the car got out and started cursing when he saw the mess I’d made. He stomped over to the trunk. This is the moment I’ve been waiting for. I’m finally going to go face to face with the man that has ruined my family. The moment he opens the trunk I’m going to jump out and hit him.

He opened the lid of the trunk and I swung for his legs to knock him down. It worked. I hopped out and landed on top of him. I took one more swing at him, that made sure he was knocked out for a minute. I took the knife in his pocket and was able to get the duct tape off my hands and feet. I threw the knife down next to the man. As he was coming back to consciousness I noticed what the knife looked like. It looked exactly like the knife I got Nick for Christmas when we were in college.

Then the anger came gushing out of me. I grabbed the collar of the mans hoodie and started punching him repeatedly. After about thirty seconds of me constantly punching him, I pulled down his hoodie. I was about to yell and ask what he did with Nick, but something stopped. It was that it was Nick. I got up and stepped back, waiting for him to get up.

I cant even imagine what my face looked like. The confusion and horror combined in one look. I couldn’t wrap my brain around why it would be him that has been doing this to my family. He stood up. I thought he would try to explain. That he would be upset or something. But he wasn’t. He attacked me. The fight went on for about ten minutes. When finally he pinned me down, choking me. He told me why he did all of this.

“ You don’t get it do you? When we were in college the girl I was in love with met you. She chose you. When she was dating you, she was also sleeping with me. But she felt bad about it. I told her she had to choose between the two of us. She decided she liked you better. So I stopped visiting your college. On your wedding day, I saw her in town. I followed her and asked her why she was in town. If she was looking for me. If she still loved me, and wanted to get back together. But no! She was marrying you!

When she got Leukemia you couldn’t pay for the proper treatment. You payed for a treatment! But it wasn’t treatment that worked! I could’ve payed for the proper treatment! I could’ve had her live! I lost the love of my life to you! So I took what you care about. And now, I’m gonna take you from this life!!!”

I closed my eyes, I knew that was my last moment. I didn’t have any air in me, he wouldn’t let air in me. Just as I gave up, I heard a gunshot. Suddenly I could breathe. I opened my eyes to see Boone with his gun pointed towards Nick. The chief and another officer pulled Nick off of me and threw him in the back of a squad car.

“Like I said Aidan, I didn’t do it.”

“Well why not? You were the one that was angry that I wasn’t going to be your friend!”

“No, I tried to hang out with you because I was good friends with Jess. She told me she didn’t want you getting hurt, and she knew that Nick would lash out sooner or later. Looks like she was right.”

“What kind of psychopath kills kids because he had a crush on a girl?”

“The kind of psychopath Nick is. That’s what kind.”

After everyone went home, Nick got a life sentence, Melanie got stitches, we had a funeral for Lily, Boone and I became great friends, we never went camping ever again, and Timothy decided to not to complain about road trips. He would rather stay with the family as much as possible nowadays.

The rest is history. We have lost many things, but somehow we can have happiness and piece of mind knowing that we are safe. We know that Jess and Lily are still looking after us. We look after each other. That’s just our luck. We suffer, but in the end, we have each other. That’s all that really matters. And that’s just our Haddix luck!

__END__