18. Destiny

       I loved living in Spruceworth. For the most part, it was such an amazing community and it was a great place to raise kids. Everyone was accepted, no matter what they were like. There were some spoiled people out there, but that was beside the point.

       And all the time I had lived here, we only had to deal with less than half a dozen deaths caused by someone else. 

       I never thought, or hoped, we would have to deal with more.

       Dan and I were at home with our children, watching TV when the program suddenly cut to a news alert about an explosion at the city hall. The very first person I called was my grandfather, and I was so happy when he told me he was outside of the city hall when it happened.

       I already lost two people because of an explosion. I did not want to lose anymore.

       Dan stayed back with the kids while I went to the city hall to see my grandfather. The firefighters were already on the scene and put out the fire, but the damage was more than done. Smoke was still emerging from the buildings, and large holes were in the walls.

       I could only imagine what the inside was like.

       I saw Grandpa talking to some police officers, Horatio included, and I went over to him. When he saw me, he gave me a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay," I said. "Was anyone else in there that I know?"

       "Quite a few people," Grandpa said. "Most of the Eatons, for one. Calvin's okay, though."

       "Yeah, he was far from the source of the explosion when it happened," Horatio said. "And I'm really happy Kenny wasn't here when it happened. He was supposed to be helping out, but he got a stomach ache."

       "Let me guess, eggnog?" I asked. This happened every year. Kenny would be obsessed with eggnog, drink way too much, have constant stomach eggs, and then vow to never drink it again. However, since he would take a break from it for about a year, he wouldn't be sick of it by the time it was back in season.

       "You know it," Horatio said.

       "So, what caused the explosion?" I asked.

       "We don't know yet," Horatio said. "The firefighters are getting everyone out of the building first, and then we have to make sure it's stable enough to investigate. We might not even know for a few day. Anyway, there... there were two deaths already, and a few people are in critical state, so we can't be too sure. And... You might want to go comfort Calvin. He's at the hospital."

        As soon as Horatio said that, I knew it was because an Eaton didn't make it. 

       I gave Grandpa another hug before heading over to the hospital. It was quite packed because of the explosion, but I soon found Calvin with his family. As soon as he saw me, he got up from his seat and I pulled him into a hug as he cried.

       I just let him cry. I didn't know who he lost yet, but losing any family member was painful.

       I should know.

       "Who was it?" I asked. 

       "My dad," Calvin said. 

       Now I definitely knew how he felt.

       I hugged Calvin tighter. "I'm so sorry," I said.

       Calvin's dad was one of the most amazing people ever. He was so accepting, and funny, and kind. Everyone in the village loved him.

       Especially Ace.

       This was going to be really hard on him, on everyone.

       Luckily for the Eatons, Calvin's dad was the only one lost in their family. If you could call that lucky. 

       The one they were the most worried for was Noah. He was in critical condition, but the doctors did everything they could and in the end, it worked. He was going to be okay.

       I stayed with Calvin until he decided that he wanted to go home and be with Kenny. I walked with him to his house before heading back home but before I did, I went back to the city hall. Grandpa was still there, since he was the mayor after all and he wanted to make sure everyone got out of the city hall.

       "How was Calvin?" Grandpa asked.

       "A complete wreck," I said. "He's back at home now. I just... I can't believe his dad's gone."

       "Yeah, me too," Grandpa said. "He was a great person."

       "Horatio said there were two deaths," I said. "Who was the second?"

       "I believe she was one of Dan's exes," Grandpa said. "Vanessa, I think is her name."

       "Vanessa?" I asked. "Oh. Wow."

       I may have hated Vanessa's guts, but I would never wish death upon her, or anyone.

       The worst part was that Christmas was in a few days, and lives were being lost. There couldn't be a worse time for this to happen.

       I stayed with Grandpa a bit longer before heading back home. I had no idea how I was going to tell Ace that he lost his grandfather.

       "How was everyone?" Dan asked as I sat down beside him on the couch.

       I sighed. "Depends on who you're asking for. Two people died."

       "Really?" Dan asked. "Who?"

       "Well... Vanessa was one of them," I said.

       Dan was quiet for a bit. "V-Vanessa? She's... she's dead?"

       I nodded. "Yeah."

       "Oh..." Dan said. 

       I knew it was going to be even a tiny bit hard for him. While he couldn't stand Vanessa, there was a time where he had feelings for her.

       "Who was the second person?" Dan asked.

       I didn't reply.

       "Des?" Dan asked. "Who was it? And please tell me it's not someone that will cause me to cry."

       "No, it's not," I said. "But... Ace will. It's his grandfather."

       "Calvin's dad?" Dan asked. "No way. How's Calvin doing?"

       "He's a wreck," I said. "That's why I was gone for a while. I stayed with him until he went home. I don't know how I'm going to tell Ace."

________________

I'm ba-ack.

Kind of. I'm still meh but I wanted to try writing. Don't expect me to be writing everyday again because honestly, I don't know if I will. Well, I know I'll get back to that eventually, but I don't know when it will be.

ANYWAY I'm a liar. I may have told the group chat that Noah was dying to make it more believable but OOPS. Noah survived. I couldn't kill that cinnamon roll. He still needs to get his head stuck in a few more toilets.

There's still one more death coming. :O