When there's nobody left

I didn’t move, my cries still muffled by Seth’s chest as he held on to me, knowing that if he let go so would I.
“Please, I can-“ Officer Owens was cut off by Tyler.
“Let me explain.” He instructed.
“I was born to your dad’s sister, Cynthia Brooks. Then, for some unknown reason, she gave me up for adoption. I was raised by Winnie and Dustin Danes in Aspen, Colorado. When I was sixteen, I was contacted because my birth parents died. From that I had learned about you. Kara, Logan, and Larissa Brooks were apparently my only living family members. I was given your contact information in case I would need to talk to you. I kept it safe, taking it with me when I moved from place to place.
See, I had never really fit in at my house. About five years after Winnie and Dustin adopted me, Winnie got pregnant. I was afraid that they wouldn’t love me as much after they had a child of their own flesh and blood and I was right. After Casey was born, everything changed. Kelsey was born two years after and since then I have never felt at home in my house with my adoptive family.
I left as soon as I could, on my eighteenth birthday I collected everything in the fund that Winnie and Dustin had set up for me along with everything Cynthia had left for the child she couldn’t keep. Then I packed up my stuff and left to NYUF. I cut all my ties with the Danes and never went back.
So, Larissa, I know you didn’t know you had a cousin. I know you felt alone. I know. But yesterday, I was contacted by authorities who told me that my aunt and uncle had passed and that I was left custody of my only living relative. They said her name is Larissa and that she is 16 years old. They also told me that since I had graduated from NYUF I was to come here to live with her and become her guardian.
So, I came and now I’m here. I’m going to keep you in check and make sure you don’t get in to any bad things. Because no one was there for me when I needed them most. I know how it is and I know that it’s the worst feeling on earth. I’m here Larissa. And I’m not going anywhere.” Tyler finished his speech, looking at me earnestly.
But really, all I could do was blink. I was touched, honestly I was. But that didn’t change the fact that my parents had just died and now they expected me to live under the rule of a person I had never met before. It was all too much. Too much change, too much had gone wrong and I was too far over the edge to climb back up.
“I-I’m sorry. But I have to go.” I couldn’t handle the situation. I needed to go to the place where everything is clear.
“Seth?” I asked, tilting my face so I could see his eyes. The pleading in mine must have been enough because he nodded and led me from the house without so much as a backward glace at the people in my living room.
When we arrived at Emerald City Brook Side Park I immediately went to sit on the swings. I let the black rubber pouch take my weight as I began to pump. I went higher and faster, up and down. My eyes were closed as I reveled in the feeling of flight. It was like I could escape anything because the whoosh in my ears meant that I was moving. As long as I was moving I could escape anything, reality, memories, even myself. To escape was all I asked of the moment as I pumped my legs and listened to the burbling brook on the other side of a grassy hill.
After a while, I stopped my legs and opened my eyes. Seth was laying down on the grass maybe ten feet away, eyes closed, breathing even. I had been on the swing longer then I thought.
I slowly walked to him, my charcoal grey sling back wedges hanging from my index finger. My white strapless dress pooled around my knees as I sat down next to Seth. I slowly laid my head down on his chest, my coral colored nails finding his hand as I brought his arm around me. His heart gave off a soft thump-thump as it pushed blood through his body. The soft rustle of the grass as it swayed in the wind was the sound track to my pessimistic thoughts.
I lay there for a while, watching the clouds shift and shape as the sun dipped down behind the trees. Seth didn’t wake up but that was okay. He was there and that was all that mattered. I didn’t need to hear encouraging words or see a reassuring smile, all I needed was his presence and he knew that.
Soon, I was asleep as well, my head on his chest and my arm around his torso, keeping him close. My dreams haunted me. Visions of orphanages and foster parents flashed through my mind’s eye. I saw Tyler with an empty bottle of whisky hanging from his loosened fingers following me to my room, heard the echo of my own personal hell, “They’re dead Larissa. They’re dead. They’re dead. Dead. Dead.”
I woke with a cold sweat coating my forehead, sobs choking their way out of my tight throat. Tears streamed from my eyes and my face was flushed. I sat up and looked around, realizing that I was way too comfy to still be at the park. Seth’s green room surrounded me, his black furniture standing out against the bright walls. I noticed that I was on his bed and that he was not in the room. The alarm clock blared the time at me. 11:30 pm. I knew Seth was down stairs watching some sport or another on T.V. His parents would be having dessert in the breakfast nook off of the kitchen and Lucy, Seth’s younger sister, was probably watching a movie in her room. It was a normal Tuesday night for the Watson family.
I got up and walked down stairs, looking for Seth. I saw Lucy in the den watching 10 Things I Hate About You. It took me a minute before I realized that Seth was sitting next to his sister on the couch. I looked at them, sitting next to each other watching a movie and sharing popcorn in an instance of familial affection. It hit me then that I would never again have that, never again have parents, never again have the stability and love that comes from having a family that loves you. That was all that really mattered. People who love you and are always there are something irreplaceable. All the money in the world couldn’t buy you family. My parents were dead and I was alone and there was nothing I could do to change that.
“Hi Lucy. Seth why are you watching a girl movie?” My voice entered the room before I did, scaring the siblings out of a movie induced daze.
“Hey Rissa. Want to watch with us?” Lucy asked before turning her gaze from the television. When she did, a gasp left her mouth and her eyes were wide.
“Rissa! What’s the matter? What happened to you? Are you okay? Oh My God!” Lucy rushed through her questions in one breath but left her mouth hanging open.
“Lucy.” Seth cut in with a warning tone and a loaded look. He knew what was going on, that the smallest thing could break down my carefully built façade. Then Seth turned to me.