Hi guys! Thank you all for the support! I hope you like this next chapter! I'm doing my best to keep writing, but it's the week before finals, so I have to make sure I keep up on my school work. Then, I have a whole month off to keep writing, so never fear! Please review! It really helps me out a lot and honestly, it makes my day. You're awesome!

Chapter Four

I was just about to get up to leave when I hear a knock at my door. "Come in," I say loudly and wait for my visitor to enter. But the sound of heels lets me know it's my mother. "Hi, Mom."

"Hi, Lucas. Did you have a nice day?"

I nod. "It was good."

"What did you do?"

I shrug. "Mainly sketches. Took a nap. Oh, and I met someone from down the street. A girl named Carrie. She was playing her violin out on the beach. She was playing Mendelssohn."

"Oh, well that's good. I'm glad you made a friend."

I laugh. "We're not friends. We just talked. I wouldn't have said anything to her if she weren't playing Mendelssohn."

My mother hesitates before saying, "Okay. Well, maybe you'll see her again."

I shrug. "Maybe."

We're quiet for a little before my mother sighs. "Gran almost has dinner ready. Want to wash up?"

I nod. "Yeah, okay." I was going to add that I had already planned on doing so, but decided against it. I tried to do every little thing possible to make it feel like my mom was super helpful. True, she was helpful at times, but most of the time I could just get by on my own. But I think it would kill her to know that, so I just let her think she was helping me.

My mother left, probably to change out of her work uniform, and I quickly got up and went to the bathroom across the hall. I found my washcloth and washed my face, both to wake me up and to wash off the salty ocean residue. Then I washed my hands thoroughly, making sure to wash away all the signs of sand from my hands.

After I'm cleaned up, I make my way to the dining room and settle myself into the chair next to where my mother usually sat and waited. I was alone in here, which was a little nice. I could hear Gran finishing up dinner, with the minimal help of Pops. Then I heard someone enter the dining room and assumed it to be my mother.

"All clean?" I nod. "That's my boy. I think we're having fish tonight."

"That sounds good," I say, though I'm not entirely thrilled. I didn't hate fish, but it wasn't my favorite, either.

"I'm going to go reprieve Pops and help Gran." And with a little sigh, my mother left for the kitchen. Not long after, I hear Pops enter the room. His entrances are distinct because he's always wearing some kind of heavy boots that are loud on the floors. I hear him settle himself at the table, unusually quiet. We sit in silence for a while until I hear Gran and Mom enter, the smell of fish and other foods following their entrance. After a few minutes, all the food must be set because Gran and Mom settle into their chairs.

"Alright. Pops, will you give the blessing?"

Pops gives a grunt in acceptance. "Lord, please bless this food so that we might be filled and nourished. We pray that those less fortunate than us may be blessed and find a meal on this day, and that the ill might feel healing, and lonely feel blessed. Amen."

We all mutter our Amen and then start to eat. My mother fills my plate with fish, steamed vegetables, and diced potatoes. Then we eat silently for a while, an odd sense of gloom hanging over the table. At last, Gran breaks the silence. "So, Drea, how was work today?"

My mother hesitates before sighing. "Long and hard. I hate opening. It always is the hardest, next to closing. But I told them I refuse to do closing. I'll do anything else. And so, they give me openings. I guess I asked for it."

I hear me grandmother give a hum of understanding. "Well, whatever to earn money. Sometimes it's rough, but it's worth it, sweetheart." I hear Gran take a bite of something before turning slightly in her chair. "What about you, Lucas? Did you go down to the beach?"

I nod, swallowing my mouth full of trout. "Yeah. I mainly just hung out at Sunset Point. I fell asleep for a while, but when I woke up, I heard music. I went to investigate and found out it was a girl playing the violin. She was playing Mendelssohn. He's my favorite. We talked a little before she had to go home."

"Oh, how nice. Do you know her name?"

I nod. "Her name is Carrie. She lives down a ways. She vaguely knows you and Pops. She recognized my last name."

"Oh, I don't think we personally know her. But we do host lots of events at our house. Our name gets out a lot." The table goes quiet again for a while, excluding the sounds of silverware on plates.

Then my mother asks, "So, anything eventful go on here?"

No one responds for a long time. Then, after a long silence, Pops gives a little sigh. "We got a call from Simon today. He told us that Kaitlin didn't come home last night. She's missing."

The silence becomes very tense. Kaitlin was my cousin, Simon being my mother's older brother. Kaitlin was fifteen, and as far as I could know, a very pretty, smart, and popular girl. This news struck me in a strange way. I didn't know her well, but she was still family…

But my mother reacts more properly to this news. "What? Kaitlin is… missing?"

"Yeah. No one knows what happened. We don't know if she took off, if she was taken, or if it was a combination of both."

The silence is very long and tense. No one moves for what must be five minutes. Then, with tears in her voice, Gran says, "I'm sure she'll be okay. They'll find her." Would they? I hoped so. My family didn't do so well with tragedies…

We finish dinner in a tense silence. Once I'm excused, I go to my room and sit there, wondering about a lot of things. None of it made sense as to why I was thinking about them, aside from Kaitlin being missing, but I spent my evening wondering about many things, before going to bed, unsatisfied.

The next morning, my grandparents and mother are very subdued. My mother leaves for work not long after I get up. So, after a quick breakfast that Gran makes me, I decide to go out again. I can't stand the tension in the house. I don't want to go to the beach just yet, because it's not very sunny out. I prefer the beach when it is warm. I like sitting in the warm sand, the sun shining on my face as the waves rush up the beach.

Instead, I walk around the neighborhood. I walk down to Ocean View before I decide to turn back and head towards Sunset Drive, to go down to the beach. I can feel it warming up with every minute, and so by the time I get there, it should be perfect. It's fairly quiet. I hear hardly anything, aside from a slight breeze rushing through nearby trees.

I could sense I was getting close. I got chills with excitement, from where or why I have no idea. But goosebumps rose up all over me as I walked forward. I almost felt like running, though that'd be very stupid of me. And I felt quite calm until I heard a voice yell.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!"

I stop in my tracks, completely bewildered. Then I realize I know the voice. It belongs to the girl Carrie. What was strange, though, was how it came from my left, up by the front of the house I was passing. But what was she warning me about? Then I heard it. It was the purr of a very nice car, and by the sounds of it, it was pulling out of the driveway in front of me.

I give a sigh of relief. I wait until the car is long gone before I shake off the panic that had settled itself on me. I'm about to walk on when I hear Carrie's voice again, though this time it's only a couple yards from me. "Are you okay?"

I am startled when I hear her voice and jump in surprise. "Sorry," I say. "I didn't hear you coming here." I take in a deep breath before releasing it in a gust. "Yeah, I'm alright."

"What was up with you? Didn't you see the car?"

I'm hit with that unease again as she asks me this and I make sure I'm not facing her when I shrug. "I was lost in thought."

I hear her give a sigh of frustration. "Well, it's good one of us was paying attention."

I give a feeble laugh. "Thanks, by the way."

"It's no problem," she says, stiffly. I can tell she is very unsure of me and I can't help but feel she thinks I'm strange. Typical. No one ever gives me a chance. In defeat, I start walking on, headed for the beach. I walk about ten steps before I hear an exasperated sigh from Carrie. "Where are you going?"

I shrug and say, "On."

What surprises me is hearing her run to catch up to me. "On? To where?"

"The beach."

I hear surprise and a little suspicion when she asks, "Why?"

I shrug again. "It's better being there than anywhere else."

She's quiet for a moment. But when she answers, it's not an answer I expect, and it sounds sad. "Oh."

I walk on until the sidewalk turns. Then I start heading for the stairs. I assume Carrie is just going to keep going forward to go home, but she follows me instead. I don't understand why, but I don't ask. I just keep walking until I'm on the sand. I find a nice place to sit on the sand but rest my back on the cliff's face. And even still, Carrie follows me.

When she sits next to me, a few feet over, I do my best to try and look like I am looking at her. "Why did you follow me?"

Carrie is quiet for a long time. I don't understand why it takes her so long to answer me all the time. But after a long time, she just sighs. "For the same reason you're here."

I frown. "What?"

I practically can feel her get embarrassed and shy, because she takes in a few rapid breaths before stammering unintelligibly until she finally gets out, "You said it was better than being anywhere else."

I shake my head, confused. "I don't understand."

She groans, a little frustrated, but a little embarrassed, it seemed, that she had said anything. "I just… I figured coming down here would be better than going home."

Curiosity almost takes over me. But I shove it down deep and simply nod. We sit there for the longest time, not saying anything. I'm usually fine with silence. Well, silence of others. I like the sound of the waves and all. But apparently, Carrie felt uncomfortable. "So… Lucas. Why are you here?"

I frown, completely boggled by what she meant. "What?"

She starts stammering again before she manages, "I mean, what made you and your mom move in with your grandparents?"

"Oh. My mom's job couldn't pay for the food, the rent, the medical bills… all the stuff we had each month. The money just dried up, and my grandparents weren't aware of it until we were being evicted."

"Oh." Carrie is quiet for a long time. She must be thinking because I can sense she's unsettled. Sure enough, "So, what happened with your dad?"

I shrug. "He left. When I was three. He wanted a "perfect child" and knew he couldn't get that with me. So, he left. Haven't heard from him since."

"Oh." I swallow my laugh at how she always seems to respond to me. But I figure that'd be rude and considering she's actually talking to me, I shouldn't rush off and insult someone who hasn't yet to insult me.

"It's no biggie. I like independence."

Carrie gives a little laugh, but grows serious again. "But don't you wish you had a dad sometimes?"

I shrug. "I'd rather have no dad than a dad who didn't think I was good enough. I'd rather not have one than have one who was always disappointed in me because I wasn't exactly what he wanted." The silence is extremely tense when I say this, and I can't help but wonder what these words mean to Carrie.

Then, after a long time, she says, "I see. Well, I guess if that's how you feel. I'm sorry you… you had to lose a dad."

I shrug. "I didn't lose him. He left."

I can tell that these words trouble Carrie in some way but I have no idea how. But then she gives a frustrated sigh. "I have a question."

"Ask away."

"How come you don't look at me when you talk or when I talk to you? Do you have something weird against eye contact or something?"

The words were harsh. They were somewhere between frustrated and offended, and I knew that now would be the time I'd tell her. But then that'd mean she'd probably start the torment I was all too used to.

I sigh. "I can't."

"You can't what?"

"Make eye contact," I say slowly, carefully.

Her response sounds different. It's curious and a little surprised. "Why not?"

I give a heavy sigh and make sure my eyes aren't anywhere facing her direction. "Because I'm blind."