5

There was nothing you could have done, besides, I am the one who dragged you into this mess in the first place."

She looked at me pleadingly and placed her hand on my shoulder. "Listen kiddo. You are just like me, we both did things that we regret and that we have to live with the consequences. All I ask for is that you try to forgive me. I know that it might seem silly but I promise that I won't let anything bad happen to you ever again. Okay?" Her voice sounded sincere but my fear kept clouding my judgement. She may not have been able to save her own sister, but how about I? How many times can I let someone I love suffer for something that was out of my control?

"Okay" I finally murmured, my voice barely audible.

Chapter 6

K'agosk POV

The last thing I expected was to walk through the front door of the house and hear the sound of familiar voices coming from the living room. I paused for a few seconds and listened carefully for any sign of my parents but the voices seemed to be coming from inside the house.

With a sigh I walked into the kitchen where I found my mother sitting in her usual spot at the breakfast nook, sipping tea while reading the newspaper. "Hey mom," I said quietly, putting the grocery bags down on the counter beside her.

Mom glanced up and smiled at me warmly. "Hello sweetie, how was school?" she asked, glancing back down at her paper.

"Fine" I replied, shrugging my shoulders indifferently. "I got a B average, which isn't too bad considering the situation I have to deal with."

"A B average? That's great dear, what grade?" she asked, finally lowering her paper to gaze into my eyes.

"Third." I responded simply, avoiding eye contact with her and staring down at my shoes instead.

Silence filled the room, the only noise being the clinking of Mom's teacup against its saucer as she finished off her tea. She set the cup down on the table beside her and turned to face me completely. "And how about you dear? Any new friends?" I stared blankly at her for a moment, wondering if she really cared at all about how my education was going. It was kind of strange that she didn't notice how terrible I had become.