Shadow-Land by Heather Parsons (best books to read for teens .txt) 📕

her and that's what is killing me now." He was crying, Phillip could tell by his voice.

"Travis we can fix this together but you need to come here. She's been asking for you, calling your name in her sleep. I'll help you fix this, I promise everything will be just as it was before. I'll even call the airport and reserve a flight for you. I'm going to do that now and I'll call you back with the details." Phillip smiled through his tears. Knowing this was going to take time but they could fix this together. He will do everything he can to make them both happy again.

"Okay, dad I'll wait for your call, bye." Travis sniffed and hung up. It felt good to hear his voice but it tore Phillip in two to hear him so sad. Phillip put things in motion and quickly dialed the airport. He had all the information for the flight and called Travis back.

"Travis your flight leaves at two this afternoon on United Airlines, seat C-2 and you should arrive at four this afternoon at Medford International Airport. I'll have a driver waiting for you. And I'll see you here around five tonight." Phillip sighed in relief that now the ball was rolling and everything was in motion.

Quickly he checked on Sierra again. She was still sound asleep and still calling his son's name. A single tear ran down her cheek as it did on his too. He figured since she was sleeping he would walk around and make sure no one else was in this house that wasn't supposed to be here. Phillip walked the downstairs first, going into every room and checking around every door. The downstairs was as silent as a tomb which of course was a little nerve racking but he keep going. Upstairs was a lot harder than he'd thought. Taking the stairs one at a time and as slowly as possible. With every thought returning to that day when he ran over here and found Travis trying to sooth Sierra after she'd found her parents. They were both dead in their bedroom. Killed by what everyone was calling an intruder.

At the top of the stairs, he had to take a deep breath before continuing on to the bedrooms. The silence was eerie and as he exhaled, he moved to the first room. The door creaked while he opened it but there was nothing inside. Taking another deep breath, closing the door and continuing on to the next. There were five room all together, not including the bathrooms and everyone of them were clean. Charles and Joyce's room was the last one Phillip entered. Spending more time in there than he wanted. Even after six years the room still had the smell of death in it. This made his eyes water even more and he quickly turned away, shutting the door. Not wanting to face another minute in that room without the images returning of that fateful day.

Making his way down the stairs quicker this time, his main focus was making sure Sierra was safe. Phillip checked on her one more time, to find her still asleep and continued with the outside of the house. The sun was shinning for the first time in a long time, so this was the perfect time to look around. He had made his way around to the back side of the house when he heard her scream. Scared to death that something had happened, he ran as fast as he could to her.

Making it to the front door, he was breathless. Cautiously Phillip opened it, not remembering if he had closed it or not and entered the house. At the first sight of Sierra, Phillip ran to her. Taking the seat next to her as she turned to face him and seeing fear written all over her face. "Sierra what's wrong?" Phillip asked as calmly as he could muster.

"Something is upstairs." Sierra was shaking and gripping the pillow with all her might. He pulled her to him and held her. They stayed that way and listened. A few seconds later she cringed again but still he didn't hear anything. Now watching only her and seeing the look on her face. She was terrified. Snapping her head to the ceiling then back down to him.

"I just checked upstairs a few minutes ago and saw nothing but I'll go check again." Phillip whispered to her. Afraid if he spoke louder this would only frighten her more. Sierra seemed to be deep in thought and didn't even look at him when she spoke.

"Please don't leave me." She whispered into his shirt. How could Phillip leave her? Not only was she terrified but also hearing strange sounds in this house. He wrapped his arms around her tighter to show her he wasn't going anywhere. This seemed to comfort her for a little while until she jumped with such a force it nearly knocked them both of the couch.

"I'm taking you home with me. I feel that I can protect you better around my own familiar surroundings." Phillip stood up with her still in his arms and walked out the front door. Donovin had left sometime ago, after they had Sierra inside and on the couch. Being here alone in this house with her shaking did not feel right to Phillip. But leaving her here wasn't an option.

Nine:

Going Home

TRAVIS pulled Dean off of him, one thing he knew for sure was if Sierra wanted to tell someone she was on her way that she would. But from what he had gathered from everyone, she wanted to do this on her own. Or maybe he's just delusional into thinking that. If he had not have pushed her out the door then maybe things would have turned out different.

"Dean I'm going to Wolf Creek, I need to be with her. To explain how I feel about her and to ask for one more chance." Travis saw the recognition in Dean's eyes and stepped around him to finish what he was going to do. Walking into his room and grabbing the bags to pack for however long it would take to get her back. Travis didn't have any clue as to how long that would be so he figured on a couple pairs of jeans and shirts. If more were needed he'd just buy them while he's there.

Travis started thinking that the one thing he had forgotten to do, that was the most important thing of all was to book a flight. He could drive and be able to have my own means of transportation but that would take to long and he wanted to be able to hold Sierra as soon as possible. Digging around for his cell phone to make the call and as soon as he grabbed it, it rang. Quickly looking at the caller ID and seeing that his father was calling. Brought a smile to his face.

When Travis heard his father say that Sierra cried herself to sleep and saying his name. It brought a smile to his face knowing that she still cared about him. But it was only a weak smile, the pain he felt for causing her to leave still burned deep. If he could take everything back and return to that night he would, most definitely. But that's not possible so all he can do now is move forward and pray that she still wants him in her life.

His arms intentionally reached for her when he'd heard her soft crying in the background. Travis wanted to hold her and tell her he's here to protect her. A single tear ran down his cheek and fell on the phone. When he hung up with his father he had to sit down. All the emotions he felt were overwhelming. His heart felt like it's been torn in two. When she left she took half of it with her. There's a void that only she can fill, only she can make him whole again.

Travis sat on the edge of his bed, holding his head in his hands and let the emotions ran it's course. What else could he do? He believed he deserved much worse than this and would gladly take it if offered.

When his phone rang again, he didn't bother looking at who was calling and just answered it. His father gave him the information for the flight and Travis quickly composed himself. But not before his father could sense his distress. Phillip knows how much Travis hates himself for taking his anger out on Sierra. His father also said he'd help in anyway he could and this made Travis feel a little better.

Quickly glancing at his clock to see what time it was and if it was to early to leave yet. As anxious as he was to leave, he still didn't want to sit around the airport and wait either. The clock read twelve thirty, it only meant he had an hour before he would have to be there not to have to wait to long before the flight took off. Grabbing his bags and heading downstairs he placed them by the front door and headed into the kitchen for a bite to eat.

Standing in front of the fridge, his eyes caught sight of the blinking light on the answering machine. His eyes went back and forth between the fridge and phone before he finally gave in. Not remembering hearing the phone ring and who ever had called, it couldn't have been that long ago. So, he sat on the bar stool and pushed play message. The sound of Sierra's voice was a relief but made him depressed that he'd missed actually talking to her. When she screamed his name at the end of the message, he jumped up and knocked the bar stool to the ground. Within seconds Travis had his bags in hand and was at the door. Hand resting on the knob.

Travis knew Dean was still in the house, somewhere. "Dean I need a ride to the airport!!" He was sure his face showed panic and when Dean saw it, he didn't hesitant a minute. Grabbing his keys as they both headed for his jeep.

"Travis what's wrong?" Dean looked at him while he started the jeep. "If it has to do with Sierra, you know we'll all help!" He yelled this time only because Travis wasn't listening. Travis' main focus was Sierra and having her safe. He closed his eyes and saw her face, how it would have looked when she called. Her voice as she screamed