Ten Years Later, Still Falling - Chapter 12: Chapter 12
You are reading Ten Years Later, Still Falling, Chapter 12: Chapter 12. Read more chapters of Ten Years Later, Still Falling.
The date read: June 8, 2014.
Then, like a bolt from the blue, it hit me—a half-forgotten news snippet I'd barely processed at the time, drowned out by my own heartache.
A fire in Greyhole. Two dead, one injured…
Suddenly, everything clicked into place.
I turned to Edward, my throat tight. "The night of the college entrance exams… something happened to your family, didn't it?"
Silence.
I pressed on, my voice trembling. "Was there… a fire at your house?"
Edward lifted his head, but his gaze was blank, as if he didn't even recognize me.
The boy I once knew—sharp, handsome, full of life—was gone. In his place was a hollow shell. His eyes, usually so bright, were bloodshot and empty. He looked like a broken toy, tossed aside and forgotten.
Then I remembered—Emma's mention of his mother. And Edward's own words, years ago, about his parents divorcing and moving on with new families overseas.
If his grandparents had died in that fire… then it all made sense.
He hadn't even been an adult yet. His mother must have taken him in.
No wonder he vanished after the exams.
That night—the night I sent him those messages—must have been when it all happened.
Edward had no one else. Just me.
And from his perspective? One minute, I was pouring my heart out to him. The next, I was with someone else, cutting him off completely.
Guilt crashed over me like a tidal wave.
Compared to what he'd been through, what I'd done was downright cruel.
I dropped to my knees in front of him. Edward blinked slowly, as if only now realizing I was there.
"Yuna," he whispered.
His voice was fragile, uncertain. "I don't have a family anymore."
The emptiness in his eyes shattered me.
All my resentment dissolved in an instant. Now, there was only aching sorrow.
His grandparents—gone. His mother—recently passed. His father—never wanted him.
He truly had no one left.
I opened my mouth, but the words stuck in my throat. After a few tries, all I managed was a quiet, "Don't be sad."
What else could I say? There were no words for this kind of pain.
"I'm sorry," Edward slurred instead.
He wasn't fully sober—his words thick, his movements sluggish.
"I didn't mean to ignore you back then."
His head drooped like a scolded child's, sadness etched into every line of his face.
"The fire… it happened so fast. My grandparents—they were old. They couldn't just leave everything behind. After they pushed me out… they kept trying to stop it. But it was too much."
His voice grew distant, cracking. "The flames… the house was full of junk—cardboard, plastic—there was nothing they could do."
By the end, he was barely holding back sobs.
I didn't think. I just stepped forward and pulled him into my arms. "I know."
But the second I touched him, I realized—his skin was scorching.
A fever?
Panic shot through me. I barely had time to react before he slumped forward, unconscious.
"Emma!" I shouted, my voice raw. "Hurry! He's burning up!"
The words barely left my lips when Edward went limp in my arms.
Then, like a bolt from the blue, it hit me—a half-forgotten news snippet I'd barely processed at the time, drowned out by my own heartache.
A fire in Greyhole. Two dead, one injured…
Suddenly, everything clicked into place.
I turned to Edward, my throat tight. "The night of the college entrance exams… something happened to your family, didn't it?"
Silence.
I pressed on, my voice trembling. "Was there… a fire at your house?"
Edward lifted his head, but his gaze was blank, as if he didn't even recognize me.
The boy I once knew—sharp, handsome, full of life—was gone. In his place was a hollow shell. His eyes, usually so bright, were bloodshot and empty. He looked like a broken toy, tossed aside and forgotten.
Then I remembered—Emma's mention of his mother. And Edward's own words, years ago, about his parents divorcing and moving on with new families overseas.
If his grandparents had died in that fire… then it all made sense.
He hadn't even been an adult yet. His mother must have taken him in.
No wonder he vanished after the exams.
That night—the night I sent him those messages—must have been when it all happened.
Edward had no one else. Just me.
And from his perspective? One minute, I was pouring my heart out to him. The next, I was with someone else, cutting him off completely.
Guilt crashed over me like a tidal wave.
Compared to what he'd been through, what I'd done was downright cruel.
I dropped to my knees in front of him. Edward blinked slowly, as if only now realizing I was there.
"Yuna," he whispered.
His voice was fragile, uncertain. "I don't have a family anymore."
The emptiness in his eyes shattered me.
All my resentment dissolved in an instant. Now, there was only aching sorrow.
His grandparents—gone. His mother—recently passed. His father—never wanted him.
He truly had no one left.
I opened my mouth, but the words stuck in my throat. After a few tries, all I managed was a quiet, "Don't be sad."
What else could I say? There were no words for this kind of pain.
"I'm sorry," Edward slurred instead.
He wasn't fully sober—his words thick, his movements sluggish.
"I didn't mean to ignore you back then."
His head drooped like a scolded child's, sadness etched into every line of his face.
"The fire… it happened so fast. My grandparents—they were old. They couldn't just leave everything behind. After they pushed me out… they kept trying to stop it. But it was too much."
His voice grew distant, cracking. "The flames… the house was full of junk—cardboard, plastic—there was nothing they could do."
By the end, he was barely holding back sobs.
I didn't think. I just stepped forward and pulled him into my arms. "I know."
But the second I touched him, I realized—his skin was scorching.
A fever?
Panic shot through me. I barely had time to react before he slumped forward, unconscious.
"Emma!" I shouted, my voice raw. "Hurry! He's burning up!"
The words barely left my lips when Edward went limp in my arms.
End of Ten Years Later, Still Falling Chapter 12. Continue reading Chapter 13 or return to Ten Years Later, Still Falling book page.