Ripple - [COMPLETED] [Undergoing Editing]

Chapter Twenty-Two

Two Months Later...

Annie looked over at the seat beside her and saw the urn strapped in. She promised Evan she'd get Katie to Niagara Falls and she intended to keep that promise. Kevin wasn't pleased with her leaving, he said she was neglecting Evelyn, but she didn't have a choice. Katie needed her and this was something she needed to do. After selling her childhood home she finally had enough money to make the travel. At least because of this she would help Katie mark one of the check marks on her five-year plan, now that she couldn't complete the rest. Other than her having another baby, but at the rate things were going she wasn't even sure she wanted the one. Her entire life she had wanted a baby and the moment she met Kevin, it was all a part of her dream. Though now, she couldn't look at Evelyn without thinking of Katie. She knew Katie got a message from the shooter, but clicked her message instead. If she hadn't went into labor right then and there, maybe she would've stayed in the classroom. Maybe she would've read his message in time and still been alive. She couldn't help it. Every time she saw Evelyn she felt angry and guilty and just couldn't bear to look at her. She couldn't admit this to Kevin, he wouldn't understand. He already told her she was spending way too much time away and hated when she went off to another protest or interview about Katie, but she had to. If she stopped talking about Katie's story, then what? Then she would be forgotten and she just couldn't bare that thought.

When she arrived, she took a tour and carried the urn in a tote bag, unsure if her dumping it in the falls was allowed or not. She managed to step away from the tour and went off by herself. She was so upset that Katie's eyes would never get to see this place. That evil bastard took away her chance. She wondered what Katie would've done if she'd seen it. Would it have inspired her to write something, would Evan had painted it, maybe painted her too? Maybe they'd get married with it in the background. None of it now possible. She removed the lid of the urn and let the ashes fall into the water, the wind picking up some of the ashes. Annie watched as it all floated away until the urn was empty. She put it back in her bag and walked off. She couldn't stand any of it. None of it made sense, none of it was fair and all of it ruined her life.

When she got into her car she stared at the message from Kevin begging her to come home, but no part of her wanted to. She had loved Kevin, but after Katie died nothing seemed like it would be okay again and she couldn't see that same love and light in him as she once had. Also, the thought of seeing Evelyn killed her. She could bare to think of what kind of future she'd have with the resentment Annie had for her. Annie turned and looked at the suitcases in the backseat. She knew this was for the best. Kevin could handle the household on just his income and she knew he'd love Evelyn enough for them both. She knew he would do what she could not. She got up and tossed the phone into a trash can and climbed back into her car and headed into the city with the money she had from selling her mother's home, looking for something that made more sense.