The Finding – Outtake #1

A lot of you guys were confused as to why Simon let Derek leave so easily in Chapter #20 (Broken). Well, now that the story's over, here's your chance to see what caused Derek's departure.

Tori POV

I walked in on a shouting match between Simon and Derek.

"Did you even talk to Chloe about this yet?!" Simon demanded.

Derek's face was a mask of calm. "Yes, and she said she's fine with it, so I'm ready to go-"

I finally understood why they were shouting. "Wait, wait wait! Hold on a sec there, fido! You're leaving?"

Derek rolled his eyes. "Yes, I am, and I need you to-"

I cut him off. "You must be on some cheap crack there, dog-boy, because you can't just leave! Chloe would never-"

"Shut up, Tori," he spat.

Simon catapulted off the bed and onto his feet. "Don't tell my sister to shut up!" he shouted. "She's right!"

"Your… sister?" He sneered as if it was a dirty word. "What am I, Simon? Chopped liver? Aren't I still your brother?" Derek smiled menacingly. "Oh wait, I forgot – you don't think of Dad and I as your family anymore, do you? "

That was uncalled for! "Who the hell do you think you are?" I bellowed.

Simon pushed me behind him and stood in front of Derek. He looked frighteningly calm.

"You know what Derek? Go ahead and leave! Break Chloe's heart and turn your back on us; no big deal! We never needed you anyway."

Derek smiled widely. "I'll tell Dad you say hi, Simon."

He turned around and left the room.

I slammed the door behind him.

When I turned around again Simon was sitting down on the edge of his bed, his head in his hands. He looked utterly destroyed. "I-I can't believe h-he-"

I could hear the tears coming. Crap! Now I'm gunna start crying too!

"He's just confused," I said softly, hoping to avoid the tears. "Trust me, when Chloe wakes up she'll talk him out of it. Do you really think she'd let him take off on his own like that? Something's definitely up."

He groaned. "I don't know, Tor. I just… I have a really bad feeling about all of this. Everything's just… wrong, you know, and I don't think its gunna get better anytime soon." He looked up from his hands, the look in his eyes practically begging me for some kind of reassurance that everything was going to be alright. I couldn't say anything, though; I just stood there staring at him. The hair on the back of my neck was prickling and I could feel goose-bumps forming on my skin. Chloe would never let this happen...

Unless she doesn't know.

"Wait here!" I called, already halfway out the door. I ran down the length of the hallway, turning the doorknob of Derek's door the moment I could reach it. Please don't be empty, I begged. Please, for the love of God, dog-boy, please don't let this room be empty!

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Well, you know what happens next. Here's the deal: I will be taking requests! Just send me the chapter number and a brief description of what you're talking about via review or PM and I will try to get it done - although I can only do so many per month, I will try to get to yours at some point. I will, however, be waiting until this week's receives 20 reviews before posting the next one. That's all guys! Hope this ties you over till the sequel!