What was even worse, the doors to the other houses were locked down, and the house where the suspicious-looking people moved in was spotlessly clean… and totally abandoned save for the furniture and appliances.
We tried greeting the neighbors, but all we got were either the cold shoulder or the burning, seething anger of hatred.
When we asked what caused the fire or where the remains of her parents were, they just chose to ignore the topic and slam the doors and windows shut.
With the neighborhood changed drastically, I couldn't believe what happened in the time I was gone, and Samantha was understandably a total wreck, even ignoring my consoling actions.
And at that point, because of her pitiable state, I decided to end my relationship with her.
It was painful to leave her in a worse state, with her parents no longer with her and the entire neighborhood shunning her, but there was nothing I could do as her boyfriend.
