by Akaku Red
I couldn’t even stop myself from crying. I always tried hard to hide my fear, my feelings, and I didn’t want to bother anybody with it, since I always seemed like a bother to all the people around me —that’s why I locked away my thoughts deep in my heart.
When I finished talking, Charlotte got up. She was holding her head and circled around my room, then she stopped and came back to me.
She was crying.
“Oh my god! You were all alone! All this time, you were alone with all these problems!”
Her words made my tears fall even harder.
“I can’t believe it! Now everything makes sense! Your fear about love, the way you are absent sometimes, why you asked me for the letters, and why you didn't tell the truth. Oh my god!”
She wiped away my tears and nodded her head to something, although I hadn’t even said anything.
“I will help you! I am so sorry that you had to endure it all alone! Even if you told Linette some of the story, you never told her everything, and I understand why you are so careful!”
I bit my lower lip because I was nervous. Her reaction wasn’t something I had expected, she wasn’t disgusted by me, nor did she resent me for how I had acted.
I slid my arms around her back and hugged her again.
“Thank you,” I muttered over and over again.
“You don’t need to thank me. I didn’t do anything, but I am glad that you confined in me.”
I nodded, but then I remembered.
“About Linette … you told me she lied?”
She nodded again.
“She is also my friend, so I need to ask her first about that.”
“Okay.”
This was the right thing to do.
Yet, Charlotte changed her mind after my answer.
“But … It is nothing big. She only lied about the fact that we met Tyler on the way. The truth is, she was with him. They came together, and the way Tyler dragged her out of the room … because he became mad that we interrupted his time with you. That showed me that they indeed know each other! He didn’t do that to me, since we don’t know each other as well. You understand what I am saying?”
I nodded again.
“Yeah… I guess, I get what you are trying to say.”
“Like you had suspected already… But this isn’t important. We should care about the other matters.”
She took my hand and held it softly.
“We have a lot to be careful about, and I am going to keep an eye on you!”
I sighed.
“You need to be careful, too! I am afraid that the person knows you. What if he wants to hurt you now?”
She shrugged me off.
“Nah! This won’t happen since you didn’t tell anyone about what happened. Besides me, Bob, and Jeffrey, but I guess they won’t tell anybody about it.”
Her eyebrows moved up and down as she said this.
“Please promise me that you are going to be careful!” I pleaded.
Charlotte’s white hair was tickling my ears as she hugged me again.
“I promise. And you need to promise me that you will also take care of yourself!”
I nodded shyly.
“Good! Now, let’s talk about the present! Tyler was acting all jealous when you hugged the police officer. He was about to end that man’s whole career when he patted your back.”
Her change of topic was indeed random, yet still amusing.
“I don’t think he was jealous! Bob is like a father to me.”
“Err … Still you hugged him so sweetly, of course he is going to be jealous! I guess he wished he was the one who was this close to you.”
She tried to mimic Tyler’s gaze, yet again she failed and made me laugh.
“I am trying really hard. He was so cute!”
“You are cute,” I said and clapped my hands.
“Are you trying to flirt with me?”
Her tone was teasing, her smile daring, which made me laugh again.
“Anyway …”
I wanted to change the topic, but she kept on talking.
“I mean … He surely wanted to caress your soft skin, touching your body all night long and-”
A firm cough sounded behind us and made us turn to the door.
My mother was standing there, her cheeks turned slightly red— while Charlotte blushed hard. She even gasped and cursed quietly.
“Miss Walsh … I mean… Charlotte, you are a lively young woman!” Elise said out loud, which made Charlotte nearly die with embarrassment.
“In fact, I think you are right! He really did look like that.”
It took us a moment to understand that my mother was indeed found of the thought that Tyler might be jealous.
Charlottes colour changed back to normal, she winked at my mother and smiled brightly since they had both had the same thought.
“That is what I am saying!”
Both of them seemed to be plotting against me and began to talk about the craziest things ever.
Yet, I was glad that they seemed to get along with each other.
And Charlotte changed the heavy mood!
My mother liked her instantly— also, since it was late at night, my mother even asked her if she wanted to sleep over.
Charlotte gladly agreed to it.
She called her mother, and after she got her consent, she curled up in my bed.
Both of them spoiled me a lot. After the chitchat, my mother helped me look after my wound.
I changed my clothes and took the medicine Jeffrey had given me, then I got back to my room.
Charlotte was wearing a pair of my mother’s pyjamas since they had the same height.
We made ourselves comfortable in my room.
I was tired of the day and still scared from the encounter, but since my mother didn’t know what had really happened, I needed to act like I was all right.
Thankfully, Charlotte spoke most of the time. She helped me conceal my fear.
“Tomorrow I will tell the gardener to take care of the mouse. I would get scared myself if I saw a rat,” my mother said out loud.
“Yeah … I would die right on the spot, too.”
Charlotte agreed.
Well, at least my excuse was believable!
“I will leave you both alone now.”
My mother wanted to get up to leave us alone, but I didn’t want her to go.
She was still worried and shocked from the day and leaving her alone in her room didn’t sound like a good idea to me.
“Mum, you should stay with us,” I said.
“But I am just disturbing you both.”
“No! We are talking freely, haha,” Charlotte denied. I nodded my head in agreement.
My mother smiled. She was obviously touched.
“Well, then.”
She laid down next to me and started stroking my hair.
“I feel young again.”
Charlotte laughed.
“If twenty-nine is old, then I don’t know myself.”
She was clearly flattering my mum, but both of them started laughing.
“Nice to hear! Even though I am way older now.”
My mother hugged me tight.
It was quiet for a moment, then Charlotte broke the silence.
“Somehow, I feel like talking about my ex.”
She sighed.
“This jerk got a new girlfriend … all normal and good. But this girl was once a friend of mine!”
“Oh no!” My mother gasped.
“Yeah, this little-”
Elise stopped her from cursing, but after she told her story, Elise was cursing, too.
It was like a normal sleepover with friends.
We had never done anything like this.
This was the first time with my mother and a friend.
It was a beautiful moment, and I greatly enjoyed it.
We chatted a lot until both Charlotte and my mother fell asleep.
I was the only one
who was still wide awake. I couldn’t sleep since I was afraid that the scary person could appear again.
That’s why I stayed up for the whole night.
The whole night I thought about my past.
I remembered things that weren’t pleasant at all.
When some noises were audible from downstairs, I couldn’t help myself and felt frightened, about them even though I knew that those noises were normal.
I was afraid to experience all this pain again.
It was one of my many fears.
Finally, dawn broke.
“Good morning… You already up?”
My mother placed a kiss on my cheek.
“Yeah … Good morning!”
She stretched and smiled at me.
Her eyes were a little swollen, but she still looked stunning as always.
“It is still early. I think we should let Charlotte sleep a little more. You will stay at home, but she needs to go to school!”
She heaved herself up.
“I am going to organise a toothbrush and her clothes, so she can get ready for school.”
I smiled. My mother was covering all the bases, as usual!
“Today I have a day off. I will stay with you.”
Again, she placed a kiss on my forehead before she got up and left my room.
I sighed heavily.
She was clearly taking the day off again because of me.
“That was cute! I don’t think your mother has any ill intentions against you.”
Charlotte surprised me when she leaned her face against my shoulder.
I thought she was still sleeping.
“I also don’t think that she would do anything to harm me,” I mumbled.
“Yeah … My mother and I … we don’t have that. She is always on business trips, I was raised by my grandmother.”
Charlotte combed her hair back with her fingers.
“It’s just sad that you came late into this family.”
I leaned back on my bed and watched Charlotte’s every move.
Her white hair was all over the place, even though she tried to restrain it, then she leaned back and hugged me.
“I hope that everything turns out to be okay. I can’t imagine how much you have suffered.”
My hand moved to her hip as I pulled myself closer.
“I just want to live normally… I really appreciate the time with you guys because you are treating me like a normal person.”
We were silent for a few moments, but then Charlotte tossed the blanket away and got up.
She leaned against the bed and looked at me with curiosity written in her eyes.
“Who treated you the worst?”
She asked this question carefully, and I knew what she was referring to.
“My mother was bad … Thomas was worse … and there was another one, Daniel Wilson, he was the worst of all … He was a friend of Thomas. He would take pictures of me and treat my wounds … and even …”
I stopped.
I didn’t want to remember this man.
“God! He didn’t get punished?” Charlotte asked.
“He died before the court hearing. Killed himself. He jumped off a building.”
Charlotte made her hands into fists.
“What an asshole!”
“Why do you ask?”
She looked down, playing with her fingers.
“I am afraid … I have a bad feeling about the situation. What if they are looking for you?”
My vision went blank for a little moment.
This suggestion was something I didn’t want to think of.
Never!
“Sorry, I didn’t want to scare you.”
“N-No, I hope that their paths will never cross mine again. I don’t think I could take it.”
Charlotte hugged me tight.
“We will be carful!”
After the little chat, Charlotte went downstairs with me where my mother had already prepared a magnificent breakfast.
Again, both of them where talking non-stop.
Before Charlotte left the house, she promised to come over after school.
My mother stayed by my side as she had promised.
In the evening, I dozed off due the lack of sleep.
When I woke up, I noticed that Elise was in the kitchen. She was making dinner, while I stayed on the couch and looked up at the ceiling.
My mind was so full of thoughts. Even during my little nap, I had so many things that I worried about.
I wished that I didn’t have to think anymore.
I really desired a moment of silence.
But my mind kept on thinking, my mind was spinning.
I even tried to keep the focus on my back pain, yet it only made me worry more.
Breathing slowly in and out, I closed my eyes again.
“This… is important.”
The voice came back into my mind.
My eyes flew wide open.
The box!
What was in the box?
Was there another clue?
I heaved myself up and slowly moved to the hall.
From my viewpoint, I could see my mother cooking.
She was so focused on it that she didn’t notice anything else.
So, I took the chance and moved over to the back door.
A cold breeze greeted me when I opened it.
My body was trembling, from the pain, the wind, and the memories.
I was too afraid to take the steps to the garden shed, afraid that the person would pop out again and get me, but if I didn’t look, then I would never know the answer to the question.
The sky was dark with thick clouds. It looked like it could start raining at any moment.
Birds were already flying in the opposite direction of the clouds.
A storm is coming in.
I took a deep breath before I made my first step. The further I got away from the back door, the more my heart was speeding up. I had the feeling that my heart was beating out of my chest when I reached the garden shed.
It was a suffocated feeling, even though there was enough air around me to breathe.
I grabbed the doorknob of the garden shed and opened it. Nothing had changed from yesterday, even my blood was still on the ground.
The wind was making loud noises, it whistled as if someone was with me.
My gaze followed the shape of the lawn mower, then up to the bookshelf. My eyes stopped by the empty space above it.
The box wasn’t there anymore— it had been removed.
I sighed heavily before taking a step inside.
The garden shed wasn’t very big, and it was impossible to conceal the box anywhere in there. It was clear that the box had been taken away.
Someone must have removed it. Maybe it was the scary person?
But why would he tell me that the box was important?
What was hidden in it?
Who did the box belong to?
“JENNY?”
I gave a start when I heard my mother shouting my name.
My mother must have been shocked to not find me in the living room. I had been outside for too long.
Without wasting any more time, I left the garden shed and rushed to the back door where my mother was already standing.
“Jenny! What were you doing? It is cold outside, and you are hurt!”
Her pale face made me feel guilty. I didn’t want to scare her again.
“I am sorry, I just wanted check something.”
My mother shook her head in disbelief.
“You are hurting! Look at you, you are pale, and you are even sweating. You shouldn’t go anywhere!” she scolded me. I didn’t protest because I was in the wrong. I shouldn’t have gone out.
“What would you need to check out while you are in such a condition?”
She grabbed my wrist and pulled me inside and closed the door at the same time.
I instantly felt the warmth from the house. The cold wind cou
ldn’t reach me now.
“Yesterday … I saw a box on top of the shelf … I wanted to take a look at it, but it isn’t there anymore.”
“What?”
Her eyes widened. Her arms fell to her side.
She didn’t blink anymore. It was as if she was frozen for a moment. Suddenly, she turned and opened the door. With difficulty, I followed her rushed steps to the garden shed.
She started searching for the box with hectic movements, but when she couldn’t find it, she sunk down on her knees and stared up to the ceiling. Her tears fell to the ground.
My body moved automatically. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders, unsure why she was so upset.
“Mum, why are you crying?” I whispered my question.
She couldn't answer me right then. She only softly held my arm and cried silently.
I didn’t know how long we stayed like that, but the rain had already started to come down hard.
The cold wind was coming through the small holes of the garden shed.
Rain drops slid down some of them.
Luckily, we didn’t get wet.
We were both on the ground next to the lawn mower. The atmosphere, the weather, everything was cold.
And it even got colder when my mother started talking again.
“The box belonged to your late father. It was his box with his belongings.”
I tightened my grip.
“Rick …”
She whispered his name with a cracked voice.
“I need to ask the gardener, maybe he knows where the box is.”
She sighed.
“Who would steal such an old box?”
She tried to calm herself with those words, to make herself believe that the box wasn’t gone and that she had overreacted.
But … I wasn’t sure about that.
‘He will get you too.’
‘This is important.’
The scary voice returned into my mind.
He knew about the box, and he surely knew that the box used to belong to my father.
Who else but him could have taken it? And … I was also sure that he … must have had something to do with the death of my father.
Sadly, the gardener didn’t know where the box was, so in the end … It seemed like the scary person had taken it.
Charlotte, Amy, and Linette visited me regularly after school.
Tyler couldn’t come because he needed to work overtime.
I had to admit that I was a little sad that he couldn’t come over, but I wasn’t mad about it since he needed to do his work.