UNCONDITIONALLY YOURS

Eavesdropping // 39

My stepmother was a gold digger as oppose to loving my father, that was something I had never doubted. I didn't doubt that she was a bad person either, but there are some lengths I never expected her to exceed. Lengths such as trying to cut me out of the picture forever, and even stretching to killing me if necessary. At first, I didn't have the slightest clue who was threatening me, but after a while I solved the mystery and suddenly over things began to make sense.

I never suspected her initially, so I didn't piece things together. But it only took an initiative to think about it being her for me to realise. I thought about it first the morning after I saw someone with a knife.

 As I read the letter left on my bed over and over, the writing seemed more familiar. I recognised it at very similar to my stepmother's handwriting. I didn't think too deeply about this instantly, the chances that they happened to have writing that looked the same were high. But that evening as I lay in bed, the thought crossed my mind once again, and that time I pieced together a few other things.

The person could get in my house without setting alarms off. After living in my house most of my life, I had found one way out that didn't set the alarms off and that was through my window. However, my window was locked that evening and there were no signs of forced entry. My stepmother could easily put a letter on my bed with no sign of entering the house because she was already in the house.

 I concluded that whoever it is, they had to be pretty well off. They had hired someone to... kill me according to the knife in my hand. And they also must have been paying people all over the city to give them information. There was no way one person could know that much without becoming known. My stepmother fit all the criteria. But she still needed a motive, and I wasn't quite sure on that. I had ideas, but they were only ideas.

"That's a very interesting story and I am sorry for what you have been through." The police officer replied after I told him about everything I knew. "I am afraid that is not enough evidence to arrest your stepmother, there is no proof or even a lead. You just suspect her."

"That's nonsense!" Parker asserted protesting. The police officer was a little surprised by his conclusiveness. "Sorry... my point is can't you at least look into her? You might find something."

"I'm afraid not. Trust me, I want to, but I would need a warranty to investigate her further and there has to be some sort of proof for those measures." I felt bad for Parker because I knew how much this bothered him. And I knew he couldn't rest not knowing I am safe.

"But..." He uttered. "I mean, Riley isn't safe. Even if it isn't her stepmother, she is in danger." Parker looked at the police officer pleadingly.

"If you think it is necessary, I can put her into witness protection. The measures are pretty extreme and include not leaving your house, not having people in your house and not contacting people." 

I instantly shook my head and Parker glared at me. "What I would recommend is taking your own measures. Never go out alone and come here once a week so we keep track of anything. If you don't show up, we will suspect something is wrong."

"I won't go into witness protection that would be overly extreme." I proclaimed.

"It is your choice I guess, but I'm not letting you leave the house alone."

"Oh wait!" I declared dramatically. "Flashbacks of my childhood." I said sarcastically referencing to my father never letting me out. I laughed to myself, and Parker looked at me unamused at my joke. We left the police station after signing an agreement and we began to walk home.

"Noah and Summer are going to be at home this evening." He mentioned as we wandered.

"Oh, great. I haven't seen Summer in almost a week, and it will be nice to catch up with Noah too." He nodded but grinned slightly. "What?"

"I have a feeling you aren't that much of a fan of Noah." I flushed.

"It's not that; his only problem is pushing things a bit too much. Honestly, I don't doubt he's a great person and I think he's great and funny. Sometimes he just doesn't see the negative side of things when he might need to."

"You aren't wrong."

When we got back, Summer and Noah were home. Summer flung herself into my arms and hugged me. I was beginning to get more used to he unexpected hugs. Not that I liked it, but I could tolerate it. It was worth it for our friendship, we were becoming closer and closer and I really liked her.

"You never flinch when Parker hugs you!" She complained stepping back a little. "I'm definitely better than him. Anyway, you guys moved in together? And I saw a story in the news. What happened and how come I had to see the news to find out?" She blurted. 

Summer and Noah knew a little about me, but nowhere near all of it. All they really knew is that I didn't get on with my father and that was all I was prepared to tell them.

"Well, yes we did, and I'll catch you up on the rest tomorrow. I exhausted, can we watch a movie?" 

Everyone showed signs of agreement, so we sat down and put something on. Things were pretty great then. I wasn't just Parker's third wheel anymore, it two couples and two sets of best friends. I was just as involved in the group as anyone else was and having that sense of involvement felt good. I couldn't wait to enter the new year with them.

Summer

I loved the movie we watched, it was a beautiful story. I was so excited for Riley and Parker, they seemed perfect for each other.

 When Parker finally found the girl for him, I hadn't expected it to be someone with money like Riley. But I soon realised she wasn't the same as other rich girls like the ones Parker had to put up with. And they fit so well together. 

Noah and I stayed overnight, and we were laying in bed together when I felt thirsty, so I got up to get a drink. On my way back, I heard quiet whispering from Parker's room, and I assumed Riley was sleeping in there too. I appreciated privacy, but I was naturally a nosy gossip. I couldn't help but listen to what they were saying.

"You aren't sleeping again gorgeous, talk to me." Parker muttered sleepily.

"A lot of my mind." Riley simply stated.

"Tell me, even if you have before. Talking about it might help you get the thoughts off your mind."

 I wondered what kind of things they were talking about. I felt like it was a moment they wouldn't want me to hear, but I was too invested to turn away.

"My stepmother is trying to kill me, I just escaped from my father who never loved me, I saw Ben, the boy who gave me a huge scar on my arm, I saw the girl who my boyfriend cheated on me with, I still miss the café... there's countless things to think about."

I zoned out from Parker's reply because I was shocked. Now it made sense why Parker was always so protective over her. Without even going into detail about each thing, I could tell how much she had been through. Poor thing. 

Things were starting to add up. Why she was always so insecure, she never realised how pretty we was, she was cautious around people and that huge cut and bruise on her arm the night we met. Riley wasn't strong and cold (at times) for no reason, she had reasons. I wished I had known sooner.

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