Can You Keep A Secret?

Chapter 9

    Me and my mom stood there. Mom's mouth was hanging open, her eyes like saucers. But I remained frozen, my arms loosely crossed, no expression on my face whatsoever.

    "Go after her!" Mom yelled at me.

    "She killed my boyfriend!" I yelled right back.

    "Maybe it's time you move on from him," she told me in a forced calm voice.

    "It's been a week! Mom I love him!"

    "Don't give me that bullshit! You don't know what love is!" Mom screamed, tears running down her cheeks.

    "And you do?" I said in a whisper, tears running down my cheeks as well. "You don't look at dad, you don't touch him, you barely talk to him! You don't love him like I love Zach!" I was shaking with anger now.

    "You mean loved!" She put emphasis on the d.

    "No!" I screamed. "I'll always love him!"

    Without saying anything else, I ran to my room, crying, and slammed the door behind me. I heard footsteps come towards my door, and stop right outside. I could feel my mom raising her hand up to knock, then putting it back down at her side. I held my breath all the while. Seconds later, the footsteps retreated, and another door slammed. I withdrew my breath, threw myself onto my bed, sobbing. After a while, I drifted off.

    I awoke to the sound of voices the next day. Waking with a start, I found my blankets tangled around my legs. After getting out of bed - with a bit of a struggle - I glanced at my alarm clock. It read 2:30 p.m. I couldn't believe I had slept that long. I stumbled out to the kitchen, wearing my superman pajama pants and a black tanktop. My mom an dad were sitting at the table, across from a very official looking police officer. They all had a cup of coffee sitting on the table in front of them, a small plate of cookies sitting between them. Chocolate chip cookies, Zach's favourite...

    "Who's this?" I ased, looking at everyone in turn before walking over to the coffee pot. Everyone started at the sound of my voice, causing my mom to spill a bit of coffee on the table. As she grabbed a napkin and began to wipe up the mess, I got a quick look at her face. Her cheeks were blotchy, her eyes red. She was probably crying as much as me last night, if not more.

    "This is chief Michael Paxton," my dad cut in when nobody answered. "He's here to inspect Mariah's room for clues."

    I gaped at everyone in turn. Well, not my mom. I couldn't look at her after what I said last night. The memory was still fresh in my mind.

    "Well come on!" I said, running over to Michael. "Let's go look!" I grabbed his hand and steered him to Mariah's room. We burst inside, without waiting for my parents. I walked over to the closet, pulled open the door, and gestured to all the photos. Chief Michael pulled a small portable camera from a pocket somewhere inside his jacket and immediately started to take pictures. As he did that, my dad tapped me on the shoulder, motioning for me to follow him outside.

    "I'll be right back sire. Feel free to look eveywhere and take lots of pictures." I then followed my dad out when he didn't respond.

    We put on our coats and boots, then stepped outside onto the deck. We stood there in silence for a minute, me staring out at the sky, my dad staring at me. I could feel his eyes boring into me. He then broke the silence, speaking in a very hushed tone.

    "Go apologize to your mother."

    I looked at him like I had just been slapped in the face. "Why me? She said stuff too! I know I did but I'm not the only one! She told me to move on from Zach! It's only been a week! I can't move on..."

    "I know, she told me the story last night through her tears. Look, you don't have to do it now. Just get it done later, before it's too late." He gave me a stern look, and walked back inside, leaving me in shock, in the cold.