Stained

Chapter 145

"Yes," I question, facing him once they're out of the gate.

I watch his throat bob as he swallows hard. And just like that, panic replaces my worry. My gut begins incessantly poking at my mind, continuously tells me there's something wrong.

"I love my little cousin to death," he begins. "but...I know she can be a little devil at times. I'd like to think there's a limit to her horrid behaviour and that — like my auntie said— she's not like that anymore and could never do such a thing, but if I ever find out it was the case, I'll make sure she or whoever else it was is punished appropriately."

"Thank you." I nod my head, giving myself a moment to process his words and think of a proper response.

I'm instantly given one thanks to my nodding — I catch sight of a camera on the building. "Have you checked the cameras?" I point toward the camera I spotted above the door and then let my gaze wander over the vast building to find more. There's more than two on each corner of the building and two on each of the top corners of every window, probably because it's an enormous luxurious home, thus more prone to robbery.

He follows my line of sight. "I had thought of that, but the bouncy castles back was to the cameras, and enclosed on the most important sides."

Bouncy castle in mention, isn't here anymore, they must have turned it off after what happened.

I try to wrack my brain for an image of which way it was facing, but my mind betrays me as per and comes up with multiple different ways, confusing me as to which ones are correct.

I'll have to ask Sierra later even though I need to know right now to validate my reasoning.

"It would be worth a try. Sometimes the smallest things can reveal a lot. And I know Sierras saying she wasn't pushed, but most of the time during an injury, whilst your mind tries to process the trauma, it sometimes ends up telling you something else, and Sierras is too young to be aware of it."

"Yeah yeah, I shall do that."

I mentally smack myself. What a stupid thing for me to say. I should have asked him to let me look through the cameras, not ask him to do it himself. No sorry. Demand they give me them to look through.

Okay, so how do I say that authoritatively, so they take me seriously because being polite has got me nothing but stamped all over by everyone minus my best friends.

Better yet, how would Hannah say it?

Got it!

"I need to see them for myself to determine whether or not my sister was pushed."

'Yes, hazel!' My sweet subconscious cheers. 

It takes everything in me to suppress a smile. This is a serious conversation. But I can't help the twinge of pride blooming in my chest. I actually took a stand.

Ha, take that, Damien!

My happiness flys into the bin at the sight of his apologetic look. "I'm sorry, but I don't think that can happen." I tilt my head to the side, narrowing my eyes. That can't happen, or he doesn't want it to happen. "I mean, I don't live here anymore, so it's going to be hard for me to look through the cameras myself, let alone bring someone with me. I'm so sorry."