Burn My Paranoia One Last Time

25. She's a Liar and a Thief

A chill breeze swept through the dim pastel room, causing Carmen to wake with a shiver. She opened her eyes to see her room lit in the orange glow of a slowly setting sunset.

Not even the sunset could bring cheer to her dark mood. She knew she had to prove the others wrong. Her dad wasn't a killer.

Carmen noticed herself clutching her knuckles and tensing her jaw. Suddenly, a chill ran down her spine. Had she gone too far with her outburst? In the heat of the moment, she had said too many things she regretted. It probably didn't help her case, either.

Carmen relaxed and closed her eyes. There was something that stood out in that dream among everything else. While taking a deep breath, she recalled the faint image of a familiar piece of lunar embellished cloth. She'd seen the same decoration inside the limo and in Madam Vadoma's shop. A fascination with tarot cards connected both places. Carmen sat up straight. She had to leave before it was too late, otherwise she'd have to walk home after sundown.

This couldn't wait until tomorrow. Carmen felt an urgent need to prove her father innocent. The only way to do that was to get answers from an important witness— Rain Wilson's last living friend herself.

***

"I know who you are," Carmen panted after being forced to sit down.

"How could you possibly know? I grew up in Hungary," Madam Vadoma said dismissively while lighting up a cigarette. She was clearly agitated.

"Stop lying. I can see right through your fake accent, you've combined like three different ones so it doesn't even make sense!"

Madam Vadoma sighed loudly and took a lengthy drag on her cigarette before continuing in a clear American accent. "What do you want, kid? I'm trying to do a job."

"I want the truth. Tell me everything you know about Rain Wilson, I know you knew her. In fact, you knew her quite well, Madam Vadoma. Or should I say, Sloane?" Carmen leaned back and crossed her arms assertively.

Sloane's hand trembled as she narrowed her eyes at Carmen. "I guess the dreams were real, huh?"

"Yeah, and they're very vivid. So I suggest you don't leave anything out. I know you broke apart from my da— Joel and Rain after they found out you were with Holly. Tell me now, what happened after that? Who could have done such a thing to Rain and why?"

"Easy on the questions, detective." Sloane rolled her eyes and exhaled a cloud of smoke away from Carmen.

Carmen furrowed her brows and stared relentlessly. She kept her arms over chest, waiting impatiently.

"I didn't see Rain or Joel for a.. long while after that. We'd cross in the hallways sometimes, but I'd do my best to avoid them at all costs. It was a mistake," Sloane shook her head and closed her eyes sorrowfully. "I shouldn't have fallen for Holly. Maybe if I'd kept my distance from her instead, I could have been around Rain and stopped this from happening."

"What happened with you and Holly?" Carmen asked carefully.

"We kept seeing each other in secret. After a few weeks, I got tired of the constant hiding and urged her to just date me openly. Fuck what others think, right? Ha, I never thought she would betray me. We got caught by one of her friends and it all went to shit. She slapped me and called me a freak in front of all of them when they walked in to the bathroom. That was it, she wanted nothing to do with me after that."