I helped my best friend hide the body

I walked up the spiral staircase to the attic room which was now mine. It was a big, pretty place with a gardan, mommy thought that would make up for leaving my school and all my friends. Well it won't, I'd just have to prove how miserable it was here and they would take me home.

The door creeked open and i peered into the room. Steve, my stepdad, already brought up my bed, dresser, and my desk. Grr. He was the whole reason we had to move in the first place. He never did like Missouri, so now we're stuck out here in California, which is dangerous to live in, because it's close to the ocean and we could have an earthquake. I mentioned this to mommy but she ignored me with a 'that's nice sweety' coment that really got under my skin.

There was no real point in unpacking, we weren't staying long I new they'd hate it here too. I was sure of it. As I patiently sat, not sure what I was waiting for, I found my silly old rabbit hopping around on the floor. I lifted him into my lap and stared at him. He had green eyes that were pale and very nonchalant. He also had golden fur that reminded me of buttercup, so that's what I named him. Nuzzling my hand he started to do that funny little nose wriggle thing he does when he's hungry. I pulled a carrot out of my overalls and placed it by his mouth. He imediatly started to chew noisely at the little treat I'd given him, it lightned my mood just a little bit and I was feeling better.

The doorbell rang and my mother hurried to the front room to answer it. I could hear her speaking to someone and I slowly crept down the stairs to see who it was, taking buttercup with me. I sat just barely in view on one of the steps.

" Hi!" said a pretty voice.

"well, hello!"exclaimed my mommy. "We weren't expecting company!"

" Oh that's alright we saw the moving truck and figured someone was moving out or someone else was moving in. So we came to say hi!" Said the women with the pretty voice i had a feeling that if I heard her sing, she would be very good!

"Steven! Erika! We have company!" shouted mommy.

"I'm right here." I said in a quiet voice.

Mommy looked around to see me sitting on the staircase with buttercup."Well come over here and say hi!" she said in a cheerful tone. "and leave the rabbit!" she added in a hushed whisper. I glared at her with hate. She knew i didn't like meeting new people. She knew that! I ignored what she said and brought buttercup. Stomping down the stairs, I saw the woman, her face matched her voice it was equally beautiful. I walked up and hid my face behind buttercup. He smelt bad and when they left I would need to give him a bath. Just then steve walked in and stood behind mommy.

" Michelle, this is my daughter Erika and my husband steven." said mommy.

"Oh how lovely" said Michelle "And this is my daughter Alice." suddenly a litle girl exactly my age stepped from behind the woman. She wore a lavender dress and had long black hair that spiraled down to the small of her back. She was pale but everyone was during early spring.

She walked right up to me with a warm smile and said "hi!" in a cheerful voice like her mother.

"Hi." I said in a quiet voice.

"Would you like to see Erika's garden?" asked my mother with a big grin that looked very forced and unatural. I could tell she was trying to make a good impression, but honestly it was just creepy!

"I would love to!" Said Alice with her own smile. But her's didn't frighten little children and bother adults. It set a warm glow to the scenery. I nodded my head in agreement. I grabbed her hand leading her to the garden. I planned to go to the store and buy white roses and purple snap dragons, but untill then all that was there was an apple tree and some decorative busches.

We walked down the stone path to the middle where an arangement of stones and pebbles created a giant ugly heart. I made a mental note to change that into the sun. It's said to bring good luck to your garden. Alice reached over to pet Buttercup and I eased him into her arms. She cuddled him close, it was adorable and I couldn't help but giggle. She looked up and giggled too. The rest of the day we spent doing fun things together we told secrets and shared all kinds of interests. We both loved volleyball even though we were both only 6 and couldn't play yet. We rode our bikes down big hills, watched movies, and when the day was over she spent the night at my house. She showed me how to decorate my room and my parents even let us paint it green. I showed her how to garden and she changed her stone and pebble flower into the moon so we had matching gardens. We also made a pact that day. We promised each other that we would spend every day together, never tell our secrets, and stand by each other no matter what!

As days passed I completly forgot about leaving and going back to Missouri. None of that mattered now, I had Alice and I always would. She promised.