Hidden Mysteries

I Can't Even Trust You

"Is Suitcase still not home?" Baseball glanced out the kitchen window nervously, staring up at the dark night sky. "It's almost eleven o'clock, for goodness sake!"

"Maybe the kid fell asleep at Silver and Candle's?" Nickel suggested tentatively, eying at the clock. "They might just drop her off tomorrow morning."

"Yeah, but wouldn't they at least call us, or something?" Baseball cried, pacing back and forth. "They wouldn't just not call us or anything...a-and if she left late they wouldn't let her walk home on her own, so—"

The back door opened, Suitcase walking in while grasping at the strap of her bag, her hand shaking carefully as she approached the kitchen table.

"Suitcase!" Baseball gasped. "Oh, thank goodness you're back, I was getting so—"

In one swift motion, Suitcase pulled the journal she had gotten from Baseball's underground office out of her bag, a loud thud echoing through the room as it hit the table. Baseball's face went pale, Nickel only staring at the journal in shock. Suitcase only stared at the two adults with a numb expression on her face, the looking her eyes saying "I know".

"Suitcase, I—we can explain everything—" Baseball started.

"Explain what? How you've been lying to me for all these years?" Suitcase screamed, tears spilling out of her eyes. "I can't believe you! You looked me right in the eyes and told me that Mom was dead, that she's been dead for all these years, but she's actually...she's been alive this whole time!"

"Suitcase, it isn't like that, it really isn't!" Baseball cried. "Handbag just wanted to protect you—I wanted to protect you—"

"And you thought that dishonesty was the way to go?" Suitcase retorted. "I thought what you said to me was the whole truth! I thought you were going to be completely honest with me, with everything!"

"Suitcase, please! I just want to keep you safe—"

"From Merripen?" The young girl's voice rose. "Don't bother. I know about Merripen, the prophecy, everything!" Her voice began to crack, tears spilling down her face. "And I know all of this because I learned the truth, learned the truth for myself! You don't know how much I've done, all for the sake of finding the answers after discovering that I might not know as much about Mom as I thought! I broke into an abandoned building, I skipped school and left town for almost a whole day to poke around in some freaky cave—I've been chased and/or attacked by monsters, multiple times!" Suitcase took a deep, shaky breath. "And when you came in and talked to me about the Fellowship, about Mom's journals, I thought I knew. I thought that you were going to start to tell me everything. But now I know that I can't even trust you to tell the entire truth. I can't even trust my own dad."

"Suitcase, I-I—" Baseball started.

"Save it," Suitcase snapped, wiping her tears on her sleeve. "I-I can't stay here right now. I just can't." She grabbed the journal, shoving it in her bag and storming off. "I'm leaving."

She stomped up to her room and grabbed a large duffel bag, throwing clothes and several of her other possessions inside angrily, tears streaming down her face. She bent down onto the floor, gathering all of her mother's journals and cramming them inside, wrapping them in an old hoodie. Suitcase took a deep, shaky breath, silently picking up Snuffles and staring at the sewn on, mismatched button eyes.

"It's going to be okay, Snuffles," she mumbled, mostly to herself. "Things are going to be okay."

She gently placed her stuffed rabbit in the duffel bag before zipping it shut, gathering all her bags up before leaving her bedroom, not bothering to glance back at the remorseful Baseball sitting at the kitchen table as she ran out of the house, her tears streaming down her face.