Criminal

Chapter 2: Loss

At home, I told Fay about everything that was wrong with Nick and his house. From Cecil's anger to the immature son, and how dark and suspicious the house was, but it did not faze her. I kept asking myself how she could be okay with all that. She had an odd acceptance of the things I said. Maybe Nick talked to her about it. My father could not be trusted, and she should know. I did everything I could to convince her to cancel the date tonight, but she would not.

While I sat on the living room couch, she came into the room dressed in a long, black dress with her long hair down. She even wore the silver necklace Nick bought her years ago. She looked too elegant to annoy. "Please, don't go," I futilely said.

She smirked as she walked toward me. "If it bothers you so much," she whispered the place into my ear. "Visit me later, but be respectful."

I nodded while she left, so I got ready to go to such a formal place. I turned on the antique lamp my mom bought me, which was my favorite thing in my room. Opening my closet, I found the one thing that wasn't jeans and sweatshirts. The black, lacy dress Nick bought me two years ago still fitted me. After putting it on with matching boots, I stood in front of the mirror and held up my hair. If it was longer, I could do more, but it fell above my shoulders. For fun, I put on eye shadow, mascara, and lipstick, but I didn't enjoy wearing it. Satisfied with my appearance, even though I felt dressed in costume, I headed out to my car and drove to my parents' date. I still couldn't believe they're dating again.

The dance wasn't too far, and I've seen it before. They should be serving dinner by the time I get there. The late hour made it harder to see, as I usually only drive to school and back. When I arrived, I pulled into the space next to Nick's car. I was glad he'd at least drive my mom instead of making her go alone.

I walked to the glass panel windows around the exterior of the building. They caught me peering at them, so Fay rubbed his arm to gesture him into ignoring me. I sensed someone watching me and checked all around to see nothing. I headed inside to feel safe.

Fay asked him questions, but abruptly stopped as I got close enough to hear. I wished I heard what she said, but the noise of other people talking drowned out her voice. The place was lit just enough for me to find them. My dad saw me first. "Shelly, why did you come?"

"She's paranoid." Fay turned from him to me. "Honey, it's fine. We've been together before you were born, and I trust him. Nothing's going to happen."

I nodded, feeling ashamed for checking on her. Fay stabbed her fork at her salad while Nick stared at me, and everyone else ignored me. There's no point in me being here, and whatever my parents did was out of my control. I finally accepted that and headed back to my car.

I wandered inside my home, ate a piece of chocolate cake to feel better, and went to sleep. Images of a future with my parents together drifted in my mind as I fell asleep. That future would be nice, but my cynicism doubted it.

A scream snapped me from my dreams. I nearly knocked down my lamp to turn it on. Grabbing my baseball bat, I ran downstairs. Two people were wrestling in the kitchen. Only moonlight helped me find Fay, who had fallen to the floor, and an unidentifiable person. I swung the bat at them, but they dodged impossibly fast. They appeared behind me and bit my neck. The pain and shock caused me to drop the bat. Their teeth were unrealistically long, and they sucked and licked up my blood. I scratched, punched, and kicked with all the strength and speed I had, but it had no effect. I fainted from the blood loss.

The sun burned my skin as the pain jerked me awake. I hung a towel over the lace curtain on the window, wondering why the sun hurt more than any sunburn I experienced. I scratched my itchy neck, seeing the sticky blood flashed me back to what happened last night. Fay lay motionless on the floor with deep gashes in her body. I kneeled beside her to examine and forced myself to not think about my mom being dead. Her neck holes went deep, but there wasn't much blood in her or around her. She must've been sucked dry and hardly bled from the cuts on her torso and legs. Someone cut her to deter from the real cause, but I didn't have them.

I stood trembling, realizing I've been touching and staring at my mom's murdered body. I staggered to the phone to call the police, hoping they won't find me responsible. Maybe if she didn't go out last night, this wouldn't have happened. I should've tried harder to stop her.

With my mind blank, I fiddled with the buttons, unable to remember the basic number. The phone slipped from my trembling hands. Its clamoring startled me. I reached for it, sitting on my knees. How could I survive now if I couldn't make a simple call? Nick burst into the room. "Don't call, come with me."

Emotionlessly, I treaded to my room to grab a hooded jacket. I at least knew to cover up my pajamas and from the sun. My body felt foreign the more I moved around in it, like I lost something crucial, and it's more than losing my mom. Something strange took over my body, like it became a walking corpse. I lost my soul with my mother. Heading downstairs and facing my dad's warm eyes, he was all I had now. I followed him to his car.