Eclipse {Ravi Singh}

02

disclaimer: i dont own agggtm holly jackson does

pip and amaris stood on the singhs doorstep waiting, willing the door to open when it didnt pip had decided that they waited long enough she turned mumbling, "come on." to her twin sister who sighed before turning herself only to freeze when the creek of the door behind the opening was heard. turning amaris swore she couldnt breath, he looked so much sal. sal the friendly face amaris hadnt realized she missed, she didnt even know him well and yet something in her told her sal was capable of killing andie and then himself.
"oh." pips voice was high, almost squeaky, "sorry, i thought you told me to come back friday. todays friday."
"um, yeah i did," he awkwardly scratched the back of his head and amaris wanted to shrink. he didnt want them here. why had she agreed to this? "but...... honestly, though.... i thought you were just taking a piss. a prank. i was expecting you to actually come back." ravis eyes shifted from the floor to amaris, seemingly studying the unfamiliar face on his front porch.
"thats, um, unfortunate. no prank, i promise. im serious."
"yea you seem like the serious type." he was still scratching his head. a nervous tick, amaris concludes.
"im irrationally serious." pip smiles.
amaris takes the container of cookies and holds them out to him with one hand, "pip made muffins. im amaris, her twin sister." she sticks out her other hand and he seems almost shocked.
"child of the moon, you seem to fit your name meaning," ravi almost smiles as he looks over her once more, she was pale and had black hair, almost like the moon and space around it. "im ravi. she made bribery muffins?" he questions shaking her hand and taking the container.
ravi means sun in Sanskrit. and much like he said about her he fit his names meaning, yet at the current moment amaris was the one with a smile not him, the moon was smiling not the sun. amaris could laugh at the irony of it all.
"seems so." she replies glancing over at her sister, missing the ghost of a smile on ravis lips.
"so can we come in?" pip asks using the face that victor often called 'pip's constipation pleading' amaris face scrunches she absolutely hated that face which is why she smiles when ravi gives and answer similiar to the one she would if she were him.
"yes, fine. only if you stop making that face." he steps backward holding the door open for the two girls.
"thank you thank you thank you." pip says, eagerly walking forward and tripping on the front step. amaris follows with more composure, glaring at her sister as ravi raises his brows asking if they want tea.
"yes, please." amaris watched as pip stood awkwardly next to her. "black please."
"i never trusted anyone who takes their tea black." ravi says before looking at amaris for her answer.
"two sugers, please." she says politely and ravi nods before walking to the kitchen the two sisters following.
"how do you take it then?" pip questions setting her bag on one of the chairs.
"milk till its white and then three sugers." ravi answers and amaris face scrunches, she wasnt good at hiding her reactions.
"three sugers? three?" pip asks
"i know i know. clearly im not sweet enough already." ravi jokes and amaris lips twitch into a smile as she sits down at the table.
"you know if you have too much suger you can get diabetes." amaris says taking her cup from ravi which he held at the bottom, wven though it was probably scolding, so she could grab the handle, pip grabbing her cup from his other hand where he held it out to her in the same way.
"i did know but thanks for the concern." ravi says to amaris who glances down at her tea with a smile.
"your parents arent in?" pip asks
"nope." amaris's eyes follow ravis hands as he brings his cup to his mouth and takes a sip. "and if they were, you woouldnt be. we try not to talk about sal too much, it upsests mom. it upsets everyone, actually."
"i cant imagine." pip mumbles, she knew that if she lost amaris, no matter if the whole town believed sh had killed someone, pip would be a mess. yes amaris and pip had their fights, they are siblings after all, but the fights didnt matter pip would never be able to get over amaris death. ever. so yes it made sense to her that the singhs didnt talk about sal even 5 years later.
"its not just that hes gone. its that.....
well, we're not allowed to grieve for him, because of what happened. and if i were to say 'i miss my brother', it makes me some kind of monster." the frown that had found its way to onto amaris's face was deep, her eyes were downcast and she fiddled with the rings on her fingers.
"i dont think it does, neither does mari." pip speaks for her sister, knowing that she felt the same as her. no they didnt have twin telepathy, but they were close and shared almost everything with eachother.
"me either, but im guessing we're the minority there." ravi responds sadness in his voice.
"im sorry." amaris mumbles her voice sincere, ravi looks over at her, studying her, her posture, her downcast eyes. she didnt know why but ravis eyes focussing solely on her made her anxious. her eyes glance upward at him for less then a second befire going to her lap were she was nervously scratching her palm.
"its not your fault." ravi whispers and her eyes go to his, searching. searching for any sign that his statement wasnt sincere. she didnt find it.
the movement from pip taking a sip makes their eyes snap to her.
"crying already? we havent got to the sad parts." ravi says his right brow raised as pips eyes moisten.
"tea... hot." pip panted out.
"let it cool down for a jiffy, or you know, one one-hundrendth of a second." ravi teases.
"hey, you remembered."
"how could i possibly forget that introduction of yours?" ravi asks.
"what the hells a jiffy?" amaris queations confused.
"one one-hundrenth of a second, your sister seemed to know alot about it."
"oh tell me- tell me you didnt ramble about a jiffy, pip." amaris says through laughter, shaking her head, "sorry sorry." she says trying to control her laughter.
"your fine." ravi mumbles watching as  she tucks the few strands of her black hair, that had came loose from her claw clip, behind her ear. "so what questions did you want to ask me?" ravi turns his attention back to pip.
"firstly, do you mind if i record us so i can type it all up accurately later?"
"sounds like a fun friday night." ravi jokes and amaris chuckles.
"ill take that as you dont mind." pip says reaching into her bag and taking out a couple papers.
"what are those?" ravi points at the papers.
"pre-prepared questions." pip says like its the most normal thing.
"oh my God you are such a nerd, pipsqueak." amaris mumbles
"your really into this arent you?" ravi questions pip who nods.
"yep."
"should i be nervous?"
"not yet." pip answers at the same time amaris answers,
"yes, she can be really intense." pip glared at her before pressing the record button on her phone.
"so how old are you?" pip asks
"why?" ravi questions arching a brow
"just trying to get all the fact straight."
"ok, sergeant, i just turned twenty." ravi leans back crossing his arms.
pip laughs, "and sal was three years older than you?"
"yes."
"do you remeber your brother acting strangly on friday the twentieth of april 2012."
"wow, straight in there. wm, no, not at all. we had an early dinner at, like, seven before my dad dropped him at max’s, and he was just chatting along, like normal sal. If he was secretly planning a murder, it wasn’t at all obvious to us. he was... chirpy, I’d say was a good description." ravi sits up some, amaris knew body language and she knew that when ravi sat back it meant he was comfortable the subject change made him uncomfortable hence the change in posture.
"and what about when he returned from max’s?"
"i had already gone up to bed. but the next morning, i remember him being in a really good mood. sal was always a morning person. he got up and made breakfast for us all and it wasn’t until just after that he got a phone call from one of andie’s friends. that’s when we all found out she was missing. from that point, obviously, he wasn’t chirpy any more, he was worried."
"so neither andies parents nor the police rang him friday night?"
"not that i know of. andie’s parents didn’t really know sal. he’d never met them or been to their house. andie usually came around here or they hung out at school and parties."
"how long had they been together?"
"since just before christmas the year before, so about four months. sal did have a couple of missed calls from one of andie’s best friends at, like, 2 a.m. that night. his phone was on silent, though, so he slept through them."
"so what else happend that Saturday?" pip questions while amaris sits back and observes trying to read inbetween the lines.
"well after finding out andie was missing, sal literally sat on the phone, calling her every few minutes. it went to voicemail each time, but he figured if she’d pick up for anyone, it’d be him."
"wait, sal was calling andies phone?" amaris leans forward.
"yea, like a million times, throughout that weekend and on the Monday too." ravi says turning to the girl who had spoken up the first time since pip had started record.
"doesn't sound like the kind of thing you’d do if you knew you had murdered the person and they would never pick up." pip says picking up on amaris's train of thought
ravi nods eyes  darting between the two, "especially if he had her phone hidden somewhere on him, or in his room."
"an even better point. So what else happened that day?" pip asks falling back into the questions.
"my parents told him not to go to andie’s house, because the police would be busy searching it. so he just sat at home, trying to call her. i asked him if he had any idea where she'd be, and he was stumped. he said something else i always remembered. he said that everything andie did was deliberate, and maybe she’d run off on purpose to punish someone. obviously by the end of the weekend he realized that probably wasn't the case."
hmm, punish? amaris thinks, and as if hearing her sisters thoughts pip questions,
"who would andie be wanting to punish? him?"
"i dont know, i didn’t push it. i didn’t know her well; she only came around a handful of times. i mean, i presumed the ‘someone’ sal was talking about was andie’s dad."
"jason bell? why?"
"i just overheard some stuff when she was here. i figured she didn’t have the best relationship with her dad. i can’t remember anything specifically."
"specifics are what we need." pip says and amaris notices ravi shift in his seat.
"pip." pip knew the tone her sister was using, it was a warning tone.
"so when did the police contact sal?" pip asks changing the subject.
"it was that saturday afternoon. they called him and asked if they could come over for a chat. they arrived at, like, three or four-ish. me and my parents came into the kitchen to give them a bit of space, so we didn’t hear any of it really."
"and did sal tell you what the asked him?"
"a bit. he was a little freaked out that they recorded it an st-"
"the police recorded it? that cant be normal, is that normal?" amaris cuts in and ravi turns to look at her.
"i dont know, your sisters the sergeant. they said it was routine and just asked him questions about where he was that night, who he was with. and about his and andie’s relationship."
"and what was their relationship like?" pip asks and ravis attention goes back to her.
"im his brother; i didn’t see all that much of it. but, yeah, sal liked her a lot. i mean, he seemed pretty chuffed he was with the prettiest, most popular girl in the year. andie always seemed to bring drama, though."
"what kind of drama?"
"i don’t know, i think she was just one of those people who thrives on it." ravi shrugs uncrossing his arms and resting his hands in his lap.
"did your parents like her?"
"yeah, my parents were cool with her. she never gave them a reason not to be."
"and so what else happened after the police interviewed him?"
"err, his friends came around in the evening, you know to check if he was ok."
"and is that when he asked his friends to lie to the police and give him an alibi?"
"i guess so." ravis eyes shift to his lap
"why do you think he did that?"
"i mean, i don’t know. Maybe he was rattled after the police interview. maybe he was scared he would be a suspect so he tried to cover himself. i don’t know."
"presuming Sal’s innocence, do you have any idea where he could have been between leaving Max’s at 10:30 and getting home at 12:50?"
"no, because he also told us that he started walking home from Max’s at like 12:15. i guess maybe he was alone somewhere so he knew that if he told the truth he’d have no alibi. It looks bad, doesn't it?
"i mean, lying to the police and asking his friends to as well does look bad for sal. but it’s not absolute proof that he had anything to do with andie’s death. So what happened on the sunday then?"
"on the Sunday afternoon, me, Sal and his friends volunteered to help put up some missing posters, handing them out to people in town. On the monday, i didn’t see much of him at school, but it must have been pretty hard for him because all anyone was talking about was andie’s disappearance."
"i remember."
"Police were about too. i saw them looking through andie’s locker. yeah, so that night he was a little down. he was quiet, but he was worried, that’s what you’d expect. his girlfriend was missing. And the next day —" when ravi stops and gulps amaris is quick to cut in.
"you dont have to talk about the next day, ravi." her voice was soft and gentle and for whatever reason it seemed to calm him.
"its ok. We walked into school together and i went off to registration, leaving Sal behind in the car park. je wanted to sit outside for a minute. That was the last time i ever saw him. And all i said was ‘see you later’. i- i knew police were at the school rumour was that they were talking to Sal’s friends. And it wasn’t until like two-ish that i saw my mum had been trying to ring me, so i went home and my parents told me that the police really needed to speak to Sal and had i seen him. i think officers had been searching his bedroom. i tried calling sal too, but it just rang out. my dad showed me this text he got, the last time they’d heard from Sal." ravi rubs his palms against his pants.
"do you remember what it said?"
"yeah, it said: 'it was me. i did it. I’m so sorry.' And. . .  it was later that  evening when the police came back. My parents went to answer the door and i stayed in here listening. When they said they'd found a body in the woods, i was so sure for a second that it was andie they were talking about."
"and... i don’t want to be insensitive, but the sleeping pills . . ."
"pip." amaris says in the same tone from earlier.
"its fine. they were dad’s. He was taking phenobarbitals for his insomnia. he blamed himself afterwards. doesn't take anything any more. he just doesn’t sleep much."
"and had you ever before thought that sal could be suicidal?"
"never, not once. sal was literally the happiest person there was. He was always laughing and messing around. It’s cheesy but he was the kind of person that lit up a room when he walked into it. he was the best at everything he ever did. He was my parents’ golden child, their straight-A student. now they’re left with just me."
amaris frowns she knew what that felt like. dont get me wrong she knew her parents loved her but she often thought maybe they were disappointed. had they expected more from her? pip was smart, like perfect grade smart, josh was athletic, and all amaris had was art. sometimes if she let herself think to much she'd say it was pathetic that she was pathetic.
"and sorry, but the biggest question then, do you think Sal killed Andie?"
"pip." amaris sighs out
"i...No, no! don't. i can’t think that. it just doesn’t make sense to me. Sal was one of the nicest people on the planet, you know. He never lost his temper ever, no matter how much i wound him up. He was never one of those boys that got in fights. He was the greatest big brother anyone could have and he always came to my rescue when i needed it. He was the best person i ever knew. So, i have to say no. But then, i don’t know, the police seem so sure and the evidence . . . yeah, i know it looks bad for Sal. But i still can’t believe he had it in him to do that."
"i understand. i think those are all the questions i need to ask for now."
ravi sits back again and lets out a sigh, "So, Pippa-"
"you can call me pip."
"pip then. ypu said this was for a school project?"
"it is. mari's my partner."
"why? Why did you choose this? OK, maybe you don't believe Sal did it, but why would you want to prove it? What’s it to you? No one else in this town has trouble believing my brother was a monster. They’ve all moved on."
"My best friend, Cara, she’s Naomi Ward's sister."
"Oh, Naomi, she was always nice to me. Always over at our house, following Sal around like a puppy. She was one hundred percent in love with him."
"Oh, really?"
"i always thought so. The way she laughed at everything he said, even the unfunny stuff. Don’t think he felt the same way back, though"
"hm." pip hums
"so you’re doing this for Naomi? i still don’t get it."
"no, it’s not that. What i meant was .... i knew Sal."
"You did?"
"Yeah. He was often over at the Wards’ house when i was too. One time, he let us watch a fifteen film with them, even though Cara and i were only twelve. It was a comedy and i can still remember how much i laughed. Laughed until it hurt, even when i didn’t quite get it, because Sal’s laugh was so contagious."
"high and and giggly?"
"Yeah. And when i was ten, he accidentally taught me my first swear word. shit, by the way. And another time, he taught me how to flip pancakes because i was useless at it but too stubborn to let someone do it for me."
"He was a good teacher." ravi nods a distant look in his eyes that told amaris he was reminiscing.
"And when i was in my first year at school, these two boys were picking on me because my dad is Nigerian. And Sal saw. He came over and just said, very calmly, ‘When you two get expelled for bullying, the next grammar school is half an hour away, if you even get in. Starting from scratch at a completely new school, think about it.’ They never picked on me again. And afterwards Sal sat with me and gave me his KitKat to cheer me up. Since then, I’ve . . . well, never mind."
"Hey, come on, share. i let you have your interview — even though your bribery muffins taste like cheese."
"Since then, he’s always been a hero to me. i just can’t believe he did it."
"and you, moon? did you know sal."
"yea some not much, i wasnt at the wards like pip was. but i had gotten into this fight with some girls from an upper class, i had heard them talking about how pip and me were pathetic because we didnt have a 'real dad' i got so angry i punched them and then turned into a fight. point is after it was over i was sitting outside the principals office and sal saw me grumbling and cursing under my breath as i held ice to my bruises and he came over asking what happened i told him because i recognized him and pip always talked highly about him and somehow durning my explanation i ended up crying and he let me cry on his should even though my face was bloody and i barely knew him.. he.." amaris glances down at her hands and laughs, "he made a joke about me buying him a new jacket since i ruined that one but i didnt knwo it was a joke so i actually bought him one and he laughed and said that he had just been joking and then he offered to share his candy and sat with me letting me complain about how i was grounded. i dont know if sal did it or not but im going to help pip figure it out because he deserves to have the world know if he didnt."