Lies

Chapter 23:

The crying didn't stop. I don't know how one person could contain so many tears. But I guess we were made up of 55% of water so I had enough to cry out. I would be pretty dry after I did cry that full fifty five percent out. Would I end up like a raisin? All wrinkles with no juice anymore?

As of right then, I believed in bad days. That day was one of the worst. I just wanted it to be over so that I could go home and hold my family; the family I felt sure didn't keep secrets from me. Harper didn't, Ryan didn't, Nolan didn't and most importantly Colton didn't. They were the only solid thing in my life.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked up through my teary eyes. The image of someone was blurry but I could make out the enormous belly she had. I grabbed her hand and pulled her down with me. Her body leaned into my own and I felt her tears stain my shirt. Nia had always been the more emotional one; the one carrying the most burden upon her shoulders. She was a middle child and middle children were always emotional.

I took my hand out of hers and put an arm around her, leaning in so my head was on her shoulder. I could hear her sniffles and the occasional breaths that she took to get some air. They were short but so much like the Nia I knew when we were younger. I used to be the one to hold her when mom wasn't there because dad wouldn't.

"You knew?" A voice asked from the front of the room. I looked up and saw my mother standing there, her eyes were red and the area around them was as well. Her clothes looked like they had been hastily put on with a blazer not all the way on her shoulder and her head scarf falling off her head, almost in a flow like normal hair.

"You didn't?" I heard Beckham asked.

"No. I didn't." My mom said through sobs. She ran into my brothers arms and sobbed into his shoulder. She was mumbling words I couldn't comprehend and was shaking her head against his shoulder. Beckham stood comforting her and Luna stood behind her, adjusting the scarf around her head so that it covered her head. Her eyes opened and she made eye contact with my own. She let go of Beckham and made her way over to me and Nia.

"You tried to warn me." She said when she got to me. She sat down with us and leaned her head up against my shoulder just like Nia was now doing. The scarf fell down onto the ground, revealing the head of hers that was deprived of hair because of cancer.

"I'm sorry, mom." I said.

"You tried to warn me." She repeated, "But I only saw the good in him." Her voice was traced with so much sadness that it hurt to listen. It was the same voice that had broken her down all those weeks ago when we went to her cancer appointment. She wasn't at her strongest and it showed, just by the way she was holding herself.

"I know I tried." I stated, looking forward at the entrance where Lee, Beckham, Luna, Hendrix and Apollo were still assembled. A group of police officers stood in the entrance near my family until Jordan barked at them to get back to work. He came in with a sour expression on his face and he silently regarded each of us with a nod of his head.

"It seems that all of you were right. We are interrogating him right now then you can go see him." Jordan said with an expression that didn't suggest that he cared about the people that now stood in front of him. He waved in the room and walked back in the direction of his office.

"I do not like that man." My mom snapped. I moved my head so that I was staring at her. Her mouth was turned into a frown and her eyes had followed Jordan like there was something wrong with him.

"Me either." I agreed, laughing. She laughed along with me but it was forced and not the belly laugh that she usually had. Nia's head disappeared from my shoulder and her eyes scanned at the two of us as if we were crazy.