Our Sick Inheritance (editing)

Chapter 14 - Stacy's Confession

"I'm ready." Stacy called at the top of her lungs from down the hall to Jake's room. It sounded as if she were just behind his door as loud as her voiced carried. She met him at the top of the stairs. He saw that she kept on the too short skirt even though he was hoping she would decide to change it. Jake should have known better. She was for sure his sibling, as he didn't bend much on issues that he stood by either.

"So, you still decided to give everyone a glimpse of your treasures I see. That must make you feel better about yourself as a person." Jake challenged her to comment.

Stacy refused to be baited.

"As long as I don't give my treasures away." She said then flashed him a big smile. Stacy looked at Jake's outfit before giving him her approval.

"That's much better. I see you chose only your second crappiest pants to wear, excellent. At least the thermal is highlighting what you call muscles, even if it is black." Dripped the sarcasm from Stacy's mouth.

Jake laughed out loud at her meanness. She was so funny but looked so serious. He wasn't going to fully give into Stacy's demands or her bossiness. In return she wasn't going to conform to dress the way he thought was respectful for a party. It wasn't what she was wearing, as all the girls he knew wore as little as possible. It was the fact his sister was wearing it. He didn't want to feel he had to beat up some football size guys with twice the amount of drug induced testosterone than normal giving them the strength and control of wild bulls. He knew he would lose, but he would give it all he had.

They said goodbye to their mother and headed out. Door locked behind him, they headed towards Jake's blue truck of three years. He couldn't get over how perfect everything looked. Even under the layers of snow, their house was lit and looked inviting. All the houses on their street did. Full size busy hard-working families filled the modest homes. There were few cars on the road, as most used their garage. Most everyone in the area had grown up together, so the familiarity was comforting on the outside, where each assumed everyone was safe every night behind the curtains. It was the reason his parents worked so hard, for how things looked resembled how they tried to live. They knew that some of these houses stored dirty secrets and ugly stories, but their father did his best to keep their neighborhood clean. Only those abiding by the law felt comfortable with a Detective living on their block.

Jake opened the door for Stacy then he slid into his driver's seat.

"I miss this truck." Stacy pouted.

"You have a nice car." Jake pointed out the little car he affectionately called "Barbie's Dream" for it was white with a pink gloss coating it and decorated with pink pinstripes along the sides. She got it for graduating last summer with the help of their parents because it was also something Stacy had helped work for through modeling jobs and helping their mother with weddings.

"Yeah, but it can't haul my things everywhere like this truck can." Stacy complained.

"You mean as you pack for a four-day long vacation. Most would think you were moving each time you hung out with your girlfriends." Jake snickered.

Stacy laughed, "I don't want to be without anything. I'm always prepared, that's for sure. And it's not a vacation. I won this tour fair and square."

Jake sat behind his steering wheel and put his hand on the ignition. He sat there for a moment and hesitated to start the truck. The mist of tension in the vehicle immediately developed and the cold stillness got thicker. He sat back in his seat then turned to look at Stacy as she waited in the silence.

"Do you know what it would do to anyone in this family if something were to happen to you?" Jake asked seriously. Stacy stared at Jake soberly for a second then burst out laughing.