Chubby Cheeks.| ✓

Chubby Cheeks 30

By the look of things, Stacey was beyond exhausted and was on the verge of falling down which made my interior rage vanish and rush to her aid. The soft footsteps behind me made me realize that Nat was equally soft at heart like me. While Bruno and David went to fetch first aid and ice cubes after seeing what we have done. Wow, the world has some good left in people. Anyway, Stacey was crying so hard that words didn't form in her mouth, but only muffled sounds which didn't make any sense. Alex was still talking on the phone makes me want to go and eavesdrop, but Stacey was so much in bad condition, that it looked like she was beaten to a pulp.

"Who did this to you?" David was concerned as he handed me the first aid while Nat placed the ice pack on her forehead where there was a light bruise slowly intensifying the color. Both guys were feeling frantic to know that someone has hit a girl.

"D-Den" and then she cried even harder. I hugged her and Nat rubbed her back. But, nothing seemed to soothe her.

At last Alex kept the phone down and sat right next to Stacey. Stacey looked at Alex and whimpered to his shoulders saying repeatedly that she was sorry.

"It's okay, but I will never forgive you. I helped you and this is how you pay back." With that, he got up and sat down on the beanbag with a coke.

"It was Inspector Jenkins. He, umm, have some disturbing news. Well, first things first. Stacey was the traitor in us and with her help, Den was able to plant much evidence against me in the music case and I am afraid I would have to go for an inquest."

"Oh, I can pull it back, I know it all..."

"How may I trust you again Stacey." With that Stacey was forced to look down and whimper in soft muffled noises which sounded like, what have I done? Sighing deeply, Alex continued, "Well, the other thing was Charles was murdered." He stopped right there and it felt like the whole room stopped breathing. "The autopsy revealed that he was shot in the back of his head which made him fall off from his chair. There was a tiny wound in the back of the head where it states that he was clearly gunned and the intriguing part it, this gun was no ordinary one and thus there was no trace of the bullet in his head." More silence, and less heart beat. I was feeling numb without breathing and suddenly I mustered the courage to let out my breath which echoed like a gasp. "Now the most interesting part..."

"D-Den h-has that kin-kind of g-g-gun." Stacey stammered and Alex looked at her perplexed.

"Yes, Den is the one in the county who has a license to that gun. I don't quite remember the name, but this gun needs a license and inspector Jenkins doubts petty criminals to hold something like this because it is very much expensive. This concludes to a wild goose chase because, on the time of Charles death, Den has a stern alibi to be out of town."

"B-but san-dra would not have neither would have Sam."

"I am not sure about that and Inspector Jenkins didn't quite give me the details because remember I am to attend an inquest which makes me a suspect. All thanks to you Stacey my dear."

"Who is Sam?"

"His personal assistance and well, his partner in crime; Oh Alex, I am truly sorry. I-I..."

"Stacey, what happened to you? Why did you out of the blue come running to me in this state?" Alex was slightly infuriated and urgent to get the story out of her.

"I-I..." sighing deeply Stacey wiped her tear stained face with the back of her hands and wrenching in pain, she pulled herself and blew out a sigh with frustration. "I as you all might know from Angelina, am the sister of Sandra. At least, I believed I was until she turned her back against me when they suspected that I was helping you which I planned to but that was something that I was scared to do. Well, Sandra was always the rebel to do things that were forbidden for a neat Catholic girl; like a tomboy. Our parents were very religious. On the strike of her eighteenth birthday, she vanished and my parents never went to retrieve her, saying she was the devil's incarnation. But, to me, she was my big sister and I needed to find her. So, when I was sixteen, I set out to find her and that's when I saw you guys with her. But, I couldn't confront her in front of all of you, I was scared. So I returned, but my parents knew I was away in search of her rather than a camp with my friends and thus by knowing that they kicked me out and so I came back to the place where I first saw her. And like I expected she was there but with a different person. This time, she wore such short clothes and never left her face from the other guy's face, which made me cringe and pull my dress as lower as I can. Just in time, I was to move, she saw me and embraced me like any sister and talked to me a lot and cried a lot. But, then she changed instantly after she opened her heart and said, I am to be on my own and she can't help me. That's when I was struck with so much pain that I was about to be as senseless as her when I met Alex."