The Scars Within

The Truth is Revealed

Laughing, she leans up on her elbows. "I'm serious Carmin. He's only a few years older than you, he's really nice, he's tall and muscular, and he's mysterious. What's not to like? Plus, I wouldn't mind having you as a sister-in-law."

"Oh my God Ricca! Are you seriously trying to hook me up with your brother?"

"No, I never said anything about 'hooking up.' I'm talking date for a few years, marriage, and cute little Carmin babies!" As my face turns red from embarrassment, Ricca bursts out laughing. "I'm serious though, you two would look good together."

Before I can come up with a reply, the home phone rings. I run downstairs to grab it, Ricca close behind me. Before I pick it up, I see that it's the number for the Sheriff's office.

"Hello?"

"Hello Carmin, it's Officer Boris. I have some good news for you. The investigators finally decided to go through your phone. They concluded that you had, in fact, not conspired with Leon. Of course, they said you talked with him at school, but they had several of your classmates come in and they all came clean and said that you, quote unquote, 'Avoided Leon like the plague.' Do you know what that means?"

"I'm not a suspect anymore?" I question, anxious to hear the response.

"You hit the nail right on the head Carmin. Congratulations, kid. You're free again. I have another bit of news for you though. Remember how we thought Stacy and Leon sounded suspicious? Well, as it turns out, we were right. We found records on both of their phones that proved they worked together. Stacy told Leon where your Mom worked and her hours, and Leon was in charge of 'taking care of her.' According to all of the calls, they were 'Tired of you hogging the spotlight' and wanted to do something about it."

"Why does that not surprise me very much?" I reply with a snort. "Thank you so much for letting me know. I'm sure your boss won't like it if he finds out you told me, so you better get back to work."

"No problem kid. I'll let you know more of the details as soon as I can, alright? Talk to you later Carmin. Have a good weekend."

"You too Gale. Talk later, bye."

"Bye kid." After hanging up the phone, I turn to Ricca with a huge smile on my face. She looks confused, but waits patiently for me to tell her what happened. Once I explain everything, from the day of the accident until now, she looks shocked.

"Wow Carmin. That's a lot to go through during one school year. No wonder why you've looked so depressed lately. At least they proved you're innocent now, right?" Ricca says with a smile.

"Yea. With everything that's been going on lately, I'm glad to have a bit of good news." I feel a bit guilty though. Ricca did say that I could trust her with everything, but I didn't tell her about Dad. I just can't yet. I know I should, but I just got the police off my back. I don't want them in my life again for at least a few weeks.

"Stacy was your friend though, right? Why would she help kill your Mom?"

"Well, she wasn't really my friend. I more tolerated her presence than anything. Her Dad works with mine at the law firm, but my Dad is much better at his job then her's is. She just acted like my friend to make herself look better." I explain nonchalantly.

Ricca blinks for a second. "Wow. Okay then. I guess it makes sense now. Speaking of your Dad though, where is he? I haven't seen him around lately."

"He's has a business trip this weekend. Mostly he's just been putting in a lot of hours at the office." It feels bad, lying to her, but I have to.

"Alrighty! Now, let's get to having fun at this sleepover! We can't just sit around here doing nothing all day! There's a fort to be built!" Laughing, we both head back upstairs.

"Hey Ricca? Back to our conversation earlier, why do you think I should be with your brother?"

"Well, I guess I just want to see you with a good guy. I know that I haven't known you for a long time, but you're a good person Carmin. You deserve to be happy. Plus, like I said, you and Abel would look cute together." From the look on her face, I could tell that she was picturing Abel and I together. I didn't ask, because I'm pretty sure they weren't what one would call 'clean thoughts.' "Hey Carmin, did you know that his room is right across from yours?"

"Really? I knew yours was, but I didn't know his was too." I walked over to the window, and I could clearly see into Abel's room. Over to the right a bit was Ricca's window. "I guess it's a good thing I change in the bathroom then."

"You can't fool me Carmin, I know you wouldn't mind him watching. Maybe swing your hips a little more, eh?"

"RICCA!" Laughing, Ricca runs out of my room and downstairs. I follow behind her, trying to get my hands on her so I can strangle her. Before I can, she makes it through the front door and outside. I get outside just as she's turning to go into her house. I catch up as she opens the door and I tackle her to the ground in the living room. I pin her down, grab a pillow off the couch, and start hitting her. "You." Hit. "Don't." Hit to the face. "Have to." Hit again. "Live." After another hit, I press the pillow over her face. "Anymore." The last word I growl out. I can feel Ricca laughing her heart out below me when I hear someone come downstairs. When I turn towards the stairs, I see that it's Abel. He looks at me for a few moments, before he lowers his eyes to look at the giggling, suffocating girl I have pinned to the floor.

"What are you doing?" He asks.

"Killing your sister. Just... Turn around for a few minutes. You didn't see anything." As I'm looking at Abel, I don't notice that my grip on the pillow and Ricca has loosened. Before I know it, Ricca has flipped us over and is hitting me with a pillow. This, of course, causes a war. We giggle, roll around, and hit each other for quite some time. It's actually Abel who tells us to stop.

"C'mon you two. I don't want to get in trouble for your roughhousing. Break it up." Abel stands near us, arms folded over his chest, looking down at us. Still giggling, Ricca and I stand up, still holding onto the pillows, waiting for the other to make a move. Before the war can start again, Abel quickly grabs our pillows, along with the others on the couches, and puts them in the hall closet. 'Party Pooper.'