Uncovering Dahlia's Truth

The Truth

Angel hurriedly got dressed into her pajamas and exited the bathroom to find Brooklyn laying flat on his back on the bed, his arms crossed over his face.

Brandy and Cathy were both downstairs in the guest room. Angel walked past the window on her way to the bed and saw the ADT car outside in front of the house. Brooklyn did promise he would try and find more security for the house.

"How are you feeling about seeing Cathy?" Angel asked, climbing under the thin covers, and laying back on her back with a big sigh.

Brooklyn moved on his side towards Angel and propped his head onto his fist. "She apologized earlier."

"For?"

"Everything," he said.

Angel nodded her head. "That's good."

There was a silence and Brooklyn rubbed his hand up Angel's arm. "Are you okay?"

Angel looked at him, braking from her gaze into nothingness. "Not really," she said softly, feeling tears prickle at the back of her eyes. "I thought Dahlia told me everything."

Brooklyn sat up straight, moving his body so that he was completely facing her. His chest was bare, his dark hair messy and he was wearing grey Calvins. "Angel, we don't know how horrible it all was for her. Like Brandy said, they were the only ones who knew."

"Do you think her parents knew?" Angel asked, wiping a tear away.

Brooklyn shrugged. "I really don't know. But all I'm trying to say is that you two were still best friends, no matter what." He gave her a reassuring smile and Angel weakly returned it.

The two of them laid back on their pillows, Brooklyn stretched his arm out for her and she nuzzled into his chest. For a few moments she closed her eyes, listening to his slow rhythmic breathing, like she liked to do every night as it relaxed her to listen to his relaxation. Then her head popped up.

"Why don't we go see Dahlia's parents!" She said, suddenly getting all hyped up.

Brooklyn stared down at her, frowning. "What?"

"I haven't seen them in forever, Brook," she said, calming her voice down. "I miss them and Mandy. She must probably be around fifteen years old now."

Brooklyn licked his lips and looked up at the ceiling. "Do they even still live at the same house?"

"Maybe we could go and see?" She asked hopefully.

Brooklyn thought it over, but slowly started to nod his head. "I think we should," he finally said. "It would be nice to see them again."

"I'm going to feel bad though," she suddenly said.

Brooklyn looked down at her. "Why is that?"

Angel shrugged. "I should've kept on seeing them. I should've been there."

Brooklyn kissed her head and she looked up at him. "You were grieving, just like everyone else," he said. "Besides, we're going to see them. Tomorrow."

Angel smiled up at him and kissed him slowly and lovingly. "Thanks Brook," she whispered.

He grinned and she snuggled closer to him. "It's my pleasure," he said.

💧💧💧💧💧

"This is it," Brooklyn said and Angel stared ahead.

They were in front of Dahlia's house. It was a white rectangular shape with the garage closest to them. Angel gulped audibly, adjusting her handbag on her shoulder. She let her eye line trace towards the small pathway leading up to the front door, a patch of bushes next to it. Dahlia and her sister, Mandy, used to check for lizards every now and then. They named every one of them in that bush. As Angel stiffly walked to the front door, she spotted a lizard.