THE CRIMINAL FILES ~ Miss Jackson

S E V E N

/She asked me, "Son, when I grow old, will you buy me a house of gold? And when your father turns to stone, will you take care of me?" I will make you queen of everything that you see. I'll put you on the map, I'll cure you of disease. Let's say we up and left this town, and turned our future upside down. We'll make pretend that you and me, lived ever after happily/

"That's four bodies so far." I said, leaning on my knees on the snow covered ground. Standing up, I surveyed the scene before me.

The trees hung over the cemetery with a kind of dismal look to them. The branches, were free of their leaves - the only trees standing tall and full were the pines.

The entire ground was drowning in it's own crystallized snow. The snow that fell from the sky just added onto what was already there. Owen and Jack bounced on the balls of they're feet shivering endlessly. "H-how. L-l-long. Do we. Have to. Stay. Out here?"

His cheeks were a burning red, and his hands were forced into the pockets in his coat with so much force, I was positive he was going to rip his jacket.

Jessica moved over to me slightly. "They aren't used to cold conditions, I'm guessing?" I shook my head.

"No."

Lily walked in, perfectly fine, a small smile even on her face. "H-how?"

"I'm from up-north, Owen. I'm used to this."

"Right, Alaska." He concluded, his voice cracking from the cold. It was...cute, in a strange way.

The bright pink tinge across his cheekbones, and his broad shoulders brought in together to make a more, compact version of Owen Faraday reminded me of when we went ice skating for my birthday.

Of course, it was my request - as Owen's, was staying indoors watching movies for my sixteenth birthday. I didn't mind the offer, but it was kind of what we did all the time. I may not be into the whole; 'convince-yourself-to-do-these-crazy-things-because-your-only-this-age-once' kind of thing, but I wanted a little...spontaneity. Even if it was just a little.

My parents, {obviously} recommended a sixteenth birthday party where I wore a huge ball gown with a corset that forced me to digest smaller items. According to my mom, I had put on a little weight because I ate way too much chips. But after multiple glances in the mirror, I concluded that I wasn't in fact, how'd she put it? Fat.

This, was only because to my mom...my diet had to be restricted to vegetables, caviar, and fruit. I wasn't allowed to have chocolate, or ice cream, or chips, or burgers and fries, or hot-dogs...I wasn't even allowed to consume pancakes. Freaking pancakes! Meanwhile, Jackson ate everything under the sun...and he didn't even gain a pound. However, mom and dad didn't bitch about it to him. They would let him eat a whole box of pizza, two cartons of ice cream, five bags of chips, and a case of pop before they even mentioned one thing about his eating habits.

My mom was at least nice enough to not give me a corset until I turned thirteen. {I said at least} The first time she put me into a corset-dress...she laced it up so tight, that I fainted. Twice. That night, in the mirror I looked at the redness around my stomach. After telling my mom, explaining that I didn't like the corset all she said was; "Beauty is pain, sweetheart. Just wear the corset for another month and you'll have the perfect figure."

I cried a lot at the realization that I had to wear it. But that wasn't the main reason. I knew my mom loved me...in her own way. But, what broke the ice for me was the way she described how I would look if I continued to wear the corset. I had just hit puberty, and technically I was still growing...but in my mom's eyes...I was never her 'perfect daughter'.