The Real You (BWWM)

12:My brothers keeper

May 14th, 2016 

Last night was a complete nightmare. It just kept replaying in my head. 

"But it wasn't a robbery. I killed them."  

I shut my eyes tight trying to forget that moment. But it never goes away. I don't know whats worse; having the girl of my dreams tell me she's a killer, or not thinking its her fault. No matter how hard I try to tell myself that she has killed people, the thought of her being innocent in this whole situation keeps coming up.  "Landon! Get up we're have company!" My mom yells to me from the living room. I toss myself out of bed and grudgingly walk downstairs. "Hey sweetheart." 

"Hey." I say impassively. 

"Go help Kyra out in the kitchen." My heart stops when she mentions her name. I didn't think she would come back home last night. But I guess she did. I make my way into the kitchen and see her cutting up strawberries, her hair still in the style she had for prom. 

"Hi." This time I say with more emotion. Pain and  confliction fills me voice. She jumps and turns to look at me. 

"You scared me there!" She says cheerfully. But I can see the damage last night left on her, because it shows on me too. "You mind helping cut up strawberries?" 

"Not at all." I say, trying to play along as well like nothing ever happened. I grab a knife and join her. Minutes go by with just the sound of cutting. "I don't blame you for it you know." I can see the shock in her eyes and she cuts herself with the knife. 

"Shit!" She murmurs under her breath, trying not to have my mom hear. I go inside the medicine cabinet and pull out a band-aid. I put the band-aid on her finger precisely and look at her. 

"I really don't." She looks up at me stunned. She pulls her hand back and starts cutting the strawberries again. 

"Coach Miller really is strict huh?" She says, trying to change the subject. I stand there trying to gather all my thoughts. Why won't she let me in anymore? Why is she trying to seem like nothing happened? Like she didn't just admit three counts of murder to me? 

"Yeah," I say with defeat in my voice. "he really is.

I sit there deep in thought as my mother socializes with her friends. "Landon!" My mom yells at me. I snap out of it and look at her. "Sarah was just asking you and Kyra about school." 

"Oh," I say sitting up. "its going pretty good. Can't wait till summer." Sarah and her husband, Dave, laugh at my stale (not so much of a joke) joke. 

"Its so nice for you to take in Kyra as charity work." I turn to Sarah with my eyebrow raised. 

"Excuse  me?" I say with hostility in my voice. 

"Well obviously Kyra is from a lower class family. Poor thing had to run away from home just to escape their poverty. Her parents should be ashamed of themselves." I can see Kyra becoming agitated. I laugh at Sarah. 

"Who are you to call anyone else terrible parents Sarah? I heard your daughter was arrested for use of cocaine. Care to elaborate how your wonderful parenting skills pushed her to pursue such things?" She just looks at me shocked and Jacob starts to chuckle. My mom sits their quietly trying not to get involved. I laugh. "Its people like you that makes this world a living hell."

 I storm out the house, refraining from saying anything else that shouldn't be said. 

I return back home from my walk calmer than I when I left. Sarah and Dave's car isn't in the driveway, which I'm assuming they left after I yelled at Sarah. I go up to my room when I hear Kyra calling me. I walk to her room and lean on the door frame. "You okay?" She smiles. 

"Yeah, I've been called much worse than a charity case. Plus, it's not my biggest problem at the moment." She says, referring to her family. 

"Still, just because people have loads of money, doesn't mean they can talk to people however they want to. She smiles at me, sincerity in her eyes. 

"Thank you for sticking up for me. Really." 

"Of course." I flash her a smile and start to leave. 

"Landon?" She calls out to me. 

"Yeah?" 

"I still want to help you with your family. Just on one condition, we don't talk about it. Ever." I nod my head. 

"Agreed." She swallows hard, as if swallowing her tears down. 

"Good." 

May 15th, 2015

Kyra's/ Ava's POV 

I sit in the car with Marilyn on the way to my therapist. The conversation with Landon on prom night engulfs my thoughts. Why did I tell him? I was perfectly fine with being happy cheery Kyra. Now he knows the real Ava. The one that lost her family with one simple mistake. I wish I could tell him everything about me, about what happened. But the thought of him seeing me any differently than he does now scares the crap out of me. Plus, knowing him, if I tell him about Charlie, he would insist on helping me find him. And I can't risk him getting hurt. I care about him too much. We park in the parking lot of the therapists duplex office. "Call me when you're ready." Marilyn says with her phony smile. 

"Okay." I reciprocate the the fake smile. I get out the car and enter the office. Its funny. No matter where I go or who I become, I always end up seeing a therapist of some sort. I guess that's just the constant in my dysfunctional life. I'm called in to the doctors room. I sit there while he writes down his notes. I look behind him at the patients files and see Jacob's name. 

"So, how do you feel about lying to Landon?" 

"What?"

"I said how is the memory coming along?" I relax my body a little bit after he repeats himself. 

"Um, not really any improvements. I still remember the same things." He starts to write again and shakes his pen. 

"You're stupid feelings for Landon are getting in the way of everything." 

"Huh?" 

"My pen is out of ink. I'll be right back with a new one." He looks at me suspicious before leaving the room. I shake my head as though that will help me hear better. I quickly get up and search in Jacob's file. 

Psychopathic tendencies

Narcissist traits

apathy present

Schizophrenic thoughts and actions

I stare at it skeptical. Is he really like this? If he's hiding this, I wonder what else he's hiding. I hear footsteps coming closer and I run to my seat. The doctor sits back down and sighs. "Let's keep going."