The Secrets We Keep.

iii. you're next

"Chloe, wake the fuck up!" Chloe's mother yelled for the 16th time, as the flames were about to form a wave of terror.

Chloe's eyes peeked open as she heard the sizzling of the unexpected visitor of which was ready to engulf their house into flames. She freaked out and rushed downstairs, and past the flames. She risked her life as it was her immediate instinct. She had not thought of going through the window before, besides, she had a fear of doing such acts, as she had once broken her arm when her mom had overcooked turkey on thanksgiving when they were still at their old house. It was the entire reason for which she had to move.

Chloe raced out the steaming hot door and ran to her mother who was crying. "What happened?" She asked, curiously.

    "Well, we don't know." Chloe's mother was crying profusely, she had nothing to hold on to, to make her sane once more. "I was sleeping and I heard the smoke detector go up, it turns out the asphyxiation had killed your father, and yet somehow it had yet to reach the rest of the house, however, it started in the kitchen, it's a lot of sciencey-shit that I am not the best at explaining, but because of it, you did not get hurt, but your father kind of died."

    "Do you know who started it?" Chloe asked, concerned. For, she had her suspicions on who could have started it, but she was unsure of if it would be her.

    "No, I checked the security system and it detected nothing, however, I did see some graffiti on the wall, which could have been the starter. I took a photo of it when I first saw it as it looked to be decaying." Chloe's mom said before pulling her phone out and showing the photo to her daughter.

    Chloe was shook - it read 'stop abuse' and a bunch of other stuff that correlated in relations to what she had told Royal the day before. She was shaking, as if her suspicions were correct, this could be a horrible outcome for everyone... At least her father was dead, she surely had that to thank, surely? Yes, but she'd have to do it undercover, as her mom thought that the dude was perfect, as if they were living the American dream, but the truth was that it was the complete opposite - swearing, yelling, abuse, cheating. Everything one would think of when the term 'behind closed doors' would come up...

-

Royal walked down the stairs, late for school. Eh, she could care less at this point because of her late-night strolls while she cruised around, not for hookups, but for vandalizing material. She had no intention on staying inside all day, though. She looked around her surroundings and noticed that her parents were gone. Shit, this meant that it was her turn to lock the door. Something that she herself, though ashamed, did not know how to do.

She decided to turn the news on, and there she looked around at it, and she was faced with her biggest fears. She turned the channel on and there was Kiki Ingersoll, the 40-something news reporter who looked as if she had not aged over 37 due to the hair and makeup department. She looked on, and there she saw what they were reporting on and it made her jaw drop with nerves.

    "3am last night a fire went off on 983 Westway Street in Toronto Ontario, it was horrific and the police spent 2 hours trying to figure out what happened, until they had a witness had reported seeing a fourteen year old girl with long black hair vandalizing the place with anti-abuse symbols and the such." The news reporter spoke. "We have some interviews with some of the people around."

    "I was scared when I heard of the incident, what if it happens to other people." Said Jack Narlan, a 26 year old intern at a fashion company just down the road.