Butterfly Effect

Chapter 4

Jax POV

Endless chatters echoes throughout the room. The sound of glass smashing from my father's office brought me to shame. I knew what was going on. There was probably another murder, and no confess about it. "Weird, huh?" I turn around, only to meet brown eyes. "It's weird how it's okay to kill someone, but it's a crime of not confessing about it." Their lips were tightly shut, their eyes show no emotions.

"Yeah, it's weird how we can kill each other without getting in trouble." I turn to face the newcomer, wondering if I knew them. I think their name is Desdemona. I heard rumors that she is the number one student from Bridged Academy. "Desdemona?" I ask, I was only given a nasty look. Her eyes turn into slits, but only for a second. Perhaps my eyes were playing tricks on me. "Look, I don't have time to chit-chat with you. Not that I want to. I need to write a missing report, or whatever it is called. I need it now." Her voice was nowhere of being soft, it was deep and full of hate.

I look over her shoulder, only to see a police officer behind her. Not close, but he was behind her. The man looks furious, so furious that he wanted to kill somebody. "Desdemona." The man spit out so coldly, I could feel a shiver going down my spine. "I did not send you here to flirt with an older guy." Desdemona didn't flinch in the slightest, while I was cowardly bowing my head in defeat. "Oh please. He's not worthy to flirt with." Desdemona's voice was full of venom, her eyes once again turn into slits.

I quickly rubbed my eyes, but I guess I did it too harshly. When I open them, all I can see are blue and red. Her eyes were back to normal. "Um, excuse me?" I ask, not wanting the atmosphere to be tense, since Desdemona kind of rejected me."Who is missing?" The second I ask the question, all hell broke loose. Not even a minute passed by when Desdemona and the man got into an argument. I hastily hid behind a random desk, not wanting to be part of with whatever bad blood they got with each other.

"Can you please act like civilized people?!" I desperately ask, hoping at least they'll get the hint. My heart is pounding so painfully fast, I can feel my lungs falling apart. I try to calm down them down, but I guess in the end I don't have the guts to do it. I wonder if I should get my father? I might get a beating if I interrupt his meeting, but what choice do I have? "I don't have time for this. I'm going to be late for school, then I'm going to have to deal with the snobby white girl that we call as a principal."

I got taken back when those words came out of Desdemona's mouth. I always knew that she wasn't a nice person, but I would never think that she would have the guts to talk about Mrs. Polly like that. Mrs. Polly is a well-known person, she was one of the few people to build this small town, and now she is one of the last of her generation to live in this town. The rest, they all died before the age of 40. Those who lived longer than that, they either get killed in a freak accident or have their children kill them.

Everyone but Mrs. Polly. She is at least 80 years old, her face covered with dark spots and wrinkles. Her lips so small, you can't even see the lip color. Her round eyes so big, it seems like she is always on the alert. Even the face is round, almost like a soccer ball. You may think that her body is round too, because of her face, but it's not. Mrs. Polly's body is really skinny, skinnier than a than a model.

You may have thought that an 80-year-old would be so wise, but at the end, their worst than a teenager. They complain when kids are not playing outside, they whine when teenagers are partying instead of studying. Mrs. Polly is the kind of person who physically attacks other people when they aren't getting the respect that they supposedly deserve.

"Desdemona, I will not repeat myself again. Do you wish to go back to the dead? Do you want to be with your mother again? I heard that she misses you so dearly and was asking when you were going to visit. Maybe I should take you to her right now." I was quickly pulled back from reality when I heard the sound of glass shattering against the very desk that I was hiding behind from. Everything and everyone just stops. What I mean by that...Is that...I. Everyone and everything just froze. They literally just stop. You can't hear the computers beeping anymore. The dogs aren't barking anymore. My father is no longer screaming.

Everything inside me screams to get out. My heart rapidly beating against the useless ribs. Cold sweats running down my back. My body violently shaking, to the point where my bones feel pain. I slowly sat down on the ground, bringing my hands to my face. My vision once again we're doing tricks on me because all I can see is that I'm back in the closet again. A high pitch scream echoing throughout the closet, making my eardrums explode. I let out a small whine, my teeth clenching together tightly. Goosebumps covering every inch of my body, a numbness taking over my legs. I can smell alcohol and cigars.

My heart jumped a few times when a shadow would loom over the closet door. My hands never left my face, for I fear I might see something that I might regret later on. "Why am I here?" I thought. Why am I back in the closet? "This isn't real," I told myself. This is not reality, this is just a way my mind likes to torture itself. This isn't real. I can leave whenever I want. So why am I not leaving? "Open your eyes, stupid." I can't. "Open your eyes! This isn't real. Why are you scared to open your eyes?" I... I don't know. "Just open your eyes!" stop screaming at me... "Do it! Open your eyes! This isn't real. None of it is." I don't want to.

"Listen to me, this is not real. Nothing can hurt you. Just open your eyes and all of this will be over." I'm sorry, I can't. "You are weak. You know what that means."That I'm going to die? "Yes." Now? "Soon. Very soon." why? "...." no reply. "When am I going to die?" once again, no reply. I tried again. No reply. I begged. No reply. I promise my sanity, no reply. What am I doing? I'm auguring with a voice inside in my head. Not a real person, just literally a voice in my head.

Embarrassment washes over me. How stupid am I? Why would I listen to a voice in my head? It's not even a real person. They just come when there is tension in the room. The voice first came to me when my father left me in the middle of nowhere. I once believed that it was my dead sister because the voice sounded exactly like her. The voice sounded so innocent and naive, but at the same time, it sounded so empty. As if the voice itself was tired of talking. It would get duller and duller as the years went by. The voice would give out its demands, sometime I would listen. Sometimes I refused. When I refuse, well let's just say they put me in a dark void. In the void where it's so dark, to the point where you can't even see your own hands.

The void is the only place that makes my blood run cold. It's a place where they teat your sanity. For me, it's a test to see if I'm even a human being. "Jax!" "Is he dead?" "Stupid kid, wake up!" I was awakened by the fist of my father, a stinging sensation lingering on my right cheek. "I'm up," I said, but that didn't do anything because my father just smacks me on my head. Hard. "For once in your useless life, can you please not fall asleep while I'm working?!" I nodded my head, not wanting another beating. "Yes, sir." I swallowed my pride, I don't want to be here. If anything, I would rather go back to the void. I look around, I don't see Desdemona anywhere. In fact, the station looks empty. "Since everyone else left, I need you to do something." I look up to face my father, confusion written all over my tan face. "I need you to go somewhere."

I brought my hand up in the air, waving it in the way to show my father that I wasn't interested. It didn't work. He insisted that I had to do it, that I didn't have a choice. "I need you to search this house for evidence." he pulls out a picture along with documents out of his folder. I grab the picture, taking a closer look. My heart suddenly drop. My mouth went dry, I let out a gasp. I quickly look up, my eyes meeting his. I shook my head, already knowing that this will not end well. "Desdemona White is under the suspicion of murdering her stepmom, Penny White."