Slendrina: A Short Story (R-18+)

Chapter 4: Secrets

"Simon! We're home!" Angelene called. No answer.

"Maybe he's in shock!" Dareilla giggled.

"Maybe," Angelene replied with a laugh. She walked into her bedroom. Suddenly she screamed.

"Mum?!" Dareilla walked into the master bedroom. Reality suddenly caught her eye. Her dad. Simon. His lifeless body lay on his side of the bed, in a pool of blood. A kitchen knife lay in another pool of blood on the carpet. His chest, oh god, it was so gruesome! Dareilla quickly turned her head away. What. The. Hell. Nope, this isn't real. It's all a bad dream. It had to be. It wasn't real. She looked back. It wasn't a bad dream. It was reality. Simon really thought her and mum had died a horrible death. Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck. What have I done?! she thought. Suddenly she fell to the floor beside her mother, crying uncontrollably.

"Simon! Wake up! Come back!!!" Angelene screamed, slapping Simon's face in vain. But Simon was dead. And it was all her fault. Everything flashed back at her. It was her idea, and this was the consequence.

Angelene and Dareilla cried for hours, until no more tears came out of their eyes. It was such a horrible tragedy. What was meant to be a prank became reality. They looked at each other for a long time. With Simon's body in the middle, they curled up and hugged.

Two months passed, and the shock of that fateful day still haunts both mother and daughter. For Angelene, she had lost the love of her life. For Dareilla, she had lost the man who raised her, who talked to her, who understood everything she went through. Angelene had to sell her car to keep the house, so all they had was Simon's silver HiLux. It was the best option. At least a big piece of Simon was still with them.

"Mum?"

"Yes?"

"Are you alright?"

"No. We know that both of us aren't alright," Angelene replied, keeping her eyes on the road.

"No, I mean, like, you've been acting strange for the past four weeks. I keep seeing you acting very weird whenever you hold the kitchen knife."

"I'm okay, I promise. I don't want to talk about this anymore."

They arrived at Dareilla's new school. Angelene paused in the driver's seat.

"I guess it's time," Dareilla slowly said with a sad, soft voice.

"I guess it's time," Angelene replied slowly. "Take care, Slendrina. Promise me you will."

"I promise that only if you do the same."

With that, Dareilla got out of the pick-up, and Angelene drove off.

The school day was pretty stale. No one really talked to her, except for introductions. She couldn't blame them. After all, she was the new girl, and she didn't want to talk to anyone. All Dareilla could think was the happy times she'd spent with her father and mother. She couldn't put the scene of that day which changed her and her mother's life out of her head. All that did was make her sad, angry and frustrated. It changed her mood in an instant. Everytime. She hated the world. She hated how everyone was still happy with loving families. She hated that that was taken away from her. Her father, Simon, had been her rock ever since her birth. Although she still had her mother, something very wrong was going on. Angelene was definitely hiding something from her. It was only a matter of time before it all came out. For a long time, Dareilla was feeling destructive. She wanted to vent out all her innermost emotions and thoughts. She had been trying to keep them in, those destructive, murderous, gruesome thoughts. But now she was at breaking point. She was about to shatter into a million pieces, and nothing would be able to redeem her. Shaking her head, she continued waiting for her mother at the back carpark of the school. She texted her. No reply. She texted and waited. And waited. And waited. And waited until it was dark, when a pair of sirens screamed in her ears with bright lights shining directly in her eyes. Two police officers got out of their car, fully dressed in uniform, and strode towards her. Dareilla tried to take a step back, but she was leaning on the building wall already.