Forlot: My Friend is a Human - Book Ten

Chapter Four

TRIS' P.O.V.

Here were my dad and I. Standing in some stranger's kitchen. I was aware that my father was dating a nice lady and that her full name was Winnie Thompson, but I had no clue that she was white, which is not a problem, and had a daughter that looked exactly like her.

My dad does not have any hair on his head, but I do. Short, black hair. Dad wore a dark blue sweater, black pants, and brown shoes. He also had a black mustache, which I always found kind of cute. I wore a purple, short-sleeved shirt, beige pants, and white shoes.

By the way, my favorite color is white. I do not exactly know why. It is just so...pure. Beautiful.

Winnie and her daughter, Wendy, both had short, red hair. Ms. Thompson was wearing a yellow, short-sleeved shirt, gray pants, and black shoes. Wendy had on something totally different. A green, short-sleeved shirt, beige pants like mine, and blue shoes. I admit that her shoes looked pretty cool.

I suddenly broke the silence that filled the kitchen. "So...you two are white."

"Trisha, do not say that," Dad scolded. He always calls me by my real name when he is disappointed in or mad at me.

Let me tell you that it is annoying when people call me Trisha instead of Tris. I had made it clear, especially to my father, that I prefer Tris. I do not know why, but the name Trisha really bugs me.

"Sorry," I apologized, staring down at the floor and fiddling with my fingers. "It caught me by surprise."

Dad leaned to the right to Ms. Thompson and whispered to her, and I had no need to eavesdrop because I already knew what he was telling her.

He was talking about Mom.

What happened to Mom, you ask? Well, she died last year, and I am still mourning for her.

She was fighting a disease. An incurable disease. It was cancer, and I still remember what type. Brain cancer. The cancer was taking her away from us. From her family and friends. Eating away her life. Her memories.

Herself.

My poor father. He begged the doctors to do something to save my mother. Anything. But there was nothing that they could do. He was devastated, and so was I.

The only good thing was that, unlike most people, we got to say our goodbyes to her one last time, and during that sad moment, my mom made me promise something.

"Promise me that you will make a friend who will treat you right."

I choked on tears as I remembered those last words that escaped from her mouth before she passed. Why? Why did she have to be taken from us? Why?!

Since then, I unfortunately was unsuccessful in making a friend. Most would harm me. Manipulate me. Until Kara came along. She was not like them. Not at all. She actually made me feel wanted.

So that begs the question on why she took herself. I mean, I knew that she was not acting like herself. My dad guessed that she might have gone through depression.

I did not want to believe that. Or...maybe I did not want to believe that she was truly gone.

No matter what though, I felt that it was my fault. I knew that something was up, but did not do anything but stand back and watch.

"I am a terrible friend..." I accidentally said out loud. Of course, Dad, Winnie, and Wendy heard me.

Ms. Thompson glanced at her daughter, and then back at me. She went over to me and gently put her hands on my shoulders. "Tris, you are not a terrible friend. And I am sorry about your friend Kara. You know, my daughter was friends with her."

The tears immediately disappeared behind my eyes, and I went from being upset to feeling anger. "Wendy...was best friends with Kara?"

Wendy got up from the table. She frowned and clenched her hands into tight fists. "We were the best of friends. I stated that back in chapter one."

I jerked from her mother's grips and slowly walked up to her. "You cannot have been best friends with Kara. I was best friends with her."

"Tris - if that is your real name - you are mistaken. Kara and I were best friends. You want proof? She told me herself. I was her one and only."

"You are lying. 'Cause that is what she told me."

"Then how would I know that?"

"How would I know that?"

"Girls, please. Please," Ms. Thompson pleaded. "No rule says that you cannot have more than one best friend. Besides, she would not want to see you two like this."

"The two of you meant a lot to her," Dad added. "Who knows? You might become friends with each other."

Like that was going to happen.

The doorbell rang, echoing throughout the house.

"Oh, dear. Who could it be now?" Ms. Thompson wondered. She hurried out of the kitchen and returned a couple minutes later with two ladies.

One of the ladies had orange hair tied back in a bun. She had on a dark red, long-sleeved shirt, a matching skirt that touched her knees, and black heels. The other lady had short, blond hair and was wearing a dark green, long-sleeved shirt, a matching skirt that also touched the knees, and grey heels.

"Wendy. Tris," Winnie said. "These women would like to talk to you."

"Are you Wendy and Tris?" the orange-haired girl asked. She was holding a black suitcase.

"We are," Wendy responded.

"Who wants to know?" I added.

"I am Lila Sage, and this is my assistant, Cara Cline. We are certified lawyers who represent Kara."

"Kara?" Wendy and I said in unison.

"Yes," Cara said. "We would like you to come with us to her house. The house where Kara died in."