A Condemned Haven

Chapter 38

She waited a couple of hours after she had left the diner to go to Brandon's house. It was dark now and while his parents were home, she knew precisely how to get in. When Brandon and she were really close she used to sneak in at night through his window, which was thankfully on the first floor. She couldn't climb a tree to save her life. She parked down the street, out of sight of the house, that if she had to run for her life she could. If this were a year ago, she would had seriously doubted that Brandon's parents would shoot her, but considering they thought that she killed him, it was a real possibility. If it were true, she would consider them justified. Hell, if she was face to face with the person that did it, she would probably shoot them too.

She put her hood on and walked down the sidewalk calmly. She didn't want to look suspicious, but if she was being honest, she would find someone with a hood on pretty sketchy. It was better than people seeing who she really was though. She walked along the side of the house quickly, making sure to peek into the window to see if Brandon's door was closed. It wouldn't take her long to look for what she wanted. She wasn't sure what exactly that was, but she knew where to look. She prayed that his window was never fixed. Brandon broke it once trying to pry it open for her and broke the latch. His parents never noticed it and he didn't bother to point it out. When it lifted without much effort, Clarke let go a sigh of relief.

She crawled inside quietly. She didn't realize how nostalgic it would make her feel to be back in his room. It looked the exact same it always had. There was his favorite pair of sweatpants that he slept in on the edge of his bed. Clarke picked them up tenderly and lifted them to her nose. It still smelled like him. His parents must not have had the heart to wash them, not that Clarke would have either. She felt her eyes water as she put them back down before focusing on what she needed to do. She walked over to the edge of his dresser and looked at the vent. She unscrewed the already loose screws before popping it off. Brandon used to hide all of the important things he didn't want his parents to find in here. The only person who knew about it was Clarke, because he knew that she would respect his privacy. Now that she looked back, she wished she wouldn't have. Maybe then she would actually know what was going on in his life before he died.

Inside the little hole in the wall was a huge wad of cash. Clarke assumed it was from working with Thomas. Then there was a set of letters that she had never seen before. She didn't have time to look at them right now. There was also another key to the storage unit and a knife. Why did he hide a knife in his room? That wasn't exactly something he needed to hide. She took the knife and the letter, leaving the key alone. She already had one of those and it had served its purpose. She could hear footsteps coming towards the room. Clarke's heart began to beat even faster. The last thing she needed was to get caught.

She hurried out of the window making sure to close it gently right before the door opened. It was Brandon's mom. She didn't turn a light on but walked in slowly before sitting on the edge of the bed gently. Clarke was hiding behind the tree next to his room that was large enough his mom couldn't see Clarke, but she could see her. His mom picked up the same pair of sweatpants that Clarke just had. She balled it up in her hands and cried. It broke Clarke's heart as she sat there watching her. His mom was like her second mom. She watched Clarke grow up and took care of her when her parents wouldn't. She missed his mom and dad as much as she missed him. She couldn't watch his mom break down anymore as she hurried away back to her car. She drove back home before looking at any of the letters that she had found and walked away before her parents or sister could interrupt what she was doing. When she was safely tucked back into her room, she opened the first letter of five.

Brandon,

I'm going to cut to the chase. I know what you and your friends are hiding. I know what happened to that girl and I know you're partly responsible. Unless you want me to tell the whole world what you and your friends did you are going to do precisely what I ask. Cut all ties with everyone that matters. And I'm not stupid, I know that the football team doesn't matter to you. Make sure you keep them extra close.