A Condemned Haven

Chapter 41

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As she knocked on the door, she grew even more nervous than we she thought of this plan a couple of hours ago. The door opened and she came face to face with Brandon's mother. The expression her face nearly broke Clarke's heart. An expression that could only be described as pure hatred and disgust.

"What do you think you're doing here?" It pained Clarke to see the look on her face. From someone she could only describe as a second mother.

"Please, just let me talk to you. I didn't kill Brandon, but I think I know who did." Her face remained steely as she stood there thinking. She opened the door, her arms still tense. She led her to the couch where Clarke sat down.

"Explain and it better be good or else I will call the police for trespassing."

"I know you blame me. I don't blame you for thinking like that, especially considering how guilty I looked. I think I know who did it. I've been looking for who really killed him ever since I got out of juvie. At first, I had no clue where to look, and as I started to get to know more about Brandon before he died, I realized I knew nothing about him. He had all of these secrets that I knew nothing about and still all I wanted was to find him justice. I wanted to know who did this to me and who did this to him."

"Who do you think did it?"

"This kid named Andy Fullerton. He has a big grudge against the team. I guess they used to bully him. I am going to tell you something, but just remember it came from a good place." His mom nodded before motioning her to continue. "I found these letters in Brandon's room. He used to hide things in the vents when he didn't want you guys to find it."

Clarke handed them to her for her to read. Watching the mix of horror and fear on her face was like a whirlwind. No one wanted to hear bad things about their child, regardless if they were true. Tears came to her eyes as she read each note. Horrified by the atrocities her son was accused of.

"Explain these to me."

Clarke explained how Brandon was friends with Francis and how he was being blackmailed by him. She then explained what the photo was of. His mom looked disgusted as she thought about her son's indiscretions. She then dived into how Brandon lied about his scholarship and began stealing stuff to raise money. He also knew what happened to that girl and did nothing about it. Someone was using these secrets to ruin his life.

"So, this photo was of the girl who was raped?"

"Yes. By Francis." Clarke was even surprised that she was listening, let alone believing what she was saying.

"And my son knew?" Clarke nodded as she watched his mom break down. "How did I not know?"

"Most moms will never know everything their child does. It's not your fault. It's no one's fault. The reason I've told you all this is because I need you to do something for me."

"What?" Her tears were still falling as she sniffled.

Clarke explained her plan to her. How she needed to present it to the police so that they could actually investigate someone other than her. She explained how sorry she was or everything and that she didn't blame her for believing all of the lies the police told her. She apologized for believing them, but in all honesty, Clarke really didn't blame her. She understood that they just wanted it to be over, they just wanted someone to blame. She had been the easiest target. The police had served her up on a silver platter. Hell, if she wasn't the one who went down for it, she probably would have believed the police too. They were supposed to protect them, to find out the truth, but in the end all they really cared about was closing a case.