Fault Line [Completed]

Chapter Seventeen

"I'll help you."

I stare at my brother with wide, and very very very shocked eyes. He just agreed to help me. I wouldn't help me.

"Seriously?"

He chuckles. "Yeah, I'll help you."

I let a relieved breath escape my lips as I close my eyes. Not a lot of people would help out murderer, let alone if that murderer killed your mother.

"On one condition."

I nod, slightly concerned by what he wants.

"You need to tell me everything that happened." It's always that.

"Well, Mom abused me ever since Dad died. Then one night I couldn't deal with it anymore and before I knew it, she was dead on the ground and a bloody knife was in my hand. I covered up what I could and the cops didn't find me. The funeral passed and that day they discovered that it was me. I ran away from them because I was too scared. It was like instinct told me to.

"I took a train to Missouri where I met Lizzy. A girl who was running from the cops too. She did some things, some bad things, and we stayed in this old building for a while. Then we got caught and was taken to somewhere where the FBI works. We were interrogated until Lizzy thought of a plan to get us out. It almost worked, but Lizzy was shot and I was taken back. She pulled one last stunt before she died. She got me out. So then I came back home where I stayed at Aunt Mallory's place. Lana found out that I was there, but she kept my secret, for a while at least.

"Eventually, Aunt Mallory discovered that I was in the attic, and I escaped without her calling the cops. Then I spent the night in our old tree house without the family who now lives there knowing. After that, I went to the park, where I somehow met with the girls and Aunt Mallory. Though it had only been a day, it looked as if Aunt Mallory had gone through a really hard time."

"Yeah, she called me about that."

"Oh? What was it?"

Jordan looks down at his lap. "Her husband died."

"Oh." I look down, feeling sad that I intruded her house when she was going through a hard time.

"But continue with what happened." Jordan says after a long moment of silence.

"Um, oh yeah. I fell out of the tree I was in and the girls came running over to see if I was okay, not knowing that it was me. Then Lana grabbed the attention of Aunt Mallory by saying my name and then I don't know what happened because I ran. I hung out around town basically the whole day, then my wig came off and I chased it into an alley. Unfortunately, the cops were, for some reason, there and then they chased me until I finally lost them, Then I decided to leave Michigan again. Then you popped into my head and I thought "Why not" and that's how I ended up here." I half smile at the end.

Jordan nods and walks over to the kitchen. He opens the fridge and pulls out two Coca-Cola's. Tossing one to me, he sits back down and opens his can. I awkwardly hold my can for a few more seconds before also opening mine and taking a sip from it.

"Yes." Jordan says out of the blue.

"I'm sorry?" I say, lifting the Coke can to my mouth.

"You can stay here." My eyes widen when he replies.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" I quickly put my pop down to jump on him. He follows quickly and hugs me back. Even after all of this time, I am still a little kid when I'm near him.

***************

Throwing my bag onto the bed in Jordan's spare bedroom, I lie down beside it and stare at the ceiling. I haven't been feeling this safe since . . . well, ever. I've never felt safe, not even with Lizzy. Something was always off about her. When we were in the FBI facility place, she would sometimes look at me with such sadness, like she knew something bad was going to happen to me.

I guess that she knew that the news of my father's death was her fault would hurt me greatly.

I shake my head and dismiss the thinking of those thoughts. I should be grateful, Jordan said that I could stay here for a while.

Knocking at the door made me sit up. It was Jordan. Of course.

"Pizza's in the kitchen." I nod and walk to the kitchen. Some food out to do me some good.

"You did not!" I exclaim.

"I did. And the entire school cheered!" Jordan is telling me a story of how he scored a touchdown (his first one of the season) at a college game and literally pranced around the entire field while everyone there was applauding and cheering.

"Shut up!" I laughed, my chest collapsing onto my legs.

"I'm serious. Even Cecílie cheered-" Jordan stops speaking and looks down at his hands.

I raise an eyebrow. "And who is this Cecílie?"

Jordan hesitates. "No one."

"Too late for that brother dear." I smile. "Now spill." I put a serious face on.

"Just a girl I like." He blushes and looks down to hide his face.

"Just a girl?! Jordan has a crush on a girl! I need to see her." I walk over to his bookshelf and pull out last years yearbook. "And does this Cecílie girl have a last name."

"Zíma. Cecílie Zíma."

I turn the pages quickly, stopping when I find the Z's. A girl with long blonde hair all on her left side and gray eyes stares back at me. Yep, I can see why Jordan likes her. She is totally his style. I look near her name and see that she is a foreign exchange student or was, back a while. Why would the yearbook have to mention that?! Maybe they were really proud of her? I narrow my eyes at the paper, trying to figure out where she was originally from.

"Czech Republic."

I look up at Jordan in confusion.

"She's from Czechoslovakia or now Czech Republic."

I nod and mouth "Oh" and close the book.

***************

I plop down on the bed and feel immensely grateful that Jordan is going to help me. I close my eyes, waiting for my dreams to take me.

I'm holding some white daffodils, walking up my Mother's grave. I reach the grave and place the flowers down before the headstone.

"Read up on these flowers. Just 'cause, I guess. They mean rebirth and new beginnings. I thought that you would like them. I know that your favorites are pink roses, but they didn't fit." I feel awkward.

I start to turn but freeze when a familiar voice says, "That's all you do, don't you?" I finish turning to see my mother wearing the clothes she was killed in. "All you do is run and hide. You couldn't be any more helpful." She steps closer. I am too scared to even take a step. "All you did was help me cope," another step. "But that wasn't enough. No," another step closer, I still can't move. "The only way to get rid of my pain," she stops in thought. "Was to not have any pain at all. Thank you, Jane. For helping me stop feeling."

She started to cry . . . and that's when I got the most scared. My Mother never cries in front of us kids. She only cried when she abused me.

She wipes a tear away from her eye, laughing a little while saying; "And now it's your turn." She holds up a knife I didn't notice before and plunged it deep into my body . . .

"Aaaaaahh!" I scream as I sit up quickly. Feeling sweaty and breathing like a dog. Jordan comes barging into the room looking panicked.

"What happened?" He asks frantically.

"Nothing. Just a nightmare." I try to lower my breathing to a somewhat normal pace.

"Do you get them often?"

"You could say that." I half smile, glancing up at him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I added a picture of the white daffodils on the side. I was bored and discovered it so . . . I couldn't resist. Two chapters today. Only because I want to finish by early December. Sadly only two more chapters after the next one.