RED DIAMOND

Chapter Six - Fiona

I clicked my teeth together as I waited for the kettle to finish boiling. By the time we had gotten home from Red Diamond Sophia had been bawling, walked a straight path to her room, and didn't come back. She was probably in shock from having actually tried to strangle someone. Even if it was Stephen. I wondered what their history was, it must have been pretty personal for her to refuse to tell me anything.

The water finished boiling and I dropped a tea bag into a tall blue mug, pouring the boiling water and watching as the steam fogged up my glasses. It was early in the evening and I planned on calling Harmon before going to bed; I hadn't heard from him on his mission yet.

Being careful not to disturb the contents of the drink, I slowly made my way upstairs and over to Sophia and Kallista's room. I could hear a quiet sniffle as I approached the curtains separating their room from the laundry room.

"Sophia?" I whispered, trying to sound as gentle as possible.

"Just leave me alone, it isn't any of your business." She replied coldly.

"I beg to differ! If he really hurt your feelings for you to hate him that much, then I think I deserve to know what's wrong. I'm your sister!" I said a little louder this time, though, denying her wishes was a little risky.

"Stop nosing around in my problems, I don't need your help! This isn't something you can just s-sort out!" She sobbed.

"Okay, I understand. But if you ever need to tell me something I'm all ears." I pulled the curtains to the side and placed the mug on a wooden bench at the foot of her bed.

Sighing as I made my way down the stairs and into the living room, I went to sit on a couch and draw in my sketchbook for a bit, when I realized I had forgotten to grab my music from my room. Slightly annoyed that I had to go all the way up and down the stairs again.

I quietly crept into Sophia's room again, hoping she wouldn't notice me, but confused, I myself noticed something instead. Where the covers had been bulging from her mass underneath the blankets was now flat and ruffled. Had she gone to the bathroom? I peeked behind the curtain to find the bathroom door open and the light off. Frowning, I checked a few more rooms. By the time I had searched the whole of the upstairs I was becoming worried. I began calling her name as a panic roused in the pit of my stomach, but I stopped suddenly as a cold sensation lured my attention towards the window of her room.

Why hadn't I noticed it before? After pulling the curtain to the side, the gaping window was revealed. It was wide open and the screen had been removed, the curtains flowed slightly as the light breeze gave me goosebumps.

I walked towards it and gasped as my sock absorbed something wet from the dark blue carpet, the mug I had given her lay on its side with a few chips in it, not far from a splatter of cold tea on the floor. I could feel my eyes welling up with tears. What the heck happened? What should I do next?

I looked out the window in hope of finding something to help explain, but the backyard was as boring and empty as ever, besides my two youngest brothers playing on our trampoline.

What do I do next? The answer seemed obvious enough. I pulled out my phone and dialed Harmon's number, biting a bit of dead skin off of my bottom lip as I waited anxiously.