The Truth Kills

| Prologue |

"Why can't you just admit that you were wrong for once in your life?" Maddie screamed, throwing clothes into her suitcase.

"Because it wasn't me!" I cried. "I can't believe you would believe Jake over me! I'm your sister!"

"Yeah, some sister you are," she spat.

"I know what kind of person Jake is," I whispered. "He's a cheater and a liar."

"Maybe he is," Maddie responded, "but he's still a hell of a better person than you."

"Get out!" I shrieked, tears streaming down my blotchy face. "Just leave if you won't believe me. Maybe someday you'll see that I'm telling the truth."

"Maybe. But today's not that someday," Maddie replied, zipping up her suitcase. I watched in silence as she hastily pulled on her jacket and rolled her petite suitcase over to the door, her long blonde hair swaying behind her. "If I don't ever see you again, I'll be happy." With that, she walked out of our small apartment and slammed the door behind her, and in that moment I had never felt more alone. The only sound was the bustling New York City traffic outside. Other than that, the apartment was filled with suffocating silence.

I called Jake four days later. With shaking fingers, I picked up my phone from the couch and dialed Jake's number somberly. After a few rings, Jake answered in a raspy voice. "Oh hey, Kenzie, what's up?"

I was surprised that after everything he had done, he was acting as if nothing was wrong. "You know what you did," I breathed. "Maddie is gone."

Jake gasped. "Haven't you heard?"

My stomach dropped. "H-heard what?"

"Maddie was murdered yesterday."

The walls around me seemed to crumble down, my world suddenly tumultuous at the sound of those four words I thought I'd never hear. I wouldn't let Jake hear me cry, but inside my heart was breaking as I thought about the idea of Maddie being gone forever.

"You're lying," I croaked slowly, painfully struggling not to burst into tears.

"Hmm," he weighed, "maybe I am. But then again, you should have known already, being you're the one who killed her."

Every bone in my body turned to stone. "How-how dare you say that," I loathed. "You know I would never hurt my sister."

"It's not just me, baby doll, everyone thinks that. Everyone knows that." It really didn't surprise me that Jake didn't sound to be grieving the slightest bit. I could tell he didn't care, because that's just the appalling person he was.

"You ruined my life the day my sister came home with you," I wailed, "Stay away from me. And I swear if I ever see your face again, I will bash it in."

I hung up the phone, finally being alone. My apartment was painfully empty. Maddie was just killed. My beautiful sister, she brightened everyone's day with just her smile. No matter how much I looked up to her, no matter how hard I tried to be like her, I would never compare to her.

Maddie was just killed. Every inch of my body told me I was supposed to cry, but I wasn't crying. I wasn't doing anything at all. I just sat on the couch, staring blankly at the ceiling, as the world around me tumbled down, one painful memory at a time.

"Nobody will believe me," I whimpered, "Nobody ever believes me."

© 2016 Cailee/foreverafanpaige, All Rights Reserved

(Update: I changed the prologue! Please add this to your reading list because I will be updating later tonight, love you -Cai)