I cleared my throat. "Yes, well, I have to go. I need to be alone. After all, I want to grieve for my mother," I said, rising from the couch and adding emphasis on the word mother. "Please tell my father and Mrs. Swan that I will not be joining them for dinner. I will get dinner on my way home. Good evening, Mary Alice," I dismissed with a curt nod, before turning and walking out of the front door.
Fishing my car keys out of my pocket, I slid into my 2013 Scion FRS with no real destination in mind. Starting the car and shifting into drive, I rounded the circular driveway and hit the road faster than usual. How dare Mary Alice imply that Sue was my mother? The idea in itself was preposterous and made me sick. I had only been driving for a few minutes and already I felt that it was unsafe for me to be behind the wheel. Pulling over, I headed to a park just across the street from where I had stopped and sat down on a bench. Rain had begun to fall, but at that moment, it was only a light drizzle. I didn't mind it. I didn't care that it was the rain that had killed my mother. I didn't care about anything. I heard giggles coming from a few yards away and, glancing over, I saw a group of young girls playing a strange game in the trees. "Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her mother forty whacks," a few of them sang while one girl, who looked to be no more than eight or nine, pretended to attack another girl with an invisible axe. "And when she saw what she had done, she gave her mother forty one," they finished. The girl playing Lizzie then turned attacked another girl portraying the father. As the two little girls lay on the ground, pretending to be dead, 'Lizzie' ran away and hid until someone found the bodies.
What a sick little game, I thought, watching as the girls ran around in circles, scrambling to find the killer. And the story behind it. What would cause a woman to murder her parents so coldly? With a sigh, I stood. Turning, I ran into a thick wall. A thick, soft wall. I looked up and saw green eyes peeking out from under shaggy blonde hair. "Whoa, I'm sorry, ma'am," he said, a soft smile playing on his lips. I dropped my eyes to the ground. You're not Irina. Let her have the boys. You only have your studies. You're pretty enough, a small voice in my head said. I sighed in agreement, but couldn't stop the blush that rose to my cheeks. "Excuse me," I said in a soft voice, pushing past him. Put up a front, I thought. Don't let yourself get hurt again. "I didn't mean to scare you. I'm sorry if I did," he apologized. My heart pounded harder, but I swallowed my emotions and turned to him, my face hard. "Leave me alone. And get a damn haircut, shaggy," I said, before turning back and walking away. "I don't know what's wrong in your life, but I'm sorry for it anyway. You probably don't deserve it," he shouted to me. I sighed and ignored him, climbing into my car.
Somehow, in the few minutes it took me to get home, it had starting pouring rain and I was pulling into the memory again.
"Daddy, I don't like the rain! Can't we get home any faster?" I whined. My father sighed. "No, Isabella, we can't. Do you want me to get in trouble from going too fast?" he asked. I shut up. That's impossible! Daddies can't get in trouble, except by mommies," Irina said, waking up from her nap. Our parents laughed. My mother turned and smiled at us. Suddenly, our father gasped and I heard the car made a sharp turn to the left, then the right to try to get back in our lane. The car tilted and fell to its side, then the roof and the other side. Before I could really understand, we were rolling and rolling and rolling. Then, we weren't and silence fell over the car.
I felt the tears rolling down my face as I turned off the engine and removed the key from the ignition. I slammed my head back against the head rest and felt my body shake as the sobs ripped through me. I miss you, mother. Why did you have to leave?