A/N: Like last time, if you see any mistakes, please point them out! And please review, it lets me know that I'm writing something people actually want to read.
I woke up due to an obnoxious sound: Charley pounding his feet on the way down the stairs. Tiredly, I scowled into my pillow, cuddled further into my blankets, and attempted to go back to sleep. This was an impossible task to accomplish because Charley was running all over the house. When I couldn't take anymore, I ripped myself from my blanket and pillow and snarled:
"Oh my God, Charley. What are you doing?"
"I can't find my essay!" he said, panicked. I watched as he ran his fingers through his hair in a stressful manner as he rushed around the living-room and kitchen, flipping couch cushions on the floor.
"Just go to school. An essay one day late isn't a big deal," I mumbled, though if it was loud enough for him to hear I didn't know because he continued to make a mess. It was times like those that I appreciated the fact that I was an only child. I didn't have to deal with waking up and getting mad if someone was taking too long in the bathroom, I didn't have to deal with anyone touching my things, or touching my food in the fridge, or taking the remote when I was watching TV. I laid my head back down on the pillow and thought, I think those things are going to change.
Eventually, Charley gave up and left the house and I was able to go back to sleep for a few more hours until ten. I stretched when I got up and went to the bathroom, and then pulled out some eggs from the fridge to make myself breakfast. After that, I took a shower and decided to walk around the neighborhood. I kept my scarf on, but didn't bother to put my leather glove on because one of them was still missing, so I just shoved my hands inside my jacket pockets.
I still didn't have a key, so I had to keep the door unlocked when I went out unless I wanted to be stuck outside again. Then I started walking down the road at a normal and easy pace, looking around at the houses. A lot of them looked new, but I knew that wasn't true because I had lived in this neighborhood seven years ago with my mother. We actually lived right next door to my aunt and cousin, which happened to be where Jerry was living.
It took me an hour to walk around my old neighborhood and become re-acquainted with it. No cars were in their driveways because it was almost noon and everyone was at work, except for about five or six houses which still had cars in their driveways. I stopped at what I thought to be Adam's house. I had been friends with Adam before my mom died and before I moved to live with Dave. The car was still in the driveway, so I decided to knock on the door and say hello to his parents if they were home. I liked Adam's parents when I was a kid because they always invited me over for dinner.
I was about to knock again when a little dog came up to me and whined. I immediately recognized him as Apple, Adam's dog. Granted, he looked alot older than when he was a puppy seven years ago. He whined at me again and barked. Maybe he was locked out. What is it with this neighborhood and locking people out?
"C'mere, Apple," I whispered gently. I smiled when he came to sit by my feet. I knocked on the door one last time before deciding to go into the back of the house. When I saw Apple go through the doggy door and poke his head out, it seemed like he was saying, 'are you coming with me or what?'
I sighed and bent down. I looked over the doggy door, determining that I should probably be able to fit through, but there was always the chance of not being able to. Only one way to find out, I suppose... I crawled through the little door with no problem, except when my foot got caught momentarily. I pulled my foot free and stood up.
The realization of what I just did dawned on me. I just broke into someone's house. And for what? Because a dog whined at me? Worried, I ran my scarred fingers through my hair. Maybe they were sleeping like Charley! Didn't I learn anything from last night? I guess not.
When I saw Apple sitting by his bowls, I knew he wanted food and water. So, I filled one bowl up with water from the sink, but I had to look around for the dog food. I found it a few seconds later in the closet. While Apple was busy eating his food, very quickly might I add, I wandered through the house. The layout was still the same, obviously, but there were new pictures hanging on the wall and the living-room had been rearranged. I saw a door that was partially open, and I think it was his sister's room. I walked towards it and inched the door open.
The first thing I saw was blood, and then came the body on the floor, flesh ripped apart like some wild animal had attacked it. I was forced to kneel down, my hands shaking, and, against my will, bile came out of my throat due to the sight and smell. I wiped my mouth clean with my silk scarf and, with fumbling fingers, grabbed my phone from my pocket and dialed 911.
I waited outside with Apple by my side as a bunch of people came. Police cars came, ambulances, a fire-truck, and a few others I couldn't identify. When they went inside to confirm the dead body, I didn't go with them. Then they came back out, and I heard them say there were three more bodies upstairs. Adam and his parents...
I stared at my feet, absently stroking Apple's fur. A lot of messed up stuff had happened to me in the last year, but nothing as bad as this. I could handle death, sort of. It happened to everybody. Murder, though, was different. It's normal to die because of an illness or old age, but dying because someone else killed you was not normal.
A man's voice spoke to me, "hey, I'm Detective Ross. You're Vanessa, right? The one who made the call?"
"Yeah," I said, and tore my eyes from the ground to look up, putting my scarred hands inside my pockets. Detective Ross was looking at me intently with green eyes, and he seemed determined to ask me a bunch of questions. When he asked me those questions, I answered each and everyone of them honestly. The one about why I was there made me nervous even though I had no reason to be.
"Well, his dog was whining at me and I felt bad... So, I went inside," was my answer, which was an honest answer. It probably seemed strange and suspicious to him, but it was the truth. Then my mind whispered to me, this isn't the time to be embarrassed about how you got into the house. I silently agreed.
He wrote down my name, number, and address on a notepad and gave me a card with his own name and number on it. Then I was allowed to leave, but before I did leave, I asked to go get a few things from inside Adam's house, like dog food and a few dog toys, because I was going to bring Apple with me. I was allowed to and soon I was on my way, Apple walking next to me with his leash in my hand.
When I got back to my aunt's house, it was one thirty. I had been at Adam's house, answering any questions the police asked me for about two and a half hours. I sighed and took the leash off of Apple and let him walk around and sniff everything. As for myself, I flopped down on the couch, cuddling into the blanket and pillow that were still there. It had been a long day considering it was only late afternoon.
I think I fell asleep because the next thing I knew Charley was poking my head, trying to wake me up.
"Yeah?" I grumbled, closing my eyes.
"Why is Adam's dog here?" he questioned.
My eyes snapped open and I sat up, looking my cousin in the eye, "Charley, I think you should sit down."
He looked like he was going to ask why, but I shushed him and told him to sit down again. I was thinking about how I was going to tell him. I couldn't just come out and say, 'Adam's dead,' could I? I thought it would be insensitive. Like I said earlier, I had been friends with Adam when we were younger, and even though I moved to live with Dave, I still felt we had our friendship intact. Finding his sister earlier had been terrible, and the sight of her torn flesh was something I knew I wouldn't forget. I couldn't even imagine how I would feel if I had found Adam's body instead.
I took a deep breath and exhaled, "Adam's dead."
He gave me a weird look and probably thought I was joking. "Funny, Vanessa. Did his family go on vacation or something? He wasn't in school today."
"No, I'm being serious, Charley. Adam's dead," I repeated. The expression on his face changed from weird to blank, and then slowly scrunched up, as if he was confused.
"What? I saw him yesterday and he was perfectly fine. Are you sure it was him?" Charley asked, looking at me with a neutral face.
"Yes, Charley," I answered slowly, "it was him. So is his family."
Charley was quiet for a moment, but then he seemed to brush it off. Suddenly, I was angry. How could he just brush off the fact that his best friend was dead? What kind of friend does that? Even I felt like shit and I hadn't seen Adam for several years. Instead of yelling at Charley, I took a moment to breathe, and I found that my thoughts cleared. Brushing it off could just be the way he dealt with stressful things. Unfortunately, he would have to face it sooner or later.
Just I was about to stand up, I heard Charley's voice, "is Apple here because you want to keep him?"
I thought about it for a moment. It hadn't crossed my mind earlier. I had just wanted to bring him with me because his family was gone. A moment later I answered my cousin with:
"Yeah. He probably would have gone to the pound if I didn't bring him with me."
I paused for a moment and then added, "do you think your mom will let me keep him?"
"I don't see why not," he responded.
Then I checked my phone and decided to take Apple for a walk since it was a little past six. Before I left, I asked Charley if he had any gloves I could wear, saying that my hands got cold easily. He said yes and a minute later I was wearing a new pair of gloves. On the way out, I saw Jerry stepping out of his truck, and when he looked my way, gave me a half-smile that almost seemed like a smirk.
Then he started to approach me and my mind went momentarily blank. Why was he walking towards me? Maybe he wants to say hi or something... As he got closer, my body tensed up and it didn't help that Apple had started to growl and whine. I saw Jerry glance at Apple, and a hint of a sneer made its way on his face before it disappeared.
As Jerry came to a stop in front of me, I couldn't help the feeling of apprehension knotting itself in my stomach. I thought this was odd because I hadn't felt like this yesterday. Maybe it was because my aunt had been standing next to me? I didn't know, but the tension that I was feeling worsened when Jerry chuckled, as if sensing the distress he was causing me gave him some kind of joy.
"You look a little sick," Jerry commented, giving something of a grin, showing his teeth. My confusion must have shown on my face because his grin widened.
"I'll be seeing you around, Vanessa," he said, and chuckled as he walked away. To say that I wasn't freaked out would be a lie.