iv

The next day Jarrod dropped Veronica off at the school and she walked inside, the school books she had given her were inside her backpack, along with her turquoise cromebook and pens.

Veronica was nervous but refused to let it show as she walked into the school and down the hallway to the door the headmistress had shown her the day before.

Walking inside, she saw a teacher up front and all the desks full accept one beside a girl with colourful hair.

"You must be Veronica." The teacher said warmly. Veronica brought her attention up to the teacher.

"I am." She said with a smile.

"You can sit beside Adriana over there." She pointed at the girl with colourful hair. Veronica nodded and went and sat down.

Adriana didn't say anything just typed away on her laptop till the teacher left the room to let them do their work.

"You were Sarah's social worker, correct?" Lilly asked as she sat in the social workers office. The dark skinned lady nodded and looked at Lilly in disinterest.

"Correct." She said as she started to sift through papers that littered the top of her desk.

"Did Sarah like living at the Phillips?" she asked and looked at the obviously bored SW.

She didn't answer at first, and finally looked up with pursed lips, "if Sarah did not like them, why would she want to be adopted by them? She loved them." She said. Lilly looked down at the name plate on her desk which said her name (obviously),

"Ms. Spencer, who do you think killed Sarah?" Lilly bluntly asked.

"In my opinion she brought it upon herself," Ms. Spencer said casually. "That girl went through homes like lice goes through children, quickly and efficiently. The fact that she lived there and wanted to stay there was a miracle in itself."

"Please, answer the question." Lilly said.

"I don't know who killed Sarah, I'd check with her old foster parents. Especially the Cains." Ms. Spencer said, "Now. I have a meeting, so I'd like to ask you to leave."

"Do you remember me, Adriana?" Scotty asked as he sat in the interrogation room with Adriana and her Social Worker.

"Vaguely." Adriana said. Her rainbow type hair was gone and replaced with a natural dark brown hair.

"I saw a picture of you with Sarah, you had a different shade of hair." Scotty said.

"I own wigs so I can change my hair colour," Adriana said in a monotone voice. She turned to look at her Social Worker. "May I go now?"

Charles Carter shook his head.

"How were you with Sarah?" Scotty asked as he stared at the thirteen year old.

"Close." Adriana said as she looked down at the table and refused to look up at Scotty.

"How close?" Scotty asked.

"She was like my sister, not that it matters to you." She stated and crossed her arms.

"I have a younger sister," Fifteen year old Sarah said to ten year old Adriana one day. The child looked up at her teenage friend. Sarah was putting makeup on Adriana to cover a bruise on her cheekbone.

"I don't. I don't have any siblings." Adriana said as she winced as Sarah's hand brushed over her bruise.

Sarah didn't say anything else. She didn't know what to say and Adriana didn't either. So, neither said anything.

Once the makeup was finished Adriana pulled the elastic out of her hair and let the then, shoulder length locks fall down just over her shoulders.

"What is it like? Having a sibling?" Adriana asked.

"Amazing. It is like you always have someone there, a best friend." Sarah said with a small smile. The smile turned into a frown just as quickly as it appeared onto her face.

"But?" the young one employed.

"But, when my parents died my sister and I got split apart. She was two at the time. I haven't seen her since I was five." Sarah said with a sigh.

"Why not?" Adriana pressed.

Sarah gave her a look of annoyance that said she wouldn't answer. Adriana pressed her lips together in a silent promise to be quiet.

"How about this," Sarah started finally. "How about I be your older sister. Then you can have the sibling you are missing and I can have mine I miss."

"Deal." Adriana paused, "what does that imply?"

"It means, that I will be here for you forever." She said with a smile.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"She broke her promise." Adriana said quietly.

"Not intentionally." Replied Scotty softly as he looked at the girl.

"Everyone breaks promises. You can't trust people. Nobody speaks the truth, words are all broken promises and lies." She stood up. "I want to leave."

"I have just one more question." Scotty said as he sat down across the table from her. Adriana gave him a hard stare, not a glare but almost one. "Do you know who killed Sarah?"

"No. And before you ask, it was not me. They ruled me out already after they found out she died." Adriana said, "Read the report."