Dad had called Topaz a murderer. Axel had called him a monster. At the time I had fought for Topaz's case because I thought that Dad and Axel were being unreasonable, but as I lay in my bed in the middle of the night, I re-played the scene in my head. Was Topaz a murderer? He hadn't killed anyone, but he'd tried to. If it weren't for me, he would have stabbed Axel and killed him.
Topaz nearly killed Axel?! Axel, my brother who had loved me and taken care of me all my life. Whether I had wanted him to or not, Axel had always been there to make sure I was staying out of trouble. And I was backing the guy who nearly stabbed him? What was I thinking?!
But as I lay there, trying to force myself to hate Topaz, I found to my dismay that I couldn't. It was impossible. Topaz was the best friend I'd ever had. The only friend I'd ever had. I found it pretty hard to make friends, and to find someone just out of nowhere, who I could insult, interrogate and betray and he'd still stick around. That was rare.
My headache from all of these thoughts was interrupted by the sound of rustling sheets from the other side of the room. Axel slipped out of bed quietly (not quite silently) and glanced over his shoulder.
I pretended to be asleep, and once his back was turned, I silently slid out of my bed and followed him.
Axel knocked softly on Mum and Dad's door.
"Dad," he whispered. "It's time."
Dad appeared looking tired and anxious.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked. "It'll be dangerous."
Dad glanced at Axel's now bandaged arm. Axel saw and hid it behind his back.
"It'll be worth it just to catch that scumbag," Axel said. "Imagine the glory!"
I shivered. Scumbag? The glory? This didn't look good. I knew what they were going to do and I had to stop them. But I couldn't do it alone.
Previously, Topaz had stolen a phone especially, just so that I could have his number. (Although he kept getting weird texts from someone demanding to hear from someone called Theresa.) I got out my mobile and tapped out a text.
Dad and Axel are acting weird. I'm gonna follow them, you coming? I need a mate.
Soon enough, I got a reply.
Meet me in the park. I'll be there.
I felt another thrill of excitement at his loyalty, but I knew now was not the time to get carried away. I had to be serious.
Paragraphness!
Topaz didn't let me down, I knew he wouldn't. We hid in an intimate place and spied on Dad and Axel.
"They're going into the museum," I said. "Weren't you supposed to be going there tonight?"
"Papa cancelled on me," Topaz replied looking disappointed. "He was acting kinda funny too."
"Topaz please," I said. "I know what you think of Dad and Axel right now, and I don't blame you, but they're still my family, and I need your help to make sure they don't come to a sticky end."
Topaz shrugged. "Alright," he said. "Just tell me what needs doing."
This chapter is super short simply because the next one is super long and super AWESOME so I'm excited to get onto that. Laters!