Chapter 12

Alicia stared at her cell phone. There was a lot of missed calls and texts from her two best friends, asking how she was doing. She didn't reply any of them. A new text came in. Her eyes widened at the name appearing on the screen: Hiro. She read it.

"Any chance you would come out?" Asch's voice was heard at her door.

"Why?" she asked.

"Your friends are here. They want to talk to you," he explained.

Alicia placed her phone on her study desk, replying, "I'll be down in a minute."

She heard her brother sighed. Alicia changed into a nice dress and put on a sweater. She went downstairs after that. She saw Meredith and Arietta in the living room. Catching her figure by the stairs, the two girls rushed to hug her. The brown haired hugged her friends back, feeling guilty for making them worry.

"We thought you were sick or something," Arietta said.

"Yeah. We tried calling you but you won't pick up, so we had to come and see you," Meredith explained.

Alicia forced a smile and said, "Thanks for coming, girls. I love you two so much."

Asch came with a tray of three glasses of orange juice and a plate of freshly baked chocolate cake. He placed them all on the coffee table in the living room and left the girls to talk. Alicia went to sit down with them. They told her what happened at the festival to the last detail. They had to cover up for her absenteeism but their classmates didn't really mind. Alicia was glad.

"So…please don't be offended," Meredith said, glancing up at Arietta.

"We…kind of asked Hiro what had happened…" Arietta drawled.

Alicia blinked and muttered, "Oh…"

The two looked at each other before turning to her. The girl was staring at her piece of cake, slowly munching on a bite of it. They were surprised at her reaction.

"You don't care?" Arietta asked.

Alicia looked straight at their eyes. "What did he tell you?" she asked.

Meredith and Arietta rolled their eyes. Meredith was the one who answered, "He told us that you may be the murderer and when he told you, you asked for a breakup…"

"Yeah, I did…" Alicia replied calmly.

"Are you really the murderer?" Arietta asked, concerned.

Alicia looked away from them, slowly nodding. Arietta and Meredith glanced at each other. They cared about Alicia a lot more than she thought.

"I had a twin sister, Ashley. She died when we were kidnapped a few years back," Alicia spoke up.

Arietta played with her hands and replied, "We know."

Alicia looked up at them in disbelief. "What?"

"Ashley used to be our best friend once. You know, you used to be living under her shadows all the time back then… She'd drag you everywhere, which is why we know you," Meredith explained.

"When she was dead and you were traumatized, Asch visited us. He sort of begged us to keep Ashley a secret and become your best friends instead. He told us that chances are, you're going to forget Ashley ever existed…and he was right," Arietta continued.

Meredith nodded to her and said, "That is until a few days ago when your parents decided to tell you."

Alicia was having a hard time dissolving everything her friends were telling her. She rapidly shook her head after a few minutes. Arietta took out a photo album. She handed it to Alicia, saying that it was Ashley's. Alicia flipped through the pages.

"She gave us each one of her albums so that we could remember her. It was as if she knew that her death was around the corner," Meredith explained.

"Yeah…Ashley was good at predicting things," Alicia muttered.

Lunch time came, Hiro was surrounded by his best friends. The third day had arrived, pressuring Hiro to decide whether to turn her in or not. Hiro was avoiding his friends all morning but they finally got hold of him with Aunt Cass's help. His sweat dropped as he stared at his friends. Gogo was glaring at him but Honey Lemon looked as if she pitied him.

"Your call, Hiro. Turn her in or let her go," Gogo spoke.

Hiro sighed. "I can't decide…" he replied, shoulder slumped in defeat.

Gogo raised a brow while the others looked as surprised as her. They stared at the helpless teen. Hiro fell back onto his chair. The others took their seats as well. He was staring at a picture of a happy Alicia in his cellphone.

"So, you can't decide, huh?" Wasabi asked Hiro.

"Yes…she's too important to me. I can't have her being in prison…but she is the murderer…" he muttered, sighing again.

"Do you mind if we turn her in?" Gogo asked.

"Do what you like… It's better to do what is right anyway…" he gave in.

The team started to discuss Alicia, excluding Hiro. He ignored them, exiting the garage. He decided to go and see Asch, but before he could, he spotted him entering the café. He followed the red head.

"Oh, hi there, Hiro," Asch greeted him, "Sorry about last time."

"Why are you here?" Hiro asked.

"Thought I should grab some snacks. I didn't eat much because Alicia's friends came over. I'm always nervous around them," the brother scratched his head in embarrassment.

"That sounds weird coming out from you," the boy remarked.

Asch chuckled. "Care to join me?" he invited.

Hiro shrugged, replying, "Sure. I have something to tell you anyways."

They went in. Hiro got Asch the food he asked for. They sat down. Hiro watched Asch who calmly ate a donut he had ordered.

"So, have you decided what to do?" he asked the boy.

"No, but my friends did. They're going to think of a way to turn her in," Hiro muttered sadly.

Asch nodded, sipping on his tea. "I see…" he muttered.

"Should I just let them?" the black haired boy asked.

The red head nodded calmly, humming, "Hmmm…it's her choice."

"What if she puts up a fight? She is slick after all," Hiro muttered.

"She's not. Her split other is the one with talent. I'm sure Alicia would consider turning in any way," Asch replied, eating his last donut.

Hiro groaned. He wasn't sure of what to do exactly. He saw his friends getting in Wasabi's car to go somewhere. Honey waved to Hiro when she saw him looking at them. Asch turned to look. He smiled at them.

"They're going there already!" Hiro exclaimed.

"Calm down. I'm sure they'd reason with my sister first. Besides, Kate wouldn't let Alicia go just like that," Asch said confidently.

In the car, they were still discussing on how to turn Alicia in. Honey was more concern on how to explain to the officer about the said girl. Gogo's thoughts were all on turning the girl in and stopping the murders permanently. Wasabi was more concerned about Hiro's feelings. Fred was…well, being Fred.

"It's not like I don't want her to be behind bars, but she is Hiro's girlfriend," Wasabi spoke up.

"Ex-girlfriend from what I've heard. She wanted a breakup, remember?" Gogo corrected him.

"I know, I know…sheesh," Wasabi muttered, shooting a glare at her.

"Are you guys sure we're doing the right thing?" Honey asked, looking back to the café, "I mean, Hiro really cares for her."

"If that little dude really cares, then he wouldn't mind sending her to prison. It is the right thing to do," Fred spoke up after a few minutes of silence.

The other three agreed. It was the right thing, even if they were heavy-hearted to do it. Alicia would have to be in prison in order for the murders to stop. As they were on their way, Alicia was having a hard time calming her own nerves. Arietta and Meredith were out of solutions. The girl was fighting her own split self over who could control the body. Her split self was hungry of murders, so it wanted to take over to retrieve the knife. She hit her head on the wall, the table and spun around to stop herself. Arietta tried to tie her down with Meredith's help but Alicia broke free easily. Her physique is small, but it still packs a punch. She screamed.

"Alicia, calm down!" Meredith shouted to her.

"I c-can't…quick, knock me out!" Alicia begged.

Meredith and Arietta didn't have the heart to do so. Kate silently slipped herself behind her sister and landed a chop ride on the neck. Alicia fell unconscious. The three stared at the girl.

"Let's put her in her bed…" the little sister decided.

The two nodded. As they were about to do so, Hiro's friends had arrived. Kate wasn't expecting them at all, but she knew why they were here.

"Take my sister, I'll talk to them," she said.

"Okay…" Meredith replied.

Kate glanced up at the two as they took the stairs to Alicia's room. She turned back to the four people in front of her.

"So, here to take my sister?" she abruptly asked, surprising all of them.

"You knew?" Honey asked.

"I'm not stupid," Kate replied, anger in her tone, "I know about her and my other sister, Ashley."

"So…can we turn her in?" Gogo asked.

Kate looked down. "As far as I don't want to, I love my sister. What will society think of this?" she asked without second thoughts.

The four looked at each other. Honey stepped up front and comforted the girl. Kate didn't cry but it could be seen in her eyes that she didn't want anything bad to happen to her family. Honey gave out a smile. She hugged the girl.

She said, "It's the best thing to do…"

Kate hid herself in the hug, muttering, "I don't want to lose her…"

Wasabi came up to them. "Then, we're on the same boat," he said.

Kate looked at each and every one of them. Their eyes clearly showed that they didn't want to do what they were about to do. Still, it had to be done. She turned back to Honey Lemon who nodded in her direction. Kate showed them Alicia's room. Meredith and Arietta were there. They greeted the four with a simple nod. They stepped back as Wasabi picked the girl up into his arms. He turned to his friends.

"Who's driving to the police station?" he asked.

"I'll drive. Honey and Fred can explain the situation," Gogo suggested.

"Okay then…" Honey gave in.

Gogo went up to Kate. Placing a hand on the girl's shoulder, she said, "She'll be fine. I promise."

Kate wasn't confident. "I hope…" she replied, falling to her knees.

Gogo started the car. They were careful. Fred had decided to tie Alicia's hands for safety precaution. She was put between him and Wasabi while Honey took the passenger's seat beside the driver's. Off they went to the police station.

The Koizumi couple arrived at the home. They were happy to be back but was not happy with the rumor that was spread. Their daughter was in prison. As they entered their home, they were greeted with a sad Kate, a quiet Joey, and Asch, with a forced smile. He hugged his parents.

"Welcome back…" he muttered.

"We've got all of you souvenirs," Mrs. Koizumi said, trying to lighten up the mood.

Mr. Koizumi tapped Asch's shoulder and then, proceeded up the stairs to his room. Kate hugged her mother. Asch picked Joey up.

"She turned herself in?" the mother asked.

"Something like that…" Kate replied.

"It was the right thing to do," Asch interrupted.

Mrs. Koizumi nodded. "I need some fresh air…" she announced, exiting the house again.

The neighbors didn't really greet her that well. Cass Hamada stood right in front of their house. She wondered why. Cass smiled when she saw the mother.

Hey, guys! Sorry for the long wait again. I've been losing focus of all of my stories. Anyways, weird turn of event, huh?

Actually, this isn't what I had in mind at first but then I thought, hey, this is good too.

So, yes...I'll try to talk more about Ashley until I decide what should happen to Alicia.

...

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What do you guys think should happen to her?