"Before Marco admitted to killing Deshawn Cervantes in that note, the police were going to put the blame on you, I thought you should know," Amalia muttered after we watched them wheel Parker into the back of the ambulance.
My ears perked at the news.
"It's because you're not a part of the upper class and the rest of the suspects were. The stupidly rich and stuck up families in the city were begging for answers, scared their children might've been next, so they had to think quickly. Offering up the poor, government-draining, nobody would've satisfied them. So, yeah... it was going to be you, it was the easiest choice."
It wasn't a shock. We'd already guessed this and the prospect that our police department might have been corrupt wasn't
He grabbed the bridge of his nose and I smirked. The rain drizzled, getting heavier with every second and a light coating of water formed on my face. I squinted my eyes through it. "You do realise that-" I stopped the police officer from speaking as my phone rang from the pocket of my cardigan. The sound pierced through his monotone voice and he gave me an exasperated look as I clawed it out. The caller ID read Ross Rivera. "Where are you?" I greeted. "You weren't at the funeral." He chuckled at my forwardness. No greeting, straight to the point. "I didn't want to go. Listen, the only reason I'm calling is because I just passed a police car going down toward the Red Val
"Jesus, Ross," I whispered. There was so much of it. The white powder packaged nicely and lay in his car freely, for anyone to see or take."You idiot! You picked me up from the police with a shit ton of drugs." I reached over and slapped his arm lightly while my features scrunched up. "Damn you, it's pretty bloody obvious you have intent to supply here, mate. You could have been done!"He shook his head playfully. "It's only coke. Besides, they wouldn't have searched the car, they didn't have any need to. I'm a good boy, seriously."With a hot temper, I leaned down as my hands met with the small, clear plastic bag on the floor that had caught my eye while I was stepping inside the car. It was identical to those in his glove box but this one was emp
"Having fun?" I asked Deshawn as he pulled me through the crowd. My voice dripped with sarcasm.He let out a loud laugh. "This isn't what I was talking about. The classy part is out there. Come on."The atmosphere mellowed out as we escaped through the glass doors onto the patio outside. It gave me time for my heart to catch up. I enjoyed parties but only when I had Raven and a cup of something strong to neck back first.There were still way too many people outside but the whisper of the night that approached gave me room to breathe. There was a pool, empty of water but instead contained valuables smashed to pieces at the bottom. There were so many belongings that they had began to build up, burying other broken bits underneath.
Their plan didn't sound half bad either. Break-in over the gates around the back, use the keys somebody had stolen from the caretaker, and jump right into the school swimming pool. It brought a pang of jealousy that their school even had its own swimming pool, mine didn't. But, then again, my school wasn't a private school for the country's elite either.Nobody else seemed to be worried, so when Joseph grabbed my hand and led us back through the house and to the cars sitting pretty outside, neither was I. I swallowed down my anxiousness and sat on Joseph's lap in some stranger's fancy car as we were en route to Zobel College for Boys, located only a short distance away.It did make me suspicious that we needed a getaway car but the noise that filled the vehicle was too much for me to concentrate on. We had more bo
Still, the boys gathered around it and waited as Red pulled an old key from his back pocket and pushed it into the slot before kicking the door open. It smelt of damp and chlorine inside but they continued forward, trudging through like an army along the dark and eerie corridors.We pushed through a swinging door and the floor changed its texture. If it was possible, we would be blanketed in an even colder atmosphere now. From the pocket of my cardigan, I pulled out my phone while clinging to Joseph's arm. I turned on the torch and I realized we were in what looked like a changing room. One wall was lined with old lockers while the other side held hangers and benches."W-where are we?" I whispered to Joseph. All the other guys seemed determined, a cold look set on their faces except for Joseph and me. Honestly, he
"Yeah. Yeah, we're friends," I answered. "Were. We're friends, I mean."Joseph nodded quietly and gripped my shoulders tighter while pity filled his eyes. He looked around the pool room and then let out a sigh."You know, that locker of his is still full of his stuff. The teachers haven't come to open it yet and nobody knows the code. So...uh-if you, you know, know his code then you can get whatever is inside before the teachers throw it all away."I smiled slyly."That's a brilliant idea!" Deshawn grinned as he sat at the side of the pool. "There's most definitely stuff in there to incriminate Marco A
Deshawn's figure wavered as he latched onto my arm and led me to the changing room, the fire hot on our tails. His grip on me felt more like a gust of wind rather than a real person and perhaps it was stress that was causing him to lose his form. Regardless, I followed the ghost boy as he rushed us through the changing room.Stubbornly, though, I stopped before we could make a quick escape and instead turned to Deshawn's locker. I ripped it open and threw my hands inside, grabbing at whatever I could. My heart was in my throat as I tried to decide what to save. My fingers shook while skimming through the writing and Deshawn threw what was at my hands down to the floor with a guttural growl."We don't have time. Damn you, Reniella," he snapped.
"I knew you'd gone to the school so I waited by the wall for you to come back out." He panted from the rigorous exercise. "Then the fire started and nobody knew where you'd gone.""You should have left me," I mumbled."It's fine, I don't mind."Ross lifted himself onto his elbows, his bones cracking underneath him as he moved. Then, he leaned against me to stand. I noticed the sleeve of his jacket had burnt to ruins and a crimson red poked through the fabric."Jesus, Ross. You'll need to go to the hospital for that," I muttered. The thought that if we'd not been quick enough his whole body could have looked like that left a bitter taste in my mouth.
"Need I remind you I have never done that before, so you don't have to worry, Marie." She rolls his eyes. My Aunt looks at him with a smirk before wiping the front and back of her wet hands on her red apron."Rather be safe than sorry," she sings as she grabs her white floral patterned tote back off the dining table. I walk over to stand beside my grandmother as I watch my aunt stuff her house keys in her bag before zipping it close."Oh, you still have that horrendously designed bag with the broken zipper?" My grandmother scoffs just by the sound of the zipper struggling to close as she flips another pancake on the pan.I burst out laughing when I see my Aunt's face. Her black curly hair tied into a bun keeping the tendrils out of her face yet she tries to place her baby hairs behind her ear. She grabs her bag with a scoff and gives me a small smile before heading towards the front door."Keep
INSECURITIES ARE what make humans imperfect and give them character. It makes people act out in ways they wouldn't have if they didn't have a feeling of anxiety, judgement and negative emotions attached to it.I know exactly what my insecurities are and even being self-aware doesn't change anything about it because I cant overcome them. It has become a part of me.As much as I hate my parents for everything they put everyone through, they did me well.As far as my skin was concerned, I was honestly blessed with the relatively clear caramel-coloured skin. Apart from some occasional acne that usually happened around the time of my periods, my skin was fine, probably because I was always diligent with the SPF and washing my face.Honestly, I wasn't the ugliest in the world, but nor did that make me a model either.When I used to go to school, my friend Raven used to alwa
"As if wolves would want you." I rolled my eyes. Playing along with what I knew he wanted.He was such an open book."Mhm, you want me," he teases as he raises his brows suggestively."Correction, jail wants you. Or Satan, or better yet, nobody!" I say sarcastically. I was a bit taken back by his teasing but I welcomed it. It was fun talking to someone other than my Aunt or grandmother. Its making me miss Raven so much."You break my heart," he says dramatically as he holds his hands on his chest over his heart."Yeah, I'm just doing what I do best,""Right..." he drawls as he rolls his eyes at my arrogance.He suddenly jogs so that he is in front of me, successfully catching me off guard. He then turns around and stops so that he is directly in front of me. I look at him in confusion.He takes
"I'm not your Sweetheart." I glared at him. "Okay, Sweetheart." And then I open my mouth to object but then he starts up again. "Sweetheart, sweetheart, sweetheart, sweetheart, sweetheart," he taunted while smirking at me. "Leave me alone, posh boy." I groaned with a glare while trying to run away from him and behind Auntie Marie who I didn't realize had served herself some of my cake on one of the paper plates I had bought. I ignore Deshawn and watch as my aunt takes a spoonful of the cake and puts it in her mouth. Even Deshawn stopped annoying me and glanced between my aunt and me to observe my reaction to her trying my cake.
She was new here, I had nothing to fear. Nothing to fear. Nothing to fear... I was walking towards them with my grip on my baseball hat when I bumped into a hard chest. I yelped and tripped on the other person's foot, sending myself flying towards their chest. I made the mistake of letting go of my bag with the cake container and I could feel the sharp realization come across in panic as I just realized what I had done. I don't even look up to see who I had bumped into as I crouch down and peer inside the bag to see the smushed-up cake through the clear plastic top of the container. I mourn the destruct
"They have me, Jenkins, and his grandson. I think even Mrs. Halmshire's husband. Even on top of that, they hired like 5 men. Gloria came with a lot of cash. I'm surprised that she is moving into our town of all places. Yet again, everyone in this town is rich, it's just that we choose this lifestyle." Jenkins is like Aunt Marie. Not a member of the family by blood but still considered as family. My grandmother has so many children, nieces, and nephews from another family. She's friendly like that. "When did you get the time to meet them?" I ask curiously knowing that she didn't wake up until like 9 and it was almost 11. I didn't even see or hear her leave the house. "I woke up at 8 and Marie told me they lost a few trucks on their way to town and o
I examined my arm to make sure there were no marks and I was glad to see nothing. Suddenly I felt bad for the caterpillar. I look back to where I had seen it jump down and I tiptoe towards that spot in the grass. I look down only to see the caterpillar balancing itself on a blade of grass. Oh gosh. I didn't want it to die or anything so I looked around for a stick. I scanned the clearing and spotted a stick by the flat area in the center which was just meters away from the cliff. I smiled and ran over to the stick and came back for the caterpillar. I crouched down with the stick in my hands, trying to get the caterpillar to crawl onto the stick so I could mount it onto a tree where it wo
Maybe it was something in the air or something but I opened my mouth and almost made the mistake of talking. That was until he interrupted."You alright?" he questions. I'm momentarily stunned by the fact that he was talking and that he was talking to me.I felt betrayed for a second because it was as if his voice had broken something that we had an unspoken rule about:No talking.His voice was deep, husky, and a bit raspy, and I couldn't help but look up at him with big eyes, but he wasn't even looking at me."Yeah."
I shakily exhaled as my eyes dart from his body to my blanket. I tuck some loose strands of my dark hair behind my ear, feeling my heartbeat inside my chest. He was yet to notice me which calmed me because I seriously wasn't in the mood to converse with him. For some reason, I had a feeling he wasn't either. I could feel the sadness radiating off of him and I couldn't stop myself from thinking the wildest of thoughts: Maybe I should go ask him what's wrong. Nobody comes to The Edge; and if they somehow manage to, I don't think that it would be by chance. There was no way this guy who looks about my age walked into the forest looking for this place.