Chapter 10

"From hell

Mr Lusk

Sor,

I send you half the Kidne I took from one women prasarved it for you tother pirce I fried and ate it was very nise I may send you the bloody knif that took it out if you only wate a whil longer.

Signed

Catch me when you Can

Mishter Lusk."

-The "From Hell" letter, attributed to Jack the Ripper, the serial killer who terrorized the East End of London starting in 1888. It is recorded that he killed 11 people, but the exact number is not known.

Chapter 10

You'll be back.

His words were ringing in my ears, rage amplifying the noise.

My legs kept me powering forwards as I strode towards the gates, the burn in my muscles strangely satisfying.

I didn't understand the feelings coursing through my body. They churned in the pit of my stomach, awakened from the quick beat of my heart. They told me to turn around and go back, to fix whatever mess I had just created.

But why would I want to fix something with someone I barely knew or even cared abou—

CRACK!

Was the sound that met my ears as I tripped over a large branch, snapping it in half. I swore and clutched my leg as the fire of pain tore through my shin. Whilst I inspected the injury, I discovered only a small cut on my open ankle and a red mark on my shin.

"Stupid, stupid, Emily." I muttered to myself as I continued on my way, too pissed off to limp. I didn't know how I could be so stupid, or so naïve, to trust someone like him. A criminal.

Don't you want to know who took Even?

I inwardly groaned recalling the conversation. Every cell in my body knew that I wanted—that I needed to know who took Even, not only for my sake, but also for the sake of George. His impending death dawned on me, as I knew that everyone was already pointing their fingers of accusations at him. It wouldn't be long before someone cried bloody murder, and the only chance I would get to prove myself would die along side George and the lethal injection.

My strides came to a halt when I saw the familiar blue bus sign, shining above my head like an angel hanging in the sky. I sighed in relief as a bus conveniently pulled along side the curb, squeaking as it came to a stop. I stepped aboard the washed up sanctuary for those who lived too far from work (or those who lived too far from anything at all). The bus driver nodded at me as I pulled out my travel card, waving me onwards with a flick of his fingers. I shuffled to 'my seat', the one closest to the middle doors, relived to find the bus practically empty except for two high school students giggling in the back seat. If only they knew what really goes on in the back seats of public buses, they'd be moved to nausea, hurling into the broken holes in the foam seats.

It wasn't for awhile before the bus came to a screeching halt in front of the closest bus stop to my house, throwing me forwards so my feet skidded under the seat in front of me, desperate to find a hold of something. I thanked the bus driver before jumping onto the pavement, the pain in my shin faded to nothing more than prickle.

A strange calm settled over me and I momentarily forgot about the recent events, possessed by the fragrance of crushed leaves and dandelions. I exhaled deeply, attempting to rid myself of the negativity and doubt lingering in my mind. Unfortunately, breathing just sometimes isn't enough to rid someone of all the anxious thoughts poking around in the skull.

I must have unknowingly been storming down the streets because I reached my house in record time, only four minutes after leaving the bus stop. I smiled as I saw the two black shiny cars parked in the driveway, the house complimented with their presence. I grabbed my keys from my pocket, twirling them in my fingers as I stepped up onto the porch. I shoved the key in the hole, knowing all too well I had plenty of time before my mother came home to do the chores she set for me. The afternoon sun glinted off the cars, catching my eyes to draw me into a sudden realization... My mother's car was in the driveway.

My heart thudded loudly in my chest as I slowly turned back to the house, dreading what was bound to be a bloodbath. I squeezed my eyes shut, pinching the bridge of my nose as I realized my mistake. My mother had set me up. She knew I would go out if I thought she wouldn't be home, as so to extend my grounding, keeping me her slave for another few weeks. For a moment, I absolutely hated myself for doing this to her. But, then I remembered what I had promised my father and what I had promised George and it didn't feel like such a big deal anymore. I did what I had to do, and now I had to face the consequences.

The door creaked as I slowly pushed it forwards, its muddy color matching my undetermined mood. The door hit the wall, opened to its full capacity, and revealed what laid beyond. Perched on the chair by the kitchen counter sat a demon in a business suit. And she was looking straight at me.

My mother stared at me with the fire in her eyes that only ignited when she intended to burn someone down. I swallowed the hard stones of guilt, quickly averting my eyes from hers. I battled with my tongue, struggling to find the words of sweet excuses. But before I could open my mouth to start the flow of lies, my mother cleared her fiery throat.

"Let me guess, you thought I would be out allll evening?" She started, a dangerous calm in her voice. "So that gave you some sort of special permission to leave? Grounded or not?"

I looked up from the ground, meeting her gaze. She twisted the chair to face me directly, her brows lowered to crease her frown. I opened my mouth to disagree, my lips forming the shape of an 'O'.

"Don't even try to deny it." She cut in from my thoughts. I bit back my tongue, nodding silently.

"Look I'm so sorry, Mum. I had a reason I swear—"

"Don't." She said, holding up a finger and turning her head away from me. My heart clenched, tightened from the fingers of guilt. An honest frown tugged down my features, as I knew I had disappointed her. I never knew I would get caught. "You knew what you were doing as soon as you walked out of that door."

She spun away from me, standing in one swift movement before walking towards the staircase, leading to her bedroom. She paused at the bottom step, hand on the rail.

"I'm really disappointed in you Emily." She said softly before ascending.

I sucked in a deep breath, holding it until I could no longer hear her footsteps. I exhaled loudly and raked my fingers through my hair, pulling it out of its banded restraint. The blonde strands fell into my eyes, momentarily shielding me from my situation.

What is she doing home so early?

Did she mean to do this?

Did she plan this?

Theories ran free in the mazes of my brain, forcing me to consider the darker possibilities behind my mother's early appearance. If she had expected it, she would have made more of a show about it, rubbing it in my face to make me feel worse. But she didn't. Instead, she had calmly exiled herself to her room to do god knows what.

Something was definitely wrong.

Guilt first struck me then whilst considering the mental state of my mother. I understood what it must look like to her; I was a disobedient daughter breaking the rules for her own satisfaction. But that wasn't what this was. I had left because I knew time was of essence, and I needed to make some grounds on the case.

But of course, she wouldn't understand that. How could she? I'd never told her anything and I'd never been allowed to. The unwanted feeling of pity soon mixed with the guilt in my stomach. I knew that my Mother suspected I was keeping things from her, Dad too.

I couldn't imagine what it would feel like to know that your loved ones keep things from you every single day, and being able to do nothing about it, because you know that it is for a reason. Even though you don't know what that reason is.

I spun on my heel, moping as I entered my room. I kicked the door shut behind me, the gunshot no doubt echoing throughout the house. I collapsed on my bed, sick and tired of the day I was living, wanting it to be over.

Don't you want to know who set up your fathers little accident?

And there it was, the reminder that would no doubly keep me awake for the night. Rolling onto my back, I stared at the ceiling, wishing I knew who did it so I wouldn't have to ask the monster with beautiful eyes.

I closed my eyes, hoping that sleep would claim me before I came to conclusions. I must have gotten lucky because the next thing I knew I was being awoken by a knock at my door, drool dried onto my chin.

"Yes?" I said, groggily.

"We need to talk..." Came the soft voice of my mother as she opened my door.

I looked up, startled by her appearance. She looked absolutely and completely unraveled. Her eyes were bloodshot with streams of red, reaching towards her pupils, and her hair was a mess of strands, curling away from her face like flames when blown too hard. I nodded and she slumped forwards, slowly squatting down onto my bed. She smelt like a pillow that had absorbed too many tears; musky with the emotions of heartbreak.

I refrained from putting my arm around her, afraid it was me that made her cry. Gathering my courage, I did the only thing I could; I apologised.

"Look, Mum, I'm so sorry. There really is no excuse-"

"I just got fired." She cut in, her voice quivering. My lips parted in shock as I processed what I had just been told. She was clenching her fists in her lap.

"What? How could they do that, you've been working there for years Mum... What... happened?" I spoke up quietly; afraid my voice would startle her into a break down.

"They said that," She paused and took a deep breath. I wondered if she too thought that breathing helps sometimes. "My class size had been declining for months... Which I-I know is true, I just didn't think it would affect anything... My class had become too small to fund and eventually, I guess, they thought that it was my fault. So they had to get rid of me, because why not just destroy my life just a little bit more, hey?"

When she finished, she exhaled until her lungs were empty, drained of life. I glanced sideways at her, making sure she was not crying. I was not very good with dealing with other people's emotions; I just tended to shut them out.

"I don't get it," I said, "How could they fire you for that? That's nothing!"

"I guess they do what they want to who they want." She answered. I looked away and rubbed my eyes, confused to how someone could do that. I knew that being a dance teacher would come with its ups and downs, but I never knew that they could fire a person for something that wasn't even their fault.

"Anyways, that's not what I wanted to talk you about, I just thought you should know." She said, louder this time, obviously regaining her confidence. "I want to know what is going on with you. And don't even try to deny it; I know that you and Dad have been hiding something from me. I'm not stupid."

"Mum I—" I stopped, suddenly not knowing what to say. I knew I couldn't tell her. So what could I do? Lie? I had never been good at lying. But, I knew I was good at dancing around the truth; not agreeing or disagreeing to anything. "I can't tell you."

"I know, Emily. But please, just please, just give me something-anything to go off." She shuttered, chocking on a sob. I turned to face her, concern etching onto my features. I didn't know if I should have hugged her or kept my distance. Crying made me uncomfortable. "With everything that's been going on with your Dad and-and with you, I just feel like you know something I don't. And I somehow, for some reason, you're keeping that from me. You are keeping me from knowing why my husband is on the hospital. Why he might have died. Don't you see how that hurts me? Don't you see how it hurts me that—that you two can have all your talks about work and stuff and then when I ask-I ask and you don't tell me. Just tell me, tell me why you do it. Tell me why I deserve it. Tell me please, and I'll understand. Just let me understand."

And then she broke.

Her chin quivered until the tears began to fall out of her eyes, the blue clouding with wet salt till they bubbled over onto her soft cheeks. Her lips were drawn down by the sharp hooks of sorrow, her teeth on full display as she sobbed into her hands. I reached out, fingers skimming her shoulder before she flinched away from me. I clenched my teeth together and drew backwards, unsure of what to do or what to think. Her words did not surprise me, I knew from the start that keeping things from her would hurt her, but I couldn't change it. Not with so much hanging in the balance.

"Mum..." I started, "I don't know what you want me to say. You know I would tell you if I could. And I don't want to see you hurt."

"I'm already hurt, Emily! Can't you see that?" Her voice began to rise as she stood up from the bed. The fury had returned to her eyes. "At the end of the day, Emily, if you don't try to fix your relationships then you're going to end up with no one left," She spun on her heel and wrenched open my door.

"Mum wait—"

"You wont even have me." She slammed the door behind her, gone in the blink of an eye.

Shock was setting into my blood as I could barely begin to process what just happened. I knew I had hammered a chunk of trust out of our relationship. It would be a long time before that chunk was mended... Truth be told, I didn't know if it would ever be mended.

But, I knew one relationship I knew I could mend. One that I had to, not only for my sake, but for the sake of the people I love.

I had to go back to Vans, whether I liked it or not.

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Hey guys!!

Its been a while, I know, but I finally updated!

Tell me what you guys think.

Should she go back to Vans? Or should she tell her mother everything?

Big shout out to @janecullen03 for making the ship name 'Vamily' !

If you liked remember to vote and comment! I love hearing from you guys :)

One more thing! I'd love it if you guys would head over to "the rose awards" and vote for my story for best mystery and best plot! I'd really appreciate it!

-Charli xx