Chapter 2

Recap end of C1:

"Because." He said, sighing and taking a step back. "Your 'friend' isn't being punished for a beating, Emily. He is the prime suspect for the murder of Harley James, the kid who went missing a few mouths ago. They found him dead about half an hour ago, a knife stuck in his back, in your mate George's cell."

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"I have no particular desire to live. I have no particular desire to be killed. It is a matter of indifference to me. I do not think I am all together right."

- Albert Fish, AKA the Grey Man, the werewolf of Wysteria, the Brooklyn Vampire, the Moon Manic and the Boogey man.  Confessed to killing 3 people, but there may have been as many as 10. (The exact number is not known as he was a cannibal)

Chapter 2

After that moment, everything in my life changed.

My heart pumped in my ears, blood rushing in and out, in and out.

Thud-pause-thud.

Only it was faster and everything was starting to blur together. The room tilted and I found myself in unfamiliar arms, the door shrinking as I was dragged away.

Thud-pause-thud.

I shook my head, but it did nothing to aid my vision. My feet dragged against the hard stone floor, my armpits aching as I blindly blinked.

Thud-pause-thud.

Pinkish light; like an afternoon sunset, swept across my vision. Someone's hand?

I blinked once, twice, and then nothing.

-911-

I awoke with my face smooched against a car window. The tinted glass now smudged with my drool. I slowly sat up and wiped at my mouth, my tongue as dry as sandpaper. Groaning, I rubbed my aching temples. My brain feeling as if it had been replaced by frog, frantically jumping and pushing up against my skull.

"Excuse me miss," I jumped as the voice spoke up next to me. Of course you're not alone you idiot, the car wouldn't be driving itself.  It was a kind, middle aged, looking man with greying hair and a wide nose. I knew him, I think. Russell? "You had another of your fainting spells. Your father told me to give you this; he's not far behind us. You'll be home soon." He handed me some crackers and vegemite, probably from my emergency stash in the office. I muttered my thanks and gave him a small smile. This wasn't the first time I had had one of my 'spells'. Low blood pressure or something, but I usually only get them when I panic.

Panic. The fight. George. I jolted upright in my seat, one of the crackers shattering in my clenched hand.

"What happened? Is George going to be ok? Dad knows he didn't do it right? Right?" I spilled out, unable to stop my verbal diarrhea. Russell didn't take his eyes from the road but his chest rose and fell dramatically and he raspberried his lips. He wouldn't tell me everything; I knew that. I just wanted to know if George was going to be ok.

"Look honey," Oh god. "We don't have all the evidence yet," Oh no. "But it's not looking too hot." Oh shit.

I slumped back in my chair and raked my free hand through my hair.

"Shit." I stated simply. I sighed and continued to munch on my last cracker, the crunching barely soothing my worry. Brushing my skirt, I freed the little specks of food from the clutches of my fabric. Think you knob, think.

Anger coiled inside of me, as I knew I could not do anything to help fix the misleading situation. George was getting beaten to a pulp while I was sitting in a car eating freaking vegemite. I couldn't help it. I exploded. Lashing out, I punched the dashboard, hurting my hand more than the car. Russell didn't really seem to care.

"Ughhhhh!" I yelled and pressed my palms into my eyes. "What am I going to do?!" I whispered in defeat.

Nothing. There's nothing you can do.

A thought. An idea. A freaking light bulb.

The tape.

I frantically patted my skirt pockets until my fingers connected with solid plastic. My heart soared in relief. This was something. It wasn't much. But it was something.

My fingers fumbled as I man handled the tape, desperate to hit the play button. The click gave me the sweetest satisfaction.

When it finished playing through I felt nothing but disappointment. What I thought was good evidence was barely anything at all. Russell cleared his throat next to me.

"Miss if you don't mind me sayin," he started, "but that recording ain't going to get you no where unless you know how to use it right."

"What do you mean?" I asked half-heartedly.

"What I mean is, that you think you got a whole lot of nothing on that tape yes?"

"Yeah..."

"Well you don't got a lot of words on it but you got what you need."

"What do you mean?" I asked, curious. But wary... very wary.

"Well you got time and place, that's it. Once the autopsy is done then we will know his time of death. Now, if your lucky, maybe he died when you were speaking with George. Not before. If that's so then George couldn't have killed him. Cause he was with you. Understand?" He asked quietly. I nodded slowly and thought it over a million times an hour in my head. He was right.

"If George was with me in the afternoon and he had already started eating then that means he couldn't have killed anyone in that time. Not a single person. Cause I was there. I was there. There was nothing off about him either when I was with him. He was normal. He wasn't jumpy or skittish. That has to count for something right? He wasn't hiding anything." I rushed. Talking more to myself than to Russell.

"Right." He replied. His arms twisted around the wheel as we pulled into my driveway.

"Russell you're a genius." I smiled and straightened. I reached for the door handle, right as it unlocked, and stepped out into the cool evening. The sky was beginning to darken, but it wasn't black yet. Only the biggest stars were starting to wink from the sky.

Tape in one hand, I closed the door with the other, shouting my thanks at Russell. My foot twanged with pain as I began to walk, another reminder that what happened before was certainly real.

"Emily!" Russell called from the car. I spun, still smiling, and his face popped out the front window. He lifted his arm and threw something that jingled at me. I caught it (surprisingly). It was my keys. Idiot.

"My names Christian!" He shouted with a smile, proceeding to drive off.

"Sorry! Thanks! Christian..." My shout quieting as he drove off. I slapped my forehead with my palm.

Stupid, Emily, stupid. You so did not make his day.

I sighed and turned my keys over, the one for the front door was bright pink, so I wouldn't ever have trouble finding it in an emergency. I keyed the hole and spun the lock, the satisfying clink echoing into the hallway beyond.

The house was medium sized, two stories, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a lounge room and laundry and one kick ass kitchen. My room was on the bottom floor, the closest thing to the front door. I'll be the first killed in a robbery or a break in... Or the first to escape. I liked the second option better.

I dragged myself inside and shut the door behind me before rushing inside my room and crashing onto the bed. The shoes were the first to go, my ankle straining as I pushed them off the side of the bed. A wave of gratefulness rushed over me as I silently thanked myself for arranging the bed so closely to the door.

My room was small and simple with no extravagant walk in cupboards or secret little holes in the floor (unfortunately). The single bed, which I laid on, was covered in an extremely comfy, dark blue duvet with orthopedic pillows. A small bedside table was crammed up against one corner of the bed, piled with an alarm clock and other small trinkets that I probably didn't need. Overflown dressers, piles of books and pens and highlighters, mostly occupied the other side of the room. I didn't have a mirror; the distracting and distrustful things always seemed to get in the way of my daily routine. There was a big enough one in the bathroom to reflect the entire parameter of the sun.

I sighed and braved a look at my ankle, nearly whacking my nose with my knee in the process. It looked all right, a bit swollen but it would go down in an hour or two.

I rolled over and gazed at the framed photos upon my bedside table. Some things never change; like your mums smile or the way your dad looks at her. At least, I hoped it never would.

I relocated the tape and clutched it to my chest. All I could do was wait. Wait until my father came home.

But I was waiting all night.

And he never came home.

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I know, I'm sorry for the late update and the length. It's no excuse but I've been so busy and my computer broke so I've had to write this on my phone. It's so much harder on the phone ohmygoooooodddd

But Thankyou for reading !! I hope I haven't let you down. There was meant to be another part to this chapter but due to school work I'm going to make updates smaller but more of them so it will be the next chapter.

I hope my characters do not disappoint.

Thankyou :) please comment with feedback, you can be critical haha X

And like always, I might re edit (definitely this chapter) but I will always notify of any changes to a chapter :)