chapter 9

Austin is in my living room... AUSTIN IS IN MY LIVING ROOM. I looked at him up and down. Wow, he looks so hot.

Damn it, Emelie. I walked closer to where he was standing, close to the couch.

"Hi, Emma."

I waved at him. "Hi...umm...what are you doing here?"

He cleared his throat and began, "Well...I realized I hadn't properly introduced myself since moving in next door two weeks ago," he folded his hands, "But I'm actually here regarding the case."

"Oh my God, Em...Faye's dead!" Mom announced. "The police discovered Faye's body yesterday evening, in the Chesapeake Forest!"

I inhaled sharply. "I know, Mom."

"What? How did you know?"

I was just about to open my mouth when Austin stepped in. "I was giving her a ride home in my car. But we had to make a detour to the crime scene when I received the dispatch call - I didn't want her to walk home alone...for her safety," he said in one breath.

OMG, thank you, Adrien, for not telling her I followed you to the cemetery!

"I'm sorry..." he apologized to my mom. "I was the one who asked her not to talk about it. For ongoing investigations like this... The less information made public, the better."

Mom hummed. "I see... I understand."

"We have released a statement to the press. It should be in the evening news." He turned to me. "Emelie, I need you to come to the station with me to provide your statement to my partner."

"Me?" I asked him, surprise laced in my voice.

"Why?" Mom asked, quickly glancing at me before turning to Austin for an answer.

"You were Faye's friend, and one of the last people to have seen her alive. Not just you, but Bianca, Crystal and Skylar too. They will also be required to give their statements to assist us in our investigation," Austin stated.

"Is it a murder investigation?"

"It looks like it," he replied. Then he turned to look at me. "I can wait if you want to change out of your uniform."

"Thank you, I'll go change," I said, walking away to my room.

Adrien mentioned that it would be his partner who will be taking my statement...but he also said that he would be present as well. His partner's reaction to me yesterday was strange... It almost seemed like she was...jealous?

Ok, so I'll just keep it simple.

******

We were in the car on our way to the police station. Austin seemed to be deep in thought during the car ride. It was weird how strangely nerve-wracking it was to be questioned by the police.

"Are you okay?" Austin asked, breaking me from my train of thought.

"I've never been in a police station before," let alone be questioned for a murder case.

"Don't worry. It's just standard procedure," he said, not taking his eyes away from the road.

I fidgeted nervously as I sat waiting to be questioned. I was glad that Austin was staying with me throughout the entire thing.

"E, this is detective Kagami Cheng," he introduced. "She'll be taking your statement today."

Miss Cheng turned to look at me with grimace. "I believe we met yesterday when you showed up so surprisingly at the cemetery. I just have a few questions for you, and then you'll be able to go home."

She looked over at her files, then turned back to look at me, making eye contact. "You were friends with Faye Sabrina Greene, is that correct?"

I stood up from where I was sitting because suddenly I felt uncomfortable and the need to sit didn't sit well with me. "Yes. We were on the cheerleading team together."

"And when was the last time you saw her?" She questioned.

My mind went to the time I saw Sabrina's lifeless body.

"Alive, I mean," Miss Cheng added quickly.

"It was Wednesday. We had cheerleading practice together," I answered honestly.

She looked back at her files, nodding. "You told Austin you saw her changing out of her cheerleading uniform?"

I nodded. "Yes, she did. We all did."

"Do you remember what she changed into?"

"Umm... I think it was a white t-shirt and black jeans. And a blue jacket."

"Hmm," she hummed, taking her eyes away from me to type away at her computer like she found something interesting.

"It's really weird that she was wearing her cheerleading uniform... You know, when you found her in the woods. Why do you think she-"

"I'll ask the questions, if you don't mind," she interrupted, turning to give me a sharp look.

I was taken aback. What's her deal? "Umm...ok?"

"Alright, then what happened next?"

"Well, she left after changing her clothes."

"So there were four of you left in the locker room?"

"Oh! No, it was just Crystal, Skylar and me. Bianca wasn't there."

"Why wasn't Bianca there?" She asked.

I didn't know why she wasn't there, so I decided to take a guess, "She might have been upset over a test result earlier that day."

"Hmm." She typed the information onto her computer.

The questions went on and on... I was starting to get tired.

"Hey, Mari, do you want a little break from the questions?" Austin suggested.

"Oh! Would that be okay?" I asked him shyly.

"Yeah. Of course!" He shrugged. "I know answering all these questions must be tiring."

"But...we're not done yet," Miss Cheng interjected.

"You can continue afterwards," Austin argued.

"But-"

"Emma, want to come get a coffee or hot cocoa with me in the break room?"

A break would be lovely but I need to finish up so I can't see this witch of a detective again. "I'm okay, I don't need a break."

Austin looked at me with concern. "Okay, if you're sure."

"Just a couple more questions, and we'll be done," Miss Cheng grumbled.

I sighed, "Okay."

"Did Faye have a boyfriend?"

"Not that I know of - we weren't really that close."

"Did anyone dislike her? Did she have any enemies?" She pushed on.

Enemies? It seemed ludicrous - we were high school students, and we didn't have enemies. And then I realized with a start that I did. So why not Sabrina? No, come on, everyone loved Sabrina.

Just like everyone loved you, a little voice whispered in my head.

"Emelie? Can you answer the question please?" Miss Cheng corked her eyebrows.

"Oh! Sorry..." I apologized. "I don't think she had any enemies."

"Hmm," she hummed. "Can you tell me about the...incidents...that happened to you in school recently?"

How does she know about them?"What do you mean?"

"Bianca told us that somebody broke into your locker, and defaced a photograph. Is that true?" She questioned.

I looked down, not daring to look into her scary, witchy eyes. "Yes."

"Can you tell us more about that?"

"It happened on Tuesday."

"So, the day before Faye went missing," she confirmed.

"Yes. Somebody broke into my locker, and defaced a photo."

"What was the photo of?"

"It was a photo of me and my friends... Binca, Crystal and Skylar. Somebody had crossed out my face and..."

"And?"

"And written 'b*tch' in red marker pen."

"Do you know who did it?" She corked her eyebrows.

"I-I can't be certain..." I stuttered.

"But you suspect someone?"

"Yes." I nodded, dragging my eyes to glance at her briefly. "I think It might be one of my friends."

"Why do you suspect it might be one of them?" Miss Cheng asked me, rubbing her chin.

"Because on Thursday, somebody spread gossip about my parents all over school." I blinked back the tears that were threatening to spill. "Stuff that I'd only ever told to the three of them."

I looked at her. "But this has nothing to do with Sabrina...does it?"

"Probably not," she shook her head. "Thank you for your assistance, Emelie. We might need to ask you more questions again - we'll let you know if we do."

She rolled her shoulder, briefly making eye-contact with Austin. "Don't hesitate to speak with us if you have any information that you feel might be important to the case."

"Yes, ok. Umm, is it true... did Faye die from murder?"

She looked at me angrily and spat out rudely, "Well, she certainly didn't die from a natural disaster."

I looked at her, eyes widened and gasping.

***********

"Thanks for the ride home." I looked at Austin as we stepped into my house.

Glancing into the house, I saw my dad coming out of his room, bags in hand. Tears welled up in my eyes. It was the first time in four days that I saw my dad. He hadn't even bothered to call or reply to my texts.

"Dad?" I breathed out. He didn't even give me a second glance. He walked passed me, getting out of the house.

"Dad!" I called out to him. He didn't bother to look back at me. The first tears dropped out of my eyes as I left Austin on my doorstep, running up to my room.

That night

I was lying down on my bed, sobbing. My dad didn't want me. I had been chasing after my dad's approval my whole life. What good were all of my achievements...if my own father didn't love me?

Mom was right. We were better off without him. My heart felt like it was shattered into a million pieces. I stood up from my bed and walked into the attic. On getting to the attic, I sat down on a bean bag I placed there a long time ago, gazing into the sky.

"Kind of figured you would be here tonight," I heard Austin's voice from his window. "Hey. Want to talk about it?"