"My mom promised to get me out of the mess, however our lawyer wanted the police to make their final move first. If we were summoned to court, we would have no choice but to fight for our own selves. I wasn't the one that stole those jewelries and I don't want to go to jail over what I didn't do, however I don't know for the best... although I believe Fred didn't take anything. Everyone is on his own, Laura" Shirley said as she heaved a sigh.
"Yes, everyone is on his own. By the way, before Fred died he wanted to tell me something but he never get the chance to do that, have you any idea what he wanted telling me? I am really curious because I can't stop blaming myself for not cancelling my trip in order to chat him up that fateful morning" I muttered.
"Maybe he wanted to tell you something related to festival, we had a talk before we departed that morning. He was talking about gisting you about the night party, how safely it went and how nobody was harmed...as usual" she said and continued without hesitation, "But I don't really know if he had something else to tell you, albeit it doesn't matter now that he's no more. I am already missing him!"
"Hey, it's okay" I quickly intervened, consoling her before she breaks into tears. "Tell me about Vivian and Jack, do you trust them? I find it difficult to trust them sometimes, probably because they weren't friendly to me throughout the festivities"
"They can be annoying though, but I don't think they could do that. However, I wouldn't be defending anybody, apart from myself" she said with an air of finality, "By the way, sorry about my mom's unwelcomed attitude. She has gone through a lot, and that is taking a toll on her. She often used to tell me to stop inviting friends, and I had only invited two so far. Plus you, today" she added.
"Maybe she didn't want you to end up welcoming a wired friend to your house. You know, the police can wire someone and send him or her to your house to get some information. They can possibly do anything to get or extract information from people" I suggested, and by looking at her expression she obviously didn't care whatsoever.
"Like seriously? Then that would be great, let them wire them and send them here. I would be glad to welcome them in, the fact that I know I am innocent and I am not hiding anything. The only person that would be touched by this or wouldn't like the idea at all is the one that isn't clean, but hey, my hands are clean. I didn't steal anything" she said, trying all her best to prove how innocent she was to me as if I was wired. She obviously thought I was wired, but why would I even do that to her? Besides, the police wouldn't even force me to do that, and even if they force me I would make sure I signalled her.
"I trust you, and that was exactly what I told the police that I don't think you did what they are thinking. I trusted Fred too. I also trusted Jessica, but I don't trust Reade..." I quickly paused after uttering the last few words. I shouldn't have say that but since there was nothing I could do, I decided to quickly change the topic.
However, she was very smart. She, without hesitation asked why I was worried about Reade. This time around, she really wanted to know exactly why. "If you think he's the culprit, please just give the police his name and have him arrested already. I am tired of living this kind of life, isolated from the rest of the world" she emphasized.
"Actually," I cleared my throat, "I was wondering if Jessica shared the information about you guys' plan before sneaking into the store. What if he was the one that did that shortly after you guys, what if he was the one that altered the camera footage?" I uttered.
"Do you believe in what the police said about somebody altering the camera footage? As far as I am concerned, they are hiding a lot from us. There is no way those footages can be altered without getting access to the server, and I don't think anyone can do that without being traced here. It once happened in a pharmacy downtown, it didn't end well" she said, and to be honest I just didn't get the point she was trying to make. However, I believed in what the police said about the altered camera footage. They had their evidence, and they wouldn't lie about it.
"Anyways, I just want you guys free. Seeing you guys under house arrest makes me feel somehow, although I did warned you guys not to go there right? I warned you guys not to, somehow Jessica was able to convinced you people into following her. One thing about that girl is, she always wants to lead. She always wants to be followed. And she always likes causing trouble" I said as Shirley burst into laughter. Somehow, she found my words funny, but why? Wasn't I telling the truth?
Of course I was telling the truth, and there are many more things about Jessica that I could say, unfortunately all are negative. If she was a good girl, I would definitely be the first to say good things about her. But being the kind of person she was, no matter how hard you try to make her look or seem good in the eyes of the masses, they would always end up being shown her true colors by her. That was one sad thing about her, and she didn't really care what people think about her. As long as she's breathing, she would continue living her life her own way with the thought that she's living the right way.
"I know you must be wondering why I laughed, well it's just that I wasn't expecting all these from you. You used to oppose her, but saying all that you said earlier made me wondered the kind of a person you are. You are one of the honest people I've ever met in my life, and to be frank with you I knew who Jessica was and how crazy she could be but I didn't want to stand out among others and look like a dumb. If I hadn't followed them, they would have looked at me as a fake friend or someone who prefers a stranger, you – from old friends, them" she said looking someone.
"Oh, right? And I also guess you don't want to leave the group because you don't want to miss Fred, am I right?" I said, and seriously I shouldn't have say that the fact that she didn't look happy hearing that. It had all shown in her face, the smiles on her face had suddenly been replaced by sadness after mentioning Fred. Thus, I quickly dived away from the topic, "Sometimes you just have to make choices for yourself," I continued, "The people you are trying to impress, most of them only care about themselves. If things go sore, they will leave you to suffer on your own"
"Yeah, now I get it. So, what were you playing earlier. I overheard you talking about games with that silly boy, Tony" she gestured towards her brother, "ThirdGenAuto?" she scoffed as I nodded my head, "He loved playing it, but I love Crime City more" she said.
"Crime City?" I was kind of confused, was that a video game name or what? I wondered.
"Yes, it's more fascinating than this one. To me though, but Tony doesn't like it much as he likes this one. Whatch out and see," she cleared her throat and then exclaimed, "Hey, Tony, mind playing crime city please?" she said to her brother.
"Crime... f*ck, hell no! You know I don't like that crappy game, I even intend to delete it soon" he said and Shirley couldn't help but giggle hard like a maniac.
"Okay, fine. But be rest assured I will download it again!" she said and the boy only glared at her and continued his game. Seeing how she was giggled, I couldn't stop imagining why she was bored when she had such a brother to play with.
"Is he your sibling?" I asked in a low tone, not wanting to be heard by the young boy.
"No, a stepbrother. My mom had him with... with her new husband" she said, changing her mood again. I wanted to know more about the situation but then I decided to keep quiet because I didn't want to hurt her more, but fortunately for me she was also willing to share. "Actually," she continued, "my dad and my mom separated when I was just eight years old. She then married Tony's father few years later, he was really a wonderful man. He vowed to take good care of me, and to be honest he's trying his best"
"That's good, really... really good. Not all men can do that you know, I mean taking good care of their stepdaughters" I said as a matter of factly.
"Yes, and unless I tell you he's not my dad, you wouldn't know. Tony and I bears our mom's surname, hence people used to look at us as siblings" she said as she smiled and turned to look at the young boy, he was busy playing his game with his headphone on.
"You guys look alike, the resemblance is crystal clear" I commented.
"That's what they say, the people around us. But Tony kind of took his father's pointed nose and thick eyebrows, I don't have those" she huffed and turned to me, she was really right.
"Yes, that's true. Apart from that, I can say you guys have a similar face" I beamed at her.
"Sure," she cleared her throat, "by the way, tell me more about your work. Jessica made a post few days ago about it"
"What did she said?" I was curious, I wanted to know exactly what she said.
"Nothing much, she only said, The Total Stranger In My House Has Gotten A Job In A Power Company" she said making me to huff in dismay, I didn't really expect such from her. I mean, why would she address me that way? Why would she call me a total stranger, I thought we were family? "Hey, I hope you are not upset by what she said, that's why I didn't tell you about it earlier" Shirley said the moment she noticed the sudden change in my emotion.
"No, I mean... yes I am hurt but no problem. She had utter words that are more cruel than this before and I was able to gulp it down my throat, hence this wouldn't be an exception" I said in a low tone as I began to consider the advice given to me by the cabman that brought me.
He had advised me to relocate to the Mainland, and I thought it wouldn't be proper for me to do that considering the fact that I was new around and Aunt Vicky might not be happy seeing me packing. But now, I was beginning to reconsider his advice. I was beginning to think, the best thing is to stay away from Jessica even though it would hurt to not see Aunt Vicky around. However, I would try my best to make sure I check on her from time to time.
At least, I wouldn't have to be fighting with Jessica all the time over little things. And I believe, she would respect me more if she began missing me. Talking about being missed, what happens if Jessica ended up being jailed? I wondered with my mouth agape, I am sure she would call me back.
