A Place Called Home

Chapter 7

           It was 7:00pm, the guests were arriving, the music was loud but not too loud. The back yard had been cleared out, and was beautifully decorated, I could see the lights from my room.
" Mj you done? " Anna asked from outside the door.
" just a minute " I called.
I just had to wear my heels, Anna had bought me a beautiful sparkling green dress, I loved it, I still couldn't believe she remembered my favourite color, I told her that eight years ago, I've always loved green, maybe because I grew in an environment surrounded by it. I wore my heels and stared at my reflection in the mirror, I had to admit I looked pretty, the tiny sparkling beads on the dress matched my green eyes, Anna had helped me style my blonde hair and applied some make up. I opened the door and watched as Anna's mouth dropper opened.
" oh my God, MJ you look gorgeous " she said, I could feel my cheeks flush with embarrassment. Anna was dressed in a silver dinner gown.
" come on let's go down " She said holding my hand and guiding me down the stairs.
Lucas and Shawn were waiting in the living room, they both wore matching blue tuxedos.
" wow!" I heard Lucas say.
"Come on guys let's go " Anna said. Together we walked to the backyard which was beautifully decorated, drinks were served, there were alot of guests, Anna and Fred introduced me to some of their friends.
I walked to the bar to grab myself a drink, I looked up and saw that Shawn and Lucas were standing in front of me.
" what? " I said dropping the wine glass on the table.
" I wanted to introduce you to my  friend " Shawn said, and I noticed the girl with red hair and dark eyes standing beside him.
" Sophie, this is MJ...... MJ ...sophie"
Sophie stretched out her hand for a polite handshake, I took it.
" Nice to meet you" Sophie said grinning widely.
" how old are you?" Sophie asked
" seventeen" I said
" Shawn tells me you were adopted ten years ago, so that makes sense"
I rolled my eyes dramatically, clearly not interested in engaging with her.
"Why don't you and Shawn go somewhere else and talk more about me and my background" I said rudely.
I heard Sophie scoff.
" You're funny " she said smiling faintly.
" I have no sense of humor "
" okay, Sophie ...... let me show you around " Shawn said taking Sophie away and preventing a fight.
" jerk!" I muttered
" I'm still here " Lucas said waving at me and taking a seat next to me.
"So how's the party?, enjoying it?" He asked with a grin on his face.
" I'm only here because it makes Fred happy" I told him
" that doesn't mean you shouldn't have some fun, come on let's dance" He said stretching out his hand.
" not while my sanity is still intact "
" well, let's talk instead "
" I have a boring personality, so I advice you to just back off". He shifted in his chair and ran his fingers through his messy hair.
" when is your birthday? " He asked
" doesn't matter, I hate my birthday " I said sipping my drink.
" okay, what's your favourite colour? "
" I'm wearing it "
" lovely choice"
He kept asking random questions and I answered his questions,  well most of them.
It was time for Fred's speech, we stood up and walked closer to where he was going to give his speech.
We found Shawn and Sophie in the crowd and stood beside them.
" Good evening everyone" Fred said holding the microphone. The yard was silent, everyone paying close attention to him. " Thank you all for coming tonight, it really means alot" Fred continued his speech.
" I'll be right back, I have to take this call" Shawn said disappearing into the crowd.
" to my lovely wife, who always stood by me, who was always there for me......." He raised the wine glass in his hands as he made his beautiful toast speech thingy.
" to my son who........." I looked around for Shawn, he really shouldn't be missing this.
" And to my beautiful step daughter,  MJ, thank you so much for waiting this long, you've really made me happy today," I couldn't help but smile.
" thank you for coming into my life, thank you for......."  an axe swung out of nowhere and took Fred's head, cutting short his life before he could finish his speech. I heard the screams, the shouts, the cries, it all happened so fast, soon the yard which was peaceful, became rowdy in seconds, people running and screaming.

I must be dreaming.

I stood there in silence as the blood dripped all over the floor, his head violently flung away from the rest of his body. The white tuxedo he was wearing was now red, drenched in blood.

This can't be happening

All i heard were screams and cries. I was stiff, my limbs refused to move, I watched as Anna and lucas cried over Fred's body.

Where the hell was Shawn.

I just stood there not being able to say or do anything.

Why on his birthday?

He was brutally murdered, it wasn't an accident, this was perfectly planned, I looked around not being able to find the axe that took out his head. Minutes later I heard the sirens wail, and before I knew it Fred's body was being placed on a stretcher.

His last words were about me
His last thoughts were about me.

" No" I said in nothing but a whisper. Time seemed to slow down, I could feel my heart beating violently against my chest, the noise, the screams, the shouts, the sirens, they all seemed to fade out.

It wasn't an accident, it couldn't be,

I heard the clicking noise of a device, it was getting louder and faster above all other noises.

It's going to blow

Forcing my limbs to move, I ran to where Anna and lucas were hovering and crying over Fred's body. The ticking faster now.

Three seconds

I jumped over, pushing them both away from Fred's body, we flew across the yard from the strong blast, flames bursting into the air and the yard caught fire. His whole body blew up, there was nothing left of him.

Why is this happening?

" Dad!!" I heard Shawn scream, as he came out of the back door. His expressions read " shock", I watched as the tears rolled down his cheeks, he dropped beside Anna and they cried together. I knew the pain, I knew what it was like to loose someone you love, someone who cared for you.
" MJ, you're bleeding " Lucas said, standing behind me, he pointed to my arm which was badly bruised and was bleeding from one side.
" it's fine, I'm fine" I managed to say.
We all went inside, still horrified by the scene, the fire department had arrived and put out the fire. The yard was taped as a crime scene by the police, they were doing their Job but I guaranteed they wouldn't find anything.

   We were seated in the living room, there was dead silence, the only sounds I could hear were the silent sobs coming from Anna. Lucas was dressing my wound, he insisted even though I told him it was fine.
" how did you know it was going to blow?" Lucas asked as he finished dressing my wound.
" i heard the ticking noises, a bomb was planted on his body, which proves that this, wasn't an accident " I said
A knock came on the door, Shawn opened it, I watched as the officer neatly dressed in his uniform walked in.
" I'm officer Joe, I'm here to capture your statement " He explained as he took a seat." What happened tonight was definitely not an accident, and we have concluded that the murderer was present at the party." He continued, he pulled out a tiny book and a pen from his Jacket pocket.
" Mj, you're first."