Obsession

The Morning

A bright light invades my thoughts and my eyes flutter open. Yawning, I look around. I'm in my room. Sunshine hits my face and I squint towards the clock on my nightstand: 8:30am. What day is it? I question groggily, feeling a slight nausea and headache creeping.

"BREAKFAST!" A loud voice bellows from downstairs. Sounds like dad, so it must be Saturday, his day off. My head started throbbing, and suddenly images from last night began to fill my mind. Fuck. I remember now.

Shaking the thoughts, I walk to the bathroom and brush my teeth. A glance in the mirror revealed a hungover Cate. My usual sleek long chestnut colored hair was now a frizzy disheveled mess. Bags under my eyes, and my skin gray and dull rather than my usual healthy complexion. I cannot go downstairs looking like this. So after brushing, I hop in the shower to scrub the hangover away, or at least some traces of it.

Downstairs, the bitter smell of coffee fills the air, as well as a hint of cinnamon as I take a seat beside my little sister, Cassie. Mother approached the dining room table, setting a cup of coffee in front of me. "Thanks, mom."
"You look tired. Long night?"
"Er, yeah kinda." I answered, avoiding her gaze.
"Well, tell us about it, what did you do?" Dad chimed, setting down his newspaper.
"Went to a party in Sabine woods, drank a little, waited 'til I was sober then drove home." I answered confidently. Some truth and confidence work well in this household, so I use it to get them off my back.

Silence. Cassie tosses her food across the room and starts bawling. I take this time to take a quick bite of my food and chug some coffee before running back upstairs to lie down for a while.

I hop on Facebook and scroll for anything new, when I suddenly come across a post on a missing person. It was a picture of the dirtbag Leah was with last night. A shiver runs down my spine. Oh my gosh. Did Leah's guys really kill him? Who were they, anyway? Family? Friends? I wanted to go stakeout Leah's home, but that's too risky. I settled on some online snooping instead. A quick Google search on the "Waters Artists" revealed details on Leah and her family. I loved Leah, but never cared to research her family, until now.

Faye Waters was her mother, a famous sculptor, while Darren Waters, her father, was a renowned abstract artist. Leon Waters was her older brother, a well known artist who specialized in photorealism. Lastly, there was Lanie Waters, the youngest of the family. The details on Leah revealed that she was soon to be joining the Sabine University of Performing Arts. I frowned. We're not going to the same university once we graduate. This was my last year with her. At least she's staying in town, close to me...close enough. Goosebumps fill my body. Her family helped kill him. But what if he wasn't dead yet? Well, he did try to drug her. But still, did he deserve that? I felt conflicted and wanted to take action. Instead, I shut my laptop and dozed off into a troubled sleep.