Create A Surreptitious Move

25 || Pages turned

Since I've gotten back to the house I've looked through more pages of my brother's diary, I know it's wrong but I need to know what happened.

There are a lot of pages with dates before the fire and only a handful afterwards.

I skim through the front of the book and one of the first pages is around 2 years before he left.

'I joined a gang. That sounds more fun than it acctually is. I joined an illegal gang and I'm probably going to hell for it but I need to find out the truth. I can't stay in the dark for any longer. I've come this far and there's no turning back now.'

That's...odd.

I flip through some more pages and find an entry from about a year before he left.

'She got a cat today. I guess I technically got her the cat since I was the one who bought it. We were originally just going to the mall but she ended up convincing me into going in some sort of pet store, claiming that she just wanted to look around. We did just look around for like 30 seconds. Then she saw the ginger cat, who she's now named Frinkles. He was in a playpen and the lady invited her inside to take a closer look, I knew then and there that I was screwed. As soon as she took that cat in her arms I saw it in her eyes. The baby kitten was only 8 weeks old and she  fell in love with him. When she give me the puppy dog eyes and asked to keep him I didn't have it in me to say no. So we bought a cat or I did since she's a minor. At first I was just agreeing to a cat, I didn't think of all the other expenses. We bought cat food, a cat bed, multiple toys (way more than necessary), food and water bowls, nail trimming things, brushes, a litter box plus litter, treats and an engraved collar. I swear this cat better appreciate this. Oh and get this, they made me pay for a carrier too. They're really bleeding me dry. The talk with mom didn't go over well either, it ended in me convincing her that it was my cat....and then she told me to take it to my dad's house. I hate when she does that. I said I would when I go round tomorrow but I have no intention of it, mom will have forgotten by then. She made me watch him while she went in the shower, she didn't want to leave him by himself at such a small age. The kitten rolled around her bed, I tried to stop him, I really did but he was just so cute and I didn't want to hurt him. When she was finished in the shower the three of us watched a movie, Frinkles first ever. She seemed really happy today with Frinkles, I really hope that continues. If anyone deserves to be happy it's her.'

I finally look at the page with the date July 6th. The day he said he was going to leave. It was also the day of his funeral, I was avoiding it as I know it will bing back bad memories.

'It was sunny today, it felt almost peaceful when I woke up. I went to see her today. I stayed far away and out of sight though. I couldn't risk it. It was horrible seeing her like that, knowing I was the cause of it. She looked completely devastated. This is how it has to be though, I can't drag her down with me. She'll get over it eventually, at least she's safe I keep telling myself. I'm going to miss her, I hope she's alright without me. I know she's strong and can get through this. After she started speaking at the ceremony I left. I couldn't listen to her wishing for me to come back, I just couldn't do it.'