Chapter 2

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My pillow was almost soaking wet of all the tears i've spilled over it. Everytime i've stopped crying, just the image of my parents on T.V. claiming i was a murderer, betraying me with pure lies, put me to cry desperately again. How could i trust them now? How could i trust ANYONE now when the ones who are supposed to be the most trustable completely break that chain of confidence? It wasnt possible. But the same question kept bouncing inside my head, tormenting me, Why did my parents blame Eda's murder on ME, when they perfectly know i wasnt the one who did it?  Why did they even bother to do that if they had no relation to Eda other than Eda being once their daughter's best friend?  There were a thousand things that didnt fit AT ALL about what had just happened. It seemed like in just a matter of minutes my life has been turned completely upside down, torn apart, broken into a million pieces and scattered like a puzzle impossible to put together; But one thing was very clear for me,I was 100% sure that I, Lauren Decker, didn't kill Eda Tanner.

I had to talk to someone, so i took the phone and redialed Dean's number. 

"Hello?" he picked it up, "Lauren, is that you?"

"Yes, Im sorry for not answering before, i just felt like not talking to anyone."

"Its ok," he sighed, "I thought something wrong had happened to you."

"And why would it matter to you if it did?"

"IT WOULD!" he said rapidly "I mean.. you know.. you are my best friend....I wouldn't want something... wrong ever happening to you."

"Awwwwwwwww" I giggled; Even on the worst of my times Dean could always make me smile.

"Hey, and I got informed that until they have more proof about if it was you or not, they wont do anything to you, but you are like the number one person of interest right now"

"Thanks for reminding me that," my sarcasm was notorious "But more proof? Isnt MY trophy, with MY fingerprints, and Eda's blood in it enough proof already?"

"But there must be a way to prove that you werent the murderer Lauren! And why the heck would your parents want to do such a thing to you?"

I didn't asnwer, that question had already made my night miserable, and probably the rest of my life too.

"Oh... sorry" he apologized, "I shouldn't have asked that question...right?"

"No."

"Sorry, i wont ask that again, i promise."

The conversation faded into an awkward silence between the two of us; About two minutes later i could hear voices coming from Dean's phone, it was his mother. The voices sounded far away, but i could manage to hear enough of what you would expect:

"You cant be friends with a murderer Dean!"

"But mom,  Lauren didnt kill Eda, she just -"

"You heard the news Dean! There was even proof that she used her tennis or basketball trophy"

"SOFTBALL MOM! SOFT. BALL!"

Then Dean picked up the phone again, "Look Lauren, i need to hang up soo-"

"Come to my house, please!" I interupted him quickly "Come in through the window, it'll be open, just dont let your mom see you, lock up your room or something so she thinks you are sleeping"

"Ok" he said and he hung up.

Waiting for Dean to arrive became eternal; every second ticking away from the clock felt like a thousand years slowly passing. I had to find a way of keeping myself entretained and that would definitely not be watching more T.V. news reports, so I headed down to the kitchen to look for something to eat.  

Looking at the family pictures as i went downstairs felt weird, i felt like I didnt belong to this family anymore, my father a stranger and my mother a lier, being left with just me, the girl who believed what this two had to say. Not anymore. 

I grabbed an apple from the counter and looked at the black kitchen clock noticing it had already been 15 minutes since i asked Dean to come; I guess his mother caught him in the act of sneaking out, but wouldn't he call me to tell me? Oh well. 

I knew "mom" and "dad" would come home soon, so i headed back upstairs with a bag of chips just incase i got hungry again. This time i didn't bother look at the hanging pictures on the walls, neither the one that hung from a nail in my door.

"Lauren, where were you?" it was Dean inside going through the pictures of one of my scrapbooks, "Oooh, you brought me chips!!" he said snatching the bag from my hand. I grinned. 

"What took you so long?" I asked him sitting next to him on my bed  "I was starting to get worried that your mother caught you or something."

"You?" he said "Worried...about.. me?" a smile was drawn in his face from ear to ear.

"Yeah," i munched on a potato chip "we're best friends remember? We're supposed to care for each other?"

"Oh yeah yeah.." he chuckled. "Hey Lauren, can i keep this picture? You look extremely adorable in it!"

I looked at the picture he was holding, it was the one of the day I was born and my father was holding me; I admit i really looked adorable but since dad was there i didn't want it anymore.

"Yes you can keep it" i said.

"YES!!!" he smiled widely again.

I heard dad's car getting close to the house so i stood up and locked the door to the room. I didn't want to see them. I could hear mom was still crying, somehow i feel like she didn't want to say that on T.V., but either way she did.

"Turn the lights off!" i told Dean fast, "They can't know im awake, then they'll try to come into my room!"

Dean stood up and hit the switch making the room completely dark. 

"Are we supposed to stay like this all night?" Dean whispered "I can't even see my hand, and its right infront of my face!"

"Just until they come inside," i whispered back, "then it'll be safe."

I heard the front door open with a loud thud, and i heard mom's sobbing becoming louder, they were whispering, or failing at the attempt, cause i could perfectly make their words out.

"I didn't, I should of never-" mom cried.

"Its all done," dad interrupted her.

"But she's our...daughter" mom said struggling at the word daughter, i guess she also felt like she didn't deserve being my mother after what she did.

"Jennifer.." dad said "she must not know, she must not get a clue, LIFE. MUST. GO ON NORMALLY. ok?"

"It has never been normal Albert and im sick of it!" she started crying again, louder, "I CANNOT KEEP DOING THIS!"

"Doing what?" Dean whispered to me.

"SHHHHHHH!!!!!" i put a finger over his mouth, "I dont know either"

"YOU HAVE TO JENNIFER, AND THERE'S NO OTHER OPTION OK?" And then dad's and mom's voice faded as they closed the door to their room.

"You can turn the light back on" i told Dean, and he did.

"What had just had just happened?" Dean asked me; you could see how he wasn't getting the hold of what just happened, but being honest neither did I. "And why is November 11, 1994 written in the back of your picture, isn't your birthday the 18th? Ok im officially confused!" 

"Yes," i snatched the picture from his hands, and read what it had written behind it; Some words were unreadable, but you could perfectly make out the November 11, 1994. 

"Why the heck?!?" Dean was getting nervous, and he was making ME nervous, more than i already was.

"Cause maybe i am not the one on the picture" I told him, "maybe im not even their daughter." 

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