Beautiful Scars [1] ✔

Chapter Twenty Seven

I took in a deep breath just as the front door opened, the click clicking of footsteps thumping against my ears just as the door closed shut.

I squinted my eyes tightly and hugged Aston even harder, and sighed into his chest. I opened my eyes to see Melissa's grandmother and the police officer talking in the living room.

Aston and I pulled back at the same time and I glanced at his now bleeding hand. I let go of him and started rummaging through random drawers until I found an old towel. I wet it under the sink, and then rang it out. Sure that no water would drip, I walked towards him and he held out his hand for me to cleanse.

I stared into his blue, blue eyes and found myself drowning. He has been through so much, and I just wanted it to stop. I wanted the pain to stop. I guess it's true when people say, "Don't get your hopes up" because just when you believe things will be amazing or that life will be perfect and harmless, within a few seconds it gets snatched away.

Suddenly, he blinked and I snapped out of my trance. He looked down at the towel which was still hovering over his hand. I swallowed, blushing, then dabbed at the cut. Aston winced, then gritted his teeth, and I knew I was hurting him. I dabbed with less force (as if that were even possible) and his expression softened.

After a few seconds of silence, I finally found the courage to speak. "I'm sorry," I whispered.

He lifted my chin to look him in the eye. "You broke your promise."

"What?" I was confused.

"You said you wouldn't cut yourself anymore."

"I'm not, Aston. I didn't break my promise."

He shook his head. "You're absolutely right. You didn't break your promise. You did something worse. You tried to kill yourself."

"Aston-"

"No, Sophia. You need to listen. You tried to kill yourself. And you're selfish. You tried to take your own life. You're lucky you even have one! Melissa doesn't have that chance, and I bet she'd kill to be in your shoes right now."

I touched his arm. "Aston-"

He jerked away from my grip. "NO." He sneered. He glared at my face and I swallowed.

A throat cleared and I noticed it was Melissa's grandmother. Her face had worry lines and was flushed due to all of the crying she had done. "I hate to interrupt, but Officer Clint wants to talk to you two."

She moved to the side and Aston glared at me one last time before walking into the living room. I followed suit, sitting a few feet away from him.

Officer Clint was a tall man with black hair and black eyes. To put it simply - he was Asian. He watched us almost as if we were lab rats, with interest and curiosity.

He nodded once then started talking. "I am here to aware you of the death of your friend and sister Melissa. I'm pretty sure you knew by now." He looked at Aston and Melissa's grandmother (her name is Betty).

I shook up the courage to ask the question I'd been dreading. "How did they find her? Where was she?"

He looked at me directly, then answered my question. "It was earlier today. I was doing my annual report and I got a call from a person by the name of Mike Walters. He was jogging, doing his annual run around the campsite where he lives with his wife when he saw a body. It was a female. The only reason we knew it was Melissa was because of her wallet in her pocket with her driver's license. We're sure that she was murdered, but right now, as we speak, search patrol are searching the area for items that might be useful in determining the murderer. Now, this is where you guys come in. Have you ever been told of or seen someone who would want to do something like this to Melissa?"

I closed my eyes and thought really hard. Something Melissa told me clicked in my head right then.

Me? Well, my dad used to beat me, so I ran away to live with my grandmother when I was 7.

I gasped and blinked rapidly. "I know someone."

"Who, Sophia?"

"Melissa's father."