Blissfully Numb. (Book 4)

Chapter 1

England, December 14th 1989.

The son of a family found murdered in their home has been charged with their murders and is being held without bail. Colin Norman, 19, of Darlington, County Durham, admitted to shooting his father Steven Norman and his mother, Jessica Norman, most likely on Friday night.

The District Attorney Marla Henderson said in a news conference today that Colin said he thought that his parents were going to ‘cut him off’ and give all of his inheritance to his younger brother Theodore Norman, 17. It seems Colin had fallen in with a rough crowd and found himself addicted to cocaine, when his parents threatened to cut him off, unless he attended rehab. So he planned to get the money he needed through his inheritance instead.

Henderson also said that Colin told investigators that after shooting his parents he threw the gun he used in the river. He planned on making it look like a suicide and if Theodore had not been at a therapy session that night it is clear that this tragedy would have included him.

Neighbours heard the screams from Mrs Norman as her husband of twenty years was shot dead at her feet and called the police. Colin was arrested soon after and the murder weapon was found by police divers a few hours later.

Prosecutors are hoping that Colin Norman will be charged with two consecutive life sentences for the murder of his parents. His next court appearance will be held on the 20th December.

***

I find police stations cold, not just the temperature but in general. I guess they aren’t meant to look all warm and homely but Christ, they could at least make the rooms for people who aren’t criminals a little more inviting. I have been sitting in this room now for over fifteen hours with a family liaison officer because I’m apparently too young to be left alone without adult support.

I am seventeen years old I don’t need anyone, I don’t need any support. I am going to have to get used to looking after myself anyway, I am alone now and there’s no one young enough to look after me in England. My gran is infirm and lives in an old people’s home and my Aunt Helen lives in America.

Colin my older brother, well he is unlikely to see the real world again for a very long time. I guess I should probably explain why I am here and why my parents aren’t here to support me, he killed them for money. Apparently the smack head thought I was going to steal all of our inheritance and he decided he was going to off us all to get it.

Unlucky for him I was at a therapy session that night so he wouldn’t have got it even if he did get away with murder but the thing that fucks me off the most is that my parents were still young. I wouldn’t have got a penny off them for at least another thirty years, so why would he assume they were giving it to me now.

That family liaison officer told me he was given an ultimatum by my dad, rehab or cut off. Apparently that’s why he decided to hatch a plan to take it all now, not in thirty years. That selfish fucker took my parents, the only two people on this planet apart from my mate Paul, who accepted me for being gay, for being me.

I admit, I am not the easiest person to get along with. I am out and proud and people don’t like that confidence because I took away the one thing they expected to be able to make my life hell with. I am also tattooed and pierced and along with my dark hair, apparently that all makes me look like a hooligan.

Well my parents never gave me any bullshit about how I looked or who I am. When I told my mum I was gay she laughed and said ‘and?’ when I asked her why she laughed she said the way I had told her it was as if I expected her to explode. She had found it funny that I thought she was such a strict mum, which made me laugh because she was anything but. She agreed to tell my dad for me who was just as cool, he didn’t even comment just told me to get his slippers or some shit like that.

Colin was pretty cool before he went off to university, he decided to go to Teesside and ended up moving into this private landlord flat in some shithole neighbourhood. That’s where he met Gaz Rickshaw the local smack head and he got himself hooked too. It all went downhill for him after that, the loser.

So yeah Colin killed my parents and now I am stuck in this police room because they have finally decided what to do with me. Apparently seventeen is too young to be classed as an adult so they have been sending me to therapy every other day instead of every week to help me deal with my loss.

I will never be able to ‘deal with my loss’ those were my parents, my best friends and now they’re gone. Nothing on earth, especially therapy will ever make that better and it pisses me off that they can’t understand that.

The door opened and the police officer that has been dealing with me since this happened entered the room and sat opposite me.

“Hey Theodore…”

“It’s Theo, for the millionth time!”

“Sorry Theo.” He rolled his eyes. “Sorry you have been sitting here all day but we needed to sort somewhere for you to live. As you are aware I am afraid your choices are limited, you can either be put into care here in England although we can’t guarantee where that will be. We don’t really want to see that happen, so the alternative is to move to America to live with your Aunt and Uncle. What do you say, maybe it’ll be good for you, a fresh start?”

“If I go will I be able to see my friends before I go? I want some of my stuff too?”

“Yeah that can be arranged. So should I let them know you will be coming?”

“Don’t have much choice do I.” I replied and he looked at me waiting. “Sure tell them.”

Saying goodbye to England would be hard, my parents are buried here, Paul is here and I will miss him. Luckily I am done with school but my Gran, my life, everything has always been about England. I haven’t seen my Aunt and Uncle since I was seven years old when they left for America, what if they are complete arseholes? Like I said I don’t have any choice so I guess this is it.

America here I come…whoopee.