Riddles {a Death Note MelloXOC and NearXOC story}

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow

"What can you tell me about Emily Riddle?"

There was a pause. "I told you that I promised I-"

"-I'm not asking for information on my past. I just want to know about Emily and Casey and how it is you know them."

"Alright," she agreed with a sigh. "Emily grew up at Wammy's; the same one you did. She went to Harvard to get a degree in... I can't remember what it was exactly. Annie and I went to BU at the time; we had become friends real fast, so we'd moved into an apartment together when we were sophomores.
"It was our junior year, and Emily had moved into that same apartment building. One day, we all just sort of bumped into each other. She was new, so we showed her around. She and I became good friends; she wasn't that close with Annie, though.
"One day, I'd invited her over, but I forgot Annie had asked her brother, Casey, to stop by that same day to bring her something from home." Jessica chuckled. "Annie was pissed off. While we were arguing, Casey walked into the apartment. We were so busy yelling at each other that we didn't even notice. He just sat down on the sofa next to Emily and watched us argue until we finally realized he was there."

I couldn't help but laugh despite myself. That sounded like my mom; like Annabelle. I could hear it in Jessica's voice, too. How at first my request had seemed like a burden, an obligation, and she had begrudgingly recited the story, but eventually, her voice brightened as she recalled the fond memories.

"And it's not like he was waiting for us to notice him," she continued. "He had a big grin on his face; he was enjoying the show. Emily thought he was pretty damn weird, and yet somehow... They were two totally different people, but somehow, they worked well together.
"I was close with both Annie and Emily. Annie wasn't too fond of Emily, but she was forced to get along with her in the end. Casey was a good man and easy to get along with. He was a good brother, too. He'd do anything for Annie, and he did, on multiple occasions. Sticking his neck out to help her and visit, even though it could ruin his relationship with his parents. Annie and them, they'd uh... they'd had a falling out.
"...Casey died in a mugging." I didn't bother correcting her. "Apparently, he'd fought until the end, and Annie was wicked proud of him for it. Emily... Emily didn't have a whole lot of people to begin with. She was an orphan, and she didn't have many friends. When Casey died, she just... she couldn't do it anymore..."

"If you and Mom were such good friends, then how come I'd never met you before?" I asked.

"Because," she said with a sigh, "after everything that happened, I just couldn't...
"For what it's worth, I'm glad you figured it out, Piper."

"It's not worth much," I told her, what little joy I'd had listening to her story now gone.

She was silent. It was hard to tell over the phone what she felt, but based on what little I knew of her, I could tell that she wasn't offended. She knew she didn't have any right to be.

"Did you bring me to Wammy's because of Emily?"

"Yeah," Jessica admitted. "Emily had a way of looking at things from a different angle. Solving problems in ways that no one else would think. I figured that you might have inherited something, so I talked to Mr. Ruvie, and he said he'd give you a chance. He let you stay, so I guess he found something special about you in the end. I'm not surprised. You're related to some amazing people."

I couldn't help but smile at that, and then a new thought occurred to me. It was in the way she had answered that last question. How she'd said Mom and her parents had "had a falling out." I thought carefully about what I could say to try and get an answer out of her.

"Mom always told me that she hated being called Annie," I told her.

"She did?" Jessica said. She seemed taken aback by the comment.