Meredith
The night that my parents died, Jack comforted me as I cried my heart out. He was there when no one else was. He was like my rock. He took all my emotional outbursts and handled them with tenderness and care. Jack never left me in the weeks and months that I suffered from their deaths.
That is why as I stand stunned in my living room, I can't quite believe what I'm hearing.
No one has said a word since Eliot's announcement.
"He killed your parents Meri. Jack killed them."
It's hard to forget a statement like that. You can't just un-hear it. It repeats in your brain like an overplayed song.
Eliot is still standing in front of me but he's turned around to face me. Jack is behind him looking like a deer caught in the headlights while Chase shifts from foot to foot beside me. It's an awkward atmosphere, no one has anything to say. I'm speechless. I have no idea what to say or what to believe.
"Meri..." Eliot murmurs my name softly, his eyes pleading me to believe him or maybe even just pleading for me to say something. Anything.
"What?" My voice comes out strained and quiet.
My heart is pounding against my rib cage. I can't seem to breathe properly, the air being knocked out of my lungs from that simple yet harsh statement. I know Jack is a bit crazy and possessive but a murderer? He was one of my parents closest friends. He was always here. I practically grew up with him until he took guardianship once my parents died.
I look over Eliot's shoulder to stare at Jack. For once he hasn't got an angry scowl on his face. He actually looks worried.
"Tell me, please tell me that he's wrong." I breathe to him.
Jack opens his mouth to speak but nothing comes out. He just stares at me with bloodshot eyes.
"TELL ME HE'S WRONG JACK!" I scream while pushing Eliot out of the way.
"Meredith... your parents died in a car accident. I was with you that night." Jack rushes out. He not so discreetly sends a glare over in Eliot's direction.
"That's not telling me he's wrong! Tell me that you didn't do it, Jack. Fucking tell me now."
"They died in a car accident."
"SAY YOU DIDN'T KILL THEM JACK! YOU'RE NOT SAYING IT!" I shove Jack hard in the chest and he stumbles back into the wall.
I'm breathing heavy as I stare in disbelief at his slumped figure against the wall. A slumped figure that isn't denying he killed my parents. In that moment I feel my whole world crash around me.
"Oh my god. You killed them. You really killed them." I gasp holding a hand to my chest.
"The police said it was an accident." He argues. I shake my head.
"No. I don't know what they said because they didn't speak to me. They asked to speak to you alone. It was you who told me about their accident."
I don't know why I've never thought about it before. When the police arrived, I was sent to my room and it was Jack who told me about the accident. I never saw a police report or spoke to them myself. I only ever knew what Jack told me. I realise now that the police visited us a lot after the accident but they never wanted to talk to me, they always asked to speak to Jack alone.
"They were suspicious of you." Everything seems to come together in my head. I can't stop all the little pieces fitting together.
"Meredith, this is ridiculous. You're going on the word of someone you hardly know. I've been around all your life! Your parents trusted me with you." He growls as he grabs the bottle of whisky.
"Is that what it was all about? They found out how you really felt about me."
By now I'm pacing around the messy living room and running my hands repeatedly through my hair. I'm anxious and overwhelmed. I can't believe this is happening. It's crazy. I always thought my parents' deaths were an accident. Could they have really been murdered?
"Don't be stupid Meredith. I didn't feel anything for you until you were older. It wasn't about that." Jack realises his mistake too late. His expression drops to horror while I become enraged.
"YOU KILLED MY PARENTS JACK! WHAT DID THEY EVER DO TO YOU?!"
"Meri, maybe you should sit down and take a breath." Eliot interrupts. I actually forgot him and Chase was here.
"Get the fuck off me, Eliot. He killed my parents and you want me to take a damn breath!"
I shake off his hand and before Jack can react, I send my fist straight into his nose. I'm barely satisfied at the sickening crack that's heard when my knuckles break his nose.
"Shit!" Jack curses as he holds his bloody nose.
"Was it the house, the money? If it wasn't for me then what the fucking hell possessed you to murder my parents?!"
"Nice punch." I hear Chase praise quietly from behind me.
The anger I feel is indescribable. It's pure red hot anger just boiling up inside me. My parents were good people. They didn't deserve to die at such young ages but they definitely didn't deserve to be murdered.
"You crazy bitch!" Jack spits at me. His hands and face are a mess of blood.
"Count your lucky stars that I'm pregnant because if I wasn't then I'd do more than break your nose. You better pray to god that I don't come after you and kill you with my bare hands. My parents trusted you! How could you just kill them and live with it?"
When Jack just sends me a bloody smug smile in reply, I lunge for him. Eliot grabs me before I reach him and pulls me away.
"Come on. We should go." Eliot speaks calmly in my ear. I try to shake him off but it's no use as Chase moves to stand between me and Jack. He gently pushes me with Eliot out of the room before I can do anything else.
Eliot and Chase manage to get me out of the house and to the car.
"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE JACK! IF I COME BACK AND YOU'RE STILL HERE, I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL KILL YOU!" I scream in the direction of the house so that he can hear me.
"Meri, get in the car."
I reluctantly do as I'm told. Eliot shuts the door behind me and gets into the car with Chase. The atmosphere in the car is still and silent. I look down at my hands that are resting on my baby bump. There's a noticeable shake in them and my knuckles are already beginning to bruise. If they hurt, I can't feel it yet.
"Adrenaline."
I glance up at Eliot, he's turned in his seat to face me.
"Is that why you didn't want me coming here?" I ask him.
Eliot sighs softly and rubs a hand over his face.
"You weren't meant to find out like this."
"How long have you known?"
"I didn't really know until he basically admitted it to you. But I had suspicions."
"So you just accused him in hopes that he would confess?!" I cry out, throwing my hands up in the air.
"Meri."
"Don't Meri me! You should have told me as soon as you suspected anything. I have a right to know. They're my parents!" I stress at him.
"I know. But I didn't want to tell you in case I was wrong. I wanted to prove it first. You don't need the stress of maybe's and possibly's without any proof."
"Oh and this isn't stressful?"
Eliot turns around in his seat and starts the car. I huff in annoyance but let it go. Chase hasn't said much on the matter but I'm grateful. I don't think I can deal with anyone else voicing their opinion on the matter.
The drive home is quiet. No one says anything. Once we arrive back at the house, I get out of the car and go inside, ignoring Emily as I drop down onto the sofa.
"Mer, are you alright? Oh my god, what happened to your hand?" Emily sits down beside me and tries to take a look at my hand. I pull it away silently.
"Em, come here a minute." Chase calls softly.
Emily leaves the room and I sit silently staring at the TV in front of me. I can't hear anything they're saying but I'm not really listening either. My body and mind are numb. I don't know if it's because of everything I've learnt in the past hour but I can't seem to focus.
And then one sentence fills the void.
Jack murdered my parents.
A crack forms in the numbness that surrounds me.
Jack murdered my parents.
It repeats over and over in my mind. My hand tingles and pain erupts through my knuckles. I close my eyes as visions of a car crashing into a tree and the sound of screams fill my head. My breathing quickens and a tightness grips my chest. The numbness was better. Fear and anguish are all I feel now. It's almost as if my parents are dying all over again.
"Mer?" Her soft voice pierces through the only resolution I have left.
A sob escapes my lips and before I know it, I'm full on crying and screaming in pain as Emily wraps her arms around my shaking body. The anger I felt is now just pain and sadness. Emily holds me tight, hushing me softly as she rocks us both.
"Shh, it's going to be OK Mer. I promise it'll get better." She whispers soothingly to me as I scream and cry into her chest.
For the first time since I've met her, I don't believe her comforting words.