"That was fun." Drew said, his voice dripping sarcasm as we walked back into the game room.
I rolled my eyes and nodded in agreement as I fell onto the couch beside him.
"So you were close to your grandpa?" I asked, curious as to why he defended the man when his mom seemed to hate him so much.
Drew nodded, the sadness back in his eyes. "He was the best. He taught me how to play guitar, and he's the only one from my family that's ever supported my music. He's the reason I applied to Jefferson Academy."
"I can't believe your parents don't support your music, can they not see how talented you are?" It was sad that someone as talented as Drew didn'g have the support he deserved.
When he didn't reply a thought hit me. He wanted to be perfect at the performance we had, and when he had that little mess up at the beginning he was so hard on himself.
"Is that why you reacted the way you did after our performance? You were so mad that you messed up, were your parents in the crowd?" I asked.
Drew sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Yeah, the one time they see me play and I mess up. I'm sorry again that I snapped at you when you were trying to make me feel better about it."
I shook my head, "No need to apologize, I shouldn't have bothered you."
After I spoke I was hit by the sudden urge to pee.
"Hey where's the bathroom?" I asked when Drew didn't say anything.
"When you get out to the hallway, it's three doors down to the right, same side of the hall as this." Drew explained.
"Thanks." I muttered before exiting the room.
I quickly used the toilet and then washed my hands, and as I was drying them I heard Drew's parents on the other side of the door speaking in panicky hushed tones.
"How much do you think she knows?" Cecelia asked.
"We would've known if she knew we were connected to them in any way." Trevor replied.
What were they talking about?
I quietly stepped closer to the door, holding my breath so I could hear them more clearly.
"You're right. But we need to get her out of here fast, just in case." Cecelia said, and then added a moment later, "I can't believe out of all the girls at that school Andrew had to pick their daughter."
I stepped back from the door as if it were on fire.
They knew my parents?
Finding the name Bates written on a scrap of paper in my parents safe was starting to make sense. They must been involved in the murders, or at least knew something about it. There was no other explanation to how they were talking right now.
But what was I supposed to do with this information?
I waited for Drew's parents to leave before I stepped out of the bathroom. If they really were involved in the murders, they couldn't know that I was on to them. I didn't want to be the next person to die.
My mind was reeling as I walked back into the game room. Did Drew know that his parents knew mine? Did he have information about my family's death that he wasn't telling me?
What if he was covering for his parents? And what if he only started being nice to me to see if I was getting close to finding out who killed my family?
"Did your parents know my parents?" I blurted, silently cursing myself for not having control over the things I say.
"What are you talking about? Of course they didn't know your parents." Drew replied, his confused eyes studying my face.
I sighed, "I overheard your parents panicking about who I am and if I know that they're connected to my parent."
He scoffed, "Maybe you heard wrong."
"I clearly heard them say 'How much do you think she knows?' And 'We would've known if she knew we were connected to them in any way.' And in my parents safe there was a piece of paper with the name Bates written on it." I told him as I paced in front of the couch that he was still sat on.
"My parents suck, but they're not murderers!" Drew exclaimed, getting up from the couch so he could tower over me as he spoke.
I pushed him away from me, "Maybe you don't know them all that well. They killed my parents, or know who did kill them!"
"Get. Out." Drew growled slowly, anger seeping from every word.
I took a step back in shock at his dangerous tone, and how dark his eyes suddenly were.
"I don't want to be in a house with murders anyway." I spat before storming out of the room to grab my stuff and leave.
How could he defend people that treat him like dirt? The people that quite possibly murdered my family?
And what was I supposed to do now? I didn't have any actual proof that the Bates did anything.
As I walked out the front door of Drew's house, I pulled out my cellphone and turned on my data so I could find a bus to take me back to my home town.
It was a good thing I had a couple hundred dollars on my debit card, or else I'd be stranded here.
• • • • • • • • • • • • •
Hours later I was finally home and not at all calmed down from everything that happened earlier.
On the bus I had nothing to do except for think, and all my thoughts consisted of how my parents and Drew's parents could've possibly known each other. But they all had very different careers, and lived in different cities. There was no clear connection between them at all.
I raided my dad's office again, looking for any sign of Cecelia and Trevor Bates but there was nothing. The only suspicious thing I found was a blueprint for some complicated device, and I had no idea why my dad would have that. He was a musician, and from what I remember, couldn't even use an iPhone properly.
I also looked around in my mom's studio and of course found nothing.
I sighed in defeat as I flopped down onto my bed. I needed answers. But there weren't any here.
It had been a few hours since I got home, and now the middle of the night, but I couldn't sleep. I was too shaken up from the eventful dinner with Drew's family and everything that happened afterwards.
As I laid in bed I tried to rack my brain for any place that might have clues, or any way my parents could've known Drew's, but I couldn't come up with anything. Everything I discovered led to a dead end.
A sudden crash downstairs brought me out of my thoughts and scared the living daylights out of me.
"What the hell?" I whispered to myself, grabbing the only weapon type thing I could find, my ukulele, from my night table.
I silently cursed my parents for never putting me in baseball, a bat would've made me feel a lot safer right now.
I listened closely for any footsteps, and when I didn't hear anything I quietly made my way downstairs to see what the commotion was.
As I stepped into the living room I gasped at the scene before me. The window was broken, and on the floor was a brick with a piece of paper taped to it.
I ripped the paper off and read what it had to say.
You were getting warmer but now you're ice cold.
The murder was taunting me. Basking in the glory of knowing that I couldn't figure out who they were.
I dropped the note and ran to the window to see if the psychopath was still outside, but there was nothing, not even a car that didn't belong to a neighbour.
My blood was boiling despite the icy winter air pouring into the house through the broken window. This person is playing with me, enjoying the game and my misery.
I couldn't just give up and let this person or people win, but there was nothing more I can do. I didn't know any of my parent's friends so I couldn't ask them anything, and there was nothing useful in the house.
The only lead I had was Drew's parents.
I knew that Cecelia was a Lawyer and Trevor owned a huge company, but I didn't even know what it was. Maybe my parents had something to do with the company?
I quickly got out my laptop and loaded up google so I could search Trevor Bates. Although there were hundreds of people with that name, the most popular one was in fact Drew's dad.
There was tons of information on his company, which was called 'Bate's Technological Advancements' . It was a business that created cutting edge technology and sold it to the highest bidder, and they had a huge rivalry with a competing company called 'Technology Incorporated'.
I still don't see any connection between my parents and Drew's though. My parents were in the arts, which had nothing to do with technology or law.
I flopped back onto my bed in defeat. What more could I do?
Thankfully, before I could drown further into my thoughts, my emotional and physical exhaustion took over and I fell asleep.
• • • • • • • • • • • • •
Buzz
Buzz
Buzz
My phone buzzing as I got a call woke me up, and I groaned in annoyance as I reached for it on my night table.
Who could possibly be calling me?
Without looking at the caller I.D I pressed the answer button and held the phone to my ear.
"Hello?"
"Hey Cora, did I wake you up?" A familiar voice said through the phone.
I small smile made it's way to my lips as I replied, "Hey Matt, you did wake me up but it's okay."
"Why are you asleep at two in the afternoon?" He asked, and I could imagine him tilting his head in confusion.
"I had a late night." I explained as I sat up and leaned against my headboard.
"Okay, well I was just calling to say hey and ask when you're coming back to school?"
I rolled my eyes, school had only been out for a few days, there was still a while before I need to be back.
"I'll probably come back tomorrow, there isn't much for me to do at home."
"Well isn't that a coincidence, I'm also coming back to school tomorrow. We should hang out then." Matt suggested.
"Yeah for sure." I agreed happily, hanging out with Matt was like a breath of fresh air. There was no pressure with him and he was such a happy and loving guy that it was hard not to be happy around him.
"Sweet, oh and Merry Christmas Cora." Matt said.
Oh yeah, it was Christmas today. And I was spending it alone.
"Merry Christmas Matt." I replied, and after that we spoke for a bit longer but soon he had to go watch a movie with his family or something.
After we got off the phone I looked around at my room, suddenly hit with a pang of sadness. This was the first Christmas I'd ever spent completely alone. After my parents died I at least had aunt Maria, who would invite some relatives over, but obviously this year that wasn't happening.
I didn't have anyone left, and that realization made me dizzy. I was truly alone.
After taking a few minutes to compose myself I decided to visit my parents and Maria's graves. Unfortunately I wasn't told when Maria's funeral was so I missed it and this would be my first time paying my respects for her.
On my way to the cemetery I bought two bundles of flowers, one for my parents and one for my aunt, and soon I was standing in front of their graves, all beside each other in a row of three.
"Hey guys, Marry Christmas." I quietly greeted my family as I placed some flowers on Maria's grave and then in between my parent's graves.
"I miss you guys." I continued as I sat down in front of them.
"I wish I could really spend the holiday with you. The house is so empty now."
As I spoke I wiped a stray tear that escaped my eye and ran down my cheek.
"I'm so sorry aunt Maria, I feel like this is all my fault. I might not have liked you but I never wanted you to die. I'm so sorry.
"You should all still be alive, I would trade places with you guys in a heartbeat if it mean you guys would still be alive."
After that I sat in silence for a while as I remembered all the Christmas memories I had with my family.
I got my piano keyboard on Christmas when I was six, dad had been teaching me how to play and thought I needed my own to play on so I wouldn't hog his piano anymore. I was so excited when I opened it.
And on Christmas when I was ten years old I got a bunch of drawing and painting supplies, because I'd taken a huge interest in art that year.
I smiled at the memories of my parents delighted expressions as I opened my presents. And their proud smiles as I showed off my paintings and the songs I learnt on piano in the days after.
I remembered the look of love in their eyes, always.
They loved me and each other so much.
And now they were gone.
I wiped more tears from my cheeks as I got up to leave, more determined than ever to find the person that killed my family.
I just needed to come up with a plan.