Abigail's POV
That night, I had the same old dream. Again! Mom told me that she was murdered. Freaking murdered!
She wasn't.
I so badly wanted to ask dad and Aaron for consent before calling the sheriff but I just couldn't. I knew that it would be a total waste of time and at last, they wouldn't even agree with me.
This morning was like any other day. So tiring and boring. It was Dad who dropped me off at school today and on the way, he told me that Aaron would come to pick me up in the evening.
He also added that I should
behave. Which was pretty usual. There hasn't been a single day without dad or Aaron and even mom not telling me that before dropping me off. Am I seriously that naughty? Well… maybe.
The entire day at school, all I thought about was the call I was gonna make tonight to the sheriff and what I was gonna tell him. Should I tell him that I have important information? Should I just tell him what I think happened that day?
Finally, after seven hours at school thinking of how my conversation will go, the dispersal bell rang. I was the first one to run out of the class and I didn't even stop when my friends called out to me.
I needed to go home fast and call the sheriff. I want my mom to be in peace. I want to see Brandon face to face and ask 'why the hell did you kill mom'.
You'll get a chance.
I reached the parking lot panting only to find out that Aaron nor his car was present. I even made a quick sweep of the area just in case he parked somewhere else but he just wasn't there.
My friends found me soon enough and we spent some time speaking and cracking jokes until their parents arrived and picked them up.
Very soon the entire lot was empty except for the teachers' cars and maybe 2 or 3 others. I hurriedly called Aaron to ask him if he forgot to pick me up but that guy didn't even pick up the call and my message went straight to voicemail.
As I sat on a bench thinking how long it will take my dumbo brother to come pick me up, I heard footsteps behind me and someone said "hey Abi. What are you doing here all alone? Who's gonna pick you up"
I turned around and came face to face with… Zac. He sort of looked sad but had that huge cheeky grin on his face that makes all the girls fall in love with him. It made me too. The only problem was that I am cute looking and not hot.
Not all people think the same...
I blushed and said, "I am waiting for my brother to pick me up and he's running late. Real late".
Zac chuckled and took a seat next to me. Thankfully the bench was so small and I could literally feel his warmth near me. He also saved me from the cruel sun Ray's of California.
He breathed out dramatically and replied "I- I'm waiting for my dad to come out from the principal's cabin. I am sort of in trouble…".
I swear I didn't know what he was talking about and when I asked him the reason, his reply made me grin so wide in happiness. He taught that bitch, Anna her place.
Zac told "I sort of added purple dye into her sunscreen. Boy, she was such a bitch." Serves her right, I thought as I let out a chuckle.
10 minutes later, there was no sign of Aaron or his dad Kevin, whom I learned was dad's colleague and the same doctor who treated me when I fell down the stairs.
I also learned that we both are pranksters by heart and love the tv series 'Chicago Med' and also are huge fans of the same singers and bands. The Jonas Brothers were our favorites.
Another thing we had in common was that we both loved chocolates and cheese and both of us dreamt of living in Switzerland where both chocolate and cheese are so damn popular.
We also talked about my family, how my mom died and I told him about all my dreams. Not to be rude to Aaron and dad but Zac was the only one who actually listened to me and also
encouraged me to call the sheriff tonight.
Ahh! He didn't think I was crazy like everyone thought about me. He even wished me luck and told me to carry on my 'investigation'. I don't know if he meant it in a sarcastic way or not but… I took it in a positive way.
Sadly, 20 minutes later, Aaron drove into the parking lot, his car shining as magnificent as possible. I had a feeling that Aaron was late because he spent the entire time washing his car.
He at least felt the need to apologize and apologized sincerely to me. Even though I wanted to give him a piece of my mind and maybe punch him in his guts, I kept quiet. The last thing I wanted was to give a bad impression to Zac.
Aaron clearly took advantage of the situation and asked "boyfriend. Huh" causing me to blush like a cherry.
Before I could even reply, Aaron turned towards Zac and said "take good care of her. She's the best girl one could ever hope for and If I hear any complaints, you'll be in big trouble".
Ah? What the hell? I thought Zac would say that we were just friends and that we weren't dating but… he instead wrapped an arm around my shoulder and said "OF COURSE.I'LL TAKE REALLY GOOD CARE OF HER. Don't worry about a thing ".
That was the best moment of my life. I was in cloud 9 and out of a corner of my eyes, I saw that Aaron had a huge grin on his face.
Sadly we had to leave my 'boyfriend' and head back home. Aaron had an important meeting and he couldn't be a second late for it. Not even a second? That's ridiculous!
Anyways, I was just so happy and the moment we reached home, I hugged Aaron goodbye and went upstairs to change my clothes and call Zac… oops. The sheriff.
That call's way more important than Zac. It was the perfect time to call the sheriff. No one is at home and I could talk freely to him about mom's accident… well, murder.
With my heart beating out of my chest, I dialed the number on my phone and… the call was picked up on the second ring. The first and only thing I said was "I'm Abigail Matthew, Adeline Clara Matthew's daughter. I have some information about her accident".
The sheriff hung up the call saying "how about I pay you a visit and we can talk it over comfortably". He didn't even let me reply.
What the hell? No no no He's definitely gonna get me killed tonight.
'Why the hell did I call him', was what I thought before flinging everything on my desk onto the ground.
I felt my heart burning and at its melting point. How can I explain everything to dad? To Aaron? What if everyone thinks I'm crazy? What if dad sends me to a psychologist as he told earlier?
This can't be happening but it did. Much to my dismay, dad came home before Aaron. I thought maybe if Aaron was present with me instead of dad, he might not be too angry with me and maybe he might even help me out by not letting dad know anything.
I felt my heart rise a bit in happiness when Aaron came home 30 minutes later but it dropped again when I saw the police car pulling up our driveways an hour later.
I heard the bell ring and the door opening. A minute later, " Abi! Come down here. Now.", daddy shouted.
Oh boy. I am in so much trouble.
Yes, you are.
Andrew's POV
I opened the door and saw an officer standing. Of course, I was surprised and when I heard that a call was made by Abigail Matthew, who happens to be my little bratty daughter, I was surprised.
I mean...why call the cops and not talk to me or Aaron? Not that he is a really responsible person but still... Why call the freaking cops?
I yelled for Abi and she came down. She came down in super slow motion and didn't even look at me. She just stammered something about calling the cops to tell them about mom's murder.
'Mom's murder? Are you mad?', was what I thought as I called the Sheriff inside and asked him to have a seat.
I don't have any idea why she called the cops or how a cop ended up in our living room talking to Abi but the only thing I understood was that she wanted to share her opinions on her mom's suspected murder.
Which idiot will take action after hearing that an 11-year old's mom came and told her that she was murdered… in her dreams.
This is just bullshit. I wanted to tell her that but I didn't. The last thing I wanted was to hurt her Even more. She was already upset about me being too busy and not spending enough time with her.
What could I do? I have to work. Right? And my boss is just too… never mind. If Aaron, my boss hears about what I think of him as my boss, I would get slacked.
The only thing I'm worried about is telling Abi off. Being her dad, I knew that she wouldn't take it well and would never listen to me but I felt relieved when the cop said "listen kid...I can't take action after listening to an 11-year-olds dream-".
Sadly Abi cut him off shouting "it is true! she was murdered and that dickhead is still roaming around happily after killing my mom… I thought you could help me and do something. I trusted you, Mr. Sherif. I thought at least the law would listen to me even if my own family doesn't."
" do you know that ARTICLE 19 OF THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS, states that EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF OPINION AND EXPRESSION...but no one would listen to me and I hate you all. you all are dumb ass holes."
Saying that she ran off upstairs. Leaving me and Aaron embarrassed in front of the cop. I was not even gonna punish her for going behind my back but… the way she spoke was unacceptable!
I apologized for wasting his time and also for Abi's behavior. To which he replied that he'd keep us updated on the investigation.
Investigation? Huh? I didn't exactly understand what he meant and neither did Aaron. When we asked him that, the cop said "well… actually, we were forced to close the case because of lack of proof even though it didn't look like an accident".
"But now that your kid told me about what happened earlier, there are chances of opening the case again.".
"And we better start going through everything again, or else your daughter might cause some trouble… no offense.", he added.
I felt my cheeks turning red in embarrassment. It was obvious that I and her were gonna have a long long conversation about her outburst but for the time being, I was happy. So was Aaron.
After the cop left, I felt the need to clear things up with Abi and yelled at her to come down but that little spoilt kid didn't understand the level of anger I was in and sassily spat 'what' at me.
I don't know what took over me but I felt my hand raising and SLAP! It smacked against Abi's face. Before I could even comprehend what happened, Abi fell down onto the marble floor.
I pulled her up again, only to give her another slap. It was full of anger, I accept it. It was also sure to leave a mark.
Soon, I had a feeling of embarrassment taking over me. I was well-reputed in the society and my daughter just… embarrassed me.
Embarrassment is my main enemy. I've hidden one of the darkest secrets of our family because of getting embarrassed. That one secret can bring our family back together but I am scared of the humiliation and embarrassment I'll face because of it.
For how long?
As Abi stood in front of me with tears welling up her eyes, trying to say something to me, I had to chastise her. I yelled at her and even called her a 'disobedient kid who needs her mouth taught a lesson'.
That's when she let out a 'sorry'. It sounded like she was forced to say it and not even actually meant it.
In anger, I barked"Go up to your room and stay there till the morning. You are the most disobedient kid I've ever seen. I don't even wanna look at your face right now. Get out of my sight!"
You are gonna regret it.