Nothing makes a room feel emptier than wanting someone in it.
~Calla Quinn
***
Marcus and Michelle stood at the front porch of Michelle's house. They had agreed to pick her up late in the morning so that they could go to Sheila's house. They also called Luis but he excused himself as he had to babysit his younger sisters. The sun was already high up and scorching on the two boys. Jeff rang the bell and they stood impatiently waiting for someone to answer.
They immediately stood upright when the door opened. It was Sheldon, Michelle's dad and Middlewood's sheriff. He was surprised to see the two at first, but then he eyed them threateningly.
"What do you want?" he growled, sending chills to the boys.
"We-we-we are here to pick Michelle up, " Marcus spoke, his voice soft but scared.
"She's not in. You can leave now," her father spoke in a tone that said he didn't want any further interruption and was already closing the door when Michelle appeared, putting her foot along the door's path.
"Hey, Marcus. Hi Jeff, " she began with a smile and went ahead to hug each of them, mortifying her father. Marcus and Jeff stood there awkwardly, trying to prevent their knees from shaking profusely. The old man was giving them a stare that probably said he would hunt them later and personally butcher them.
"Bye, dad! I'll see you in the evening, " she waved him goodbye and shoved the boys down the steps. Her father was about to follow her when a small boy appeared, Michelle's younger brother, and began pulling his father to come inside and feed him his breakfast. Sheldon unwillingly closed the door, but not before looking back at the three teenagers who were trotting away.
"Your dad's quite the bully," Jeff spoke after they were out of sight.
"And overprotective. He thinks I'm not old enough to make decisions by myself!" Michelle added.
"With that kind of parent I'd even be happy if Philip Banks was my father," Marcus joked and they all burst out laughing, making jokes along the way about Sheldon's parenting skills.
Their joy died down when they arrived at Sheila's house. A feeling of sadness crept up back to them, each suddenly nervous about what they were about to do. They glanced at each other and nodded, each one of them aware of their role. They then marched forward to the front door and knocked, anxiously waiting to see who would answer.
Sheila's mother answered the door. She looked dejected but forced a smile on seeing Michelle and her company.
"Mish, what a surprise! Come in, will you?" Samantha greeted her using a nickname she had given her, but the words that came out were as good as dead.
"Thank you, ma'am. Hope you don't mind that I've brought along some friends," she looked over at Marcus and Jeff, who awkwardly waved their hands at her. Samantha smiled at them and shook her head, indicating she had no problem.
Sheila's home was a comfortable one. It was a two-storey mansionette that looked quite modern. Plants in pots had been placed on every corner of the house to extend the nature inside. The walls were painted colourfully, although ironically, the atmosphere in the house wasn't quite as much. There were still many pictures of Sheila hang on the walls as if the family was trying to prolong the misery. The decorations used from the funeral we're still there; maybe they were too sad to muster up enough energy to dispose of Sheila. Samantha led them inside and they sat on a couch in the living room.
"If you would have come earlier you would have found Sheila's father and brother, but Sheila's dad has travelled, as always, and my son has gone to work," she told them.
"It's fine. We don't want to make our visit long," Michelle replied, looking at the other two who nodded vigorously. It was Michelle's show to run, and they hoped that she would not falter.
"So, what brings you here?" asked Samantha.
Michelle cleared her voice. "We came, well, I came to apologise for not being present at Sheila's burial. When she passed away I was overcome by grief, and I saw it as more painful to see her being buried in person. I didn't think I would manage the sight of that," she confessed, tears suddenly swelling in her eyes.
"It's okay. It was as much as hard for me too, but I had to see her off," Samantha replied, her gaze distant.
"That's why I'm here actually. I want to tell her goodbye, the proper way," she told Sheila's mother.
"Of course," Samantha answered. "Just tell me what you want."
Michelle breathed heavily. "A few minutes alone in her room is all I want," she spoke.
Samantha looked at her empathetically. "That is fine by me. I know that is where you two shared most of your memories."
Michelle stood up and excused herself, leaving the two boys crouched uncomfortably in the couch, she made her way up the stairs and stopped when she reached the upper floor. She paused by Sheila's door, and for a minute she contemplated going back, but her energy returned when she assured herself that she was doing this for her best friend. Summing up enough courage, she slowly turned the doorknob and entered the room.
Sheila's room was the same as ever; except it was now replaced with an atmosphere of sorrow. Michelle took in a deep breath as all the emotions came back running into her, threatening to burst out. Afraid of that, she hurriedly went to Sheila's drawer and pulled it open.
There it was, the red notebook- Sheila's diary. It was on top of all her other stuff. Michelle was quite surprised to see it. It was as if Sheila knew they were looking for it. She took it and held it in her arms, feeling for its weight. She then tossed it into her monkey bag. She looked around the room, smiling to herself. Sheila's mother was right, she indeed shared a lot of memories with Sheila in that room. She sat down, still taking in all the emotions.
"Hey, Sheila," Michelle began, not sure whether a dead person would hear her, but doing it anyway. "It's been long since I last saw you. Hope you don't mind that I brought boys to your house," she laughed to herself. She kept quiet and that feeling of sadness crept right back to her. She suddenly couldn't hold it back any longer and tears formed, making way down her cheeks.
"To be honest," her voice was shaking, "Life has been really hard without you. I don't understand why you were killed, and why you went to school early without me that day. We promised each other that we would be together always. I really miss you, Sheila. I would give anything in the world just to have you back. I just wish that you didn't act suspicious around me for the last few days we had together."
She wiped away her tears and stood up, sniffing. "I want to promise you one thing, Sheila. I'm gonna find whoever killed you, and I'm going to make them pay for what they did." Wiping back more of the tears, she slowly stepped out of the room and closed it behind her, feeling much better than when she had entered.
Michelle was amazed to find out what was happening downstairs. Samantha was laughing, really hard, at some story Jeff was telling her. She shook her head and laughed even the more when Jeff started making some weird noises and pointing right above him. Michelle smiled at the sight and entered the living room, interrupting Jeff's tale.
"I'm fine now. Thank you for allowing me into her room. It means a lot," Michelle spoke.
"Oh, it's nothing. Come back whenever you want to. It's also your house," Samantha replied, her mood much better.
"If it is okay by you, we would like to take our leave," Michelle told her.
"That is totally okay with me. Your friend here was just telling me how he survived a bull chasing him. Quite a funny man he is," Sheila's mother pointed to Jeff, causing Michelle to raise her eyebrows at him inquisitively.
Marcus and Jeff stood up and said their goodbyes to her. They were just about to walk out when Samantha called Michelle, she turned back at her.
"Don't ever lose those two. They are very special friends," she told her.
Michelle looked at the two and smiled. "I know," she replied.
They made their way out. Once outside Marcus and Jeff stated at Michelle as if she had just been asked a life-or-death question. Noticing their stares, she opened her monkey bag and fished out the red notebook.
"Bingo!"