I Want Ice Cream

TW: death, murder

“Nicole!” My six year old sister forces me awake, “Mr. Rainkiss, wants something to eat!”

I throw her off my bed, and she falls straight on her butt, “Tell Mr. Rainkiss to go bother mom or dad,” I grumble from beneath my red curly hair.

“Mommy went to work, she told me to wake you when I got hungry, and dad is going out of town this week,” Lilly, my little sister, says in a matter of fact way, “Maybe if you worried more about our family and less about boys, social media, and extracurriculars you’d know what was going on in the family.”

I shot up to look at Lilly, still in her pink butterfly pajamas, her hands on her hips, and her red hair pulled into messy bun buns, she slept in from the day before. “Yeah, maybe I would, but maybe if you didn’t copy everything mom said, I’d actually enjoy your company!” I snapped, tears welled in her. Maybe if I was a different person I’d apologize and hug her, but I’m not. “Let’s go pick out your outfit for today.”

“Mr. Rainkiss is still hungry!“ She screamed, while picking of her stuffed panda, who was wearing yellow raincoat. It used to have a blue umbrella but she lost it three years ago.

“Fine I’ll make some eggs!“ I groan as I start out my door.

”I want ice cream!” Lilly ordered. I kept walking toward the door, ignoring her foolish request. “Nic!” she called in a pouty voice, I hated that childish nickname she gave me three years ago.

“Eggs or starve,” I smirked.

“Mommy wouldn’t want me to starve!”

I roll my eyes, “And mom would sooner let you starve then give you ice cream for breakfast.”

She finally gave up crossing her arms and following down stairs to the kitchen.

~3 hours later

I spent the rest of the morning texting my boyfriend, Lilly did fine on fine on her own. Derick, my boyfriend finally called me.

”Hey babe, some of the guys are going to the ice cream place on Main, wanna come?”

I chuckle, “I would but I have to stay with Lilly, and no way am I bringing her with me!” The truth was I didn’t want to go, I hated being Derick when he was with his guy friends.

“Come on, she‘s six. It’s not like anything will happen to her,” Derick said, adding pout to his voice so I’d cave.

”Babe, I really can’t. She‘s only six, and my mom won’t be back until late tonight,” I say trying to stand my ground.

That’s when Derick started grumbling, “I’m sure Cami would...”

“I’ll be there in ten.” I surrender. Cami was the most popular, beautiful, and sweet person in our school. She also had feelings for Derick, and he often used that against me.

I took slow steps up the stairs, Lilly was sitting outside her room, “Hey, Lilly, do you think you could last an hour by yourself?” I ask in a quiet voice.

She looked up at me fear filled her big brown eyes, “Yeah... where are you going?” She asked slowly.

“To the ice cream shop on Main, I’ll have my phone on me, and I left my number downstairs by the home phone. If the home phone rings pick it up, it will most likely be me. Thanks Lilly!”

As I start running down the stairs I hear Lilly mumble, “I want ice cream,” as she closed her bedroom door with a soft creak.

~2 hours later

I remembered calling Lilly an hour ago to tell her I’d be late. Derick did his voice again, but I finally managed to get out of there. I got her a bowl of ice cream to make up for it.

When I finally pulled up I noticed the door was open. I rushed inside, “Lilly!” I ran upstairs, “Lilly!”

“Nic,” a quiet breathy call. I ran toward her and when I found her she was laying there, bleeding, a knife next to her.

“Lilly! What happened?” I called, covering her wounds best I can, she looks at the ice cream on the ground next to her.

“I want ice cream,” she says, as her eyes close...

I let out a hair raising scream, tears streamed down my face. I picked up my phone, called 911, called my parents, called my neighbors, called every emergency contact I had been raised to. By the time any arrived Lilly was gone, my parents blamed me for Lilly, but they also were relived they didn’t lose both their daughters.

I wasn’t... Lilly should have been there not me. All our close family and friends showed up to her funeral, but I nearly screamed when Derick arrived. I stormed toward him.

“What in the world are you doing here!?!” I snapped.

“I wanted to help my girlfriend mourn,” he said, more pity for himself than me.

“This is your fault! You made me leave so I could keep you!” I didn’t realize my hand had reached for the pocket knife my father gave me, “If I had known I would have lost Lilly! I would never had gone!” Everyone was looking at us.

“You didn’t even like the little brat, babe...”

“Maybe I didn’t like her, but I loved her, something you could never understand. I mean, unless it was directed toward a mirror. Leave Derick, you have no girlfriend here!” I closed the knife and started walking toward my parents.

“I’m glad she’s dead! Heard they never caught the guy! Maybe because he’s smarter than you!”

I turned around, “Oh no Derick, they know who did it,” I pulled a bagged pocket knife. “Next time don’t leave evidence behind! Or don’t kill anyone!”

He sat there stunned, “I’d kill her ag...” I chucked my knife at him, he fell back. Probably dead. I felt no pity, no pain for him. He killed my sister. I remember watching her mouth his name over and over as she tried to take one more breath. It made sense, Main street was ten minutes from my house. Derick left to go pick something up, didn’t come back for a solid thirty. He went to rob my house. He took my keys, because he needed a car.

“So killing your ex, that’s why you’re in here at eighteen?” Kathleen asked Nicole.

“No, they let me off on that. Killing his friends, and his brother, without any evidence of them being part of it. They didn’t let me off on that.”

“How old was his brother?”

”Twenty-one.”

”And they said you’re gonna get out,” her inmate said, “What are you gonna do then?”

“I’m gonna get some ice cream for my sister.”