Withering Gaffe

It was gone. It was all gone. My life as I knew it had gone up in flames, and no one cared.

It seemed like the last six months had been a hell storm of tragedy after tragedy for my family. My mother had been diagnosed with stage three breast cancer four months prior. My brother came clean about hidden addiction to prescription pain pills two months prior. Worst of all, my beloved sister had mysteriously been murdered not even a month ago.

If our family was a house, the foundation would be cracked and damaged. The roof would would need repair, leaking and causing damage inside. The walls would show proof of the damage from the outside. Paint starting to crack and peel, discolor and weather with age. The floors would starts to lift and bow in certain areas. All unspoken and constant reminders that helped is needed. Restoration and repair is needed to start to fix the already building issues.

However, what could I possibly know? I'm a fifteen year old girl just trying to make it through my day to day life at this point. Fortunately, my mother has always been what I adoringly call, "exhausting positive," so she is up bright and early making smoothies for her, my dad, brother, and myself.

"Good morning, Evie!" She sings over the blender.

I smile and slide into a chair at the breakfast nook. I look out of our kitchen window that peers into our backyard and focus on the play set. Old and weathered, giant and mighty it once stood, holding hours and hours of entertainment for my siblings and I. I watch as one of the swings attached to the set starts to gently rock in the breeze. A tightness swells up in my chest as I remember the countless times my older sister used to push me on that exact swing. Her laughter echoes through my brain, as I feel the hotness of tears tugging to free themselves at the corners of the eyes. Shaking my head, I quickly wipe my eyes, and look up to see my dad walking in.

Dad embraces mom with a quick kiss on the cheek and a light smack on the butt. He quickly surveys the kitchen to see if he can help. Before mom got sick, he was helpful, but ever since shes been diagnosed with cancer, he's really stepped his game up around the house. While mom is pouring four servings of the smoothies for each of us, he begins to quickly clean up after her. She smiles and blushes in acknowledgement. Through everything, the two of them that grown stronger and closer than ever.

As the three of us sit down to breakfast, my older brother, Dean, joins us. He's a senior in high school, while I'm a freshman. He's always been more to himself, much more artistic and creative rather than athletic. He fell into a bad crowd last year, and spiraled out of control for quite some time before telling anyone he needed help. He now attends an out-patient program after school every day, and he's been doing pretty well with that. They also offer counseling services, so with Mya's murder, they've been more than helpful with keeping Dean on the straight and narrow. Dean chugs his smoothie before waggling his brows at me. This is code that it's time to go.

"We gotta head out." I tell my parents, as Dean scrambles for the keys and his backpack.

Piling into the car, I look over at Dean, "So, what are we going to do?"

"Do about what? Mya?" Dean presses. His shaggy brown hair flipping upwards at the collar of his shirt, as he adjusts his rear-view mirror.

"Yes," I shoot back. "You know the cops didn't give her case the time of day! I look out the window of his burn orange '87 Volvo. My auburn hair is blowing in the wind as we head the down streets towards the only high school in town.

"Meet me back at the car immediately after third bell. Mya went missing after her last shift at Vera's. In the middle of broad daylight. Then she was found three miles away from her best friend's house a week later. We're retracing everything." With that, Dean got out of the car, locked it, and walked off into school.

Trying to focus during those three periods were almost impossible. Teachers generally left me alone during this time, with everything going on in my life, and due to the fact that I kept my grades up and didn't cause problems. Finally, the final bell of my third period rang and I sprinted out to Dean's car. I wasn't sure how we were going to figure out more than what the police were able to, but I just knew that something was missing... and that my sister's killer was still walking free.

Dean took a long, long time to get to his car. For awhile, I thought I misheard him, and almost started walking back to the school, when then I saw him in the distance. He had a huge grin on his face. I knew that whatever had occupied my brother's time, could have changed the whole course of the day.

"Evie, get in the car." He breathlessly spluttered out when he reached the Volvo.

"Look," he continued, "I have a connection to the police department. You know how they won't release Mya's cell phone to us? Well, my connection works within the department and understands our frusturation with the lack of help or care for finding the murderer." He looks out the window for a minute and bites his lip, his green eyes shining. "Also, this connection has a nasty habit for pills of the pain relieving nature..."

"DEAN?! Are you using? This is so illegal!" My hands start to sweat as I feel my smoothie making waves in my stomach I'm sure some surfers would be proud of.

"No, Ugh, Jesus. Listen. No. I knew you would freak." He sighs heavily before looking at me. His green eyes fully settling on me. "Mya was my sister, too. I've been sober since I've told you guys about my problem two months ago. But, I also know nothing in this life is free. So, I get the phone without implicating us, and he gets his fix. Do I go to hell? Maybe." He shrugs and starts the car. We start driving towards the last place my sister was ever said to be seen alive, Vera's.

At the time of Mya's death, she was a sophomore in college, majoring in business. Vera's was a consignment store that she had been working at since she was about sixteen years old, along with her best friend, Nora Bedford. On the day of her disappearance, the two girls had been working the same shift together for a period of time. Nora had been quickly cleared as a suspect because she was still on shift when Mya "went missing."

Pulling up to Vera's, and seeing Nora's car, Dean just began to shake his head. He had never fully liked Nora because he felt as though Nora had always been jealous of Mya. After her sophmore year, Mya was set to transfer to Colombia University. Upon arrival, she had many interviews to pick from a variety of internships to apply to. Mya had ambition and a full life to live. Nora slacked off all of high school, had an issue with stealing and lying, and an affinity for drama. The girls had been naturally growing apart, but according to Mya before her death, Nora was getting more verbally aggressive.

Walking in, Dean and Evie looked around the store like it was a museum, rather than an overpriced boutique clothing store. Nora, who had been in the middle of helping a customer, turned white as a ghost upon seeing the pair. "One moment, ma'am." She purred. She adjusted her shirt, flicked her hair, and smoothed her hands out against her pants before walking over to meet them.

"Hey guys. Long time, no see. How's your mom?" asked Nora

"She's a lot better than my sister is." Dean remarked.

Nora gulped and nervously laughed before mustering the strength to say, "I have no idea what happened to her. I went on those search parties, too."

"Then why was she found three miles from your house? With your DNA on her? What I don't understand is how you're still walking around free." Dean chuckled sardonically.

"If you come here again, or come around me again, I'll call the cops, and it'll be you going down in flames. I've been cleared. Go focus on your mom." Nora defensively spat her retort out before returning back to her customer, as if nothing had happened.

...

For weeks, we did nothing. Life went on as normal. Dean and I continued to go to school, and complete our homework. No more mid-morning sibling detective stake-outs. As a matter of a fact, w never even spoke about that day again.

One night, as I was getting ready for bed, my phone started going off like crazy. It was Dean, "Read these messages between Mya and Nora the night before she went missing. Nora did it."

9:32pm Nora: Can you work a double 2morrw? hv a hot date!

9:45pm Mya: Hey, Sorry. No. Gotta get ready for NYC.

9:46pm Nora: Are you serious???? Just one night!

10:00pm Nora: You only care about yourself. We're done. Watch your back.

6:01am Mya: What?

8:00am Nora: I got a little surprise for you after your shift.

It was suspicious and weird, but in no way made her guilty. I got out of my warm bed and padded over to his room. I knocked on the door and went in. "How does this make Nora guilty?" I asked. Dean, propped to the side in his gaming chair, with all of Mya's pings from the day she died splayed out on the screen of his computer. "Well," he breathed," "Because she never made it anywhere to get any type of special gift. Just the spot that her and Nora use to play fairies in the woods behind her house. Only her and Nora, and close family would know about that."

Suddenly it all clicked, I felt like my mind was spinning a million miles a minute. Her best friend of all people. We had known her all our lives. The betrayal, greed, hatred... We needed to be cleansed. To be purified. I looked over at my brother and told him to get the keys, gas, lighter fluid, and anything else he could think of. He didn't hesitate. Luckily, it was summer and Nora and her family were out of town. I didn't want to kill anyone, but I did want to destroy something. I wanted to watch the world burn literally, the exact way I had felt my world burning around me for months.

Silently, we drove to the Bedford home and set to work. It was in an isolated area, with no neighbors for miles, so that worked in our favor. We drenched the entire exterior of the home with gas, lighter fluid, and then, once the work was done, we both lit a match and threw it at the house. We sat on the roof of the '87 burn orange Volvo and watched as Nora's house went up in flames. The glorious majesty of the red, orange flames in the complete darkness. We felt justice, a sense of closure, uncertainty, and stillness in the chaos of the poetic summer night.