Claire stepped out of the principal's office aware of the hushed whispers going on around her as students stood in the hallway staring at her with a mix of disgust and awe.
She had no idea how, but she could hear them all, every single one of their whispers and it wasn't pretty. She sighed in relief that Principal Jenkins was not a total douchebag and had given her an early day from school to mourn her loss.
She trudged to her locker keeping her head down as the tears welled up in her eyes. She grabbed her bag and walked towards the exit door waiting for anyone to voice out their thoughts.
No one did.
Not a single person said a word.
With tears in her eyes, Claire got into her car and drove back home, her heart hammering in her ribcage as she tried to make sense of what was happening.
She pulled up in her house and was surprised to see lots of police officers and police cars parked right outside her house.
One of them walked up to her, he was a man in his mid-fifties and wore a grim expression on his face.
"Who are you? Civilians are not allowed into this area, this is a crime scene," he barked at her.
"I'm Claire Ryes, their daughter," she replied.
"Oh, the suspect," he eyed her warily.
Suspect? Not even the bereaved.
"Have you been questioned yet?" He asked.
Claire suppressed a groan of frustration. Not "I'm sorry for your loss" but this blasted question?!
"Yes, by Nicole and her partner," she muttered.
"Hey! Scot, we should keep an eye on this kid," the man said motioning for someone in the crew.
"Yes, sir!"
She heard the voice before she saw him. He was very young and should be in his early twenties with his short brown hair, his warm blue eyes that showed concern when he saw her.
"Keep an eye on her till we wrap up here. Don't want her sneaking into the house and messing with evidence," the man said walking away.
Claire bit her lips trying to hide back the tears that were threatening to spill. Her parents had just died, and they were treating her like a criminal.
"I'm so sorry for your loss, Ms. Ryes."
Claire looked at the young officer resting on the hood of her car and sighed. This was the first person who was genuinely apologizing to her and offering condolences.
"Thank you," she mumbled.
"If it's any consolation I believe you didn't kill them," he said.
She chuckled bitterly. "Yeah well tell that to the entire town of Rutherford."
"I don't think they believe it too. They're just saying it because all evidence points at you," he offered.
Claire nodded. "I have no idea how that evidence came about. Five seconds ago, I was cursing my stars for allowing me to go to school. I didn't make breakfast because I woke up late and I never make breakfast except on weekends, but nobody believes me."
"I believe you, Claire, and I'll help you find out who killed your parents," he said softly.
Claire stared at his deep blue eyes and smiled warmly at him, tears trickling down her cheeks. She could see the sincerity in those eyes, and it made her weep for joy that at least someone believed her.
"Thank you, Scot. You have no idea how much this means to me."
He shrugged. "I know what it means to lose your parents."
Suddenly, her eyes widened in surprise as she remembered when her parents were talking about the boy who got adopted by the town captain after his parents died in a mysterious car accident.
"You're that boy who lost his parents at the age of five," she said.
"Four actually," he corrected, "I watched them driving into the compound on my birthday with my cake only for them to crash into the tree in our compound. It was not a fatal accident, but their car caught fire and exploded immediately without giving them any chance to escape."
She wiped the tears that trickled down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry that must have been terrible for you."
"Each day I keep asking myself why they didn't die on the way. Why did they have to die in front of me in our compound? Was it to prove just how useless I am?"
Claire shook her head immediately. "You aren't useless, Scot. You were just four years old."
He nodded. "You're right."
"Thank you for telling me."
He smiled at her then straightened his posture scanning her compound.
"They're almost wrapping up, soon you can go in."
She nodded then asked suddenly, "Why did the captain adopt you and how come you're a police officer already? You should be like twenty?"
He chuckled. "I'm twenty-one. I went to a Police Academy and worked under Captain Jones. He was friends with my father when my father still worked for the police before he died so he took me in, and I followed in my father's footsteps."
"You're three years older than me," she said.
He furrowed his brow in confusion. "Didn't they say you're seventeen?"
"Yeah I'll be eighteen by Christmas which means I have three months to solve this case, or I can kiss my life goodbye," she replied.
"Three months is a long time, Claire. Have faith," he said in a soft voice.
Claire stared at him. "Faith?"
He nodded. "Time to go back in, they're done."
She wanted to say more but instead, she nodded and kept quiet walking towards her porch. He was the first guy she had ever had a conversation with, and it wasn't because she was a snob but because since she was ignored in high school, she stopped participating in anything organized by the town.
She waited till they had all gone off her porch before she slammed the door and headed into the sitting room.
With trembling hands, she traced the dining chair her parents had sat down on this morning. She could vividly recall her parents arguing about her dressing and for a split second, she saw her parents smiling at her.
She blinked and the apparition disappeared as she sat down on the floor. She inhaled the scent but couldn't perceive anything except the scent of emptiness.
She longed to see her parents, to tell them that she loved them. She would stop dressing up in black, she would let her mom dress her up if it will bring them back.
The tears and frustration welled up in her as she let it out with a scream. They hadn't even respected the fact that she had lost her parents, they had criticized her and now she couldn't see her parents again.
The sky rumbled with thunder and lightning struck in the sky. Then the torrent of rain came falling like painful pellets on the floor.
She smiled bitterly as she stepped out of the house and stood under the rain.
She screamed out her lungs till her voice became hoarse. She hated her town people, they had mistreated her and made ridicule out of her, one way or another they would pay, she vowed.
She had no idea how long she stayed out in the rain, but she must have slept off because when she woke up she was still sprawled on the ground in her garden, she was drenched, and the rain had finally stopped.
Picking up her broken self, she headed into the house and stopped, right before her sitting on the couch was…