(FEATURED)
It's been months since the unceremonious fall of Kimie Sato's older sister. The whole of Ridgerock High knows it, and by now, the majority have moved on. But Kimie still watches those who had a hand in it continue to walk free, and the mo...
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We were asked to report suspicious activity, especially if we were at Libby's party the night Dion was poisoned. The police thought the murders were related, and as I walked to my next class after we were dismissed, I heard Smooches being mentioned several times. No one knew whether to bring it up or not.
I was jittery all day, not able to eat during lunch or focus in class or start my car after school let out. And when the time came for me to do homework, it was all I could think about. I had just three people left to humiliate and I'd be done. I absolutely couldn't let anything ruin my plan.
The sky had considerably darkened when I finally convinced myself to work on a new blog post—a blog post that'd bring Libby Cornwell down. I felt an urgency as I typed, and it was like someone was behind me, whispering loudly into my ear like my personal cheerleader. My fingers were impatient and loud against the keyboard, causing red lines to appear beneath most of the words.
Frustration was the only emotion I could identify at the moment, and, realizing I was making too many mistakes, I stopped. The silence that followed was shocking. I could hear the rustling of leaves from the tree outside, I could hear the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs, and I could hear the sound of my breathing—a little labored, rough, uneven.
I released a sigh, closing my laptop and leaning back into my pillows. Lately I hardly left my room, I realized, and it was starting to affect me. Every time I'd gone out since my mom died, it was for someone else, and the closest I'd been to enjoying myself was when I was with West. But even then I didn't feel . . . free. It was like I was an animal in a cage whose door was wide open—free, but still trapped.
I wasn't the Kimie I used to be. I wasn't someone who rarely smiled and was always worried. I wasn't a liar or a promise breaker. I wasn't always angry or frustrated. I wasn't lonely. I was always dreaming about the day I'd finally be fluent enough in Japanese to talk to my grandmother. Always looking forward to coming home to my mom after rough days at school and after paying too much attention to Westley O'Brian in animation club. Always trying and failing to convince Kairi to hand some of her pretty clothes down to me.
Now there was a void inside me that seemed to be getting deeper and wider as the seconds flew by without mercy. My family wasn't what it used to be, either, one member short, the remaining members broken beyond repair. And, strangely, I knew this was just the beginning. Things were going to get worse. They always did.
A sudden but faint knock on my door jolted me out of my thoughts, and I sat up, the familiar sound reducing the quantity of oxygen available in my room. I made sure to close my laptop before answering.
"It's open."
Without hesitating, my sister pushed the door open. Even though I knew it was her, my heart still skipped a beat when I saw her. Her hair was in a ponytail that made her look naïve and inexperienced, and the way she gripped the doorknob long after she opened the door reduced her age by at least three years.
