1|| Behind the Broken Truth

Chapter 3

I stretched out the piece of beat-up paper onto the desk in front of me.

The "front" of the paper was blank. It had a scratchy yet tough quality. I ran my fingers over it, then tentatively flipped it over.

There was a poem on it.

A soul I thought was different but was

newly led astray. An enemy close to my heart, a

dear friend to betray

I tried to make sense of the words. They were formatted incorrectly, but they chilled me.

'A dear friend to betray'?

That did not sound right. For one, I had no friends. On the other hand, it might not mean me. It said 'I', which was probably the author.

I breathed a sigh of relief. But then I remembered where I had gotten the paper from.

It couldn't just be an angsty poem from a teen if it meant me being sucked into some horror-land to be given it. I was contemplating this when I heard footsteps rushing down the attic and straight into the hall of my room.

The door popped open and Evelyn stormed in. She looked terrified and furious, like a feral cat.

"You need to come see this," she finally said.

I barked a laugh. "You kidding me? It's probably one of your evil pranks. Anyways, there's no way I'm going back into that hellhole."

"Jacob Stone, you mind your language. You're coming with me because I think I found some of mom's old letters," Evelyn snapped back.

This piqued my interest, and I allowed her to open the door and shove me out- but after I re-crumpled the paper and stuffed it into my pocket.

We climbed up the spiral steps. The whole way, Evelyn's back was rigid.

The door opened on its own accord, creeping me out more than I already was.

I finally got a good look at the attic. It was all black with veiled paintings and furniture. I spotted some spiderwebs and a rocking chair.

The second my eyes locked with that chair, I heard someone speak to me.

Jacob. Come on. Please, we have something to show you, one of them said.

I heard pleas, desperate cries, and maniacal laughing. It was all too much for me, so I grabbed Evelyn's arm to snap out of it.

My sister turned to face me. That's when I noticed how red her eyes were.

"Wait, were you cr-"

She held up her palm, which was our signal for 'shut up'.

I nodded, made an exaggerated zipping motion, and followed her to wherever she was heading. She finally stopped in front of a panel. It looked like the kind you find in a garage; no use. But then I noticed a bunch of papers. "Is that what you mean?" I asked.

Evelyn nodded. "Sit down, and I'll explain. By the way, can you turn on a flashlight? My phone's dead."

This was the most we'd ever gotten in a conversation without fighting in a few months. I rummaged in my hoodie's pocket and flipped the phone flashlight on.

Finally settling on the floor, I gingerly picked up one of the white envelopes. It was dated 1/11/2000. Realization hit me. "Wait, that's the day mom and dad got married, isn't it?"

Evelyn sat next to me and gasped. "Yes, it is! Open it!"

I pulled out the paper and my hands trembled as I unfolded it. Together, we studied it.

Dear (------),

The day's finally here! I'm getting married to Elijah. You know him, he's always been very sweet to you and (------).

You'd better be on time, Elijah making you best man, after all.

Lets meet at the coffee shop like we usually do next week!

💗💖

Jennifer

Amazed, Evelyn and I stared at each other. Jennifer and Elijah were our parents. But Evelyn didn't seem as excited. She bit her lip. "It's awfully convenient that the two names are blotted out, isn't it?"

My heart sank. Of course there had to be a catch. "Yes, but maybe mom did it on accident. Let's look at a few more," I insisted.

Evelyn pulled out the next one, a pink envelope dated 2/14/2000.

Dear (------),

Happy Valentines day! The flowers were very sweet of you and (------), you know roses are my favorite!

Elijah is taking me down to the meadows soon, he's amazingly thoughtful. Can you ask (------) if she's up for a movie today?

💗💖

Jennifer

My heart sank all the way to my toes. "She did do it on purpose."

Evelyn, on the other hand, looked a lot happier. "Now that she did it twice, I'm pretty sure she just wanted the addressee to be private. It's fine; lets see one last one and I'll gather the rest and put them date-wise so we can read them later."

I picked out a red one dated 4/22/2001.

Dear  (------),

I'm expecting! And it's a girl! Oh, I can't even start with how nervous I was! I'd always wished for a child.

I hope you'll come around with  (------) and help me choose between Emma and Evelyn.

I can't write too much; nausea and stomachache has me down. But soon you'll see my little flower bloom.

💗💖

Jennifer

A drop of water splashed onto the paper. I looked up to see tears streaming down Evelyn's face. I awkwardly sat there for a second, then pushed the paper away from her and grabbed her hand.

She let me hold on for a bit, then pulled away. "I'm so glad we found this. Now we can relive their memories. Mom had told me to check the letters before she died."

I still shook my head. "I'm so sorry Eve, but that's not all it is. I got this paper when I first got here. I'm not sure what significance it has, but it's important."

Evelyn rolled her eyes. "Oh, you and your feelings. Lemme see."

I pulled out the paper with the poem. I watched as her face went from disbelieving to spooked to chalk white.

"Uh, you OK? Even I didn't freak out that much when I read it," I prompted.

"N-no. Jacob, look." She pulled another one of the letters out and put the two side by side.

The handwriting was exactly the same.

"S-so you're saying mom wrote this?" My eyes widened. "But then the friend would mean the person she was writing to!"

Evelyn stood up. "Where did you get this?"

"From one of the visions, I keep telli-"

"Shut up. I don't wanna hear it. It's just a prank and I don't like it. Now leave me alone."

Much to my dismay, she started out the attic.

But just before she left, she turned back and added, "I'll see you in my room after dinner."