WHELVE ↠ NA JAEMIN

↠ C . 4

Trigger Warning: mentions of abuse in this chapter

It happened against her will... an accident.  She pulled too harshly causing the knife to slip out of her sweaty hands. The force caused her mother to stab herself in the abdomen. The knife dug deep into her skin. She stabbed herself.

Numbness turned into a burning sensation spreading across her nerves.  A-yeong held her wound gently as blood continued to escape. She screamed in anguish as the pain cramped her body.  Loosing stablility over her own limbs she lost balance taking a step back a step back.  Her foot slipped making her fall back.

Seeing her mother tragically falling back, Aera lifted her arm to catch her but their fingers brushed against each other by a fraction. A-yeong  hit the back of her head hard on the corner of her daughter's desk. She couldn't move, her mother's limp body on the floor. Aera froze in space trying to process what just happened. "Mum?.."

She didn't move. Her eyes were wide open and an expression of shock planted on her face. Aera walked towards her mother calling her name once again. She lifted her arm and gently touched her however to her shock the body fell to the opposite side with no support.

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RED

Oozed far on the surface of the cold flooring.

RED

Uncontrollably took over her naked palms

RED

Liquid tears travelled slowly mixing with the tinted flooring

The rain poured hard like ice. Aera was sitting outside her house next to the gate zoned out. The doctors told her that they will be taking her mother to the hospital - she wasn't dead.

Detectives and police surrounded her house. Siren's blasted across the street publicising to the neighbours the big news. They all surrounded around the Aera's house watching the poor girl drenching in the rain.

"She's only 15 - what do you think happened?"

"Really- her mother died"

"Don't tell me the girl killed her. But Area is such a good girl"

"Her mother was always psychotic. I always heard screams from this house"

"Aera killed her own mother. What an ungrateful child. She should be in juvenile"

Tears spilled from her eyes. Their words felt like thorns pricking on her fresh wounds. She didn't kill her mother. She didn't. At least she didn't want to. Her mother wasn't dead yet so she wasn't a murderer! The knife slipped out her fingers, her mother stabbed herself.

"I didn't kill her," she muttered under her breath. She didn't want to hear any of it. Their opinions and comments, they could keep it to themselves.  The girl gripped onto her hair pulling at the roots out of frustration.

"Park Aera" the young detective bent down near the girl tilting his head to see the girl's face properly. "My name is Johnny Suh and I am in charge of this case. I will need to ask you some questions. Can you follow me?" 

Aera looked up towards him. Her eyes were shaking. Tears unstoppably fell down. She sniffed a little while blinking a few times. Johnny detected her fear.  He gave her a smile to reassure her that she will be fine. Slowly standing up she followed him to the police car.  

"Look she is getting into the police car! She did kill her mother"

"I thought she was a good child. I would've never imagined"

"This is terrible, their was a murderer living next to us and she is so young. She ruined her own life"

Aera couldn't hear their words from inside the car. Her head tilted to her feet not having the confidence to look up anywhere. 

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The detectives didn't go easy on her. They were harsh and demanding but still tried to not scare her as she is still a kid. Johnny was the kindest and made sure that she was fine throughout the interrogation.

After an hour and half of intense questioning she sat outside on a bench not knowing what to do.

"Are you ok ?" Johnny asked the young girl. She held her eye contact with Johnny. She blinked a few times and turned away as tears formed on the edge of her water line.  She held her tears in. Johnny let out a sigh and patted the girl's head.

He placed his hand in his pocket and pulled out a chocolate bar "Here have this" Aera glanced at his hand. "I'm not a kid" Johnny's eyes widened in shock at her response. A smile formed on his lips and he laughed.

"Yeah you're not. Sorry" He closed his palm holding onto the chocolate bar and moved it closer to his pocket to place it back in but stopped when Aera gripped onto Johnny's hand and took the bar.

"Doesn't mean I don't want it" She ripped the package and took a large bite out of the snack. Johnny quietly chuckled watching her stuffing it in her mouth. "Want another one?"

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Johnny took the girl to an orphanage, she can't stay in her house. Firstly because she isn't an adult to live by herself. Secondly their house has to be inspected for crime scene examination, collecting evidence and more. "I will come back tomorrow to see you ok" He smiled and waved the girl goodbye and walked off. The girl watched him walk away as he left her in the orphanage. 

I guess he is charge of keeping an eye on me - she thought to herself.

She hated it. She hated her mother but deep down she still had some love for her. No matter how much hatred she had for the lady she never wanted her to die

Aera prayed that she would live. She needs her mother with her. She was the only family she had.