Crazy but Sweet, Sweet but Crazy

43: obligations

"What did you do on your trip with your friends?" Sonia wondered out loud, dabbing on concealer under my eye with her pinky.

The next morning began with Sonia's interrogation.

Michael and Jessica had left a note on the fridge that they'd gone for a morning drive. But I knew where they'd gone.

Probably to the lawyer heading their defense against defamation lawsuits charged by the Lockwoods.

The reality was sinking in, slowly- and painfully.

All the visits to witnesses, everything had been for naught.

In this world, Michael Horan was still a son of a bitch- and maybe, even worse than he was before, for trying to prove his 'innocence'.

"Your dark circles are deeper than when you studied for your finals last year."

From what I gathered from Bianca, Ester, Noah and Landon last night, the story was this.

Spontaneously, I'd gone on a trip with my friends.

In my handwriting, a Post-It had been left on my kitchen table explaining that we'd be going to the country side.

After realizing that I'd gone missing, Bianca, Ester and Noah had called Elliot.

After searching for me around town, they were convinced my disappearance was unnatural and were ready to call the police.

"I never heard Elliot lose his cool so much," Noah explained over the phone. "He said so vehemently, absolutely no police interference, to keep you safe.

"He said to everyone who asked, we had to keep the story that way. That you were on a trip with friends. Phone broken, so you couldn't call."

Before the divorce, Michael was frequently away from home on business trips and company meetings.

After the papers were signed, he was mostly at the casino or in bars.

Before and after divorce, Jessica was absent for long periods of time because of her movies or commercials.

I was used to going on short and long trips by myself and with friends spontaneously.

So were Jessica and Michael. That was why they probably had been so easily convinced by the story.

Especially since a Post-It with my handwriting was on their kitchen table.

Dela Residences was a gated community with CCTVs and a security guard post.

The privacy and safety afforded by its distance from other residences as well, was why Jessica had chosen this home.

I wondered how the writer of the Post-It had gotten in.

Had Mr. Saunders at the post been bribed? Or had Joseph put it on the table discreetly, when I wasn't paying attention?

"Yeah. Um. You know- it's so easy staying up at night talking, when it's so hard to do that studying for exams."

A lie, followed by a laugh, came to me so easily. Wow, I was an actress's daughter.

"Your eyes seem a bit swollen too-"

"Yeah, um- I had a lot to eat late at night. That's why." I cleared my throat.

"You sure you're okay with going to school today?" Sonia's eyes scanned my face.

Quickly, I shoved in a spoonful of cereal into my mouth. She had the tendency to make me feel emotionally X-rayed. "No one's telling you to go, you know that."