Southern Californ-I

I.

Southern Californ-i

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COPYRIGHT ©2016 BY Miss_Hoodnificent. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO CONTENT IN THIS BOOK MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM THE AUTHOR.

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"Alright Vanity, when you're ready please feel free to talk." He said as he set up the recorder on the table with his finger on the record button. The feeling of isolation creeping over me as I looked around. Four white walls, white ceiling, white flooring, a table, two chairs, a notepad and the two of us in the room. The eeriness of silence engulfed me, sending goosebumps to rise on my skin.

"I'm ready." I assured him with a small nod of my head as I shifted into a more comfortable position in my chair. I noticed the small window on the door behind him had a curtain over it to block anyone from peering in.

"Good. Now if you get to a part where you don't feel like verbally sharing it, you can write it down on this notepad." He continued to say as he scooted the notepad and pencil my way. "Please go right ahead and share. We'd like to be able to make an arrest by this afternoon."

"An arrest? But he did nothing wrong. Everything that happened was my fault, if-if anything he was trying to help me but I didn't listen-"

"Vanity, I know this is a lot for us to ask and you've been through quite a bit but there's no need to cover up for him anymore. You're safe and he's away so he can't hurt you anymore." He spoke so calmly as he folded his hands together and maintained a soft expression on his face.

"I'm not covering up for him." I said in a lower, more defensive tone. I brought myself forward in my seat as I tensed up. "I have no reason to cover up for anyone, I'll openly tell the truth but I don't want him arrested because he hasn't done anything-"

"I can see you're getting too frustrated. We won't discuss the matter anymore. Just please begin your story." I wanted to say something else but instead chose to relax back in the chair and take a deep breath before gathering my words.

"We all make mistakes. Humans are designed to fault, no matter what. If there was a point in time where I wish I had taken control and done something different, I know life wouldn't have spiraled so far out of control and certain skeletons would have remained in their closets. If only I had really sat down and convinced Dad not to move to Southern California, I know for a fact I would have been better off..."

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"Come downstairs for dinner, Vanity." Dad's voice echoed throughout the grand house. I closed my notebook and set my pencil down right on top before exiting the room to head down to the table.

The large pot of what looked like Alfredo pasta took up a majority of the table but the bread sticks were what called my name. I could already feel that toasted outside crunch and then the fluffy middle right in my mouth.

"You cooked all of this?" I questioned as I took my usual seat at the opposite end of the smallish rectangular table. I scooted closer and waited for him to bring the rest of what I assume to be other side dishes to the table. "If so, you really outdid yourself."

"Thank you. I figured I might as well go all out with our last meal at this house." I mentally rolled my eyes but he motioned for me to already start filling my plate and I gladly did, remaining silent. "I also figured you'd go mute at this topic."