Delicate ✔

Chapter Twelve

 Dedicated to mutiaraelwa for the amazing banner to the right. It was made for one of my other stories. :)

 ___

"I killed someone," he repeats in an amused tone.

I shake my head incredulously. "No, I heard what you said... just... you what?"

He chuckles at my reaction. My eyes widen further. What is wrong with him? How could he say that so calmly?

"I don't see how any of this is funny."

"You didn't give me a chance to explain."

"Well, explain!"

He sits up so that we're almost eye level. He's still taller even though he's slouching a little.

"I do feel guilty about it sometimes. It was self-defense though."

"Someone attacked you?"

He nods. "For a really ignorant reason too. Blake thought that I stole his drugs--"

"Drugs?"

"Weed," Justin sighs. "I can promise you that I didn't though. I just smoke cigarettes."

"But you shouldn't be."

He gives me a flat look. "Do you want me to tell you what happened?"

I pretend to zip my mouth shut, giving him a tight smile. The corners of his lips twitch, but he continues.

"We were friends at first, but he got involved with some... suspicious characters. He stopped talking to me all together. If he wasn't high all the time, then he would probably know that one of his 'friends' took it. He came to my house and told me that I owed him."

He gauges my reaction, but I manage to keep a straight face and stay quiet. He continues after a moment.

"When I told him I didn't have his stuff, he accused me of having already smoked it. He demanded that I paid him back in cash. It's a good thing my mom was at work. I didn't want her getting involved."

I cock my head to the side. "Where did you mom work?"

"She was a nurse. She worked late most of the time, so she as never home while I was, most of the time."

"Oh."

"He kind of dragged me outside and started beating me in my own front yard. I thought he'd only be mad for a little while, but he pulled out a knife after a few minutes. He ran at me, and I just moved out of the way. Being the idiot that he was, he tripped over his own feet and landed on the knife."

I gasp. "Where did it..."

"In his chest; through his heart," Justin says.

I frown. "He tried to kill you for weed? That's pathetic."

"You'd be surprised what people would do for stuff like that."

"His parents must've been devastated. Did you get in trouble?"

He shakes his head. "I'm lucky my neighbors saw the whole thing. I asked them to call the police. If my neighbors hadn't seen what had happened, no one would've believed me. I have an expectancy to lie. Albeit, his parents still thought I did it, or I provoked him. They hated me after that."

"But you didn't. That's not fair."

Justin shrugs. "Life can't be fair, Aubrey. It'd be too easy then."

Before I can respond, another thunder shakes his bedroom. This time, it's not as severe. The storm is dying down.

"Well, I don't think that counts as killing someone."