Sincerely, Red

Chapter Twelve

The familiarity was somewhat of an uncomfortable feeling.

Up until now, nearly everything I'd seen had been new and I'd had the chance to take it all in afresh. I'd been able to form my own opinions, without basing everything I felt off of the past.

With Maria Carter it was very, very different.

Her face was something I remembered from a long time ago.

From a childhood memory, I knew that she'd been outside the school gates a couple of times. She'd worked at a small corner store. She'd gone on to being seen in lots of different places because Mr Carter - the nice man she'd ended up marrying - was quite a respected and well known guy.

These thoughts came in an almost fact file form. The only difference was that I was transforming them into adult interpretations rather than the original child like descriptions.

It was hard to focus on those thoughts and sift through them though without noticing her presence.

Maria Carter was a very striking person and I mean that in the way that she stood out very easily. Her hair was smooth and straight, sleek almost in its redness. Her eyes had a hint of the same vibrant colour around the edges, no doubt from weeks without sleep. Even her skin was pale and sunken around the cheeks.

She looked like death.

"What are you doing here?" she spat out, venom seeping into her words. "Get out! Get away from her!"

There was a certain edge to her voice, though it didn't reflect pain but raw anger. And sometimes people sense the strength of that anger and the reason behind it, and Maria Carter didn't sound like someone who was livid about the death of her daughter or the alleged murderer that was standing before her.

She sounded like she was angry because she was hiding something.

And I only knew that because Lucas had sounded the exact same way when I'd offered to get the book.

 "Can you not hear me?" she shrieked. "Get out!"

"I didn't-"

"Shut up," she whispered more to herself than me. Her hands were shaking the same way Claire's did when she was scared. "If you come any closer, I'll kill you."

The part of my brain that was meant to control my mouth seemed to have taken a sick day, because I didn't say anything. I just processed what she said.

"It'll all work out then," she continued, speaking her thoughts out loud. "You killed my daughter, so I'll kill you. That'll... It'll be right. It's going to work out, all of it. You can't live."

"Maria-" I managed, just as she lunged at me.

I was expecting a sharp swipe.

But not a single skin cell came in contact with my body.

Claws in mid air, her actions came to a stop when someone's hands closed around her own.

I tilted my head slowly, watching as a thin, bony arm came into view. Then some grey stubble around a squared jaw, a pointy nose and familiar eyes followed what I had initially seen. With the revelation of who it was that had stopped Maria Carter, a feeling of nausea rose within me.

Fear prickled along my nerves and the urge to bolt became stronger by the moment.

Tim stared back at me, a disapproving look lining his already depressing face.

"You're meant to be at home, Ollie," he spoke, as though painfully clenching his sister-in-law's fist in his own was a normal occurrence.

"Don't call me that," was my instant response.