Why Me

Chapter 5

The care home was silent at night. So silent that it felt as though I was wearing ear plugs. It was very peaceful compared to the day time.

I slowly lifted my head up from my thin and uncomfortable pillow which I had folded in half to prop my head up, and looked over at Grace and Amy who were sharing my bed.  Another sleepover, but this time, with Grace included. We needed their room to be free in order to find out what it was that  Amy was hiding. So I invited Grace to stay with Amy and me in my room.

I sat up and looked at the old clock hanging up on my wall beside me.
I had to focus hard because it was too far away to read it. The room being dark didn't help very much either.
It was quarter past one which wasn't very late for me. I always slept around four or five am.

As slow as a turtle, I unwrapped the warm blanket from around me and lifted myself up off the floor with my elbow.  A cold shiver ran down my spine which made me have the urge to slap myself on the back.

Sadly, my warm feet became cold as I walked on the cold floor of my bedroom. I walked towards the door of my bedroom and just before I grabbed the handle, I heard a shuffle and the screeching old metal sound from my bed as Grace flipped herself over onto her belly. I froze for a second and when she stopped shuffling I attempted to grab the door handle again.
I slowly pulled the door open and stepped out of my bedroom.

Tanya and Iffy came out of their room exactly the same time as me. The three of us looked up and gave each other an accomplished nod.

We quietly went into Grace and Amy's room and headed straight for her drawers. We pulled open the first drawer and neatly moved her clothes out of the way so it was unnoticeable that we went through her stuff.

Straight away I caught a glimpse of the shiny item.
"I think I found it!" I whispered loudly, Making sure Tanya and Iffy heard me.
They both stood beside me waiting to see what it was.
I quickly pulled it out of her drawer and held it in my hand.

A silver necklace with the letter E hanging from it. This made us very concerned. Why would Amy Have a necklace with the letter E on it, when her name obviously began with an A?

"Huh?" Said Iffy, with a very confused look on her face. "A necklace?"
"why would she hide something like this?" I asked. "And what does E stand for?"

"Elizabeth." Said a voice from behind us.
The three of us turned around to see who it was. It was Amy.
"It's my mother's name. She gave it to me two years before she died." She said, staring at the ground, walking towards us.
"Amy. We're so sorry." Said Tanya.
Amy slowly took the necklace out of my hand and sat on Grace's bed.
We all followed and sat beside her.
She explained to us how her mum died in a very upset tone of voice.
I felt very sorry for her.  A young girl, at her age, shouldn't have to go through that.
"And every morning I like to hold on to it. It gives me strength through out the day.."
Tears started sliding down my cheeks.
From the corner of my eyes I could see Tanya and Iffy wiping their faces with their night gown sleeves.
We all put our arms around Amy, who had nothing else to say.