The Lovely Suicide Children

Chapter 44: To Trust or to Not Trust Sunny

When I got home, I called Vlad and told him everything. Everything, everything. "Now, she may be listening to me. I don't care. I just want Sunny dead," I looked at the screen of my laptop.

He snickered. 

"Vlad! This isn't funny," I pouted over Skype.

"Well," he smiled. "Sunny is dead, Olivia."

"What?"

He laughed again. "You said you wish she were dead."

Typical Vlad.

"But," he continued. "Somehow, you're being bothered by Sunny and anything connected in her field. Like The Lovely Suicide Children. Robert, Sunny, those shadows that sung to you at night, the bark on the tree, messages from your mom. I believe it's all connected."

"I know," I said. Vlad was right, but it was hard to figure out why it was connected. "I just don't understand what Sunny wants with me or what Robert wanted to tell me. Seems like he had answers, you know?" My eyes stung for a moment when I thought about him. I tried to get him out of my mind, but he always lingered there. I missed him more than words could describe.

"Let's go over what we know. Your mother and grandmother both had Sunny's last name. Sunny Averisky," Vlad's expression tensed. "That boggles me so much. When was Sunny born again?"

"Um," I thought for a minute. "1921 I think."

"Wow, it's possible your grandmother knew Sunny when Sunny killed herself? When did your grandmother die."

"Not sure. But Sunny said before she left this world, her life was awful. She had an abusive mother and father. She believes The Lovely Suicide Children saved her."

"Conspiracy theory!" Vlad yelled out.

I shook my head. "Just say it without calling it that, please."

"Alright," he shrugged then took a sip of water out of his water bottle. "I just want to know how your grandmother and Sunny's sister died. It's like all of you are being slowly killed off."

"Yeah," I rolled my eyes. "That's why-" I paused for a second. 

"What are you thinking about?" Vlad asked.

"I think if Sunny wanted to kill me, she could have by now. Do you think she just wants me to commit suicide?"

"What? To join The Lovely Suicide Children?" He asked. "That wouldn't make sense. Isn't it supposed to be great?"

"I don't know," I said. "Vlad and Sunny herself mentioned it wasn't all that great. But I don't know. At this point, it sounds great to me."

"Hey!" Vlad shouted. "You are not leaving me on this Earth without me, Liv. Now apologize and tell me you love me."

"I'm sorry, Vlad," I smiled at him and made a silly face. "I love you."

He looked at his nails. "Harder," he said.

Both of us broke out into laughter. If anyone could make me feel like I wasn't going to be murdered by a ghost, it was Vlad. "I still want Sunny dead, Vlad. She's ruining my life. I'm a hashtag now, and I don't even like social media."

"I have an idea, but you're not going to like it," he said, then typed something on his laptop. "Call my uncle. He's a psychic and would be happy to help you. Tell him you know me, he won't charge. Don't miss out a single subject. Tell him everything. Ready to take down the number?"

I hesitated for a moment, unsure of if this guy could really help. I called it anyway, listened as it rung, and waited for an answer. Vlad hung up without saying anything.

"Hello?" A raspy and slow voice answered the phone.

My body flinched a little. "Hi," I hesitated. "My name is-"

"Olivia Carson," he said. "I know who you are. And I know what's bothering you."

My mind was blown away. Did Vlad call him to tell him about me? Or did he really know my name? 

"Are you still there?" He asked.

"Yes," I replied.

"Let's remove the doubts," he said. "Sunny never had a sister. She had a best friend who hung out with her at the house. Your grandmother isn't related to Sunny, but your great-grandmother was Sunny's housekeeper. She took care of Sunny because Sunny's parents didn't care. Sunny had no real paperwork done, her parents weren't married. To the world, she didn't exist so your great-grandmother adopted her. That's why she has your last name. But that's not important. Sunny's not bad, at all. She's actually hoping you'd be smart and leave like she's been telling you, Oliva."

"What?" My eyebrows arched down. "After everything, you're saying she's not bad? She got me in so much trouble. She's ruining my life."

"She's warning you in a way to keep you and Amber alive," he said. "She loves Amber. That's her only friend. She'd do anything for her. But there are limits and consequences, even for Sunny. Through our fears, we believe the unseen can hurt us but forget they can be hurt too. Dead or alive."

"Anyone telling me to die doesn't want to help me, sir."

"Well then," he said after a moment of silence. "Maybe she wants you to leave. Or. She wants you to help her. Think about that."

The man hung up before I could say anything. Not wanting to be left with unanswered questions, I called back. His phone was suddenly disconnected. I placed my phone on the bed, looked at Skype, and decided if I wanted to call Vlad. I didn't want to though. 

If anything, the call did help. I felt no longer the need to be so afraid of Sunny. With a new perspective, I believed Sunny actually wanted to help me. But I wasn't quite sure...