Hacked: The Dark Web

▪Chapter XXI▪

Loss. Tragedy and heart ache. I have been experiencing those since I was 10. Does it stop? My life revolves around those three things, sometimes I even wonder if they actually mean it when they say it gets better.

All day long, all I got was sympathy from teachers who could care less about me and snarky comments from foolish teens who had nothing better to do. Never in my life have I felt so empty. There was nowhere else for me to go except school.

The minute hand moved at a leisurely pace and my impatience climbed to its peak. To my misfortune, neither Hailee nor Liam had attended school today which made the loneliness inside grow stronger. This is not me, never have I ever let my happiness be based on other people. I had become this person who actually cared about other people around and that's not me at all.

As I stared into thin air, my English teacher continued his ridiculously boring lecture about Romeo and Juliet and blah blah blah.

"Jade."

A soft whisper murmured my name.

"Jade."

I turned my head and my baggy bloodshot eyes looked at Elena, questioning why she was calling me.

"Are you okay?"

I chuckled at how stupid the question sounded.

"I just lost my mother, my only parent and to top it all off, I'm here in this horrendous place surrounded by four brick walls that's practically enclosing me in this prison, so Elena, how do you think I'm feeling?"

Instead of being taken aback I saw pity in her eyes. I blinked back a few tears and turned to face the teacher, bending my head down shortly after.

The deafening sound of the school bell filled the hallways as chairs dragged on the floor and teens packed their belongings, rushing to get out of school.

I grabbed my books and pushed my chair sluggishly behind my desk.

"Jadelyn," the voice of my English teacher rang through my ears as he called my name, "Can I talk to you?"

I turned to look at him, expression as blank as a white sheet of paper. He waited for my reply as his fingers traced a brown file on his desk. "Yes?"

"I heard you've had a few rough days lately, how are you holding up?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear properly. It almost sounded like you were asking me about my feelings." I answered bitterly.

"Umm, yes I am, is it a surprise?" He had his eyebrows furrowed.

I stared right at him, anger building up inside me, "Never ask about my feelings again if you don't really care. Your posture is anything but relaxed, you're tense. From my point of view there's something bothering you. There's absolutely no sympathy in your eyes. You've been touching that file on your desk non-stop, clearly there's something more important you have to tend to. Now if you don't mind, I have places to be."

I turned on my heels and closed my eyes as I let out a loud breath. When will someone who truly care ask me how I'm holding up?

The air was cold and crispy. I stuffed my hands into my pockets to keep them warm as I walked to my next location. A part of me did not want to see, but what kind of daughter would I be if I did not attend my own mother's funeral.

There was a large oak tree in the cemetery. Close enough for me to see everything, isolated and out of sight so no one could see me. I leaned my head against the tree as I saw the coffin being lowered into the hole. Tears trickled down my cheeks inconsistently and the sadness overwhelmed me as I closed my eyes.

I stopped sobbing when I felt two other people standing next to me. I did not have to open my eyes to know who was there, the comfort I instantly felt told me enough.

"Didn't see you guys at school today," I managed to utter.

"Yeah, we had to help prepare for the funeral."

My head instantly shot up as I removed my black sunglasses and looked at Hailee who was wearing a black mini dress and her hair tied into a loose bun. She looked tired, even the make up she was wearing could not fool me.

"You guys helped?" I asked in shock. I turned to Liam who was paying attention to the funeral, his hands behind him and posture as rigid as a pole.

"Yeah we did, we figured you couldn't do it so we pitched in. Jade I've know you my whole life, and I've known your mum my whole life, believe me when I say I'm so sorry for your loss." Another tear slipped down her face.

I opened my arms and hugged her. She was the first person to actually be sympathetic towards my loss and I respected that. Liam on the other hand, he did not have to say a word for me to know his sympathy was sincere too. Considering how he has been through the funeral of two parents, the last place I would expect him to visit again is the cemetery.

We watched as my aunts and uncles each placed red roses on her grave. My time of sadness had come to an end, now it was time for me to get insanely angry. "I'm done being the pity party of one, I'm going to catch whoever did this. And when I do, they better wish they dug a hole for their coffin too."

I placed my sunglasses back on and was about to leave when I felt Liam's firm grip on my arm.

"No way you're doing this alone, we're in this together."

I simply nodded as Liam and Hailee both followed me out of the cemetery and towards the car. He drove us to Phoenix and when Hailee saw inside she gasped so hard I'm sure she stopped breathing for a few seconds.

I placed my jacket on my desk and went to the kitchen to get some water. I was exhausted, but I had one goal in mind and that was to catch my mother's killer.

I took my bottle and walked back to the Base of Operations. Not wanting to prolong my investigation, I got back to business.

"So, are we going to start looking for suspects or what?" I said as I tied my hair up.

"As soon as you're ready." replied Steven as he came next to my desk.

"Thanks for your help."

"Anything for one of my friends."

I logged onto my computer and checked the footage of the camera that was placed at the front door but that was a dead end, "I thought the cameras would be of any help but I was wrong."

I huffed as I continued.

"You could hack the cameras in the area," advised Hailee as she placed the room.

"Yeah, yeah, that's a good-"

I was about to continue when the phone stared ringing. I looked at everyone, "Any of you expecting a call?" I asked.

Everyone shook their heads and I answered, "Hello?"

"I hear you've been looking for me."