Chon-Ji and Sparkles

Ch. 3: Popsicles and Frost Bites

I lay awake in my cushion, watching the rain drops fall down the glass of my bay window. Instead of sleeping on my bed, I slept by my window. Being reminded of that night made goosebumps rise on my body. In a way, all of us were at fault for what happened, but we were kids, we didn't know any better. For days after the incident, I couldn't bring myself to sleep on my bed. The guilt of knowing that my friends could possibly not have a bed to sleep on anymore stuck to me.

"Ellie?" My sister's voice echoes through the hallway. I turn in bed as she opens the door, her eyes soften at my bundle of pillows and blankets by the window, "Hey, what's wrong?"

Sighing, I sit up a little and run my hand through my hair, before playing with the ends of it, "The police are going to start questioning again."

"Yeah, they came to my work yesterday. They wanted permission to interview you. I told them I would consult with our parents." Lilly Ann sighs as she slips down the door frame and brings her knees to her chest. She places her head on her knees and tilts it to rest sideways while watching me carefully.

"Where are they now?" I mutter as I go back to watching the rain. Lilly sighs again, humming before responding, "I couldn't really talk much with them. Ma had to hang up like moments after she picked up the phone. Somewhere in Japan as far as I know."

Our parents were business people, but in their fifties now, they were touring the world and helping out young children to find their way in life. They were planning on starting foundations around the world to aid children in making the right decisions in life. After my sister found her dream job in film, being a director and writer for her own web series, my parents left her in charge for a year to take care of me. They would send money if my sister needed it for medical emergencies or school functions, but other than that, they relied on her to take care of me and the house. They left when I started eighth grade, and now they go for a year every year, coming back in December to spend Christmas and their anniversary with us.

"Technically you are the legal guardian now," I say and Lilly nods, "Yeah, but I just didn't want those rude people to talk with you again. It took me forever to get you back to normal."

"I'm older now."

"No one should have to go through that rigorous questioning. You didn't commit murder." Lily grunts and I go quiet. After a moment of silence, Lilly's hand caresses my cheek, "You didn't do anything wrong, baby sister. You did what you thought was safest, and for that, you can never blame yourself."

Nodding, I lean against her hand and let her embrace me as we watch the rain sweep away the pain.

"What did your sister do yesterday?" Vic asks as he munches on some rice cakes at lunch. I take another bite of my kabob roll before answering, "She stayed at home with me. Why?"

"My brother got back yesterday and I guess he was trying to reach her." Vic shrugs and I raise my eyebrows, "Wasn't it their anniversary yesterday?"

Vic widens his eyes before hissing, "Oh, shit."

"We have to throw a party or something. Your brother will be so upset if we don't."

Vic's brother, Henrik, cared a lot about the special dates. More than my sister did. He was very particular about celebrating dates while she was more of a stay low and cuddle on the couch type.

"Hey, Ella Marie? Can we talk?" Trevor walks up with Serena in tow. Serena waves excitedly at us while Vic raises his eyebrow, "Since when did Twinkle toes and Robo Jock hang out?"

"OMG I love Twinkle Toes!" Serena cheers and Vic sighs before looking at me, "I'll see you after school. I'll grab the sushi."

"Sounds good, I'll grab the cake." I nod before reluctantly standing and following the two out of the cafeteria. Trevor found us a spot in a classroom before whipping out his phone to text someone and slipping back onto the teacher's desk.

"What do you want?" An annoyed voice asks as they step in.

"Lock the door." Trevor simply says and Cecilia frowns before doing so, "Well?"

"We need to talk about that night. My dad gave the okay to question me." Trevor starts and Cecilia shakes her head, "What? Why would he do that?"

"My parents gave the okay, too." Serena sighs as she files her nails. How did she even find a nail filer is beyond me.

"What about you, nun-chuck?" Cecilia nods to me and I grimace at the nickname before muttering, "My sister is waiting on my parents to answer her."

"We need to get our story straight. There's so many missing holes."

"Well, obviously, Trevor. Ella Marie and I haven't even fully revealed what happened that night." Cecilia sighs as she drops her bag on the desk and pushes her hair out of her face.

"Well what can we say? Oh, Aureole really liked Timmy, but Ceci was flirting with him so to get back at her, she started flirting with Ceci's ex, who by the way was older than us. Then her ex decided to drug us all and stole Aureole from right under our noses while we were passed out on the floor of his basement." I huff after finishing and Trevor and Serena look at us in awe, "Wait what?"

"That sounds like the base story of a really sinister plot." Serena says and Cecilia groans, "Not to mention, my ex at the time was part of a gang. So you know, we have no idea what even could have happened."

A shudder runs down my back as I shake the feeling off, "Point is, Austin went to go save her, but for some reason he never came back."

"Well the look I saw in his eyes before he went, didn't seem like he wanted to save her. He was too... calm." Trevor says and I raise an eyebrow, "Why wouldn't he want to save her?"

"That may be my fault.." Serena says and we glance at her. She bites her lip before sighing, "I may have been the last one to see the both of them."