A Twinkle In The Stars

Chapter 1

You may have your questions. I may have your answers. But the one thing I don't know is:

Who killed me?

It could've been anybody but it also could've been no one. And I mean that by saying I don't know who did this to me. So the sooner we find out, the better. Then I can finally rest in peace. Pun intended. 

My name is Aracely and I left a life behind. A girlfriend. Two best friends. We were a family when mine failed me not once but twice. But I'll let you be the judge of who was behind all this and I'll throw in tricks and hints along the way.

*THREE MONTHS EARLIER*

It was summer. The school year had just ended and my family had turned to crap. So I had freshly ran away. Margo, always cheering me up, had an idea just like the rest of our little group who had also just freshly ran away. We were all truants to the outside world but on the scope of things we were kids put in this world by whatever higher being and left with nothing but dysfunction and chaos. But we aren't here to talk about my crappy family, we're here to talk about me getting killed so why don't we play it back.

"Where's Ely?" Denver looked to Margo, sitting on the roof of our new home.

"She's coming. She wanted to face off with her Aunt before she left." Margo took the Vodka out of Denver's hand and took a drink.

Now I know your like how can you know what happened if you weren't there? 

Well being dead gives you the ability to see bits and pieces of things you haven't seen before, things people say when you aren't around.

"Well at least she had the balls. I didn't even say a word to my Mom or Dad I just dropped a bag out the window and I dropped with it." Star snatched the bottle away from Margo.

Margo and Star were cousins. Always had each others' back no matter what. 

I ran up opening the creaky gate to the abandoned house, tears running down my face.

I was stuffing as much as I could in my black school bag. I couldn't fit much considering my laptop was at the bottom. All my pictures of my mom, me, my sister, and Margo filling up the empty space in my bag, my clothes barely fit.

"You running off somewhere?" My aunt appeared at the threshold of my room, she took away my door a couple months ago.

"I'm going to Margo's house." I continued trying to fill the bag with clothes.

"You-aren't going anywhere. What are you packing?" She rushed over tearing the bag from my hands causing everything to spill out.

The pictures scattered the floor along with the clothes and my laptop.

"So your running away?" She slurred.

She was drunk.

"Why shouldn't I? Because you been such a great asset to my life?" I spat.

She cocked her hand back and I braced myself for impact. She closed her hand and punched me in the jaw making me fall to the floor.

"You think you can just disrespect me in my own home after I took you in?" She yelled as I tried to regain my composure.

"You killed my sister! I don't owe you shit!" I screamed back.

She got down on top of me wrapping her hands around my neck. Her grip got tighter and until I felt as if I was about to die.

I looked for anything to defend myself and I saw a bottle of gin under my bed. I grabbed the bottle by the neck and smashed it on the side of her face. Alcohol and glass came crashing down on me. My face, neck, and shirt soaked.

I got up and grabbed a picture of me and my mom and ran. Ran before she could hurt me again.

Margo was the first to get down from the roof and confront me.

"Oh my God! Ely what happened?!" She took me by the arms looking me over.

"It's nothing. My Aunt just wasn't too happy about everything I had to say." I cracked a smile.

She took me inside. It was dark but I could make out four mattresses in the main area of the house. I sat on an old dresser as she took some wipes and tweezers from her bag.

"This our new home?" I asked as she wiped my face and got glass out of my hair. 

"For now. Until I find us something more permanent. Plus between the four of us, we have no money and no resources and the police would just stick us right where we ran from so it's home for now." Margo carefully picked the glass out of my hair.

"It's ok. I kinda like the band of misfits vibe." I joked.

She just smiled.

She wiped my neck off and threw the wipes away.

"Your face is bruising." She tilted my face so she could see better in the moonlight.

"Nothing I haven't dealt with before." I sighed.

"Yeah but you shouldn't have had to deal with that." Margo's eyes filled with tears.

She turned away from me. I got off the dresser and went over to her.

"Hey, it's ok. I'm safe now." I turned her around to face me.

"Are we really gonna live here? In this abandoned house? It doesn't even have running water." Margo cried.

"Listen, I don't care about this house or anything else. My home is wherever you are because I love you." I reassured her.

She smiled.

"I love you too." She kissed my lips.

We went back up to the roof where Denver and Star were almost done with the bottle of Vodka.

"Give the rest to the person that deserves it." Star handed me the bottle.

"Honestly? We all deserve the rest of this." I took a sip and passed it to Margo.

We finished off the bottle and laid on the roof, watching the stars.