[The Wattys 2021 Shortlisted Finalist]
One case, two detectives, three friends, and a thousand emotions.
Sometimes nothing is a coincidence, but then again, everything is.
After the mysterious deaths of Amyra Valdez's eldest Uncle followed by her...
"Did you meet Lucas yet?" Mom asked after we had finished dinner.
I nodded. I assumed Mr. Amberson's full name was Lucas Amberson.
"Momma, how does he know Uncle Nick? I heard them talking over the phone."
I just couldn't be at peace without knowing the answer to it.
Mom explained that Uncle Nick and Mr. Amberson knew each other even before her and Pappa's divorce. They were bosom friends for a long time, but their connection got hampered a bit after Mr. Amberson married mom. Nonetheless, they decided to stay on good terms.
"That's why Nora was the first person I called to ask about you," she added.
Made sense.
Mom had gone to inform Mr. Amberson that she would be staying with me that night when Jonas arrived.
"So, apparently Dad and your Uncle Nick were friends, that's why he asked if Dad could handle the legal matters of this case," Jonas answered even before I needed to ask.
"But as you heard, Dad refused."
I nodded. Well, I would be surprised if he didn't.
"So, when are we going back?" I commenced a new topic after a while in an attempt to shove off the previous one from my mind.
"We'll leave tomorrow morning, there's something special," he replied with a grin that did not fail to highlight his dimples.
"Something special?" I repeated.
"Will let you know that tomorrow," he vamoosed, creating a bubble of suspense inside me.
Mom returned before long, and we finally managed to clear Amy's teddies from the bed after a whole session of persuading. Mom and I stayed up late at night, continuing our chats in the form of whispers so that we don't hamper little Amy's beauty sleep. I fell asleep later on with my arms wrapped around mom.
It was the most peaceful sleep in years.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Good morning stepsister," Jonas poked me up from sleep.
I was about to thrash him for this, but he got lucky as mom entered the room with breakfast right at that moment.
I mouthed the words "Just wait-" when he stuffed a donut inside my mouth, muffling my upcoming threat.
"See mom, Amyra doesn't eat properly," he jested.
"I'll make sure she does," Mom smiled, serving us our plates.
I stealthily snatched June's share of tiramisu as revenge while eating.
"Hey, what!" he complained.
"As you said, I don't eat properly," I smirked in triumph.
Mom chuckled at our silly fight, probably out of happiness about the fact that we both already share a nice bond.
