[30th December]
TW: scars, mentions of domestic abuse
"So," Nick began, shuffling around his desk. "Let's list down everything we remember from the park, shall we?" I nodded, clicking on a ballpoint pen.
Johnny, Nick, and I decided to video call after we returned from the hospital. We didn't have much time to tell Johnny all of the things in detail before tomorrow so we arranged a brief meeting close to midnight, just to give Johnny an idea.
It was probably my first time seeing Nick adorning round, gold-rimmed glasses. Not going to lie, it suited him well. "Alright," he clapped his hands, earning both of our attentions. Johnny was also wearing glasses, just that his were squared. But he looked grand in it.
"It was around ten-fifteen when we arrived, correct?" I nodded. "Then what did you see, Ethel? I wasn't there at that time." I recalled the memory.
"About a couple meters away from the carousel, I saw Rikki crouched before Jay who was unconscious by then," I began with a shaky breath. "Rikki had a bloody knife in his hand." my mind flashed back to the scene. "He was horrified as if he was caught red-handed." because he was indeed caught guilty.
"Do I have to go into detail of what I saw? Like Jay...?" I asked, not really wanting to speak about it. "Tell us a rough idea of it. It's good to always give more information." Nick nodded at me. "Alright," I cleared my throat. "Jay had a huge wound on his lower stomach and when I spotted him, he was barely breathing. There was blood all around him and his skin was...so pale." I shuddered, feeling more creeped out than mournful. "I tried to shake him or wake him up but it was futile."
"Then I arrived, asked Rikki what happened since he was just standing there like a statue," Nick continued. "Obviously, I was floored to see him in the park but I thought questioning his presence would stall time." he sighed.
"I guess I should've."
"What time is the trial tomorrow?" I asked, glancing over to my formal attire prepared for the event. "Ten in the morning sharp. We should get there by eight-thirty," Johnny could be seen toggling with his phone as the camera shook in the slightest. We presumed he was setting a reminder.
"How are you feeling, Johnny?" Nick suddenly asked, making Johnny pause. "Conflicted." he simply responded. "Are you ready for tomorrow?"
"Can't say I am," Johnny adjusted his glasses. "It's my first time meeting Rikki in a while-not that he knows-and it had to be in this way." he sighed heavily. "I don't know how to feel about this."
"Will Jay's parents be there as well?" "Of course. They'd most likely do everything in their power to put Rikki behind bars. And with a hefty bail, too."
-
"Let's get some solid rest and prepare ourselves for tomorrow, alright?" we nodded at Nick's words, getting ready to log out of the call. Johnny left first. I was about to leave when Nick stopped me. "Ethel," my finger froze just above the button. "Huh?" I let out, feeling confused.
"I..." he hesitated, tapping his fingers on his table and biting his lips. "If it's not too much to ask...
can I vent?" he sighed out, regarding me with apologetic eyes.
"It's just...it might be a little awkward ranting to the others since I don't really talk about my issues..." he reasoned, voice hushed and timid. "But it's okay if you feel uncomfortable. I don't want to trauma dump if you're not up for it."
I pondered. It was only fair that I return a favor. He had helped me a ton with the mission. Even devoting precious time to come up with several theories and potentialities.
"Of course, Nick. Let it all out." I assured him, leaning back in anticipation. "Okay," his eyes wandered around, trying to figure out where to start.
"Our father," he started. "He's currently in a lot of trouble for covering up the deaths for the sake of money." he sighed, head hung low. I nodded, not that he could see. "We've not seen him since Sunday. We heard that he might go to court too," he sighed. "You know, the public offered his case a title." "What is it?" I asked, curiosity peaking.
"They dubbed it the Carnival of Death."
My eyes widened. Wasn't that a little too harsh?
"While our dad wasn't home this morning, our mother," his words got caught in his throat as he blurted out his mother. She was a sensitive topic.
I observed as a tear rolled down his cheeks, though his expression remained composed with a hint of hurt. He glimpsed at his shut door before turning back. "The reason why I wore a sweater to school today..." he backed away slightly and rolled up the sleeves of his cardigan,
revealing bruises and scars all over his forearms.
I let out a soft gasp, not really expecting the wounds. Nick hurriedly tugged his sleeves down after a couple of seconds, grunting as his palms accidentally brushed over the clothed bruises. "They were still fresh and would've stung if I wore the tight-fitting school blazer, so I went with an oversized sweater instead." I nodded, speechless.
"Our mother blamed us since a couple of the victims were from our school-Jay and Nicholas. Since I was the oldest, I got all the beating from her. Not that I detested Silas for just standing in the corner like a feeble lamb. He was the one who tended to my wounds, after all." he leaned back, posture slumped and in defeat, so unlike his usual posh demeanor in school.
"She used her heels, the metal chains on her luxurious bag, scraped and dug her nails into my skin," he noted them down, muttering that it was only half of what she had done. I winced, somewhat able to feel the pain through the screen.
"We may look well-off because we come from a somewhat wealthy family, but it's pretty messed up behind closed doors." I was genuinely terrified for them. How were they still able to be so pleasant and understanding despite what they've gone through over the years? Nick bit his lower lip in thought before continuing.
"See, my parents were actually supposed to divorce like ten years ago," he said in a quiet voice, peering at the door again. They were just eight then. "Our father found out mother was having multiple affairs with her clients, filed for a divorce, but somehow mother got a way around and convinced our father to call it off." Nick rubbed his face in disappointment.
"So now, even if they were still legally together, mother doesn't stay the night in the penthouse nor perform her...motherly duties, I'd say." I hummed, showing that I was listening.
"The only time Silas and I would see her was when something went wrong with the business to which she'd come by to take a swig off our father's champagne collection before departing, or if she needed a boxing sandbag." I winced at the second reason.
"So, I guess you might have an idea what occurred this morning, and why Johnny ended up going back to his home." I nodded, that made sense. "Silas called me while we were on the way to our house, he said mother might come in the morning. I didn't want Johnny to wake up to an uncomfortable situation so I made up an excuse and decided to call off the sleepover."
He scoffed. "Silas and I barely had any parental figure growing up," he said, nose reddening.
"Our father was always at work, mother was busy sleeping around to seal deals," I bit my lip, noticing how Nick was getting more reckless with his words. "We had to study, and adapt to ways we can survive on our own at home. It was the bare minimum as humans, obviously. But we had to learn all of it through the internet, not affectionately from the people we called family."
"We had money, which we are very grateful for. But what can they do when you live in a toxic household? All we ever wanted was love and appreciation."
"You know," I nodded again, leaning in. "None of them came to our graduation, ever. Kindergarten, primary, middle school, they were never there." Nick smiled, discreetly wiping his eyes.
"We used to have a driver up until we got our driving license so they didn't find it necessary to attend-and you guessed it right! They never congratulated us for passing our driving tests, either!" he laughed humourlessly, halting after a couple of shoulder raises. "Come to think of it, the only person who clapped and cheered for us during our commencements was our driver who found pity in us.
But at least, someone was proud of us back then, right?"
He sighed, reaching somewhere out of frame for tissues.
It was silent for a moment as I tried to process all the information in my head.
"It felt wrong, but since the park incident, I couldn't help but wonder..." Nick sniffed gently into the thin white sheet.
"What if I was in Jay's place, instead?" I gasped. "Nick!"
"What if I was the one hospitalized and in a coma right now? I used to think, would they come to visit or would they send a mere secretary to check on me and report back? Hell, will they even bother attending the court trial tomorrow and do their best to put the murderer in their place?
I don't think so, to be honest."
Just when he was about to continue, a gentle knock sounded from his door. "Nick?" a soft voice addressed. I figured it was Silas. As far as I know, only the twins were home...most of the time. It must be so lonely for them.
"You can come in."
The door creaked open and in came a worn-out Silas making a beeline towards us. "Oh? Hi, Ethel!" he immediately cheered up, but I noticed how forced it was. "Hello."
"What are you guys talking about?" he asked passionately. "Just discussing the tribunal tomorrow. We were about to hang up. Do you want to talk to Ethel?" Nick asked, gesturing to his phone. "Hm, it's okay. I just wanted to talk to you for a bit about tomorrow. Meet me in my room after?" Nick nodded, nonchalantly moving to lightly pat down Silas' nightwear. My gaze softened at his sweet gesture.
They truly only had each other.
"I'll be there in a second." with a light hum, Silas waddled out of his twin's room, shutting the door after.
Nick sighed, dropping his smile in an instant. "Please don't tell anyone about what I said. I'm begging you," I nodded firmly. "My lips are shut." he sighed in relief, thanking me before reaching to hang up. "See you tomorrow." he gave me a light smile. "You too."
Beep!
Removing my device from a makeshift phone stand, I glanced at the digital clock on my nightstand. Holy shit, it was already two in the morning. Strange, do Dylan's parents not make spot checks to see if we were actually asleep? I guess it's all great as long as you're in your respective rooms.
I climbed onto the bed after I set the alarm for seven in the morning. It was better to be early. Nick said he'd pick me and Dylan up at around seven forty-five, too. The courthouse was a thirty minutes drive from our house.
At first, Dylan insisted on taking the bus there, since he was not on good terms with Nick as of now. But Silas performed his magic and persuaded Dylan to take up the offer.
"So much for saving an awkward car ride." Dylan had muttered.