I huffed for the fifth time as I paced back and forth. My eyelids were as wide as the moon, I was trapped in my sister's house while she took care of Leslie's death. As much as she didn't want to be a part of this, she couldn't just brush over her longtime classmates that worked there. She was bound to them and as hot-headed as Vera was, she knew that they depended on her.
I just wished they didn't right now, because now I was left alone with my awakened thoughts. My legs grew tired in my fluffy pants that I kept in her house with a matching dog sweater.
The TV was switched on and the chimney on the side of the living room breathed fire to warm the place up. I gazed around the homemade quilts that mom gifted Vera a long time before that had pictures of their trips to the neat mini vases that had intricates of natural swirls around and the matching purple living room table.
"This is Armenia National, we share our heartfelt condolences to Leslie's family upon the news that left Yerevan heartbroken, the Armenian Wolves team are working hard for the championship to honour Leslie. . ."
At a time like this, I didn't have it in me to say goodbye to a bad soul. There was a tiny flicker of wishful thinking that wanted Leslie to have a chance to change, but it was impossible since he heard my voice for the last time. Shock didn't leave my side at what I learnt from Asher, he seemed to have kept all of this inside of him for the longest while. I just longed to catch on earlier, but instead I let him hate me.
What was so wrong about wanting to know him more?
He just wasn't accomodating in the slightest. His deep wandering eyes, his first words to me, and his angry stance just made me think.
Till when he was going to crack? When was he going to open up and stop making me feel the worst?
Hard in contemplation and agony, I sat down and hugged myself with the quilt, tears in the brim of my eyes as I wiped my nose with the back of my sleeve. I just felt miserable that I couldn't do anything, I failed in everything from studies to my sister and family to Asher.
Depression squirmed on my insides and my heart felt like it was squeezed, but the keys jingled made me aware that Vera came back. I jumped up and ran with my fuzzy socks.
Her eyes were bloodshot red as they softened at me, not from crying, but from how tired she was. She opened her arms and I got into them, sobs automatically burst through my body as I cried on her shoulder when she held my weak body, she patted my hair with her other hand.
"We'll be fine, my favourite sister." She soothed me.
"I'm your only sister." I laughed through my sobs and she joined.
We were the only ones we have left for each other and no amount of fights was going to get in the way.
"Okay, enough tears now. Get your ass to bed." She playfully spanked my butt and I squealed when we pulled away. She sent me a cheeky wink and I noticed that it was 2PM.
"Vera, what happened with the police?" I couldn't just go to sleep. I wanted to know more about the mysterious boy, it was just like a series of itches, I just couldn't stop.
She groaned. "Don't remind me. It was hectic but Asher won't be in trouble because he managed to hide evidence." She affirmed with a head tilt. She either pitied him or she knew Averly's past.
"Do you like Asher?" I shot the question.
She shrugged with a half-pout. "I just dislike him for tricking me into stuff but I don't blame him for wanting to get what he needed. That kid is sick anyway."
Vera liked to treat us as kids when she wasn't far off in the age difference. But something she said caught my interest.
"Sick?"
"He has APD. . .avoidant personality disorder."
I felt really oblivious, as airheaded as the girls that went to my school. All the moments for when he was unapproachable to how he ignored everyone to how his dad treated him, it suddenly made sense.