Lost Cause

A firm knock at the front door jolts me from my sleep. I sit up and wipe my face.

"Was that the door or am I dreaming?" I whisper to myself, genuinely confused. A few seconds later the same knock echoes in my bedroom again confirming that I am indeed not dreaming.

Getting out of bed, I quickly dress into my night gown and scurry downstairs to answer the door. To my surprise it's the cops.

"Good morning. Are you Ms Natalia Roberts?". The cop asks.

"Yes that is me. How may I help you?" I respond curious as to why a cop was knocking on my door at such early hours.

"I'm Officer Wilson from the Berley Police Department. I am here as I have some bad news for you. May I come in?" The cop says with a sorrowful tone.

I move back into my home and motion for him to enter. "What happened and what does it have to do with me?" I think to myself.

We walk down the hall and I direct him to the living room.

"Please have a seat. Would you like something to drink Officer Wilson?"

"Yes please. A coffee would be nice thank you. Black no sugar."

"No problem" I reply as I turn and nervously make my way towards the kitchen.

What in the world is going on here?

• ° ten minutes later ° •

After struggling with the stupid coffee machine, I carefully place the cup of coffee onto the tray along with my cup of tea, pick up the tray and slowly make my way back into the living room.

With great delight I lower the tray onto the glass coffee table, take the coffee and place it on a coaster without spilling any of the contents. I do the same with my tea and then take a seat opposite the officer, letting out an anxious breath on impact.

"Sorry about the wait by the way. My coffee machine has been acting up as of lates. Silly thing." I say, letting out a light chuckle.

"No need to apologise truly." he smiles as he takes a sip. He puts the cup back onto the coaster. "What a lovely cup of coffee. Thank you again". I nod in appreciation of his kind words.

Eager to get to the point of his visit, I prop myself up and quietly clear my throat. With clammy hands, I clench onto one of the cushions.

"Can you please tell me why you are here? I'm starting to worry" I begin.

Straightening up, he looks me directly into my eyes as if he's going to tell me something life changing.

The sound of the ticking clock fills the silent atmosphere, causing the hairs on my neck to raise.

"It's about your sister Emily" he finally says after what seemed like an hour.

My body freezes at the mention of her name. "What about Emily?"

With extreme caution he proceeds.

"I received a phone call yesterday from a woman saying that she could overhear an altercation in the next door apartment of her complex. She recalled things being smashed and rasied voices of a male and female. She pleaded with us to come as she worried that something serious may have been happening. When my team and I arrived at the scene, it was terrible" he stops and waits for me to process everything.

I look past him and blink uncontrollably.

Could he possibly be trying to tell me that something had happened to my little sister? I shake my head in disbelief.

Picking up my tea, I bring the cup up to my mouth and take a sip. "What happened?" I wait for the answer, hands slightly shaking.

"Your sister Emily was murdered last night."

And that's when my world came crashing down.

The cup leaves my hand and plunges towards the floor, causing fragments of glass to shatter across the living room. Tears begin to flood my eyes.

"We are treating this case as a homicide as the forensic team came to the conclusion that Emily was murdered. I'm so sorry." The officer continues.

Too numb to even respond, I put my face in my hands and cry instead and let the memories of Emily and I replay in my mind.

"Natti, what are those dance moves?". she says while giggling on the floor. Her laugh would always light up the room.

"I will always love you sis".

I was only with her the other day. She seemed so happy. So full of life. We danced around to our favourite songs. Sang out of tune. Laughed till we cried. At no point did she seem to be going through any hardships. What kind of sister am I?

Was I missing something?

"Ms Roberts. Are you okay?" a distant voice asks.

A hand on my shoulder pulls me back to reality. I gaze up and see the officer by my side, poorly attemping to try comfort me. I flinch at his touch and get up in panic.

"Please leave my home. I need to be alone. I need to process everything. Please go." the words stumble over each other at what it feels a hundreds miles an hour.

Watching me warily, he doesn't move an inch.

"Are you sure? I could call a relative if you wa-"

"Please just leave my house" I plead. Desperate to get him away, I usher him back through the hallway and out the door. Before he could say anything else, I slam the door and slide to the floor. My cries make their debut into the eerie quietness of the halls.

Which sick disgrace of a human took my sister? The distressing thought alone causes my heart to pound increasingly hard. With my breathing becoming increasingly ragged, I frustratedly run my hands through my deep auburn locks, letting a ferocious scream rip through my throat, with no mercy on my burdened soul.

•° hours later°•

Still slumped up against the front door, I remain shaking violently.

How could this be?



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