Song: Ain't Gonna Drown by Elle King

I get up and grab my crutches. Eli stands up as my hand quickly comes up and to tell him to just wait. "I need to talk to her. I will be back in a few, please stay and hang out with the family. "

"You sure you want to do this now; I just don't know if she will want to hear what you have to say at the moment."

"Rylan is right. I need to tell her something and something is better than nothing at all." I head on into the house. This freaking house is so massive that I can't find her. She is not in the kitchen or the living room. I dread looking upstairs so I search the bottom floor first, going into each room not that she really needs to be in any one of them. I head down past my dad's office. When I get there I grab the doorknob and it's locked. I hear something going on down the hall in the workout room, so I head on down. When I get to the doorway, she has her music playing from her phone and is off in the one corner just sitting there by herself list in her thoughts. I head in and make my way over towards her, as I get closer she looks up at me then quickly looks down.

"What the hell do you want?" She still has her head buried in her lap. 

"Don't be so rude, Amaya. Look we need to talk alright."

She quickly darts her eyes my way. "What now you are going to tell me the truth...really." She folds her body up even more, bringing her knees into her chest. She looks away but then glances back over at me with the stare that if I don't start talkingshe is going to snap. 

I set the crutches up against the wall and ease my way down next to her. She has been crying and she quickly wipes her cheeks with the back of her hand and then looks away from me. I sit there looking around the room for a few seconds. I'm not really sure where to start. She turns to look back at me after a few seconds. "Well...what do you want Violet? Did you come to tell me more lies about that night?"

I shake my head no while taking in a short breath. "What makes you think I had anything to do with his disappearance?"

"Really Vi...I am not a stupid little kid. I know how to ask around. His friends said that he was with a beautiful looking girl. I thought they were lying but the more they talked they were describing you perfectly. So now tell me, why were you out with him?"

"Fine...I was at Fire and Ice and he just so happened to be there, alright. We had a few drinks and danced." I look across the room at the workout equipment and then look back at her. "One thing led to another he had asked me if I wanted to go back to his place."

She starts shaking her head in disbelief. "He wouldn't do that?"

"But he did." I turn to look at her. "He lives over on Sycamore Street. I wasn't going to go but he kept asking me to so I did. I wanted to know what his intensions were with you. Anyway he invited me in and we had a few drinks. He was trying to come on to me. I told him that I wouldn't dare go behind your back and besides he was so not my type. We had a few words and I told him that I would tell you about our encounter. He got upset and I told him if he didn't leave that I would tell you so regardless you were going to be mad at him and break it off with him. He was upset but knew he made a mistake. He told me that he would leave out the next day, so I guess that is what he did. I'm sorry."

She continues to shake her head no; she refuses to believe in my words. "I don't believe you. He loved me too much to just leave."

I throw my hands up in the air and then bring them back down to my side. "What do you want me to say, Amaya?"

"I want you to tell me the truth that you killed him." Her eyes narrow and form with hot tears. "God you are so much like Uncle Mekhi. How can you sit there and lie though your teeth just like he does?"

My eyes start to tear up. I don't know where that came from but they do. She thinks I am like him. Wow. It's funny, comical really to know that we are not even blood related and I guess after you live with someone for so long you just start to take after them.

"You think I don't know about Gabe...I have ears. I hear things, you know. Mekhi is good about killing people so is Papa Adler. My mom chose not to kill people for a living. I know what Mekhi does and I know Scarlett is good about cleaning up after him. No one thinks I pay attention to what goes on around here but I do. So don't lie to me. Give me some fucking credit."

"Oh, wow...so you pretend to be listening to music on those ear buds of yours when you're really listening to everyone. Damn girl that is pretty clever. How long have you known about what my parents do for a living?"

"Long enough. So stop all the BS, tell me the truth did you kill him or did Mekhi?"

"He was never going to be good enough for you," I raise my voice at her but soon drop it back to normal by the look she gives me. I don't want her to be afraid of me.  "He was a player Amaya he only wanted one thing and once he got it he was going to leave you and move on to the next thing."

"But I should have gotten to chose that. I should have gotten to make that mistake and then dealt with it on my own. You stepped in and took that away from me."

"I was only trying to protect you."

The look she gives me in that moment, I will never forget. "You killed him. You are just as evil as your father."

I slowly nod my head. "Well when you are raised in a house like this what do you expect? I am sorry Amaya. I never should have lied to you. We met up and went back to his house. He wanted me to sit next to him on the couch and something in me snapped. I knew if I sat down that he wasn't planning on letting me leave. He was a bad guy and you know it just as much as I did. Amaya you need to move on. Find a great guy, one that actually loves only you, one that can tell a girl like me to fuck off because he is so in love with you."

"Don't expect me to forgive you for this. I will never ever forgive you."

"I know."

About that time we both look over at the dark figure standing in the doorway. Eli doesn't bother saying a word as he walks off. I feel her hand reach out for mine.

"Since you feel the need to take care of my life, I should do the same for you right? Watch out for him; he is not who you think he is?"

"Thanks for the warning but I can handle Eli."

"Can you now? You have no idea what he is capable of, Vi."

"And how would you know?"

She looks back at the doorway to make sure he is gone. She even waits to see if she can hear anything nearby in case he is just off to the side listening in to our conversation.  "They think I don't know what happens in this house. No one thinks I know anything. Why? Because I am silently listening to everything. I know they hired him to watch over you?"

"I know that. I found out months ago." I look towards the doorway and back at her. "He says he is not working for my father anymore and I believe him."

Her lips starts to curl upward into a slight smile. There is this look behind her eyes as if she knows so much more than she is telling me. I watch as she swallows and takes a breath. "Who said he was working for Uncle Mekhi? Think Vi, why was he really there that night you fell? You really think he just happened to be there, yeah right? Just watch him closely, Vi for your own well being." She picks herself up off the floor and leaves me there wondering about who hired him.