Chapter 6

The keys jingled together as they hung in the lock on the front door. Eve had always loved the noise that the keys made as they banged against each other. They meant that she was going somewhere, or that she would be at home. It was an adventure.

But today was different. The melodious sound of the keys didn't bring the flutter of excitement to Eve's stomach. Instead, they brought fear.

A nervous energy filled the air as Eve turned the key in the lock, careful to not make a noise.

With a final click, the door was free, and Eve slowly pulled down on the door handle. Pushing the door away from her, she climbed over the little step and hopped into their hallway.

The house seemed colder than normal, but voices could be heard in the distance chatting away like the mice under the floorboards.

Eve turned to the stairs and slipped off her shoes, plucking them up with her free hand. If she could hide out in her bedroom for the rest of the day her parents might not realise that she was home.

Deep thoughts rattled through Eve's head as she trudged up the stairs. But the shallow concentration was too little, and she forgot the loose floorboard on the third step. It was a rooky mistake, but enough to send her tripping over.

Landing at the bottom of the stairs with a thud, she froze, her ears pricking up and listening for any sign that they knew she was home. But the voices continued their steady strain of conversation.

Eve tilted her head in confusion. She had heard her name, but what the conversation was about was a mystery.

She gently dropped her bag and shoes, shrugged off her coat, and tiptoed towards the door to the living room. Pausing when she got there, she pressed her head up tightly against it, her ear firmly touching the wood.

"-don't understand," her mother was saying.

A deeper, more masculine voice butted in.

"I've never trusted her," Eve's father said. "She was always the rebel."

"But why would she hurt Madison?" her mother asked.

"She always used to hurt Madison when they were children. She wouldn't give up a fight without winning."

Eve raised an eyebrow. Of course, she used to fight with her sister. That was something that all siblings did, but not for the last five years at least.

"But killing Madison?" her mother pointed out. "Do you really think that she would do that?"

"I have no doubt about it," her father said. "Eve is deranged!"

Eve gasped, her head falling away from the door. Wheels were turning in her head, and after a few moments of silence, she burst.

Shoving the door open, Eve stormed into the living room, her breath ragged and feet stomping.

"I didn't kill Madison!" she yelled, punching a cushion that lay on the chair. The cushion fell to the ground, the force from the punch leaving an indent.

"Evelyn! What are you doing at home?" her mother asked.

"I didn't want to be at school," she replied.

"You can't just decide that."

"I can too!" she retorted, rolling her eyes.

"No. The rules are you go to school unless we give permission for you to leave." Her mother said.

"Don't you think that having a dead sister is enough to be granted permission?" Eve yelled, reaching down and picking up the cushion. Her hands gripped it tightly.

Her father sighed and glared at her.

"Evelyn, I don't know how you have gotten away with it so far, but we will find out who killed her." He said narrowing his eyes.

"I hope you do. And then you will realise that it wasn't me!" she said, each word at a higher volume.

Eve sat down, the cushion placed on her lap. She looked up to see both parents staring at her intently.

Her father was the first to break the silence as he leant forward, his hands clasped together in his lap.

"What were you doing by the lake at that time of night?" he asked.

Eve didn't like the way that the corners of his mouth turned up.

"I was on my way home from Jason's," she replied. It was the first time that she had told them that she was at her boyfriend's house.

"And you went passed the lake. I've told you a million timed to avoid that place." He added, his head cocked slightly to the left as he studied his face intently.

"I didn't think it was a problem."

"How could it not be? It was past curfew, and you were in the one place I had told you not to go!" he raised his voice, his shouts echoing around the emptiness.

Eve stayed silent, her eyes closely watching her hands fiddle. They would never understand anyway.

"It is rather suspicious, Evelyn," her mother said, rubbing her temple softly. "And you didn't tell us that you were going to Jason's. You know we don't like that boy."

"That's just bull! You just don't like him because he makes me happy!" Eve yelled.

She watched as the shock settled over their faces.

"That isn't true. You just have awful taste in friends." Her father leant back in the chair, his arms stretching out behind his neck.

"What were you doing at his house, anyway?" her mother asked. Her face showed signs of tear tracks, and eve thought that she looked older than she had last week.

"Not much, just hanging out." She grumbled.

"Well, I don't like it." Her mother said.

"As if you get a choice!" Eve rolled her eyes and jumped up from the sofa.

"Maybe if you'd ever paid a tiny bit of attention to me instead of perfect Madison you might realise that I'm not a horrible person" Eve yelled, the frustration causing her head to pound.

"If that is why you killed Madison it's an awful reason." Her father said as she strolled out of the room.

Just as she reached the doorway she turned around, her hair swishing  wildly behind her.

"I don't think there would ever be a good reason for it!" she yelled as she ran up the stairs, slamming her bedroom door just for effect.

She hated them.

***

Please let me know if any of you are following this- I will update more regularly of you are!

Had a snow day today- hence the update! We hardly had any snow (usually it's just rain in England), but because of the lack of preparation we had to be sent home. And there will be no school tomorrow! Yay!

Maybe leave a vote in celebration?