The Day Hope was Murdered

4. Climatically Unexplainable Occurrences

Creds to @Silver_Mystic for the current cover.

// Chapter 4: Climatically Unexplainable Occurrences\\

Saturday night, May 9, 2014

Thank you so much world for busting me. You know, I really wanted that to happen and I'm just so grateful to you. I owe you...

Okay. Seriously. I owe you nothing. Why would you even do that? Finally, something good happened: I got to find out more about that night by visiting Oliver in the jails, but turns out you don't want any good whatsoever in my life.

You just had to go and let my father find out about it. I mean, seriously?! You couldn't have just kept this between me and you? Now, all because of you, I can't visit him again. And I'll never find Hope's murderer.

Is this what you want?? To ruin my life? Because it sure seems you're doing a pretty great job at it. And what about that picture I asked for.. Hmm? Yeah yeah, I saw Oliver and found out all about his side of the story, but I'm still not one step closer to finding Hope's murderer.

Oh, and then Oliver was going to tell me something else, but you just had to go a tell that lady to come in and stop visiting hours, huh? You know, nothing good has happened in my life since that day and the question I ask myself every day is "why me?" Could you at least answer that one question? Why did you kill my sister and leave me with a crying mother who can't even keep her freaking job and a desperate father who doesn't even give a crap?

Why, huh? Or can you not even answer that for me?

Te odio mucho

-

We haven't been to church since that night. And the ironic this is, we were that family who would go to church Sundays and Wednesdays. Twice a week. And now? In the past few months, we haven't went once.

It's quite surprising how things turn out, huh?

At times, I miss it. But days like today, when my parents are pissed at me, well, actually that's every day. But today, when they're so pissed that they won't even talk to me, I just want to get away. Not stuck in a pew with them. So today, I'm finally relieved that we haven't been going to church.

And while I'd never admit it, I'm a bit relieved to have an excuse to leave the house that I'll be confined in for the next month - Yep, my parents grounded me from having a life for the rest of May. My life will be: wake up, go to school, get home, go to bed. This is the life you've been waiting for Hilary Duff! - And that excuse is support group! Whoopeedadoodaday!

I have no idea what to expect. A small part of me is hoping that it'll go the Fault in Our Stars style and I'll meet an Augustus Waters and we'll fall in love and have sex in a little hotel room in Amsterdam. And then the bigger part of me knows it's going to ulimately suck with a bunch of depressed teenagers.

I need surrounded with positivity, not other freaks like me. Can't anyone understand that?

"Leila! Come down here right now!" And cue the negativity that is my father.

"One sec!" I yell back. Rushing to finish my morning routine, I take one last look in my mirror before trudging down the stairs. My father is standing in the doorway with his shoes and coat on. "Yes, father?" I ask in a sickeningly sweet voice.

He reaches up to place his fedora on his brown curls, and then says, "I'll be at work a bit longer today and I won't be home till late. Could you please purchase some groceries while you're out? Your mother still refuses to be seen in public."

Ugh. Not the groceries. I've had to buy them multiple times these past few months, and it takes me forever to find everything. But I need to be good so he'll be more lenient on me... I reluctantly say yes. "Of course I will. If you could just give me some money..."