Murder She Wrote

27. Picture Perfect

I arrived to my destination. The car stopped at a last house on the end of the street. The neighborhood was quiet and the only sounds that were heard was a barking of a nearby dog. The place still looked the same, the only difference is the house being painted a different color.

I turned off the car and got out. I placed my keys into my pocket as I proceed to walk up the short steps that led to the front door. The wooden porch steps made my footsteps loud enough to hear. Once I got to the door, I knocked on it twice. I didn't even notice the small door bell that was next to door. I rang it once.

Momentarily, the door opened. Anna, whom, I haven't seen since 3 years now, looked at me with a surprised look. She titled her head, trying to observe my face, as if she no longer recognized it or something. I greeted her with a simple smile.

"Hey," I spoke.

"You tracked down my house?" She responded.

"Not necessarily...well yes. I had no other choice, we need to talk Anna." I tried to explain.

"I told you I have nothing to say to you," she spat, clearing emphasizing that her long years of anger and grudge against me was still there. I couldn't blame her, I cut her off possibly at the worst timing without thinking of how it would effect her. I was selfish when I shouldn't have been.

"Look, I know we haven't been on the best terms but I can't leave without talking."

"About what? Tell me what could you possibly want to talk about after 3 years Michael." She crossed her arms.

"I know about the pregnancy," I finally said. "That you hid from me." She freezes once she hears the words come out of my mouth. She hardens her face and knits her eyebrows. "How do you know that?" She then says.

"Can I come in so we can talk it over?" I said, hoping she would let me in. She creaked the door open and stepped to the side, inviting me in.

The atmosphere of the place felt odd. It almost felt like I was having deja vu. All of the memories from my past suddenly kept flooding in. The nights I would spend here. The long hours of laughter, cooking, game nights....it felt unsettling as if there was a huge guilt roaming around.

"You want something to drink?" She says, keeping a foot distance away from me. I stood there in the middle of the living room, not sure if I should sit down or wait for her to tell me so.

"I don't think that's necessary," I said, denying her offer. Silence passes between us for a moment. Then she took a seat on the couch. She looked up at me briefly and then the empty spot next her. I took the sudden expression as a signal that she wanted me to sit down.

"Can I just ask why?" I said, jumping back to the subject. "I mean...a call or notice wouldn't hurt. Why did you not tell me?"

She scoffed and shrugged, "I didn't think it would be any of your business," she said bluntly. "I mean you already have a family, what difference does it make?"

"What difference does it make?" I repeated her question which was the stupidest thing I've heard if we're being honest. If the child was really mine then it makes a huge difference. "Anna, it's my child too, you don't have the right to run off and hide it from me."

"Run off?!" She laughed. "You threw me out of your life, I didn't run off you told me not to show my face around you and your wife again!" Her voice echoed the entire room.

"Is that why you didn't leave? What happened to the large amount of money I gave you? Did you use it for the baby?" I questioned. She ran her hands through her hair, a familiar motion she would partake in when she's either impatient or annoyed. "I gave you half of my funds Anna and you didn't do what I asked."