CHAPTER NINE: CONFUSIONS AND MISUNDERSTANDINGS (Draft 1)

 

Tim stared at an old family photo of him, Silver and their parents. They were all smiling and goofing around the living room. He sighed, disappointedly. Something told him that the fire was not a mere accident, but he shrugged it off. Why should he suspect anything when his sister didn't? 

He laid his head wearily against the headboard of his bed. After their parents' death, he and Silver barely talked. Not that they were the closest friends previously, but somehow, they felt even more distant now. 

Was she up to something? 

Tim flinched. If she was, why shouldn't she tell him? She was acting strange this morning when their Aunt Lucy mentioned Uncle Vic, right before she ran off to wherever. 

The door opened and James walked in, looking pleased with himself. He held a large package in his hand that seemed to contain a book and something else. Probably stationary. 

"Back to school shopping?" Tim asked, smiling. 
James shook his head, "I bought a sketchbook and art supplies for Cherry. Our birthday is coming soon!" 
"So's mine. You guys turning 16 already?" 
James nodded happily and set the package down on the desk, "Cherry loves to sketch all sorts of designs. She hasn't done so after we came here, so I thought that I might as well get it for her!" 

Tim smiled sadly and looked out the window. He was pathetic. Even James knew that much about his sister. 

"What's wrong?" James asked. 
Tim smiled nervously, "Nothing James. It's just-" 

His smile faded into an expression of worry, "You and Cherry are pretty close. As for Silver and I... even before our parents' death, we barely spent time together. But somehow, I feel even more disconnected with her after the fire. She's been acting pretty weird recently. Missing all my calls, leaving me on read, trying to avoid any sort of conversation with me, etc. 

James crossed his arms, "She has been spending a lot of time with Cherry recently. Maybe that's why?" 

Tim shook his head, "Silver hates socialising just as much as I do. Besides, if that were the case, why so secretive?" 

James looked up and thought for a while before answering with a devilish smile, "Maybe it's girl stuff?” 

Tim chuckled, "No, I'm sure it's something else." 

James beamed, "I'm glad I got you to smile, little brother. Besides, I'll ask Cherry what's up." 

Tim's face lit up, "Really? You'll ask?" 

James nodded. Tim felt a sense of relief. He stared and James and realised what he had said. 'Little brother,' Tim's smile grew wider as the words echoed through his mind. 

 

Silver burst into her room, startling Cherry, who had been sitting at her desk, staring off into space. 

"Sorry Cherry!" Silver apologised as she precipitously dumped all the belongings in her backpack on her bed and threw it to a side, hunting for the note and pen drive. 

"Silver-" Cherry began. 

"Cherry, I found a clue!" Silver rummaged through the items on her bed, "Where is it?" 

"Silver." Cherry said, a bit more harshly. 

Silver ignored her, "Where is it, Cherry? I could have sworn I put it in here!” 

"Silver!" Cherry called loudly, finally grabbing her attention. 

Silver stared at Cherry blankly, "Yes?" 

"Calm down Silver," Cherry smiled, "I'm sure it's there. But for now, I think I've found something! Something that you might wanna see." 

Silver began to worry, "What is it?" 

Cherry led Silver to her laptop as she explained her theories before she revealed the picture. Silver's eyes widened and she gasped, "Are those my..." 

Cherry nodded, "I wasn't sure if they were. I wanted to ask you first." 

Silver steadied her breathing as her brows furrowed. "Sarah," she said in a hoarse voice, "Can you increase the resolution of this image?" 

"On it, Silver, give me 5 minutes," came the voice of her robotic friend. 

Silver turned to Cherry with a relieved smile, "I'm glad you told me Cherry." 

Cherry nodded, "Of course!" 

Silver turned back to her bed, "Now let's find that flash drive!" 

Cherry raised an eyebrow, questioning what Silver had just said. 

Silver explained why she had gone to the library and how she discovered the clues, even telling her more about her Uncle Vic while she ransacked the stuff on her bed. 

"There it is!" Silver picked up the thumb drive and the note. 

"What does the note say?" Cherry asked curiously. 

Silver shrugged, "I didn't get a chance to check it out when I was at the library, I bumped into Ms. Speed." 

"The mayor? What was she doing at the library?" Cherry inquired. 

Silver made a face, realising that she didn't question it, "I... I don't know..." She looked down at the note and picked it up. Cherry leaned in to read it as well. 

"If you want to find out why she started the fire, you need to find out why she was there that night." She read. She flipped the note around. There was nothing else there. 
"Who wrote it..." Cherry queried, but Silver didn't hear her. 

The handwriting looked strangely familiar, but she couldn't distinguish whose it was. 'Wait,' she thought. Did the note imply that Ashlynn was responsible for the fire? And what night? Did someone else know that she suspected Ashlynn? Nothing about this seemed right. Everything appeared lopsided. It didn't make sense. 

Silver glimpsed at the flash drive and looked back at her laptop, where Sarah was working on the image. She couldn't process the information while Sarah was doing so. 

Silver took a deep breath as her device beeped. Sarah had finished increasing the resolution of the image. Silver and Cherry turned towards her laptop and gasped.