Secrets, Murder and Lies

By R.J. Adams

Rayne has had a tough year after her father up and abandoned her forcing both her and mother to move home, her mentally ill cousin, Sophia, moved in after her mother was murdered. Now Rayne and her mother Teresa look after Sophia as best they can.

Things are hard at home, Sophia talks to herself and claims to see things that no-one else can see. The only person Rayne feels she has is her best friend, Jack.

But things are about to take a sinister turn. When Rayne's mother is murdered with Sophia in the house and she is abandoned by Jack in her time of need, she finds herself in the arms of a very helpful policeman as she worries for Sophia's fragile state. A ghostly figure appears to Rayne frequently, putting fear into her heart.

But all is not what it seems!

As Sophia begins to show signs she knows more than what she is letting on and the friendly officer seems to grow closer to Rayne, will Rayne discover the truth behind all the strange happenings?

Sophia's acts draw Rayne deeper into secrets and lies of the family she would never have considered possible, but would anyone believe Sophia?

No-one believes a person deemed mentally ill, do they?

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.J. Adams
• Release date: Aug 26, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370932658

R.J. Adams

'Live each day as if it was your last as only you can make your dreams come true.'

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Secrets, Murder and lies

Copyright 2016 R.J. Adams - Smashwords Edition

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorised, associated with or sponsored by the trademark owners.

Chapter 1

Sophia tosses and turns in her bed, her eyes flutter in her sleep and she calls out to her mother. As she stirs between the sheets, I know she thinks she is listening to her mother’s voice telling her to get out of bed. It’s hard to ignore when Sophia describes this in her sleep. She is such a talker.

Her mother, that’s what she believes anyway, this is what she has always believed, however Sophia’s mother died a year ago and every day since then she claims her mother talks to her.

She was killed by her stepfather in a vicious attack, stabbed to death multiple times; I still remember the crime scene now; now he sits in prison. He is now spending his days currently awaiting to die on death row.

Sophia awakes from her sleep, mumbling words to herself again. I’m ok mother, I will get this sorted. Do not worry. They will pay, they will all pay.

Sophia lives with her Aunty Teresa and to say it has been a tough year is an understatement. Since her mother died, Sophia got into trouble at school and was taken out permanently, she distanced herself from her friends to the point she no longer has them and regularly talks to herself in the bedroom. She barely speaks and most of the time stares out of the window.

She was always a little strange and even before her mother died she acted a little, well, odd really. Hanging around with strange people and locking herself away in her bedroom, her behaviour changed when she turned fifteen and we never knew why. But since that fateful day her odd behaviour became much worse.

Teresa is worried about her but there is nothing that she can do. I however, am her cousin. We live together in the same house and since she has lived with us things have gotten, well, horrible.

I look at her in the bedroom, sat on the edge of the bed in her long white night gown staring out of the window yet again. She is motionless and quiet now.

Sophia, is your tutor coming today? I ask her quietly, sometimes if you startle her she attacks you. But she says nothing to me.

I dare not approach her; she has become so vicious you don’t know how she will react. We constantly tip-toe around her, but we cannot give her up, my mother has legal guardianship until she is eighteen and then, well, I don’t know.

Plus my mom would never disown family. No matter how hard things get my mother believes family should always remain with family.

Sophia is classed clinically depressed with severe mental instability; she is on countless medications since her mother died, even before then she was on some sort of pill. I guess I would be too if I discovered my mother’s blood soaked body lying across her own bed and her partner who I adored tried to kill me.

He tried to kill Sophia. She had seen what he had done, walking in the bedroom and seeing her dead body just lying there, she ran hid in the bedroom, he kicked the door down but luckily, she survived.

I cannot imagine what she had to go through; I guess that would be enough to make anyone lose their mind a bit.

I leave her to it. She is sat there mumbling stuff to herself, I cannot hear it exactly but I do not want to be around her right now.

As I head downstairs, I hear my mother in the kitchen making breakfast. The smell of eggs and bacon is so tempting that it makes your belly rumble.

Breakfast darling? she asks as she turns towards me dishing out some bacon on a plate.

Mmm yes please, I’m starving, I can feel my mouth watering, it smells so good.

Where is Sophia? She looks around seeing she has not come down stairs.

Sat on her bed mumbling to herself again. Did you come into the room last night?

My mother shakes her head as she places eggs fresh from the pan onto my plate, no darling, I didn’t even wake last night, first time in a long time Sophia hasn’t woke up screaming.

That’s true; even I slept through the night last night, minus someone slightly disturbing me walking across the bedroom floor. I hadn’t noticed she didn’t wake screaming. This happens so often I guess it’s something you eventually get used to.

Why do you ask? My mother prompts.

Oh, I thought I heard someone come into the room and speak to Sophia, Sophia didn’t say anything but I thought I heard someone, must have been my imagination, I shrug stuffing my face.

It could just be my imagination. For weeks now I have heard the shuffling of feet in and out of our room or voices in the dark, if I’m not having bad dreams I’m hearing things. I would move bedrooms but it’s only a two bed house, there isn’t anywhere else for me to move to.

We did live in a larger house, a very big house in-fact, but when my father left he took all his money with him and my mother and I had to go to what our budget suited. I remember my dad leaving, he waved goodbye to me, he looked so sad. But my mother and I packed up our stuff and left, I still don’t know why till this day.

The house we live in now is lovely. A nice lounge area and dining room, a reasonable sized kitchen and a back garden my mother has beautifully done out herself.

There are two very large bedrooms upstairs and shower room and separate bathroom. It sounds extravagant but it’s nothing compared to what I have lived in previously.

My mother has a good job and she does work hard, but without my father’s income also from his company, downsizing was our only option.

I hear a stomp, a very slow stomp on each step of the stairs. I guess that’s Sophia making her way down. It’s sad and depressing just listening to the way she walks.

She walks into the kitchen dragging her feet, hair all over the place and scratches down her face.

My mother rushes over to her, oh my lord Sophia what have you done to your face.

I didn’t do this, he did it, she mumbles, her voice low and creepy.

Who? Who did this to you? My mother asks demandingly but now Sophia says nothing.

A part of me believes Sophia is making this stuff up for attention, the other part of me believes she has serious mental issues and should be with professionals, but as I said, my mother will not have it.

Before saying anything, my mother grabs her keys and her purse, ushers Sophia out of the house and into the car where she speeds off quicker than Flash.

I look in disbelief, does she not realise she has just left me here all on my own? Okay, I am sixteen years old, I’m not a baby but still she left without seeming like she cared.

In a huff I grab my school things and head for the school bus. My days are like this all the time, something happens with Sophia, my mother gives her all the attention and for a moment I feel like I don’t exist in her life.

I know deep down that isn’t true, it’s just how I feel sometimes; our lives revolve around Sophia now and her weird antics.

I stare out of the window as the bus drives along collecting everyone, my mind empty as I watch the blurring images pass us by.

Penny for your thoughts, I hear the gentle male voice and something brush up against my arm. It’s my best friend and ex boyfriend, Jack.

Yes, ex boyfriend and still my best friend. We had been dating since I was fifteen years old but not long after my sixteenth birthday things came to an end. It wasn’t because we wanted it to; it was simply because of the issues with Sophia.

It broke my heart having to end it with him but I couldn’t out him through any of the issues anymore, it wasn’t his battle to fight.

Not really thinking anything, I smile softly at him. His gorgeous green eyes shimmer in the sun reflecting through the window. His dark, almost black hair styled to perfection, his lovely fitted jeans hang nicely as his fitted shirt perfectly goes over those lovely muscles of his.

I want to jump into his arms and have him wrap them round me but I can’t, I cannot drag him into my mess. He deserves better than that.

Could have fooled me, his mouth curls up, "you looked like you were extremely deep in