ALLEGED

By Mayra

What do you do when your best friend dies mysteriously? You don’t go on an adventure to find her killer. Niki and her new friends go on finding Irene’s killer, when Niki’s sister ends up on the front porch of death, what will they do now? Escape Jess or find the killer? Or both? Finding the killer might not be as shocking as they anticipated and the repercussions might be worse. Will Niki end up in the same place as her sister or be tortured in the web of lies and reality spun together by their closed ones.

Everyone might not be as simple as they seem, they all have secrets, ones that could destroy friendships, relationships, and families.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BlueRose Publishers
• Release date: Aug 27, 2021
• ISBN: 9789354722004

Book preview

Prologue

The door finally started to open; the steel was at least three layers thick. Nikki didn’t wait for it to be apart completely. She rushed inside and hugged Jess. She started sobbing, I saw actual tears for the first time in her eyes in public. She tied her hands around her tightly and let her lean in it. Jess was wide eyed. Her eyes lit up when she saw someone other than insane people. She relaxed her muscles and hugged Nikki back.

Jess! Thank God. How did you get here? Who sent you here? I was so worried. I am so sorry. She started sobbing again. And the reply she got, made us all question the sanity of the situation. I will never forget the way she said those three words in a blank tone. Who are you?

21th January 2015

Chapter 1 Irene

It wasn’t the first day I was scooped up inside my room trying to cover my ears. Nothing worked. I tried pressing it and recited full alphabets but I could still hear the arguments from the room beside. They think I never heard it. Well, the truth was, I had, every fight they ever had I heard it. It also might have affected me from within.

It was time for me to start visiting Dr. Sharma. He could have helped me in overcoming these nightmarish days. He was a child therapist who lived in the house beside us. I have heard people say I was more mature than I looked or that I can handle situations like no other 15-year-old could do. Didn’t know if it was a compliment.

"……I KNOW YOU WANTED A BOY. I COULDN’T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO

WITH IT. YOU HAVE TO ACCEPT IRENE AS YOUR DAUGHTER."

YOU CAN’T MAKE ME.

I have known my entire life that my dad would rather have no one than have me. He made it pretty clear when he pushed me into the chair when I told him that I was bisexual. I still have that scar on my toe. He made it clear when he took everyone to my aunt’s wedding but me. He made it clear when he slapped me for just accidently knocking off his keys from the table.

I just wish that I hadn’t been such a coward to stand upto him. If I did, he wouldn’t be having this conversation with my mom right now. Well, more of a fight. I wish that I stood up for myself for all the time that he tormented us. I was mad at my mom too, for staying in such a conservative environment. She also hadn’t been a great supporter of me coming out of the closet. The only person that truly understood me was Nikki. She didn’t judge me, I trusted her blindly. She was very supportive and knew almost everything about me except the part that I was seeing a therapist occasionally.

It was almost my bed time, I hadn’t heard anything from my mom’s room for a long time now, I had started getting suspicious. So, I got out of the bed and slowly opened the door while wearing my flip flops properly, trying not to cause any sound so as to not alert them about my presence. I stood with a support from the wall and tried hearing through it, but it was complete silence. My suspicion grew more stronger, I opened their door and what I saw was utter monstrosity. My dad was hovering over my mom with her throat in his clutch. I just couldn’t believe that my dad could go to such extremities just because of his anger. I saw my mom struggling for breath and her only words were, Raj…. stop…Raj… after that I just blacked out.

21th January 2015

Chapter 2 Dr. Sharma

So, what happened after you saw them like that? I asked when she told me the whole story. She looked really upset, I could notice her undereye bags and the way her hands were fiddling with each other, she was very nervous.

I just blacked out, I guess my mom did tell me what I had done and why dad wasn’t in the house this morning. She told me that I might have kicked him and he physically retaliated by I don’t know punching me or slapping me. I just regained consciousness this morning. I was shocked to hear how messed up her family was, first the episode of her telling them about coming out, which she wouldn’t have been able to if it weren’t for me. I knew I had to help her this time too, so I said, Do you think that these episodes of losing your conscious happens only when you are very emotional?

She thought about it as if knowing how right I was. I saw her eyes swelling up and her puffy cheeks which were rubbed, like she had cleaned her tears for all night long. Pondering over it, she said, Maybe, it could be possible, but I don’t know… I just don’t know what to do, everything is falling apart. And now I am even more anxious about dad leaving me to school tomorrow. I mean if he has the intentions to, God knows what he will do to me during the ride. By this time, she had started sobbing. I had some rules so instead of giving her a hug and giving her a false hope by telling her that everything was going to be fine but it wasn’t, because she was in a toxic relationship with her family that was affecting her overall growth.

Why don’t we focus on something that brings you joy, what about Nikki? Has she been in touch?

She stopped her Niagara Falls and said, Yeah, Nikki is pretty chill, she is currently at her lake house, with her older sister Jess. We talk sometimes on WhatsApp or videocalls, she is coming home day after tomorrow. We are going to go for shopping. I guess, Jess would be coming too, oh have I ever told you? I and Jess look completely alike, except for our noses, that are somewhat different.

That’s good, it is a progress, tell me more about the time you have spent with Nikki and Jess.

She was completely fine now, she wiped off some left-over tears and continued, This one time, we were at her house, I was having a sleepover there, Jess brought in some snacks and we tried scaring her, which definitely worked because she screamed and the dishes fell off her hands. I think Nikki’s mom heard it but didn’t come out. That is what I like about her, she lets us be kids and takes care of us all equally. As if I was her daughter too. And again, her tears started gathering in her eyes.

Tell me more. What do you like about being at Nikki’s house?

…. Uh… they are really non-judgemental and supportive, like Nikki. Her mom makes us snacks sometimes when she is at home, she lets me sleepover on the days my parents fight, her dad always gets a gift for me on Christmas. He makes us do silly contests like who could eat whole chocolate first or who would be able to get him his car keys first, we all know that he does this so we could hurry things up a notch but it’s the small moments that matters.

Okay, so clearly, you have a really good relationship with Nikki’s family, now let’s talk about your family, especially your father. I said and she looked away, taking her moment alone.

She stood up from her chair and strolled in the room, looking out the window and continued wiping her tear.

I am scared of my father, he terrifies me, torments me and I just want him to give me and my mom a break….

And do you think he is dangerous? I asked with suspicion.

Very. I am sorry I wasn’t supposed to tell you this.

13th July 2016

Chapter 3 Irene

It’s been over a year now since dad died. He had been in a coma for a few months but then he left us. It was hard to believe when mom told me how all this happened. Apparently, we both were in a car crash and he tried saving me. By getting under the seat and helping me get my stuck foot out so I could jump out but he instead got stuck there and had severe injuries.

It was stressful for mom and she had left me all alone. Now, I was alone in this big house, in amidst of silence and peace. I hated how I loved it so much. All the people had been asking how I was holding up, the people who had never even met me personally or people who don’t even know my name. It was to be honest, really the best year I spent. No one was hovering over me, ordering me or abusing me emotionally.

I was getting ready to meet Nikki, buckling up the shoes and packing up the bag of cookies I baked for her parents.

I just had my session with Dr. Sharma, he has helped me a lot this year and without my parents holding me back whether dead or alive, I have made some real progress. Nikki told me this too, she had seen me change during that past year. I also disclosed it to Nikki and she was chill about it.

You have made real progress Irene and I am proud of you for that. She had said. I was happy for months which was the longest of time period of me being happy. But then Jess left for her career thing. Now she is some news anchor in a local TV channel, but she lives separately. I think she has grown out of the bond we three shared. I would never.

I did all the chores before leaving. Closed the windows shut and then left the house. I hid an extra key under the fake plant I got when I redecorated to purify all my dad's evil influence and my mom's pettiness.

I repainted the whole house, well me Jess and Nikki did but they were occasionally there to just chill out. But we had fun. Now the interior is of cyan and a little darkish blue but the outside is yet to be done. I stopped doing this outside stuff when I realised a few months back that someone was following me. I remember that night vividly. I was walking home from Nikki's and it was pretty late at night. It was not so far so I decided to walk. I was just a turn remaining and I heard rustling in the yard next to me. Sometimes at night, I could hear flash of camera or reflection of a flashlight or maybe a dark silhouette. My therapist, Nikki or anybody in this world had no knowledge of it. But I thought it was time to tell it. I wanted to talk to Nikki about it and that’s what I was going to do. It had started getting dark by the time I came out of the house. I was on foot again, and this time I had my camera open, in case somebody attacked me or something so I could record their face.

It was getting chilly too, I was grateful that I had brought a coat with me, I wore it to escape the cold breezy air. It was getting spooky, I started sprinting until I heard footsteps behind. I had started running by then, and the pace of the footsteps too increased. I had to trip over a stupid stone, making me fumble and my speed had decreased. I was getting out of breath, but the person behind me caught up and I had anticipated that he was going to kidnap me. I had to just run for almost half a mile now maybe even less. Only if I could have made it till Nikki’s house, she would help me or maybe her dad, she would do something.

I had no choice but to run until I made it till there. Was there something I had done to provoke such crazy person to follow me around in the dark?

All the chilly breeze was now a sooth to my face. I was getting very anxious. I was just a block away when I was yanked behind and I had fallen to the ground, I tried to position my phone camera towards the person but it couldn’t capture anything. My elbow had got the worst of it, it was scratched and bruised, a little blood also oozed out. I finally saw the face and my eyes hung in its balcony.

He looked at me dead in the eye, without blinking and smiling that didn’t reach his eyes. He slowly parted his lips and said,

Hi! Sweety, write me a letter from heaven.

And before I could do anything, he hit me in the head knocking me out and after that I am not sure what happened.

10th November 2016

Chapter 4 Nikki

Ididn’t know, there existed a pain in this world, which I can not define. After months going by in pain and grief, I was finally ready for school and the questions that would follow. People would ask me all these questions, about where she might have gone or what her last conversation was with me. I had no answer to any of that. Or maybe I didn’t try to find one. Whatever it was, it was deep inside.

I had laid in bed for so long now, snoozed all my alarms and just stared at the ceiling thinking. I could hear the hassle in the kitchen from up here. My dad was making breakfast and my mom was working out before she went for her job. I knew she was just about to come knock at my door and shout my name until I reply to wake me up and then go down and