A night to remember

Phillips

Jennifer looked taken aback by the sudden change of topic. "Uh...sure, I guess," she responded slowly. "I mean, why?"

"Just to see my father, please. I think something is wrong. I don't know why."

Jennifer nodded. "Okay, I guess I'll just hop in the shower, then."

"Can we please pass by the pharmacy? What time do they open?" she asked.

"At 11:00 am, why?"

"I need to buy morning-after pills."

"Alright, babe. I see you're playing safe."

"Oh yes, I don't want to find myself pregnant with a stranger's child. It would be worse realizing I don't even know his name or what he looks like," she laughed. Jennifer joined in, heading to the bathroom. After a long shower, she came out, and they both packed the few things needed. She grabbed her jacket and keys and headed out. Jennifer got behind the wheel, and they began their journey to Phillips. She tried calling her father several times, and each time the phone was on voicemail, so she gave up and decided to wait till they reached Phillips to talk to him.

The road to Phillips was long, but they finally arrived. It wasn't a pleasant surprise. The place was full of police officers. They drove past the scene and parked close to the side of the building. Amelia jumped out of the car and walked closer to talk to one of the police officers.

"Officer, what's going on? Where is my father?" she asked.

"Who are you, Miss?"

"I'm Amelia Williams, the man who lives in this house is my father. Where is he? What happened?"

"Your father, Ms. Williams, I'm afraid to break it to you, but he is dead. He committed suicide," the officer said, looking directly into her eyes. Amelia gasped and stumbled backward.

"What? What do you mean he died? I found his missed calls just yesterday during the night. How is it possible?"

"I'm sorry, Ms. Williams, but the evidence showed that Mr. Williams committed suicide."

"No, no, no, this cannot be true. He wouldn't kill himself. Please tell me that he didn't kill himself," Amelia pleaded.

The officer looked at her sympathetically and replied, "There was a bullet wound in the back of his head, and he died almost immediately." He paused, as though unsure whether he should tell her more or not.

"No, he couldn't have. Surely you're mistaken?" Amelia stammered, looking for an explanation, but her tears filled her eyes again.

"I'm so sorry, Ms. Williams. There was no sign of foul play." She stood there shocked and speechless. How could someone die like that?

She said goodbye to the officer and went back to the car. Jen was already out waiting for her.

"It'll all be okay, baby. Everything will be okay," Jen mumbled softly.

"I wish it were," Amelia sighed.

"When do you think we should bury him?" Jen asked.

...

It had only been a mere four days since Amelia's weary feet had brought her to the doorstep of Phillips, but it felt like a lifetime ago. Today marked the fifth day, the day when she would bid a final farewell to her father and lay him to rest. The somber clouds hung heavy in the sky, mirroring the heaviness in her heart. The entire household had already departed for the cemetery, leaving her alone in the echoing halls of the house that had once been her sanctuary. She didn't want to cry anymore, not when it was her father's last resting place, and she was sure her eyes would fill up again at any minute. But at least there would still be some company to keep her company. She sat down on the stairs and stared down at her watch. Finally, she got the courage to stand up and go see him off. Jen had promised to come to fetch her, so they were ready to leave in five minutes.

Amelia grabbed her black coat and walked outside. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs, taking a deep breath. She closed her eyes as she held the rail. The sun shined bright upon her skin. She breathed in the fresh air, enjoying the coolness before letting it out. Jen's car pulled up. Amelia ran towards the car, opening the door as Jen placed her seatbelt on. Jen looked up and smiled.

"You ready?"

"Yeah, I feel better now that I'm here," Amelia told her as she pulled out.

A few minutes later, they pulled in front of the cemetery. The whole area was cordoned off. A crowd of people stood waiting to get in, a few of whom were family members. As they got out of the car, Amelia saw Layla run to them from afar. She reached forward, wrapping her arms around her sister. She hugged her tight, tears pouring down her cheeks. Layla embraced her tightly. Amelia smiled slightly and wiped away her tears.

"I'm glad you guys made it," Amelia said as she kissed Layla on the cheek.

"Of course I did. It was so difficult for me to miss Mom's funeral. And now, I can't believe Dad's gone," Layla whispered as they separated and stared at each other.

"I'm sorry for the whole situation, but I promise I won't abandon you," Amelia added, trying to convince herself.

"I know. I'm going to miss him too. Let's go inside, shall we?" Layla suggested as Amelia nodded and walked beside her.

Later that day, Amelia was sitting inside her father's house going through their photo albums when the doorbell rang. She quickly put her things away and ran downstairs. She opened the door with a smile. Her best friend stood at the doorway.

"Hey, babe." Jen kissed Amelia on the cheek and entered the house, following right behind her.

They headed upstairs to Layla's bedroom. Jen sat on the bed and patted the space beside her, beckoning Amelia to sit beside her. Amelia sat down, and Jen turned her body to face her.

"How are you feeling?" Jen asked.

Amelia sighed, "I'm okay." She smiled. "I'm sad, but I'll be fine. I just can't imagine Dad doing anything bad to himself," she admitted.

Jen nodded her head. "I know how hard it must be for you, but I promise it will get better with time. You said you wanted me to help you clean the place, so where do we start?"

"The basement. Mom's clothes might still be there. I was hoping to pack her clothes and Dad's in boxes so we can donate them," Amelia said.

"Okay, well, that shouldn't be too hard," Jen replied as she climbed off the bed and went down the hallway. Amelia followed closely behind.

They slowly made their way to the door at the end of the hall. Amelia unlocked and pushed open the door with a creak. The basement was dark. A beam of light cast its dim glow on the dusty walls; it was littered with dust bunnies and cobwebs.

Jen stepped ahead and looked around. "Mom's clothes are all here, but the rest must be hidden elsewhere in the house."

"Maybe your dad has already donated most of them," Jen suggested.

"No, he wouldn't do that." Amelia almost tripped over something. It was her old teddy bear. She thought her dad had burned them. She moved it aside. Beneath it, it looked like the planks had been ripped out of the wall.

"I wonder what could be hidden underneath here?" Amelia said. She bent over and searched underneath. After a while, something hard caught her eye; it was a black briefcase. She reached down to pull it up. It slid off easily, making quite a sound as it did so.

"Look what I found. What do you think is inside?" Amelia exclaimed excitedly.

"Oh god, no, what? You mean no, we don't want to open it. We shouldn't open it," Jen whined.

"Why not?" Amelia asked.

Jen hesitated, "I don't know, maybe it's dangerous."

Amelia laughed at her response. "Well, this is a chance to find out something. What if we learn why he killed himself?" she said, pulling at the handle. The lock didn't budge.

"It's locked," Jen said flatly.

"Maybe it has a deadbolt or something. I could try jiggling it," Amelia said, pulling her hand back.

The lock clicked loudly. Amelia jumped back. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

"That noise."

They both crouched down and opened it. Inside the case was a stack of paper money.

"Wow, how much do you think it is?" Jen said excitedly.

Amelia examined the money more carefully, looking at different amounts. She noticed that some of the bills were stamped and others weren't. "I think it's worth a lot. Let's take it upstairs so we can count it properly," she said, standing up.

"No, I don't want to touch it. I don't trust stuff like that," Jen protested.

"Jen, please?"

"No, what if it's cursed?"

"Who says it has to be?"

"I don't want to find out. I'm not touching it."

Amelia huffed and started counting the money. "There's a lot of money here!" she exclaimed when they finally counted it.

"How much is it?"

"About $150,000," Amelia said.

"Oh, f**k, do you know what this means, right?" Jen asked excitedly.

"No clue. What?"

"With this money, you would be able to pay for Chris and Layla's tuition fees for two years and have enough to pay bills as well as your debt while you look for a job," Jen said.

Amelia smiled, but it faded soon after. "Jen, we can't do that. That's risky. We don't even know where Dad got it. He was just a mere Uber driver. Where did he get this money?" she asked incredulously.

"From gambling, probably," Jen exclaimed.

"No, I doubt it. I don't know, but it looks a bit shady. Look at the case's design. It looks expensive. I think we should just call the police," Amelia said, puzzled.

"Let's say we call the police. They will take it, and you'll never know where it went. So, take this money and use it. You need it!"

"What if it's from a drug lord or worse— the mafia?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," Jen insisted.

Amelia groaned, "Fine, here take this." She tossed a stack of $10,000 bills to Jen. "I know you need it."