Nevertheless

Beginning

The lights of the hallway illuminated as we walked forward, beads of sweat trailed from my forehead, forming a pool at my neck, the crippling thought of my whole life demolished right before my eyes. I wonder what Father would say if he saw me.

Father.

Sudden fear stacked up by years of torment from my vague, overprotective tyrant of a father overwhelmed me. The image of his familiar scowl cascaded my vision, like a repeating nightmare his snarly voice echo’s through my head, a renaissance of old barely buried memories that fueled my insomnia, like a devotion it clouds me, my thoughts, my being, it’s like I’m never alone in this gray Traven he’s always there observing disgust disgrace those dead resentful blue eyes, I have come to contentment with more like submission, just for the possibly of something in return, Anything, I can’t end up like Shane did I won’t

“Walk” a voice ahead of me command, I glanced at the two emotionless faces in front of me a sight I am well accustomed to by now, I returned my gaze to my feet and started walking, one week in this interrogation center and I had become their prime suspect, now the wall my parents built around me are replaced with actual bars

they couldn’t even give me a nicer wardrobe just a gray depressed scrub, much like the rest of the building, the once blinding push of adrenaline replaced with the weaking pull of anxiety,

“we’re gonna be all right ”

His calm reassuring voice whispers through my thoughts, his once calming words now a distant memory, my recent ordeal had not given me the chance of mourning him properly, though there was nothing to mourn. we reached the end of the gray hallway the officer to my left whom I have come to know as Queens opened the door I stepped into the small room, gray similar to the rest of the building, blonde hair came to view followed by deep green eyes and the one face I never thought I’d ever see again, one face identical to mine.

“Never thought you would be the one killing someone,” she said, amused with my situation. a tattooed rose on her wrist caught my attention

“Cute tattoo,” I muttered taking my seat opposite her, She nodded in acknowledgment

“What do you want,” she asked.

“Can I at least have a moment alone with my sister” I snapped at the large dark glass behind my sister, moments later the officers, placed their fingers in their ear nodded and stepped out

“Your help,” I stated sincerely

“I’m not writing a statement” She smirked with a hint of amusement in her voice

“Mother and father are not aware” I pause taking a glimpse of her face, unbothered, “I moved out a year ago after you left and I was able to bribe my way to their silence, it won’t last long but my plight is unsuccessful I’m still blamed for the murder and you know what’s at stake if the news gets out”

She adjusted her chair closer “What do you want”

“Shane, I need you to replace me”

o ((⊙﹏⊙)) o.

Shane

“what the f**k Shalom” my tone was rising “Do it yourself”

“How am I supposed to do that from a cell” she asked her expression puzzled

“Hire a f*****g lawyer or something” I turned to the screen behind me screaming “You don’t have any right to do this, do you know who her dad is”

“Shane” Shalom whimpered; eyes fixed on the metal table

“they don’t have any proof Shal ” My anger subsided, I took in the disheartening image of my sisters face, they can’t do this to her, right, her lips quivered, “I found his body”

“that doesn’t mean s**t” I leaned closer to her “Call Dad”, the expression on her face briefly changed to fear then anger

“I can’t do that”

“why not he’s your dad”

“he’s yours too” her eyes trembled

“was” I murmured, running my finger over my wrists, her frightened gaze fixed on me, I can’t do this.

“You know I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important” she paused sneering at the screen behind me “only till I get out of here, till they find who actually did it” She reached for my hand which I ripped away from her touch “You owe me”

The conversation replayed in my head, she was right I owed her, I’m really doing this the house looked like her, felt like her, soft around the edges, the décor carried the shalom m of the era just past, with chunky furniture, warm-toned lighting and a slightly outdated bubblegum couch, scattered trinkets, half burned candles and a stack of well-loved books clustered on the table book marks peeking out of each one, her bedroom was even more like her- a perfect refection of the warmth she carries.

The soft glow of stary lights cast a gold hue over the wall speckled all kinds of concert posters and faded polaroid’s, plushies and stuff animals spilled across the bed some arranged with care, others lazily stacked, a faint sent of vanilla and fabric softener lingered in the air, wrapping the space in a quiet warmth tat made it feel undeniably hers,

‘one day I’m gonna have a real Olaf and be just like Elsa’ I said with the widest grin ‘Olaf’s not real’ Shalom said mid giggle ‘mine will be’ I lunged my tiny 6-year-old body towards her ‘and you will be my anna’

the life-size stuffed Olaf at the side of her bed, each item carried a piece of her story, a small smile broke my frown I missed her.

“Miss” a soft voice called, she stood at the corner of the room, she stood with arms clasped neatly in front of her, posture straight, judging by her outfit she was the house keeper, Margret, shalom mentioned her a few times, her eyes lingered on me for a few seconds awaiting my reply, she crouched pulling a pair of slippers out of a small basket besides her placing it in front of me with the quiet precision of someone who’d done it a thousand times before, though her eyes never left me,

“would you like me prepare a bath or would dinner be preferable” she waited for an answer again, eyes unwavering

“a bath would be fine” she smiled and left the room

It was just until she’s released until I get her released, then I can go back, back to the crappy life she and her parents abandoned me in. Though our life has always been awful, but she somehow always had an advantage, better grades, better posture, and better manners, I was just a mistake in the manuscript for her perfect creation,

I collapsed on the bed and wondered what mother and father would think if they found out their daughter in jail, the soft vibration of a phone aroused from her backpack, ignoring it I went into the bathroom, time to settle into my new life.

After what was easily best shower I’ve had in months, I rummaged through her walk in closet looking for a night wear that wasn’t satin or looked like a prop from a barbie movie, my search in vain, there’s was not one tee shirt in this sea of lace and silk ,she must real be obsessed with this s**t, I groaned in frustration,

I’m beginning to regret to regret my decision of leaving my things behind, though there was really nothing to bring, every item I own is soiled with one bad memory or another, plus I’m not staying that long and there all ugly, smiling with satisfaction I picked up a shirt to a band we had seen together, it fit like a glove.

Literally

While we were likely the same weight prior to our separation, while she stayed in shape cause our mom would probably lose it if she added a single pound, I remained in shape with a strict diet of alcohol, Adderall, and crippling depression, of course that is an exaggeration but why be logical, I’m talking to myself anyway.

With a quick twist I pulled my hair into a pony tail perching it above my head, settling into the swivel chair, I took a deep breath, time to start the magic, which was more or less stalking my sister’s i********:, much to my advantage unlike many other things,

I had a face unmistakably identical to my sister’s, it would always drive my parents mad, while they are few people could tell me and my sister apart not really, her tablet cannot, I positioned my face in front of the device making sure the camera had a clear view, a few seconds passed before a small click signaled my entry into the system, thank the tech gods or Elon musk whoever created the face id, my fingers loosely tapping the screen,

as I stalked her socials, her friends, schedules, anything that would make the switch easier, documenting them on sticky notes and pinning them to the wall above the monitor, my task was simple the sooner I solve the s**t the sooner I leave, though the reasonably decision would be to leave this to the cops I can’t sit by and I do nothing while my sister rots in a cell.

I scrolled through her socials pinning every vital detail I could find, her chat logs where useless, her phone went missing a few days to the incident, so I had no back story, all I have now are just worried friends and the school student body tasks updates. I pinned the center of my investigation to the middle of my task board, taking a step back to admiring my little line art, Mr. Kyle Matthew,

he seemed to be invisible online at least form Shalom’s i********:, your typical high school principal, he had no connection to Shalom or anyone who’d want to stuff him dead in a locker.

“I found him in a locker at the females locker room, they brought me in for questioning and ever since then I’ve not been able to leave, supposedly I’m some kind of prime suspect”

So, either the cops are s**t at their job or someone is trying to f**k with us, the school on the other hand have proven quite efficient in hiding the truth, the media insisted his body was found in his home but whether they were misled or willingly complicit is another question entirely, the school was obviously bent on covering the case, which made me absolutely no sense to why a student should be locked up. my main objective being the footage from the day of the crime, surely a school that grand would have a swarm of security cameras, fortunately I’m very skilled in breaking and entering, I prove my sister’s innocence and return safely to my amazing life.

School, tapes, Free Shalom