THE CIRCLE

Chapter 3

I quickly grabbed a book from the shelf as I heard Ace open the door he stared at me confusedly.

"Amy I called your name several times, why didn't you answer?, you scared the hell out of me" he said with a worried expression. I suddenly felt guilty for how stressed he looked.

"I'm sorry Ace, I got lost in my book" I said holding up my book. He relaxed and sighed.

"Okay, is everything alright Amy" he asked and I nodded.

"Come down to the Kitchen, I went grocery shopping, you need to eat". I nodded and scrambled off my bed as he went out, I looked down the window, there was no sign of Adrianne, I realised I was still in my pyjamas, I went to the bathroom and looked at my disheveled state, I must have looked awful to Adrianne, I quickly brushed, had a quick bath and went downstairs.

As I walked to the Kitchen, I observed that Ace had removed his jacket, he was just wearing a tank top, I looked at him closely as he was cooking, his arms were so muscular, he looked so handsome, I blushed as I stared at his lean back and remembered how we cuddled last night. I looked up and noticed he had turned around and was staring at me, I looked away in reflex and my blush deepened, I felt butterflies at the pit of my stomach, why was I reacting this way, it was just Ace, so I cleared my throat, took a deep breath and turned back to him, he was still staring at me, oh God could this get any worse.

"Amy are you okay" he asked.

"Yes I am, why do you ask?" I replied fiddling with my shirt as embarrassment flooded me.

"I'm asking because you look flushed, your face is red, are you sick" he said as he walked towards me with a concerned face. My embarrassment increased, I'm sure my face had turned beet red.

"Seriously, I look sick, let me check upstairs for medicine" I said as I stood up quickly and ran upstairs. My heart was beating really fast, I stared at my face in the mirror, oh God, it was so red, did I have a crush on Ace, s**t.

"Amy are you alright" I heard Ace call out behind my room door. I quickly washed my face and grabbed a jacket from my closet before opening the door, I tried hard not to stare at his body again, I looked up at his face.

"Yes I'm fine, I was just cold" I replied as I lifted my jacket for him to see. He raised his hand to my forehead, I couldn't help the butterflies in my stomach, I shook his hand off in reflex.

"Seriously Ace I'm fine, let's go downstairs and eat, I'm starving". He finally nodded and walked downstairs. I followed behind him taking slow deep breaths trying to calm my heart that was beating erratically. I saw that the table was already served, everything looked good looking and tasty. Ace motioned for me to sit beside him which I did. I marvelled at the food in front of me, he was perfect just like Tyler.

"Is there anything you can't do Ace" I asked him smiling up at him, his expression suddenly changed, I was confused, did I say something wrong.

"Ace, what's wrong" I asked. He looked away from me.

"I can't do everything right, I couldn't protect Tyler, the one person that was there for me, I couldn't do that much for him and I'm scared that I won't also be able to protect you Amy, I'm useless" he replied and I looked at him stunned oh God I was busy with my own grief as he comforted me that I didn't notice his own grief. I placed my hand on his.

"Ace, what happened to Tyler was not your fault, Tyler-" I paused when I realised I was just about to spill all that Adrianne told me, I stared at Ace with pity as he glanced up at me.

"Tyler would be glad that you are helping me through all this, he wouldn't want you to blame yourself Ace, he knows that you are the most wonderful bestfriend ever" I said and it was the truth. I offered him a smile, he stared at me for a while before returning the smile, he nodded and turned to his food, his smile sent tingles down my spine, I ignored it and gently removed my hand from his before munching on my own food, it actually tasted better than it looked, I didn't know when I finished the food, the meal was just too good and I was also starving. I looked up at Ian and noticed he had already finished his food and was looking at me.

"Amy we are yet to discuss Tyler's burial" he stated. Oh s**t, how could I forget something so important, it was official I was the worst sibling ever, my brother was yet to be buried and here I am thinking about feelings for Ace. I suddenly felt so guilty and kept quiet.

"How about in two days time, so we can have time to prepare, you and I will have to give his eulogy" he continued. I nodded. I couldn't help but feel the dread in my stomach when I thought about seeing Tyler's brutally murdered body again.

"Don't worry Amy, I will be right next to you" he said and I nodded, I tried to hold back the tears threatening to fall.

"Ace, can I go upstairs now" I asked desperately wanting the solitude of my room. He nodded and I ran upstairs quickly and shut the door, I scrambled on my bed clutching my pillow hard, then tears started to pour out in a stream. I laid there thinking about the unfairness of it all, what did Tyler do wrong, he was the best brother, the good citizen, I cried and cried until my head hurt so much and eventually drifted off to sleep.

****

I woke up a hour ago, my room was filled with several rumpled papers. I've been trying to write this damn eulogy since but I couldn't come up with anything, Tyler was too many things, words couldn't describe how great a person he was, the more I thought about what to write, the more tears dampened my face, I finally gave up in frustration, then I started thinking about Adrianne and all he said, the more I thought about it, the more I believed, the puzzle started to fit, the strange people present at my parents burial, my father's frequent travelling and my mom's need to go with him. I scrambled off my bed and opened the door quietly so I wouldn't wake Ace, I walked down to the end of the hallway and stood in front of my parents room, I haven't been in here since they died, I opened it quietly, nothing had changed, everything was still in place, tidy and dust free, for some reasons I didn't understand Tyler always kept their room clean as if it would bring them back, I walked in observing everywhere, their wedding picture was still there, our family pictures on Tyler's graduation day, I stared at their smiling faces, my dad was always smiling, now that I was staring at the pictures, I noticed my mom wasn't really happy, she looked stressed and sad. I checked through the drawers, they were only albums there, I has a feeling there was something I needed to find, they can't just all leave me alone in this world wth nothing, I checked under the bed, I saw a carton, I pulled it out and searched through it, my eyes caught a green journal, I couldn't imagine either of my parents kept journals, they would have been too lazy to keep one, I flipped through the first page, I saw an old picture of my grandmother, the journal was probably hers then, I flipped through the other pages but it was bare, nothing was written down. I sighed in frustration and walked out of the room.

I peeked at the living room and noticed Tyler was sleeping, I walked towards him staring at his face, he looked so peaceful in his sleep, although he had worried lines, he still looked so handsome, I slowly brushed his brown hair from his face, then I grabbed the book he was reading and covered him up, As I climbed upstairs, I heard a deep groggy voice.

"Amy is that you" he asked.

"Yes, I was just going to bed"

"Alright, goodnight" he said.

"Goodnight Ace". I walked back to my room quietly,

*****

Ace signed off my house arrest this morning, so I'm kinda free for now, I decided to wear my black flare gown the one Tyler got for me for my birthday since it was the only black gown I had, I just wore flats because I wasn't really ready for heels today, I've been in the church for an hour now, the crowds got larger every second, Tyler was truly a great person, many faces I didn't even recognise were present, I just offered a sad smile to all those who gave condolences to me, I have a thing with people telling me sorry when I'm sad, I start to tear up again all over, I sat down in the front as the pastor gave a short sermon, Ace sat right beside me and held my hands throughout until he was called to give his eulogy. His eulogy was short but touching, I could hear many sniffling behind me, I held back my tears, if I burst into tears now, I will not stop for hours, then I heard my name called by the pastor, I stood up slowly, Ace offered me a smile as I walked past him, I stood at the altar, my eyes scanned the crowd and I was filled with courage.

"I'm Amy, Tyler's sister, Tyler was a strong person, he was a good brother, a good coworker and a good citizen, he touched the lives of many and restored justice to the homes of many, he was a man of honor, I hope wherever he is right now, he will be happy and to his murderer out there, I will find you surely and avenge my brother" As I finished my heart was beating fast as I walked back to my seat, but I couldn't quench the burning anger I suddenly felt towards the murderer, I could feel Ace's piercing gaze burning holes through my neck but I refused to look at him, this new found anger I didn't want it to be resolved, so I stared ahead instead, after the service, I snuck out quickly before Ace could notice when I saw him talking to some cops, I boarded a taxi.

"Whitemore road" I said to driver, he nodded and drove, I sighed in relief as we left the church.

As I walked down the street, I thought of where exactly Tyler wanted me to go, 122 whitemore road, it kept ringing in my head, I sat on a bench by the road side, I watched as cars passed by, I sighed in frustration at the lack of clue, then I heard a couple giggling beside me.

"Let's go make out in the locker room right now" I heard the blonde girl say to her boyfriend, I jerked up in realisation, Whitemore was known for their massive Locker room, I walked down the road to the building, I asked the receptionist for the key to locker 112, she asked for my name, she gave me so easily when I told her, I walked straight to section 100 and walked down to locker 112, I paused in front of the locker and took took a deep breath as I inserted the key and unlocked it.

There was a file, I looked around before I brought it out, my name was written boldly on the file, I folded it into my bag and locked it, I rushed out of the building, as I walked I couldn't help but feel I was being followed, so I started walking in crowded places, I ran and quickly boarded a taxi and told the driver to hurry.

I paid the taxi driver quickly as we reached my house and darted into the house locking the door behind me, I sighed in relief, I suddenly felt scared that I was the only one home, then I heard the doorbell ring, my heart started beating erratically and my palms became sweaty from nervousness, I pressed the intercom and saw Ace, relief flooded me as I opened the door.

"Amy are you alright" he asked when he saw my disheveled state. I nodded and ran upstairs.