Rise of the fallen

Chapter Two

*Alarm Beeps*

6:30 always comes too soon. My body feels heavy and sore from yesterday's ordeal. As I roll over, I can feel Lucky stirring under the blankets. Slowly, Lucky makes his way from under them. Lifting his head with one ear still under the comforter, he reminds me a lot of how innocent animals can be. He doesn’t have to worry about his dad being a complete psychopath. Instead, he worries about which tree he should pee on today or what way is the most comfortable to lay on the sofa.

Ever wish you could forget everything you’ve learned in the past 24 hours? No? well, that’s me right now. I wish I didn’t know that my father, my sweet dad, was a mad man. What motive would he have for killing these girls? Each one has blonde hair and green eyes, which narrows it down to about half the population. What was it about these girls that made him choose them? They aren’t the same age; they range from sorority sister to milf. Does dad have a fetish? I shudder at the thought.

As I place the developed pictures onto the coffee table, my thoughts begin to wonder, how is this even possible? Of course, there’s no way to be two places at once, and as far as I know, my father is an only child. But still, as I look at the window in the picture, I can see my father’s face.

His dark brown hair, his deep-set eyes. I can see the honker of a nose I always

made fun of at Dinner. Why did he reveal himself to her before trying to kill her?

Who do I tell? What do I do? I need to find out more.

Dad has a town meeting tonight. It’s the perfect time to scout his study.

But, for now, it's time to face the demon.

As I walk into World's magazine, I can feel every eye on me.

“Aaron!” a cry of relief escapes my lips as I desperately need my best friend. Brooding at his desk, he watches everyone around me with a close eye. He’s always been protective. Even when we were kids and Tommy from down the street would pull my pigtails. He was always there. I grab Aaron's hand and pull him down the hall into the unisex bathroom.

“Mary Jane, I don’t think this is the greatest place to profess your love to me.” He protests.

Shoving the pictures into his chest, I search my black hole of a purse for the magnifying glass I placed in it earlier.

“You should think about organizing that thing, MJ.” Aaron states with a sly grin slightly horrified at the amount of stuff I have in my purse.

“Here!” I hand him the magnifying glass. “What do you see?”

“Uhm, a great picture of your dad?” He declares curiously.

“Look in the window.”

“Is that?” He tilts the picture sideways using the magnifying glass to get a better view of what his eyes cannot comprehend.

“Yes!” I shout a little too loud, “Now explain to me how my father is in that window and the main focus of this same picture?”

“It’s not possible. Maybe you used a weird filter, and it transferred your dad's face onto this one.” Aaron tries to find a logical explanation.

“I didn’t use any filter, and more importantly, why did my father call me last night asking for the pictures I took?”

“Beeeeecaaaause… you were at a press conference… taking pictures of him….” As he says this, his face gives away his silent laughter.

“Oh. Right.” My cheeks flush, and I want nothing more than to slap the smirk off Aaron's smug face.

“Have you been watching Nancy drew again?” He asks.

“Yes,” trying to dig myself out of what now sounds like a conspiracy theory, I try to explain more, “that’s not the point-”

“look, you’re a bit rattled from yesterday.” He insists, “I mean you did witness a murder.”

“Maybe you’re right.” I shake my head in confusion.

“Go home and rest, MJ. You deserve it. You’ve been through a traumatizing thing. So it’s ok to be a bit shaken.”

He kisses my forehead before leaving me there in the bathroom, feeling more unsure than when I woke this morning.

As I walk out of the bathroom, I feel a chill down my spine. Reggie. I can feel the snarl my face automatically forms from the sound of his voice. My awful pervert of a boss looking for any excuse to fire the governor’s daughter. He didn’t and still doesn't want me to have this job, but apparently, someone higher up thinks it good publicity for the magazine to have a governor’s daughter as one of their photographers.

“Mary Jane! My office now!” He shouts.

I was hoping to avoid him for the time being, but it looks like my 2 minutes of quiet are over.

“You rang?” I mutter behind the fakest of smiles, praying he's in a good mood.

“Where are my pictures?” He says, still shouting.

“I didn’t get any, sir.” I try to explain. “the crowd destroyed my camera during the chaos at the park.”

Saliva drips down his lip as he screeches, “I didn’t ask for excuses, now did I. WHERE. ARE. MY. PICTURES?”

His toupee flutters slightly from the fan behind him. His face is wrinkled and splotched from sunspots. If he wasn't so, hateful id says he reminds me of my grandfather on my dad's side. I wonder if this is what dad will look like when he's old and grey.

“There are no pictures, sir.” Then, in fear his head may explode, I edge my way towards the door.

“Well looks like you can’t even handle a simple assignment. You’d think the governor’s daughter would be able to take a few pictures of her “daddy” standing at a podium. Instead, it looks like that fancy college education, clubhouse, and silver spoon that you don't make a difference in quality work. But, of course, you didn’t get any pictures! You’re useless!” His face gets redder by the minute.

Man, Reggie either really needs to get laid, or I need to stop pissing him off. He looks as though he’s going to have a heart attack.  I think to myself as he places his hands on his temples.

I try again to apologize, “I’m sorry, sir. It won’t happen again. I’ll do better.”

“You’re sorry?! Sorry doesn’t cover our front page now, does it?” He hollers loud enough for the entire office to hear.

“No, sir.”

“Get me those pictures by the end of the day tomorrow, or it’s game over before your career even starts.” His voice is threatening now.

“Yes, sir.” With widened eyes, I try to slip out of his office without relighting the fuse.

He continues to yell at me as I am leaving his office. It looks like it's my last day.

Good job, MJ. Mom would be so proud.