Diary of Ivory Black

Chapter 12: One Lies Two Lies

    “So that’s what happened?” Olive inclined, still unsatisfied with Violet’s explanation.

    “Well, yes,” Violet replied with a shrug, “What else can I say?”

    “Well, at least that’s the end of it,” Mei sighed, as she observed the diary once more. “Hopefully.”

    “Wait, so let me get this straight,” Mei’s father chimed in. “That’s Ivory’s diary?” He asked with a quirked brow, as he pointed his index finger to the blood-red book.

    “Yeah.” The three girls admitted with a sigh, as the all slumped down on Violet’s living room couch.

    “So what, do you take turns reading it or?” He asked once more, his hands making gestures to elaborate.

    “Well, Mei’s supposed to finish it first.” Olive explained. “And hopefully that’ll still be possible, right Violet?” She said sternly as she nudged Violet’s arm. It appears that Olive won’t be able to move on from this incident anytime soon.

    “I didn’t read it, okay?” Violet assured, her tone sharp and blunt.

    Mei couldn’t help but feel guilty in the conversation, as she was the one who accidentally left the diary in the first place. And she was the one who accused Violet of stealing it. So overall, she’s the one to blame.

    She noticed that her dad had taken a glimpse of her, noticing how she felt about the whole situation. “Hey, the rain’s all gone!” He pointed out. Distracting everyone from the topic at hand, hoping they’d decide to go home soon.

    “Well, looks like you’ll be going soon then.” Violet chuckled, though by the undertone of it, a bit pushy.

    “We really should.” Mei agreed, as her head had started feeling nauseous all of the sudden.

    “We will.” Olive agreed as well, quickly getting up from the couch and heading for the door, not even bothering to take an umbrella or shield herself from the rain. Mei and her father soon followed, thanking Violet and Isabelle for their hospitality before leaving the house.

    As soon as they got to the car, Olive was already waiting impatiently in the vehicle. They both took notice, so her father only drove quietly as he watches Mei try to talk things out with her friend in the backseat.

    “What is wrong with you!” Mei exclaimed, more confused than angry.

    “What’s wrong with me?” Olive shot back, “What is wrong with you!?”

    “If something’s wrong, just tell me,” Mei said as she took off her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

    “She’s obviously lying!” Olive exclaimed in frustration.

    “No, she’s not!” Mei exclaimed back as she holds her glasses, careful as to not break it. To be blunt, she’s more than ready to go back to bed, though it’s barely seven in the morning.

    “You’re honestly gonna buy into it?” Olive asked, her tone unbelieving in what Mei had just said.

     “And what’s your proof?” Mei asked as she fixed her glasses back to the frame of her face, unimpressed by Olive’s behavior.

    She was quite literally, the hot-head of the group. It’s no secret from anyone for Olive to constantly make brash and not so well thought out decisions, so this behavior was very much normal to the group.

    “I can feel it.” Olive insisted.

    “Yeah, and that’s logical because?” Mei grunted, and with that, the argument had escalated. And Mei’s father was left speechless on the driver's seat, occasionally looking back through the rear view mirror to check on their condition.

    “By the way,” He suddenly spoke, in an attempt to defuse the situation without seeming like it. “Where’d you find the diary?”

    The two girls stopped their bickering and looked up to Mei’s father, still saving some time to answer the actual question.

    “We found it under Ivory’s bed,” Olive answered quickly.

    “You mean, ‘I found it under Ivory’s bed’.” Mei corrected with a sharp and bitter tone.

    “Will you just stop!” Olive shot at Mei. So much for defusing the situation.

    “Hush now.” He said from the driver’s seat, as he was genuinely concerned at this point. Mei and Olive had been a friend for a very long time now, and never has he seen them fight like this before.

    “Oh yeah, what were you saying?” Mei spoke, as she glared at Olive with a stern look.

    “Well, I was thinking,” He spoke, “This was obviously Ivory’s third diary right? And you happen to found that in her house.”

    “So?” Olive replied, “What are you getting at?”

    “Well, I’m just saying,” He continued, “The rest might still be in her house, just in different places.”

    And it was at that point that Mei and Olive had come to the realization, a realization at too late of a time.

    “Dad, we need to go to Ivory’s house,” Mei snapped quickly, Olive seemed to be following her idea.

    “Wait, right now?” He asked worriedly.

    “Yes!” Both Mei and Olive exclaimed, and with that, they had managed to arrive ten minutes earlier than usual. Despite the wet and uneven road leading their path.

    Mei and Olive slumped down out of the car, nauseous. Though, Mei’s father was perfectly fine, which was quite amazing for his age.

    “Damn, your dad has some skills,” Olive remarked as she tried desperately to hold in the insides of her gut.

    “I think I’m gonna be sick,” Mei replied. Though, it wasn’t really a reply as it was a complaint.

    “You girls go inside while I hang in the car.” Mei’s father advised as he heads back inside the car to park it properly.

    Mei and Olive soon regained themselves, they intend to waste no time and hastily head for the door. They knocked a few times, no answer. Doorbell? No answer.

    “Anna, open the door!” Mei shouted from the porch step, with Olive soon following in on the action.

    Still, no answer.

    Though, they did hear something else from inside the house. Screaming, thumping, something breaking that was most likely glass...What the hell were they doing in there?

    “Anna, open the door!” Mei called out once more. And with that, the horrifying sounds from inside the house had abruptly stopped, presuming the two sisters had paused their fighting to open the door to them. Which was correct.

    “Mei!” Anna exclaimed as soon as she opened the door.

    “Hi.” Mei greeted awkwardly as she anxiously tapped her foot.

    “Oh, and Olive! How have you been holding up?” Anna asked as she beamed a smile to Olive, though they both know that this was merely a formality.

    “Could be better.” Olive shrugged off.

    “Um, you wouldn’t happen to see a red book around here would you?” Mei asked, her voice hushed as to not attract Adriane’s attention. For all she knows, no one could be trusted.

    “Oh, don’t tell me you have another one.” Anna groaned.

    “Wait, which one did you find?” Olive asked, still somewhat confused. Though one thing’s for certain now, Anna’s the current holder of one of the diaries.

    “I found the second one.” Anna replied, “Well, ‘stole’ would be the more appropriate term.”

    “Ah,” Mei said, “Adriane.”

    “Yep,” Anna confirmed.

    “I knew she was evil,” Olive remarked with a chuckle. Though this wasn’t really the time to be joking, as Adriane soon came downstairs to see what all the fuss was about.

    The three females knew better than to talk about any of it when she was around, so instinctively, they talked about the weather. And obviously, Adriane wasn’t buying it.

    "Mei! How wonderful it is to see you.” Adriane beamed, flashing her best fake smile yet. It was almost convincing.

    “Yeah, I came to stop by again,” Mei replied, “Since last time I was here, I didn’t really get what I was searching for.”

    “Which was?” Adriane asked, assuming the little girl had meant the diary.

    “Ivory’s script, the ones on her computer.” Mei clarified, which only made Adriane even more aggravated than before. She had quite enough of this, though she can’t afford to lose her cover. Not yet, at least.

    “Ah, of course,” Adriane played along, “I hope you won’t mind the mess like last time.”

    “What the hell did you do this time!?” Mei thought to herself.

    “It’s fine, I’m sure,” Mei said to Adriane with a soft smile plastered on to her pale face. Hopefully Adriane didn’t notice anything suspicious, or even worse, caught anything they were saying before she came here.

    “Well, we should come inside.” Anna advised.

    “Yeah, we should.” All three of them replied, both making a sharp look at each other the whole time.

    Mei and Olive practically rushed upstairs to Ivory’s room, with the two sisters following calmly from behind. To be honest, they were quite afraid of how Mei and Olive would react to what has happened.

    “It’s...Clean?” Mei said softly as she allowed herself to glance around the newly made room. Not even a speck of dust was found on anything. To be honest, she’d just be content in seeing the pentagrams covered properly. But this was far above her expectations.

    Olive was less amazed, as she hadn’t known of what had happened to the room before. But to be fair, she’s still quite impressed.

    “So, what’d you think?” Adriane pipped in. “Not too shabby, right?” She remarked. To which she begs to whatever Gods up above that Mei would answer “Yes”, as she’s spent more than too much money on repairing this insufferable room.

    “Thank you so much!” Mei beamed, at this point, she couldn’t contain her happiness. Which was quite dangerous considering the current situation.

    “Eh, don’t mention it, kid,” Adriane replied. However, Adriane wasn’t the slightest of impressed with her. She gave Adriane a scowl, and Adriane smirked cockily as if she’d just won a battle.

    “But one thing I can’t fix was the computer.” Adriane soon added. And that quickly made Mei’s face drop down because of course, she isn’t going to get what she wants today. Olive noticed and quickly gave Adriane a sharp glance before tending to her friend.

    “Nice going, sister.” Anna taunted, a smile of victory spreading across her face.

    “Well, what the hell am I supposed to do?” Adriane shot back, “It’s not like I have money growing on trees.”

    “Could’ve told her that back at the front door,” Anna remarked.

    “Shut up.” Adriane hissed back.

    Olive was left on her own in comforting Mei, with two very grown adults fighting right in front of them. Luckily she’s had experience similar to this before, on major factor is that there was no one else but her and her parents that were involved.

    And then there was Mei. Who, luckily, managed to put herself together quite well on her own. Though she was more than enraged. She’s had quite enough of Adriane, almost enough of Anna. But she needs to have a plan about this, she can’t go around accusing people like before, she’s done with the barge tactics.

    So, now what?

    “You two are back early.” Mei’s father commented cheerfully as he started the car once more. “Did you get it?”

    “No.” Mei and Olive replied simultaneously.

    “But we do know where it is now.” Olive soon added.

    “And that is?” He asked once more.

    “It’s on Anna now,” Mei explained. “It’s safe now...I think.” She said quietly. Though, not one person in the car seemed to believe in her words. Not even her.

    “Well, at least it’s a relative.” Her father replied with a small smile. Mei and Olive winced at the remark.

    “Blood’s thicker than water,” Mei whispered to Olive, the wavy haired girl could only nod in response.

    “I still don’t think it’s a good idea to just leave them.” Olive voiced, crossing her arms over her chest.

    “Well, I don’t wanna get myself killed.” Mei shrugged, earning a sigh from her friend.

    “Mei, what actually happened back at Ivy’s house?” Olive asked with a worried tone.

    “Nothing Olive.” Mei insisted.

    “You mine as well tell me kitty cat, I’m worried about you.” Her father chimed in.

    “Well, what if I don’t want to?” Mei asked.

    “Then we won’t bother you with it anymore.” He replied. Olive seemed to catch his tactic and quickly played along.

    “Yeah, I don’t wanna force you to do anything.” The older girl added.

    “Good.” Mei snapped at the both of them. And with that, things quickly went quiet. Though Mei couldn’t help but feel a slight guilt in hiding this matter. It was quite important.

    And after a while, the silence became unnerving, and quite honestly very annoying. As both her father and her friend downright refused to make or hold up a conversation with her. She’s quite familiar with this silent treatment tactic of theirs, but couldn’t help but fall for it every time it was used on her.

    Mei and Olive both sat quietly in the car as Mei’s father started humming some old 80’s song he always liked. Mei couldn’t help but imagine what the two sisters were doing as they drove slowly back to home.

    “Anna.” Adriane singsonged as she threw a butcher’s dagger at the wall, “Come here you little s**t!”

    Anna ran as fast as she could because right after the two girls were gone, the place was a battle zone once more. Though she did knew it was coming, and it’s not like they haven’t done this before. She’s more than brave to admit, they’re both psychopaths.

    Though by extension, Anna would also have to admit that her adopted sister’s a better psychopath than her. As Adriane quickly caught on with her sprinting and caught her right in the kitchen. Yes, the kitchen, where all things sharp, flammable, and possibly poisonous are located.

    “Adriane, please! Anywhere but here.” Anna groaned as her sister quickly pinned her down on the counter.

    “Well, where do you want to be murdered?” Adriane taunted as she grabbed something from the side of the counter. And without even catching a glimpse of it, Anna has enough experience to know that it was a dagger that her sister’s currently holding.

    Anna saw Adriane weakened her grip on her wrists, and quickly pushed her sister away to run for her room. She quickly locked the door with her shaky hands still managing to find the keys. Adriane banged the wooden door with all her might, but no use.

    And now that Ana has some time for herself, she can finally check for the diary. She quickly retrieved the tin box she’d expertly hidden behind a bookshelf and hastily checked if the content was still there. Which thankfully, was still there.

    “Now, how do I get this somewhere safe?” Anna thought to herself she hid the tin box in a different place, as to not make it easier for her sister to find it. Though, it was only a matter of time before she does.

    But it appears that this alone time of hers wouldn’t be lasting much longer, as her opponent had just thrown a red brick at her bedroom window.

    This was going to be fun.

    Mei had arrived at the home, tired. Olive had already gone home, granted, her parents are probably engulfed with rage at the moment.

    Mei sighed as she lazily hung her rain coat on the old wooden coat hanger, her father instinctively followed her gesture. It's been a long day, and Mei isn't really deeming horrible the idea of just heading back to bed. But it's currently one one in the afternoon, and Mei is restless

    So, she decided to make use of her remaining time to make lunch. Since she's had quite enough of waffles, It's time to make actual food.

    "Woah kitty cat, what do you think you're doing?" Her father asked from behind her, startling her.

    "I'm cooking lunch, dad." She said slowly as she resumes on cooking.

    "Yeah, no you're not," He said with a chuckle, "You are going to get some rest, while I make lunch for us."

    "I promise you dad, I'm perfectly capable of making—Aagh!" Mei's words were cut off by the scrambled eggs she was making, suddenly dissolving to flames.

    The smoke had set off the fire alarm, prompting the sprinklers to activate. Leaving Mei and her father drenched with water. Not that they haven't been drenched in the rain earlier today, but it was still quite the annoying event.

    "I'll handle it, you go pick a movie to watch." He said with a smile.

    "Alright." Mei complied as she slowly made her way to the living room couch.

    She slumped down into the couch, then sighed. She grabbed a random CD from her father's collection, and set it beside her, paying no attention of what kind of movie she'd pick.

    She then grabbed her phone from her pocket and watched as some of the remaining rain drops trickle down from the screen and into her lap. She sighed once more before whipping her phone screen on her wet black and sooty distressed jeans, before turning it on. She watched the black screen light up and come to life, It's white light reflecting against the small remaining droplets of water.

    She scrolled through her social medias, since It's been a while since she's opened anything on her phone. Nothing but condolences and apologies for Ivory's death. At any other time, she'd appreciate the gesture. But today? It's almost sickening.

    She turned her phone once more, refusing to look or answer her messages.

    "Mei! I burnt the eggs!" Her father shouted from the kitchen, the familiar sound of the fire alarm soon accompanying them. Mei secretly thanks that the water sprinklers would only go off in the area where the fire were detected.

    "Are you alright?" She shouted back as she got up from the couch.

    "Yeah, I'm fine," Her father shouted back, "It might take a while to make lunch, so take your time!"

    "Okay, Dad." She replied shortly, as she went back to the couch. By the looks of it, it appears that they're be skipping lunch and dinner for today.

    "Hmmm...what to do?" Mei asked herself, before reopening her phone.

    She scrolled through her contact list until finally finding the name she was looking for the name she was looking for.

    She pressed voice call, then waited.

    One ring...

    Two rings...

    Three rings...

    “Hello, this is Violet Miller. I’m probably not at home right now, so if you want to leave a message, you know what to do.” The voice from the other side spoke.

    Mei took a deep breath and stared back at the screen.

    Click.

    "So you lied again, just to get an alibi?" Camilla asked from the other side of the call.

    "Well, what'd you expect?" Violet replied butterfly, "I've gone too deep into the rabbit hole."

    "Well nevertheless, you got the job done," Camilla commented. "Now, I need you to give me any and all information regarding Mei from that diary." She ordered.

    "Wait, everything?" Violet blurted in protest, "That'll take forever! There are about a hundred entries in here! And let me remind you that Ivory is a compulsive essay writer."

    "Well you better get to it then," Camilla hummed, "Wouldn't want to waste any time."

    "Remind me again of how this will help me," Violet groaned.

    "Simple!" Camilla chirped, "You provide me information about Mei, and I'll provide you with my past with Ivory."

    "Starting to think that It's not worth it," Violet replied sternly.

    "Trust me on this," Camilla said with confidence, "Once you tell Mei what I know, she'll come running into your arms. Leaving Ivory to the past."

    "That's a hard promise to keep," Violet pointed out.

    "Easier than it sounds," Camilla mused, "But I'll need you to meet your end of the barter first."

    "Fine." Violet sighed with surrender, seeing no near end to this madness.

    "Well, I'll be off now," Camilla chimed, "Don't forget to come to the hill at midnight."

    "Wait! How'd you know about tha-” Her voice never reached Camilla, as the call had ended.

    Violet sighed and let her back slump down on the back of the desk. She let her mind drift off as she traced the wooden textures of her study desk, before resuming back to work.

    She sat straight once more before she started cleaning the pile of papers sitting before her. She then began to read each paper slowly and diligently sorting them into separate piles once she's done reading them. Three piles: Important, unimportant, and potentially important.

    It's been an hour now. Violet sighed and paused her work for a few seconds, before quickly resuming. Letting each letter she reads consume her, swallowing her whole existence. The sound of flipping pages seeming like an old melody to her, accompanying her and her work.

    "Violet, do you want dinner or shower first?" Her housekeeper shouted from the kitchen.

    She has been quite annoying in Violet's perspective. And that didn't make the situation any better, considering that she was the supposed replacement for Violet's absent parents. To be honest, Violet had already forgotten her name. But It's not like names matter. It's not like anything matters.

    "I'll take dinner first, thanks," Violet replied, unsure whether the other had heard her or not. Not that she’d actually care.

    She then resumed her search, tracing each word she reads with her index finger steadily to help her with her search. Before a sudden noise suddenly broke the silence and disrupt her concentration.

    "You have one new voicemail." Her phone chimed before I began playing the new voicemail Violet had received. Violet paid almost no attention to it and decided to continue her work as before. The sound of flipping pages once again filling the lonely room.

    "Hi, Violet. Umm, I won't lie that things have been...Rough lately." The voice spoke.

    Flip.

    "I’ve been a jerk, and I wanted to say sorry."

    Flip.

    "And I want to fix this. I want to fix us...The whole gang. But I can't do that if you keep being so distant from us. I don't know, maybe It's just me being weird."

    Flip.

    "Anyways, I just wanted to say that..."

    Flip.

    "I’m sorry, and...I miss you."

    ...Flip.

    Violet thought about replying, but she then decided against it. Which is most likely for the best, in this scenario. Besides, It's been a long day.

    "You have one new voicemail." The phone pinged once more. Violet looked at her phone.

    “Mei.”

    Anna was miles past her limit at this point. It was almost midnight, and she’s been playing a horror version of tag with Adriane for the past couple of hours. So to be blunt, she’s exhausted.

    She was currently back in her room, holding the door closed because her sister was budging the other side of it. She would use the lock like last time, but Adriane already broke it two hours ago.

    “Damn! This b***h is strong!” Anna grunted as she gave the wooden door one last push to ward her sister off.

    “Give it up you psycho!” Adriane shouted from the other side from the door.

    “Psycho?” Anna thought to herself. “Well, you’re the one to talk.” She sneered.

    Then suddenly, everything went quiet. There was no longer any force from the other side of the door. Adriane was gone, Anna was somewhat relieved. But that didn’t last long as a hand suddenly made its way to Anna’s window, tracing through the frame of the window to find a way to lift up the lower lash.

    Anna wasted no time to react and hastily grabbed the diary and ran, leaving the tin box closed but un-hidden, for a moment of distraction. Anna made her way upstairs and into Ivory’s room, as that was somehow the first room that came to mind. Not that she minded. Well, that’s a lie.

    She closed the door and peeked through the window in Ivory’s room, careful as to not go noticed. Adriane was still in the front yard, trying to get Adriane’s window to open. Adriane checked her pocket once more, to make sure the diary hasn’t fallen out—which thankfully was still in her pocket at the time.

    She sighed and looked back at the window. Her sisters gone.

    “Anna.” A voice croaked from the door behind her. Adriane almost managed to open the door before Anna hastily blocked it off with a nearby chair.

    “You can’t run away forever, sister!” Adriane said with the most sing-song tone possible. Her voice sent shivers down the older one’s spine, though this was no time to be scared.

    “Why are you doing this?” Anna shouted from the other side of the door, while simultaneously adding pressure on to the chair to hold her sister at bay.

    “Why?” Adriane repeated as if the answer was obvious to anyone. “Anna, why do you think I do anything anymore?” She asked in a teasing tone.

    “What?” Anna thought to herself, “Does she actually want me to guess?”

    “Revenge?” Anna choked out.

    “Nope! Guess again!” Adriane shouted as she pushed the door harder, making Anna slowly lose her footing.

    “Hatred?” Anna answered once more, realizing that she may not have much time left before the door opens. She needs a plan of escape, and fast! Because God knows that Adriane’s still holding that dagger of hers.

    “Guess again, sister!” Adriane shot back, nudging the door bit by bit.

    “I don’t f*****g know!” Anna shouted back in desperation. "Money?"

    “BINGO!” Adriane exclaimed as she gave the door one last push, that sent both the door and Anna flying.

    “Wait for what!?” Anna exclaimed. “You destroyed my house and my life! For money?”

    “Yep.” Adriane hummed as she whipped the familiar blade using her shirt.

    “Why?” Anna asked wearily, her voice soar and raspy. “What’s money have to do with Ivory?”

    Adriane chuckled and stared Anna with cold eyes. “Oh, don’t tell me you haven’t read the diary yet.” She said menacingly, almost pitifully.

    “Well, I was kinda busy trying to avoid you the whole day, so...” Anna’s words trailed off. To be honest, it was just a small diversion talk to lower Adriane’s guard so Anna could find some means of escape. But alas, Adriane would never fall for such faulty tactic.

    “You’re not going anywhere you piece of s**t!” Adriane roared as she slashed her dagger at her sister. Anna quickly dodged and head for the door, the diary still in her pocket.

    She quickly went downstairs and out of the house, and she wasted no time running as far away as possible from the house. She didn’t even bothering to look back to see her sister staring at her with blazing anger through Ivory’s window. Adriane didn’t chase after her, she just watched from afar as her step sister hastily made her way to wherever she was planning to escape to.

    “It doesn’t matter,” She sighed, “She’ll come back.”

    “She has to.”

    They had battled and bloodied one another, they had kept secrets, broken hearts, lied, betrayed, exiled, they had walked away, said goodbye and sworn it was forever, and somehow, every time, they had mended, they had come back to each other. Some mistakes could never be fixed—some, undoubtedly most. But the thing was, some people can't be driven away, no matter how hard you try. Some bonds are stronger than the other.

    And neither of them could tell whether it was a good thing or a bad thing.

    “Money,” Anna repeated her sister's words like a broken record. “What’s Ivory gotta do with her financial situation.” She asked herself. Though, potential answers can be saved for later.

    Adriane couldn’t stop running nor thinking. She’s gone about a kilometer away from the house, which to some is a safe distance to catch a breath. But this was Adriane and Anna. None of them could tell the limits of one another.

    So Anna kept running.

    Though, she wasn’t running blindly anymore. This time, she has an idea of where to go to. She checked her pocket once more for the diary, which thankfully hasn’t fallen off of her pocket yet. The black haired woman sighed and lowered her speed, taking deep and heavy breaths with each step.

    “If there’s one place this thing would be saved in it would be in Mei’s house, where it should be,”  Anna spoke to herself, as she picked up her pace.

    It’s gonna be a long way to Mei, that’s for sure.