The Peculiars’ Tale Chapter 20

Translated by: whosays25

/20/ Confessions

We were all surprised.

“Miss Italia.” We said in unison.

She stared at us one by one. Her expression is still blank, nothing changed.

“M-miss! We almost had a heart attack. We thought you were a ghost!” The silence was broken when Aya reacted..

“What are you doing here?” My companions were scared by her authoritative voice.

“We f-forgot to take something here.” Baldo was the one who braved answering.

“I should be the one asking that to you, Miss Karen.” I stared at her while hinting something. “What are you doing here?” I firmly asked without breaking my eye contact with her. No one blinked from the two of us.

“Morie.” They reproached me. They looked at me, surprised by my actions.

“I also forgot something.” She immediately declared. I wonder if she’s lying.

“Ahm, then we’ll be going.” Baldo cut the conversation, probably aware of the tension between Miss Karen and I. “L-let’s go.” They hurriedly went out. However, I deliberately came out later than them. When I was already outside, I heard her said. “Jill Morie.”

I didn’t pay attention to her and just went to catch up with Aya and the rest.

“You have to explain so many things to us, Morie, because I’m already in the verge of insanity!” Aya yelled when we got into my apartment. “Wooow, your house is great!” That was when I switched on the lights.

“Why did you say that to Miss?” Penelope sounds worried.

“Moreover, why did you suddenly run? What happened?” It’s Baldo who was confused.

I no longer knew which one to answer first because they threw me several questions at once. It’s my fault ‘though that they were feeling perplexed.

“Wait, how about we calm ourselves first? Can we sit down?” Yue was right, we had just entered. After all, when we’re on our way here we didn’t speak even a single word.

“Okay, okay. Sorry. I was just excited.” Aya said. We set off for the living room and when we get there, they preferred to sit on the floor and formed a circle. Each of us carried some foods since there are many stocks from the refrigerator.

And here I am… I’ve yet to start.

“You said you’re going to confess.” Penelope opened her mouth.

“Right.” Seconded by Yue. “Ssshhhh!” he chastised Aya and Baldo who were fighting for the Nutella. They eventually shut up.

“I will tell you but I’ll be counting that you won’t tell anyone else about it.” I said. Yeah, I trust them because they’re my friends. And… I think it’s better that I share this to others. I can’t take it all alone.

“We promise.” They even raised their hands like children who were promising to behave.

“There’s a problem.” I sighed. “I don’t know where to start.” I actually don’t know that and on what to confess.

“Umm… Then we’re just going to ask you. Is that fine?” Penelope suggested.

I nodded as a sign of consent. It seems fine that way. However, they couldn’t make up their decisions on who would ask first.

“I’ll ask first!”

“No, I suggested so it should be me.”

“I was the first to question her earlier, Penpen!”

“Then, I’ll just be the one to ask.”

“I said, that should be me!”

“For fairness, let’s have a lottery!” That was Aya’s idea.

“Oh, so Aya actually have a brain.” Teased by Balso.

“Hmp!” Aya brought out a paper which she divided into four. She wrote their names and then crumpled them before shaking and leaving them on the floor.

“Morie, pick.”

I did so and I opened it, “Baldo,”

“Okay, so I’ll be first. Ahm, earlier, why did you run?” he inquired.

I inhaled deeply before bringing out my phone. “Can you still remember the caller yesterday?”They nodded, “After you all left me, the owner of the number called again…”

“And you answered it?” Aya excitedly added.

“Sssshhhh!” they stopped her.

“Sorry, tehee~”

I confirmed. “He said, he knows who created the blog about me. He wanted me to come back to White Knights that day –  if I want to know.”

“Did you come back?” Yue asked in nervousness.

“No, I went home.”

“Why? Don’t you want to learn who’s behind that?” Aya was the one who questioned.

“It’s because I was feeling a great unease. It made me feel anxious. And earlier, when we came to the school, Penelope and Aya were in the cla.s.sroom, Baldo and Yue went to CR, I was left alone at the lobby…”

“You moron! Why did you let Morie be alone?!” Aya hit Baldo in the head.

“Ouch, that hurts!”

“Ssshhh!” – Yue and Penelope.

“I opened my phone to call you but before I managed to do so… The unknown number called me again.” They became quieter. “The reason that I ran…” I heard them swallowed saliva, “When I pressed the answer b.u.t.ton… No one responded from the other line… But… I heard your voices, Aya and Penelope, you were in the homeroom.”

The four’s faces paled. Silence.

“Kyaaaaaaaah!” Aya hugged Penelope. She was feeling scared. “No more! It’s already horror! No morrreee!”

“Mariah, calm down.” Said Penelope who was also trying to compose herself.

“H-how did that happen?” Tension was present in Baldo’s voice. “Does it mean that the caller was close to the homeroom? T-then the one we saw when we came out was – “

“MISS ITALIA!” They shouted in chorus.

“Is that the reason why you spoke to her in that way?” It’s Yue. “S-She was the caller?”

“I don’t know.” I replied.

“Does it imply that she was the blog creator?” Aya almost concluded. “But if it was her, why did she do that?”

“I think Miss wouldn’t do such things.” Penelope tried to argue.

“We can help you, Jill.” Yue snapped. He brought out his laptop and powered it on.

“How so?”

“If you’re not going to ask, I’m actually good in computer. I’ll try to hack the blog or track the IP address.”

“Yue! Why did you only think of that now?! Aya snapped her fingers. “So you’re actually a computer genius?”

“I’ll do my best. Let’s check the site first.” He opened the site. We went behind him to see. Yue scrolled the page while the others were having different reactions for what they read or saw. Me? Used to it.

But… I think I saw something odd. “Wait, stop there.” I requested to Yue. My eyes enlarged because of what I saw. How did those pictures get posted there? How did that person obtain the pictures I already threw away?

Yes, those were the pictures I threw in the trash can together with the box. Those were the three photographs which were important to my life.

“J-jill.”

The first picture with ‘The Shadow Friends’ as the caption was our group picture. I feel like it’s difficult to breathe when I saw the next one, ‘The Disappointed Father’, a photo with me and my Dad. But my heart seems to become more torn because of the third picture, ‘The Tragic Lovers’.The photo of me… with him…

I shut my eyes for a moment then breathed deeply. “Y-you can ask me anything.”

“N-no Morie. If you don’t want to, it’s fine – “

“Penelope, I’m alright.” I said before picking another name, “Aya.”

“A-ahm, c-can you e-explain those pictures?” She shyly questioned.

“Okay.” I cleared my throat. “The pictures were taken two years ago. Look, we looked so happy in Junior High.” I pointed the first photo, smiling.

“Y-yeah, that time, we won the cheering compet.i.tion. Hehe.” Baldo shyly said. “That time, Tamaki and Ireneo were still not mortal enemies. We’re all close to each other.”

“And the caste did still not exist.” Yue added.

“But nothing is consistent in this world. We won’t always be happy, right? Especially when a person’s feelings were not consistent. People do change. Then everybody changed. In the brighter side of my life, they were with me but when it gets dark, they were like vanis.h.i.+ng shadows.” They lowered their heads since they are also included in the ‘they’ part. However, I didn’t mean anything with that. “No one stayed by my side. Until the heavens sent Hanneul to me, the little girl…” whom I first saw the future, “my little angel who helped me…to stay stronger… But she perished and before she died, Hanneul wished to me to bring back my smile… That is why I opened my heart again to gain friends. I want to grant what she wished.”

I smiled. They also beamed at me. Penelope wiped her tears. She was actually sobbing silently.

I continued narrating, “So, the second photo, I’m with my father, Richard Morie. Probably you already noticed that I’m not living with my family. I’m living here alone. It has been two years since I started living without my family’s affection. My father and I used to live together. My mom died a long time ago. However, my father suddenly brings home a woman.”

“Baldo, do you tissues?” Aya interrupted with a query.

“Aya, please behave!” Baldo replied.

“It’s Lily’s mom.”

This revelation made them gasped.

‘Elinor is very kind, especially to me. I didn’t doubt why my father wanted to marry her. I mean, she had it all… unlike her daughter.” I smirked. I couldn’t forget the incident where Lily and I had an argument. I was still living at that place. I almost had thrown her a vase. Then Lily made me appear villainous and Dad actually believed and even went for her. “Lily and I didn’t like each other. Moreover, I couldn’t accept that my Mom’s place in Dad’s heart was stolen by another. I lost my place in that house so I left. Not long ago, I visited home but I was greeted by my father’s disappointed face. Remember when I jumped in the railway?”

“S-sorry, Morie – “

“No, Yue. You have nothing to feel sorry for.” I told him while he only nodded. “Well, it seems I was no longer needed there…so I resolved not to return anymore.”

“H-he’s your father. How could he do that to you.” Penelope couldn’t believe it.

“Yeah.” I only shrugged my shoulders. My eyes darted to the third photograph. “ And the last one…” was I together with “Morris.” I was hesitating if I will tell them this. It seems I couldn’t…

“He… He’s the one who broke my heart…” He was the man I loved and the first to hurt my feelings. Until now, the scars and wounds brought by Morris to my heart are not yet healed.

“h.e.l.lo?” Aya and the rest were no longer here. It’s already pa.s.sed nine pm. I finished my tale to them then they went home.

“Why, Yue?” Yue was the one who suddenly gave me a call.

“Umm… Jill… “

“Yes?”

“I’ve tracked…the blog’s address…”

 ***