Pretty as a Car Crash

It’s Nice to be Home

“Jessica? Jessie? Mom says that it’s time for dinner and that you need to eat.” Natasha is shaking me awake and talking. I roll over and face her, looking through groggy eyes. Her sandy-blonde hair is pulled back in a tight pony and blue eyes are staring at me from under mascara-coated lashes.

“What time is it?” I reach out, searching for my alarm clock resting on the floor near my bed.

“Six-thirty.” Nat supplies, stepping back from my bed. I groan and roll back over. Covering my face with the closest pillow. “You look pale. Are you feeling alright?” Nat’s voice asks from behind me.

“I’m fine, just tired. Tell Mom I ate before I fell asleep at six.” I hear Natasha’s foot steps cross my room to the door. “Nat?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m only pale because there’s little light in this room and I just got out of the hospital.”

“Sure.” Is her only reply. Footsteps leave my room, Nat pausing to close the door as she goes.

I lay on my side, attempting to fall asleep until I figure it’s useless. I’m awake and that’s just the way that it is. Rolling onto my back, I stare up at the ceiling, my mind blank.

What should I do next? Ashton said that the latest theory involving Nan’s death is that she left me some clues. The only question is did she really? I don’t even know what I would look for…

Slowly sitting up, as to make sure blood doesn’t go rushing to my head, I look around my room. I had finished unpacking whilst talking to Mar-mar. All of my things are put in their place, just like before I went to college.

If I was Nan, where would I put a clue to give to myself?

I get up and start going through picture taken at my seventeenth birthday party, the last one she attended. Nothing was out of the ordinary either in the picture or on it. Next I move onto my camera supplies, checking my camera, its holder, its accessories, everything. Finding nothing, I sit back on my haunches, trying to figure out where else a clue may be hidden. That’s when it hits me. Quickly getting up, I go to my closet and push open the doors, trying to be as quite as I can as to not alert my family that I’m not actually sleeping. Kneeling to the floor, I reach to the back of my closet, pulling forth a cardboard box with no lid. Sitting on top of a bunch of note books and sketch books in my wooden pencil box from Nan. A small amount of dust has gathered on the top from not being used for a while. Blowing it off, I look at J.B. in gold scrawl. I open the lid and read the note Nanyamka had inscribed.

May this box help keep your supplies, and mind, organized.
Nan

Dumping out the pens and pencils in the box, I flip it over, only finding a picture of a golden rose on the bottom. I press it, checking to see if something would happen, but nothing does. I check if there’s a secret compartment, a removable bottom, or any other writing I missed. There was nothing of the sort. I set it off to the side and push it’s contents that I had spilt on the ground out of the way. Pulling the box all of the way out of my closet, I start going through my notebooks and sketch books. After spending twenty minutes on that, I stop, feeling discouraged, and lay on my back on the wood floor.

“What now, Nan? I don’t know where else to look.” I whisper to myself, bringing my legs up so that my feet are flat on the ground and my knees are pointing to the ceiling.

“What are you doing?” I turn my head to find Dan and Nat staring at me from the door way with mini horror-struck expressions. I gaze around me at all of my things thrown all over the floor, me lying in the middle of them.

“I was looking for something.” I slowly sit up and brush my hair out of my face. My brother and sister glance at each other, exchanging a loaded look. “Here it is!” I exclaim, picking up a random purple notebook from off the floor, patting it and smiling. “Yep, this is it. Maria was wondering if I had it, I do, so I’ll have to return it to her.” I stop patting the pad of paper and smile fades.

“Alright. Mom wanted to know if you wanted some dessert.” Danielle says, propping his left elbow on the door frame and crossing his right ankle over his left.

“Okay. I’ll be down in a minute.” Dan leaves, but Natasha stays, giving me a concerned look. “Nat, is something wrong?” I stand and walk over to her. It’s hard to believe that my baby brother and sister are already fourteen.

“I’m just worrying about you. I’m your alright and that your staying at the house now.” Nat has always been a soft spoken girl that seldom shows her emotions. Seeing her like this catches me off guard.

I hug her, stroking her hair, and smile. “Thank you, but I’m fine, really. There is no need to worry. It’s nice being able to see you and Dan.” I pull back, my hands on both side of her head and I continue to smile, showing off my teeth and wrinkling my nose. She giggles and nods, smiling back. I walk with her to the dinning room and sit down in my usual seat across from Mom. I devour a slice of chocolate cake, ignoring Ashton’s warning to stop eating human food and chat with my family. Mom leaves me alone as far as prying questions goes and we manage to have a civil conversation.