“I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to you, my dear.”
it was her sixteenth birthday. her sweet sixteen. her mother had gone all out with the cake & the streamers & the big banner hanging in the wide dining room doorway. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AINSLEY !
a small group of her friends were gathered around the table ( acquaintances, really. her schedule was so full of school, tutoring, piano lessons & more tutoring that it was hard to find time to “hang out” ) she chatted with them as her mother wrung some poor baker out to dry in the kitchen, directing the final touches of the cake meticulously before it was brought out, sixteen candles blazing, smile wide. they laughed & they sang & they ate on modernist china from grandma whitly & she watched & waved as the girls lined up out of the door, waving back.
malcolm was busy with his last weeks of harvard & sent his apologies with a promise to call. when her phone started buzzing she rushed to answer it, too excited to notice the UNKNOWN flashing across the top. ( never pick up a call from someone you don’t know !! )
“ mal ? ” ainsley pressed the phone to her ear, supporting herself against the railing of the balcony. “ ask him if he’s eating ! ” her mother called from the living room.
“ I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to you, my dear. ” a voice she didn’t recognize spoke over the phone, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up straight. no, she did recognize it. from the documentary she had found online when she had googled the family name. she hung up as quick as her hands allowed her, clutching the phone tightly against her chest.
“ is he ? ” her mother called over.
“ what ? ”
“ is he eating, ainsley ? I wanted you to ask him one thing ! ”
“ sorry. ” she stuffed the device back into her pocket, swallowing the bad taste in her mouth. “ I forgot. ”
@surgikill
