I arrived at the police station in a short amount of time, out of breath from the brisk walk and the adrenaline that coursed through my veins.I was only thinking of ways to get Eric out of taking the blame for a crime he didn't do.The station was abuzz when I arrived. I searched for Captain Lee or someone else I recognized, spotting Lee across the room speaking into a walkie talkie. I moved quickly towards him, and he stopped talking to address me."Run more tests," I said before I could lose my train of thought. "Of course there would have been Eric's fingerprints on the gun, he's the owner of it. Test to see if the gun has ever been shot. If it hasn't, there's no way it can be him.""We already sent it to the lab for more testing," Lee said."But we still have to keep Eric in

I stared at the closed doors to my father's study for a long time. For a moment when I shut my eyes it felt like he could be in there, on a phone call or surfing the web on his computer or flipping through a book.  It felt like I could step inside and ask him about his day or offer him help. It felt wrong to want to go in there and snoop among his things for a possible suicide note. The thought sent a shiver through me. The logical part of my brain suspected that it couldn't have been a suicide, not with the circumstances of his death, but the heavily emotional one felt like a hamster running on a wheel-clogged with too many thoughts, too many theories, too many feelings. Captain Lee told me that if I needed to go inside the study I could, but I was to be careful in case they needed to consult the

I woke up to an empty mattress and an empty house.Sunlight streamed through the bedroom windows, warm and calm.I got up and got dressed, finding a note from Eric on the kitchen counter.'Luna,I went out to the forest early to work on my map. Call me if you need anything. Hope you slept well. Good luck with your aunt Elise today.E.'I took the note and put it in my pocket, wishing I had woken up with him and we had gone to work on the map together.For some reason I dreaded sitting through lunch with Aunt Elise, but I knew I had to go. I put on my jacket and checked my phone, finding messages from both Genevieve and Elise. I was to meet Aunt Elise at a café downtown for a brunch.I walked slowly in the cold. I noticed that the town was slowly c

I gathered Eric's journals from my room that evening. A fog had settled over Madison, misty and cold.I sat on my bed with the five journals before me. Three of them were filled completely with blue writing.The first one was about three quarters black ink, and the last quarter was where he had begun writing in blue.The last journal was half blue, half black.Like a bruise.There was something that Eric didn't want me to know and that I was sure of. It felt like a slap to the face. I thought there were no more secrets between us, but I knew something in either the first three quarters of the first journal or the last half of the last journal held something he did not want me to read.It took all of my self-control not to leaf thr

I walked slowly down Main Street, one hand holding my phone to my ear and the other in my pocket. I had left Eric's just after he woke up about an hour after I awoke, and I told him I had to go out. Nova was still asleep. "Hello?" "Hey, Celia," I said, surprised that she had actually picked up so early-it was nearing eight o'clock. "Are you busy?" "Not really," she said. "I'm just about to run some errands for my mom. Is everything okay?" "I need a favor," I said. "It has to do with my father's case." There was a pause and when she spoke Celia's voice was lowered. "Alright…" Celia picked me up in her car. It was odd driving through Madison when my entire life I had just walked