I clenched my teeth and shut my eyes, the cut on my arm burning as the air in the room hit the its raw, bloody surface. My eyes watered from the sharp pain, and I cursed under my breath as I threw the razor on the floor. I kicked my bedpost and yelped when my foot came in contact with the wood, causing me to lose my balance and stumble into my dresser. I sank to the floor and put my head in my hands, running my fingers through my hair.

I jumped at a sudden rap on my window, then let loose and half choked scream when I saw someone outside peering in at me. I narrowed my eyebrows and, looking closer, observed it to be Luke. I sighed in relief and got up to let him in.

“May I ask why on earth you are here?”

Luke climbed through the window, then smiled at me.

“Just worried you might decide to hang yourself.”

“No actually I wasn’t planning on trying that,” I responded wryly. He looked at me face, then at my wrist.

“Yeah but you decided to try something else I see.”

I rolled my eyes and started to step away when he grabbed my wrist. He held it to where he could clearly see it, then shook his head and let it drop.

“Seriously Cora, don’t start with that-“

“Luke it’s none of your business what I start and don’t start.”

Luke held up his hands in defense and turned back to the open window.

“Geez, sorry; I’ll be leaving now.”

I grabbed his arm remorsefully.

“Look, I’m sorry.”

I sat down on my bed.

“Make sure you’re quiet so no one hears you.”

Luke nodded and began examining the room around him.

“So you just decided to climb up to the second story window of my house and make sure I wasn’t hanging from the chandelier?”

He grinned at me over his shoulder.

“Maybe. Or maybe I just wanted to see you.”

The way he said the words, “I just wanted to see you”, sent butterflies flittering through my stomach. I could feel my cheeks turning faintly pink, so I quickly turned and shut my window. I heard Luke take a seat on the wood chest at the foot of my bed.

“Some workout getting up here. I discovered pretty quick that climbing up ivy only works in fairytales.”

Luke playfully flexed his muscles, and with a laugh I plopped back down on my bed.

“Do you play sports?”

I couldn’t help but notice his arms were fairly toned, and he shrugged his shoulders.

“I play for fun but I’m not on a team or anything. You?”

“I used to play soccer at my old school.”

“Sweet; soccer’s pretty cool.”

“Yeah, I kinda’ miss it.”

Luke casually stretched then made himself comfortable on the cushion.

“So, what do you have so far?”

A puzzled expression crossed my face.

“Excuse me…?”

“Y’know, what have you come up with as far as your family’s murders are concerned?”

I shrugged and slowly shook my head.

“Uh, nothing… I mean, I don’t expect to find anything the police didn’t already come across…”

“Well see? There’s your problem. You don’t EXPECT to find anything.  You have to expect and believe you will for starters. Anyone can tell you that.”

“Okay… but I still can’t think of anything.”

“Just, think back and think of SOMETHING. Start with the big question: why?”

“Are you into criminology or something?”

“Haha, no, but I’m interested in it. Come on, get thinkin’; why your family?”

“Because… the killer… had a personal reason.”

“Ok, good, now think of some more specific reasons.”

“Because… because the killer was jealous, he hated us, he didn’t like us…”

“Good! Now, if that were the case, you would of met this killer at some point in time, right?”

“Right, yeah.”

“Did you have many neighbors?”

“No, just a couple on either side of us; we lived kind of away from everyone.”

“Ok, did you know them?”

“No, we only casually encountered one another once or twice.”

“Ok, so, we eliminated your neighbors.”

“Yeah, true.”

“Now, who else did you know that had seen your house or been inside?”

“Um, family members and relatives, friends of my sister’s and mine, a couple of my dad’s co-workers and mom’s friends.”

“’Kay, so, did any of them ever show any dislike towards you? In any way shape or form? Ever act suspiciously or strange while at your house or around your family?”

“Um… I don’t think so…the only people we really ever got into disputes with were family and relatives; being so close, we kind of got into quarrels sometimes.”

“Okay, so, for now, we’ll consider family, but don’t let that make you biased; it could be someone you’re not related to. Let’s go back to the murders themselves- what are some things that don’t seem right?”

“I really don’t know…”

“You have to think. Try going back and replaying what appeared to of happened once the murder entered your house.”

“Okay, well… the police said that he had killed Rachael first… and they said because of her position on the bed it is likely she woke up when he entered the room.”

“Pause! She woke up? Why didn’t she scream for help?”

I stopped and stared at Luke for a minute. Yeah, why didn’t she call for help? I blinked, clueless, and Luke continued.

“See, if I was a ten year old, and I was peacefully sleeping in my bed, when all of a sudden, my door creaks, and I open my eyes to see a six foot man in black from head to toe standing in my doorway, I would scream bloody murder for mom and dad.”

Yeah… yeah that made no sense…

“The police DID say he probably overpowered her before she got away because she was still on the bed, just flipped around.”

“STILL, it takes two or three steps at least to get to the bed on the other side of the room, and even IF she woke up right when he got to her side, she did so in enough time to move positions, right?”

“Yeah…right…”

“So what I’M seeing here is that Rachael for some reason wasn’t afraid of the intruder.”

My forehead crinkled in thought as I pondered why this could be. A sudden rap on my door brought me out of my brief concentration and I heard my uncle’s voice in the hall outside my room.

“Cora Lynn, what’s going on in there…?”

“Uh, nothing Uncle Todd; I was just talking to myself and cleaning up.”

My uncle waited a moment, then I heard footsteps going slowly down the stairs. I got up from my bed just as Luke rose from his seat on the chest

“So, what of what importance do you think it is that she didn’t cry for help?”

“I think it’s a vital piece of information that you should definitely think about some more, though I can’t tell you at all what it means. Who knows, figuring out the significance of it could help you determine the killer though.”

Luke walked across the room to the window, effortlessly sliding open the thick pane and putting a leg on the roof outside. I followed him and pulled the curtain aside.

“What’s a good time to drop in again, Cora?”

I laughed and thought a moment.

“Well, aunt and uncle are usually occupied after lunch on free days, so any time after 12 this week would be fine.”

He smiled pleasantly at me and nodded. His smile faded slightly as he touched my cheek.

“Better wipe this blood of your face before your aunt sees it; and don’t you do this again,” he touched my wrist with a mock serious expression, but I could still see some genuine concern hiding behind it. I nodded and smiled, then watched as he climbed out the window and over to a tree, swiftly working his way down and landing on the wet grass beneath. He waved at me, and I waved in return, then he sprinted around the side of the house and out of sight.

I sighed and threw myself down on my bed. I smiled dreamily.

“I just really like the way his hair falls over his forehead.”