It Wasn't Me.

PART 1

I remember it like it was yesterday. December 7th, 1999. I remember this day not only for the tragedy that occurred but for the snow that fell during. I remember being cooped up in my little studio apartment that I had lived in for about 2 years, then. The window next to the fire escape was frozen shut and I had spent the morning sitting next to it drinking hot tea, in hopes that it would clear my head from the awful cold I had. Just when I thought that staring out the window would be how the rest of my night went, my older sister Kate messaged me saying that she was going to come over. We didn't get to see each other much because she was in college and never had the time to come down and see me. So whenever she told me she was heading my way, I cleared anything I had to do that day, which happened to be staring out a frozen window.

After receiving her text, I figured I had some time to clean both myself, and my apartment up before she came over. But, just as I go to stand up, I hear a knock at the door. Before I could answer, it swung open and in came Kate with what looked like a casserole dish? Kate didn't cook so it took me by surprise when she walked in with a fancy glass container. She was wearing a long, black, furry coat, it looked expensive. And for a college student, she looked expensive. She walked over to the counter and had set the glass container full of food on the island next to the kitchen sink before spinning back around on her heels. "Meg, how have you been?" I remember hearing it in her sweet voice, and if I closed my eyes long enough, I could feel her wrapping me in a hug and asking me that same question over and over again. Only each time it was repeated, the quieter it got and the tighter it felt like she was squeezing me. Tighter, and tighter until I couldn't hear her voice anymore, and could only feel the pressure around my body, making it harder for me to breathe. But, then I'd snap out of it and it was as if it never happened.

Although, it was weird, because I'd wake up with bruises on my arms as if someone had been squeezing me with all their strength. I blew it off though, thinking it was just my mind playing tricks on me.

The night Kate came over, I remember watching a series of movies until around 1 in the morning. Kate had fallen asleep on the couch during the ending of the last movie. I went to get up and head to my bedroom, as I was exhausted from the neverending movie marathon from earlier. Until, suddenly, I heard yet another knock on the door, much quieter than Kate's knock. I got up to answer the door in hopes that it wouldn't swing open before I could reach the knob. To my surprise, it was Ryan. Ryan had been a love interest of mine for a few months at the time, we talked almost everyday. He had met Kate once before and he never failed to tell me how much he did not like her. Everytime he told me he didn't like her, I told him that it had only been one time and that he didn't really know her. It didn't matter though, because nothing I said would've changed his mind. It was 1 in the morning, and I didn't feel like arguing with Ryan that early, so I tried to shield Kate from his line of view with the door. It didn't work, Ryan liked to barge in, so the door was just one more thing in his way that needed moving. When he saw Kate lying on the couch asleep, he looked at me with nothing but pure anger in his eyes.

I'll remember that look forever.

I tried to open my mouth to explain that her visit wasn't necessarily planned, but nothing came out, it's not like it would have mattered if anything had though. Ryan didn't care. Before I could spit out an 'I'm sorry' he grabbed my arm and drug me through my own house, into my own bedroom, and slung me onto my own bed. I hoped that it was one of those situations I could get out of by having sex with him. It didn't seem like that was the case though.

Thinking back on this moment has me realizing that I shouldn't have had to apologize for anything. Kate was my sister, and I loved her. She was all I had.

After he had finished pacing the floor and sighing and rubbing the back of his head, he paused and looked dead into my eyes, grabbed me again and drug me out to the living room before throwing me onto the floor. He flipped the light on and stared at me.

All I remember thinking was please don't wake Kate up. I didn't want her to see me thrown on the floor with tears in my eyes while Ryan was nearby, she would've known something was wrong.

Luckily, Kate was so tired from driving all day, the light didn't even cause her to flinch.

I looked back up at Ryan who was looking down at the floor like he was ready to do something he'd regret. It scared me seeing him like this. He slowly started walking towards the kitchen, for what? I didn't know at the time. He started rummaging cabinets until he came back out with something hidden behind his back. He knelt down beside me and pulled out a knife, causing me to lose my breath.

He handed me the knife, stood up and pointed to Kate.

I remember his raspy voice saying, "Do it, or I will."


PART 2

I stared at him with disbelief. I didn't think I heard him correctly. I sat there stunned and in silence for a few moments before he shouted, again "Do it or I will!" I sat there, now confirming that he did in fact say what I thought he said. He wanted me to... kill my own sister? I didn't move until he snatched the knife out of my hands and walked over to where Kate was laying on the couch. I tried to move, I tried to stop Ryan before he pierced Kate's stomach with the knife. My body was frozen, I just wanted to scream, but my mouth wouldn't open. I had to watch my sister be stabbed repeatedly by the guy I thought I loved. I had to listen to her last gasp for air, just when I thought it was over, she stopped breathing, no more gasps, no more tiny screams coming from her mouth, he just kept stabbing her. Once she was gone it was like the force keeping me from saving her had released it's hold on me and I fell forward. I crawled over to her lifeless body and sobbed. While I was crying, Ryan must have left through the front door because I looked up and he was nowhere to be found. All that was left was Kate's corpse, the bloody knife Ryan had mutilated her with, and me, now covered in her blood. I got up, trembling from what I had to witness.

My paranoia started to set in and all I could think about was how Ryan left me here with her dead body and was probably calling the police right now to set me up. It was like something switched and all I was worried about was figuring out how to hide Kate's body and how to get my gray couch back to it's original color after having been stained blood red.

I remember being fully prepared that early morning to have the police knocking on my door. Ryan got what he wanted. Rid of Kate and now all that was left was me.

I took the blood stained clothes off and burned them out in the back of my apartment building. I then took the ashes and spread them out amongst the woods that surrounded my building. Hoping that police wouldn't be able to recover any of the clothing I had burned. I then went back into my building and tried to figure out how to dispose of the body. It dawned on me that I had a pig farm about an hour away from where I lived. So I chopped her body up, bagged her in black garbage bags, loaded her into my car, and headed for the pigs.

After finally getting to where the pigs were, I checked for anyone who might have been outside. Although, it was 4 in the morning, so I unloaded Kate and dumped her in the pen with the pigs. I watched them feast on her dismembered body. I couldn't help but cry. The only real family member I had left was now gone. After confirming the pigs had left no trace of her body, I drove the hour back home and started focusing on my now red couch. I decided that getting rid of it entirely was going to be the safest option, but if I was going to do it, I needed to do it fast, because I was sure the police were going to be knocking soon.

I had to figure out how I was going to get a couch into my tiny car to be lugged off. The short answer, I wasn't. The long answer, I had bagged each cushion up and set those outside to be hauled away by the rash company. As for the actual couch, I had dragged it down the steps to the back of the building and managed to fit it in the dumpster. I figured that would be okay because there wasn't much blood on the couch, it was mainly just the cushions.

I felt a bit relieved by all of the work I had put in to avoid being framed for the murder of my sister. I walked back inside with no couch and no mare garbage bags. I went to my bedroom to lay down and finally get some rest. It wasn't long until I heard banging at my door. I jumped awake and took a deep breath. I told myself it was okay and that I was prepared. I was sure I wouldn't be arrested for killing my sister. There was no evidence I did anything.

I got up and slowly walked towards the door.


TBC...