Dirty Little Secret ( Starlight & CrimsonMaster )

[CrimsonMaster]

Justin Reynolds had just gotten out of the shower, he toweled himself off, making sure every part of his body was dry. He brushed and dried his hair, then he slowly began to dress, putting on his underwear,socks, then he pulled on his black suit pants, a white dress shirt, then he put on a black tie around his neck, the last thing that Justin put on was the black suit coat that was laying on his bed. He checked himself in the mirror and sighed, this was a sad day. Today was the day of his parent's funeral, as bad as this day was for him, Justin knew it was going to be harder on his sister Corianne. But neither of the Reynolds children could have dreamt how truly terrible this day would be. Justin & Corianne had a meeting with their parents lawyer a Mister Alfred Ames at their home just after the services was over.


Justin was a handsome 19 year old, with sandy blonde hair, blue eyes and a deep tan gave him the look of a surfer, but he was just another rich kid who had more time on his hands then he knew what to do with. Justin was tall, standing 5 feet 10 inches tall and about 185 lbs, he enjoyed working out and his ripped body showed it. Although he wasn't a surfer, Justin had played baseball and football while in high school. Justin continued to look at himself in the mirror, he didn't want to do this, he didn't want to admit that his parents were gone. Justin grabbed his sunglasses and walked out of his bedroom, he walked down the hallway then stopped at Corianne's bedroom door. Justin raised his right hand then knocked gently on the wooden door. After a few seconds passed, Justin reached for the doorknob and opened the bedroom door. " Hey Cori?.......You about ready? " Justin asked as he poked his head just inside. He didn't want to catch his sister in a state of undress if she wasn't quite ready to go yet.

 

[Starlight]

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Corianne sighed softly as she stared into the mirror, frowning in disgust at how awful she looked right now. Her nose was almost as red as a tomato, eyes swollen and puffy, skin pale and cold. She was usually picture perfect... but today, she didn't bother with make up or fancy clothes. Today was a day that she just wanted to get over with. When she learned of her parents' deaths, she had spent the entire week moping around, not bothering to eat since anything she ate she threw up moments later. She just couldn't imagine life without her parents and was unsure of how things would be now. She slowly ran a hand through her long, brown hair, figuring that wearing her hair down would take away from her tired face.

She smoothed down the simple black dress she was wearing and grabbed her clutch from the dresser, glancing back as she heard a knock on the door. "Come in." she said softly, her voice just as broken as how she felt on the inside. She glanced back again as she heard Justin's voice, smiling softly as she nodded and walked towards him. Justin was the only family she had left now; well, the only one that she knew and loved dearly. The two had done everything together and loved their parents dearly, so she could only imagine just how hard he was taking everything. She noticed he had on sunglasses and decided to do the same, grabbing a pair off the smaller dresser as she put them on.

 

[CrimsonMaster]

Justin moved inside his sister's bedroom once he saw that she was in fact dressed. He could see how rough she still looked. Normally Cori as the family called her was very pretty and filled with energy, but these were not normal times. Justin started to let his mind wander, he quickly became lost in the thoughts of the accident that took their parents. It happened the same day that their parents were leaving on a business trip. Jonathan Reynolds was the owner of a construction company which was in trouble. The economy had hit Jonathan's business hard, harder then he or his wife Mary would admit to their children. Just a little over a week ago, Jonathan & Mary left their kids and headed for the airport. They had high hopes that this business trip would end the company's woe's and put it back in the black.


Sadly, four hours after leaving their home both Jonathan and Mary Reynolds were dead. The light plane that Jonathan had rented to take him and his wife on their trip, crashed only an hour after takeoff. The Reynolds family leaved a good life. The construction company had made them plenty of money when times were good, but times change and the company was quickly in trouble. Corianne & Justin lived a carefree life, their parents always made sure that they had the best of everything. Jonathan quickly piled up a ton of debt just trying to keep his company going and his kids taken care of. Still, Justin & Cori were kept in the dark about what was really happening. Now their parents were gone and Justin was left wondering whether he was able to run his father's company? Justin wouldn't have to wonder long on this subject since the creditors were already lining up to get what was owed to them. As bad as this was for Corianne & Justin, it was going to get worse. By days end, the two once happy brother & sister would be left with almost nothing.

 

[Starlight]

Corianne sighed again as she followed Justin out of her bedroom and as he made his way out of the house, her breath hitching as she saw the black hearse in the driveway. This was really happening right now. Her parents were in fact dead and they were never ever coming back. She couldn't help but burst into sobs as she approached the black vehicle, peering up at the dark, gloomy sky as she stepped into the car.

Why did it always rain when there was a funeral. She slid all the way down in the seat, allowing Justin some room to sit besides her as she stared down into her lap, wishing that this day never happened. Why did her parents have to leave her and Justin? They didn't know anything about running a construction company and knew even less about managing bills and finances. She slowly looked out the window as the car pulled away from the driveway, sniffling softly as she stared blankly at the scenery outside.

 

[CrimsonMaster]

Justin had been so lost in his thoughts of their parents deaths that he never knew his body had moved. But it had and the next thing Justin knew, both he and Cori were sitting in the limo. The long black car was already on his way towards the cemetery when Justin shook the cobwebs from his head. Obviously his body reacted to the fact that Cori was ready. Part of him mind must have pushed him on even thought he was thinking of the parents. Justin turned his head slightly looking at Cori who seemed lost in the world passing her window. He reached out with his left hand and took a hold of her right. Justin held Cori's hand throughout the drive to the Oakwood Cemetery. The long black limo slowly drove through the large iron gates and continued on for another few moments. It finally came to a stop a few feet away from another long black car, this car was the hearse. There was a second hearse sitting in front of the first. Both cars had their rear doors open and the caskets which had once been inside were now sitting at the open graves.

Justin felt a cool chill run down his spine. It wasn't the cemetery, or the hearses, or the fact that they were burying their parents today that bothered him. The chill came a fear if the unknown which laid ahead of him and Cori. Still Justin took comfort in the warmth and softness of Cori's hand. The driver parked the limo then jumped out and opened the rear driver's side passenger door. It was now time for the siblings to join those gathered at the grave sites. The two Bronze colored caskets laid side by side waiting to be lowered into the Earth. While dozens of well wishers and guests waited for Cori & Justin to exit from the limo. Finally the brother & sister did appear and walk hand in hand to the grave.

 

[Starlight]

Corianne simply sat there, frozen, motionless, looking out the window as they drove to the cemetary. She felt Justin grab her hand but couldn't react; her body felt completely numb right now. Why did her parents have to them? Especially in such a fragile state. They were up to their noses in debt and knew nothing about handling finances. She sighed as she peeled her eyes away from the window as the limo pulled up to the cemetary, not wanting to see it right now, not wanting to be there right now. Why did this have to happen?

She slowly stepped out of the limo, avoiding eye contact with anyone as she made her way towards the caskets, gripping Justin's hands tighter as they neared them. As they stood before the casket, she couldv'e sworn she felt the earth around her shaking. She wished it were true because then the ground could have swallowed her up whole. She took a deep, shaky breath as she looked around..there were tons of people here. She could feel her legs beginning to shake as the Pastor began to read a scripture, her chest tightening as she felt as if she wanted to vomit. Oh how she wished she wasn't here.

 

[CrimsonMaster]

The services started with the Pastor speaking of death and how life is reborn. He said that although we grieve for our loved ones who are lost, they are in a better place with the Lord. The Pastor finished up with a prayer then moved over to offer his sympathy to the siblings. One by one those who gathered for the grave side service appeared and wished Cori & Justin well. Too Justin, this was all a blur. The words spoken hardly registered in his brain. All he could do, all he wanted to do was hold Cori's hand. It seemed to be the only thing that grounded the young man who felt lost in this world.

The service ended and most of those who were at the cemetery ended up at the Reynolds home. A wake was being held in honor of Jonathon & Mary and as much as the siblings wanted to be alone for a while, they needed to be here. During this gathering, many people came up saying how sorry they were for the lost that the kids had. It was terrible and that the kids could call on them anytime for help. These people however didn't expect that Jonathon's company to have been in such bad shape. Nor did they expect that Cori & Justin would really call upon them. The brother & sister hardly spoke two words to these people. They did however speak to each other since they were all that was left. " I don't know about you Sis......But I wish these people would leave. " Justin's voice carried a sigh of disgust along with it as he spoke. As bad as this day and the last week had been, it was going to get worse before the end of the day. The kids would find out what it was really like to be poor.