2.2 Really? Are you serious?!

There are some explicit details on death in this chapter, so if you are sensitive to that, don't read this!
 
I talked with Nic about the house. He agreed with me that it was time for change. With our parents money accessible we were able to rebuild the house completely. I think it turned out pretty well.

We had three bedrooms fully furnished and two spare rooms, two bathrooms fully furnished and one that was not, a nice kitchen with dining area, a living room with a television and three computers. Finally we had access to a computer! I had always wished to have one myself.
Soon after the build it was time for mine and Kaylin's birthday.
I blew out the candles first.

And then it was Kaylin's turn.

Afterwards we all sat down to enjoy the cake together.

Nic had gotten a job as a Tech Guru. It fitted him pretty well as he was very nerdy and technical. He demanded nothing than perfection and so it was the perfect job for him.
As we were enjoying our cake together, my phone beeped. I looked at it and saw Berjes name on the text. Oh it must be a birthday congratulation from him, i thought. My happiness soon expired though when i read the text message:
"Phoebe, I'm sorry but i have to  do this. I'm breaking up with you. It just doesn't feel right being with you anymore. I like you, but i don't love you. I'm sorry. -Berjes."
What the hell? And on my birthday?!
"What's the matter Pheebs?" Kay asked me, looking worried.
"Berjes just broke up with me!" I said furiously.
"What?! Why?"
"He just wrote that he doesn't want to be with me anymore. I can't believe that scumbag."
"Just forget about him, honey. You don't need someone like that in your life. You should be glad that you found out about how he really is before you were together for years."
"Hm yeah i guess you're right. But i still feel sad though."
"Of course you feel sad honey, but you have to look at the bright side. We have cake and he doesn't!" She smiled at me and i couldn't help chuckle a bit.

A week later there was a knock on the our door. I went to open it and i was surprised when two police officers were standing outside.
"Hello officers. What can i do for you?"
"May we come in?" One of them asked. He was a young, thin man with short brown hair and blue eyes. The other was a middle aged, quite large man with a large partially grey/brown beard and mustache and brown eyes.
"Ss-sure, come in," I stepped aside so they could come inside. I showed them to our living room and they sat down on the couch.
"Please sit down miss. We have some news you might not like to hear." The young cop looked at me and gestured to the chair beside the couch.
I sat down, nervously thinking of why two cops would show up on my doorstep. What could the reason be?
"What's the news officers?" I sat fidgeting with my hands, looking from one cop to the other.
They looked at each other and nodded.
"Miss do you know a Berjes Erickson?"
"Well yes, that's my ex-boyfriend."  Why on earth were they here for him?
"How exactly did you two break up?" The young cop asked me.
"Well if you must know, he broke up via text message," i said a little offended.
"Can we see that text message, please?"
"Sure," I said, taking my phone out of my pocket and showed it to them.
"Hm, i see. And are you sure it was actually Berjes that send you that message?"
"Who else could it be? It says it is his number." I said kind offensive. "But it did seem out of character of him. He usually was so nice and caring about me. I mean, wasn't our love worth more than a text? I was quite upset, you see, when i received it. It was on my birthday and i was eating cake with my siblings, and..."
"Where are your siblings now, miss?" the middle-aged cop asked, interrupting my rant.
"They are dead sir." I hung my head low.
"I'm sorry for your loss. But you see, it seems that it wasn't Berjes that send you that message. We have reason to believe someone else was behind it. The reason for us to believe that, is that Berjes was murdered two weeks ago."
At his words i sat up straight with fear spread all over my face. Murdered?!
"What do you mean?! How? Why? How?!" I couldn't believe this. That meant he was dead when i received that message! I felt sick to my stomach.
"Are you sure you want to know, miss? It is quite horrifying.
"Yes, yes! I want to know everything that has happened! Every little detail that you know."
The cops looked at each other with a skeptical look on their faces, then the young cop sighed and began telling.
"Okay what we know is that he was found on Wednesday last week by a group of teenagers out in the woods across town. He had had his arms and legs severed from his body in a very bloody and messy manner. It was clear that the killer had used an axe and not a chainsaw as many killers use. His eyes had been taken out and put in his mouth. Both his ears had..."
I quickly interrupted him: "Stop! I don't want to know anything more. This is horrible! Do you have any leads on who the killer was?"
"We have an idea, and we thought maybe you could help identify him."
"So you know it was a he?"
"Would you care to look at some pictures? We have pictures from a surveillance camera outside the bank. That's where he was picked up by someone he knew."
"He knew him?! I know everyone that Berjes knows in town. I believe I can help you identify a lot of people."
"Okay then," the young cop said. "Here are the pictures. And here is a pen and paper. Write down for example Picture 1- and then the name of the person. That way we will know who is who. The number is mentioned at the back of the photo." I took the photos out of the plastic envelope he had given me and spread them out on the table.
"We'll give you some time alone with them." He said and they both walked outside.
As i sat looking at all the pictures, i realized that i actually knew them all. Here was Bob, Niels, Hans and... my heart stopped. Jonah! What was he doing there? I thought back to when we were at school together. That specific day when i had been on the school radio, telling everyone what a scumbag he was and how he had almost burned down our entire house, and afterwards lost a fight to Nic. He had been humiliated and it was my fault! "I'll get you back for this some day, you bitch!" he had spat at me afterwards. I hadn't taken him seriously that day. But murder? Was he really capable of that?!
"Are you finished?" The cops asked twenty minutes later.
"All done," I said feeling very sad about the whole situation. I was actually surprised i hadn't cried yet. I felt like crying, but i just couldn't for some reason.
They sat down on the couch again. "So what have you found out?" The middle-aged cop asked me.
"Well, i know every single person of them, but there is one person who i think should be considered."
I launched into the story about Jonah while the cops took notes on everything i said.
"Thank you for your time," they said as i walked them to the door ten minutes later. When I closed the door, i ran to my room. There, i fell on the bed and the tears came. I cried and cried, feeling sadness and despair in my heart. I had lost the love of my life to some crazy person. I knew it was Jonah. Who else could it be? Nobody else wanted to hurt me!
That's how Kay found me when she arrived home thirty minutes later from the gym.

The time that followed the news of Berjes' death was tough on me. I would walk around at home in sweats day in and day out, eating chips and cake, drinking coffee all day long. I started gaining weight at an enormous speed and then i felt even more sad.
"Honey, i'm worried about you," Nic said one day as we sat at the dinner table together, eating.
"Why?" I asked.
"You know why. It's like you are a living dead. You need to get out again. Go meet your friends and get a date. Maybe," he looked me up and down, which made me feel nauseating, "you should go to the gym. You've gained a lot of weight, and i think you would be happier if you lost it again. And it would do you good. Do you remember how you got all that energy working out together with all of us back when Dad made us all go?"
"Yeah, i know what you mean," I said sighing. I knew he was right. "Okay i'll go."

The next day i got up at 10 Am, got dressed, ate breakfast - six fruits as were recommended by those health people. And walked to the gym. Just walking that small distance was hard for me. I lost my breath and i had to stop several times.
When i arrived, i changed into my workout clothes. Then went to use the treadmill. I worked out for ten minutes, then took a break, worked out ten minutes, took a break. It continued like that for a good hour. During my workout i  had eyed two people who were also working out. But they continued for a long period of time without breaks. How did they do it?
During one of my breaks, I went and introduced myself to them. They were talking together by one of the machines.
Dale Little was pumped and strong guy. He was a personal trainer at the gym.
Robi Bruner was more thin and handsome. I didn't get a chance at finding out what he worked as, because he wanted to get back to working out.

I ended up talking a lot with Dale. He agreed to helping me workout. All i had to do was come to the gym in his work hours and he would help me get into shape. I hoped this would work. I had really gotten sick of my weight. I felt sick watching myself in the mirror. It was what i needed to be happy again.