***

          Ed's mind  was preoccupied with the thoughts of his new school, and moving to a new town and making new friends , as he packed up his stuff for college into the boxes his mum got from the store. He just turned twenty and was ready for a new chapter in his life. He spent his whole senior year of high school prepping for the Ivy League university he always had in mind , not because his father wanted him to but because he had big dreams of his own which summed up to, - getting out of the small town he lived all his life and making a name for him self.

     Ed is not your regular small town boy, he graduated high school at nineteen years of age and he could not remember being held back in neither elementary school nor middle school or why he was held back , any time he brought up the conversation with his parents, the response he got from them were always inconsistent. once he was told he was very sick as a baby, another time his mum told him he may have had measles when he was five years old so he had to wait an extra year to start school. None of the reason made sense to him or could account for his lost of time so he gave up asking and made the best of his situation.

      Ed may not be your regular teenager but he did look like one with his curly black hair cut short to his ear, dark brown eyes and an up turn lips that made his look like he was always smiling .He hated this last feature of his and believed he would out grow of it.

     Ed also believe he would grow taller that his current five feet  ten inches of height and be as tall as his dad who stood at almost six feet two inches. Ed's mum was the smallest of the family in fact she was shorter than her twins, both fifteen years old and already five feet eight inches.

       Stacking some of the boxes he had already packed outside the door, he began to make trips to the garage. Lifting the final box in his arms, he pause to look at his room. The was in a mess and he still had more shopping and packing to do for the next couple of days. Making his way down stairs he saw the twins arguing over who's turn it is to do the laundry, shacking his head he slip quietly out the side door (there was no way in hell he way going to get between those two again).

      Ed stepped into the cool breeze of the evening air and made his way to the town's mechanic garage. His parents got him a used red Grand AM Pontiac when he started high school which should have working breaks by now, as he was promised so when he took it in a few days ago .

Jogging through the quite neighborhood was a nice workout for him, he had been less active for the past year while prepping for collage exams and he was trying to get back into shape.

     The garage came into view so Ed slowed down his pace and made his way to the garage's parking lot were he saw his car was parked. The front desk in the garage was empty, so he continued his trip to see if his car was open, so he could grab a sweat shirt from the back sit .The evening air was getting cooler.

    As he came closer to his car he noticed a familiar car parked beside his, and saw the soon to be mayor and former sheriff of his town in Mrs Steve car, he could recognize that car any where he had to, it was his high school principal's car.  What he witnessed them doing so shocked him into saying the first thought that came to him out loud ____ "what the hell ". He didn't realize he had said his thoughts out loud until the door to Mrs Steve passenger sit open's and Mr Ben steps out and made his way towards him.

"This is not what it looks like young man"

"Ya right ,I did not just see you shoveling your tongue down the principle's throat" Ed thought to him self.

"Ah___ well am sorry to interrupt Mr Ben... I will be taken was just leaving "

"Now hold on Ed you're not going to go run your mouth around town ,now are you?"

"No Mr Ben I wouldn't"  Before the former sheriff could have time to respond to his statement, Ed turned and made his way out of the parking lot not stopping till he got home.

     The next day Ed missed break fast because he wanted to sleep in. He spent most of the night thinking of how to erase the scene he saw at the garage from his mind and could only force him self to sleep just before dawn.

    Ed could not bring him self to tell his mum or dad . His mum because no matter how much he loved her, he knew she was a big town gossip and not a big fan of Mr Ben, to put it in plain words, Ed knew Mr Ben was not getting his mum's vote in the coming election. His dad on the other hand may not believe him but might still discuss it with his mum which will lead to the same result as telling his mum out right .

     If Mr Ben affair was made public it will cost both of them their carrier and positions in the society, not to mention how it would affect the family of both parties involved, so Ed had decided to keep it to him self, it was not his business anyway.

     A knock woke Ed up from dream land and he hobbled to the door. Turning the knob, he pulled the door open to gaze at the intruder in the form of Adeline .

     "Hello sleepy head... good you're up. So tell me why is Mr Ben running earns for you and the town mechanic, he just dropped of your car and ask for you ... I told him you were asleep so he left."

    The sleepy look vanish from Ed's countenance and he was now fully awake. He did not noticed his was holding his breath until Adeline brought him back to the present.

    "Hey Ed are you ok?"  she asked as she waved a palm across his face.

    "Just peachy thanks"

    " You are a life saver... mum and dad have gone?"

     "Yes like hours ago, they said they  will be back early to go for their date night."  she rolled her eyes at him then started to make her way down the stair case before adding

     "It's almost time for lunch are you coming down yet?"

    "Not hungry" ED replied, stepping back in to his room and closing the door

     The following morning at Ed's house was anything but normal. The police had called the house at three am to say his parents had lost controlled of his car and had died on the spot. At first Ed refuse to believe, insisting his car was parked in the garage until the young officer lead him to the garage to confirm what turned out to be the biggest shock of his life.

     It has been two days since Ed and his siblings lost their parents. Aden has refuse to leave his room and Adeline cried non stop, the shock had affected them in different ways. The police had stopped by that morning to report an arson attempt on the town mechanic's garage and also to attain Ed's were about the night before.

Time seem to go by slower since receiving the news of his parents death, Ed could not tell for certain which day his aunts Cassy flew into town to officially identify her sister and brother inlaw, but he knew he had not slept since he got the news.

     Ed knew he was going to be taken in for questioning after his parents burial and he knew Mr Ben had a hand in it. Ed had seen Ben sitting in the officer's car when he was questioned about the fire at the garage. Ed knew no one will believe him now if he told them what he saw few days ago or if he accused Mr Ben of messing with his car and getting his parents killed .

     Ed could not believe that Mr Ben could have plan on kill him just to keep his reputation around town; well he did get what he wanted even with out Ed's death, no one will believe a word he said now and Ed knew Mr former deputy sheriff now current sheriff won't believe any accusation made against his former boss.

     Ed told his aunt Cassy the story about the night at the garage and of his suspicions regarding his parents death. Cassy had promise to look in to it. They had made preparations for the twins to leave for Alaska with Cassy and start school again he did not want them falling behind.

     Ed was advised to stay in town by the new sheriff until he was cleared to leave town but he had other plans, he knew he had to leave town and  find away or a detective to prove his parent death was not an accident, he was not going to get arrested for what he did not do or let Mr Ben threaten or scare him to silence.