Trifextra: Week Twelve

I have to say I love a good scandal. I think we all do. And when you get to read 47 of them in one sitting, that's a whole lot of scandal.

We've long admired Amanda from Last Mom on Earth and her exceptional writing. She returns to the challenge this week with another breathtaking piece, Everything Was Beautiful. Reading Amanda's stories always takes more than one sitting, and even after you've read them a few times, you still find yourself thinking about them later on:

"You're trying to make it sound like some sort of scandal," I said. 

"A girl is dead!" my mother wailed. 

I didn't tell her that I would be dead, too, by morning. 

"You'll be charged with killing her," she said. Her hands were shaking. I watched them clattering against the steering wheel, her bones pronounced and too close to the surface of her skin. "You could go to jail for the rest of your life!" Her voice had been steadily rising in pitch since she picked me up at the county jail this morning. "Oh god, Billy!" she shrieked. 

Other than a painful throbbing behind my eyes, I felt okay; serene, even. We'd talked about this many times.

"If anything happens to you, I'll follow you," I told my girl, gripping the end of my belt in my teeth. It was wrapped around her upper arm, cutting deeply into her soft white flesh. She was soft all over, like a dream. She ran her fingers through my hair. A little rivulet of red danced in the chamber for her.

"I know," she said. 

She didn't tell me, no. She didn't force platitudes about how I should go on living without her. We were destined for this.

I remember the first time we planned to die together. We were kids, skipping high school and sharing a bottle of eight dollar vodka next to the creek that ran behind our trailer park. 

She told me everything, about her mother and the men; how she slept with a night light. 

"Sometimes I think I might just lie down in the reservoir, only I'm so afraid to be alone under all that water," she said. 

That's how I knew I loved her. 

My mother pulled over to the side of the road so that she could hold her head in her hands and sob. I watched a cat rooting around in the garbage that littered the curb on the last day of my life. Everything was beautiful. 

In second place is Linda Vernon and her Tulberry Todgrass Brooch Scandal. I think it could possibly have won second place for its title alone. We've really enjoyed the humor she's injected into the challenge since she's joined up and this week's entry was excellent. In third place is Lance from My Blog Can Beat Up Your Blog. He always has a blogger's note at the end of his posts; in this week's note, he predicted that we'd view his entry as weak. Au contraire, we thought his piece, The Way It Is was strong and refreshingly honest.

This weekend's Trifextra is community judged.

• For the 12 hours following the close of the challenge, voting will be enabled on links.  
• In order to vote, return to this post where stars will appear next to each link.
• Voting is open to everyone.  
• Encourage your friends to vote for you, if you wish, but please don't tell them to vote on a number.  The numbering of the posts changes regularly, as authors have the ability to delete their own links at any time.  
• You can vote for your top three favorite posts.
• Yes, you really only have 12 hours to vote.  We'll send out reminders on Twitter and Facebook.

For this week's challenge, you have to write a letter of apology in exactly 33 words. Addresses, salutations, closings, etc. (should you wish to include them) do not count in the 33 words. 

Good luck.