They say college is the time to experience life, try new things, and meet new people. That's what you're supposed to do right? But what happens when you learn something about your best friend that could change their life forever? The person you've known since you were three years old. The person you swore you'd never keep secrets from. Do you tell them, or keep living the lie?

My name is Kaylee, I just turned nineteen and just started college. Nobody in my family has ever finished high school, so it's a pretty big deal for me. I always got excellent grades so it was no surprise that I got accepted into one of the top schools in my city. Not only that, but my best friend, Kelsey also got accepted. We were even roommates. It couldn't get any more perfect. Until the night that everything changed.

My family has always had this sort of ability. We can dive into the minds of people around us. It can be very stressful until you learn to control it, but quite useful once you do. For obvious reasons, we don't tell many people about this ability. Kelsey knows about it, but that's it. I have never kept any secrets from her. That changed after a long, stressful night of studying.

We had been cramming for finals for about a week and we were both so stressed out it was ridiculous. Normally I have a rule that I don't invade people’s minds without permission. It's invasive, so I've never been inside Kelsey’s mind, without her permission, and even with it, I've only done it a handful of times. I'm not sure if it was the stress of cramming for finals or lack of sleep, but somehow I found myself inside Kelsey’s mind. Something was different though.

Normally her thoughts were pretty basic, new clothes she wanted, information retained from studying, things like that, but this time it was much darker. Kelsey’s mind was filled with thoughts about killing me. Vivid thoughts and ideas of how she would do it, where she would dump my body and how she had actually hated me since we were about eleven years old. She even had a plan in place. She was actually planning to follow through with killing me! This girl, who had been my absolute best friend since age three, secretly hated me and wanted me dead, and even worse, she wanted to be the one to end my life!

I couldn't believe it. I started to hyperventilate, the room felt so small and I needed to get out. To get away from the monster formerly known as my best friend. How could she betray me like that? The past eight years of my life have been filled with the one person I thought I could trust being the one I should fear the most. I wanted to scream, but my mouth couldn't form words. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't go to the police because they would never believe me and since Kelsey had never done anything to me before I had zero proof.

I was outside trying to fight back tears from my eyes when I felt someone walk up behind me and place their hand on my shoulder. Startled, I spun around to see Kelsey standing in front of me with a concerned look. If I didn't know that she actually hated me I would have thought she looked sincere.

“Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost.” Kelsey asked.

“I'm fine.” I tried to shrug it off as nothing.

“Okay, if you're sure. Hey, would you want to maybe go to my aunt’s cabin down by Wolf Creek? I told you about it before. It's super pretty and off to itself so we'd get some peace and quiet.”

My eyes widened with shock. When I was inside Kelsey’s mind that cabin was the place that she wanted to take me to kill me. This was the moment. I knew if I went to that cabin I wouldn't be coming back.

Two years. Natalie had been on the run for two whole years. It wasn't supposed to be like this. She was supposed to graduate college, get a good job, married, and have a family. None of that was going to happen now. Natalie could never stop running.

Two years ago Natalie’s life was perfectly normal. She was working at a small diner in her hometown and looking forward to starting college. She wanted to be a doctor. She wanted to help people, but now she was on the run. Her life would never be the same again.

It began as just another slow night at the diner. These cold winter nights were terrible for business. Natalie heard the bell ding and made her way to the front to greet the guest as he sat down at the bar.

“Good evening, what can I get for you?” Natalie said with a smile.

“Coffee.” The man said without looking up.

Natalie sat a cup in front of him and filled it with coffee. He sipped it quietly as Natalie began wiping down some tables. She hoped since the night was so slow she would be able to get everything shut down and leave a little earlier. Time would be the least of her worries.

The door was thrown open so harshly it almost shattered the glass. Natalie gasped and looked up to see another man running toward the first man sitting at the bar. He seemed very angry and the two started arguing with each other in a language Natalie didn't understand. She ran behind the counter to the phone to call the police, but her efforts were ineffective.

The second man reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a gun, he then fired four shots directly at the first man, killing him instantly. Natalie screamed and ran into the back and out the door. She pulled out her cell phone and called the police, she gave them the address and told them what she had just witnessed.

Natalie felt like she was going to throw up the whole way back to her apartment. She had never witnessed anything like that before in her life. She watched someone get murdered. How does someone simply let that go? How could she just move on with her life knowing that someone else was just deprived of their own? It made the world seem very small.

As Natalie approached her apartment door she noticed a note stuck in the door. Confused, she pulled the note out and read;

I know you saw me. You were not supposed to make it out of the diner. I know where you work and where you live. I will kill you, even if you run, I will find you, and I will kill you.

Fear washed over Natalie’s face as she looked around to make sure the man planning to murder her wasn't nearby. She panicked, unsure what to do. Should she call the police? She had already done that and it didn't seem to help. The man wasn't captured. He was still out there waiting for her. She shuttered as the fear of everything washed over her body.

She quickly ran inside her apartment and locked the door. Taking a few deep breaths she ran to the bedroom and grabbed a backpack, filling it with clothes and a few essential items. Natalie would go on the run. As long as she stayed moving, hopefully, the man wouldn't be able to find her. She took one last look around her apartment, laid the key on the table, and left.

That man wouldn't find Natalie if she could help it. No matter how far or long she had to run, she would run forever if she had to. She wasn't going to let him find her. Ever.

I breathed in the crisp, warm summer air. These nights were the best for clearing your head after a hard day. As I walked I took note of the eerily quiet of the town around me, it was always quiet at night, but this was a different quiet. There were no animals or bugs. Just silence.

I took a few more steps before something fell at my feet. Cautiously, I bent down and picked it up. It appeared to be a book of some sort. I looked up to try to see where it fell from, there was nothing there, but it couldn't have just fallen from the sky, right?

I studied the strange book for a moment, it had a leather cover and looked very old. The pages were blank. I stood up and looked around trying to see if maybe someone was nearby but there was nobody there except me. Confused I placed the strange book in my bag and decided to head home.

I sat at my desk staring blankly at this mysterious book for hours trying to figure out what it was and why it just seemingly fell from the sky. I opened the book and started at the blank pages, all of a sudden as if planned just for me, words started forming on the pages.

“What the-” I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Words were forming right before my eyes, like magic. This was something straight out of a movie. I looked around, almost expecting to see hidden cameras or something revealing a crazy joke, but nothing. This was happening. I read the pages;

If you are reading this, the book has chosen you. In this journal, you may write your wishes for yourself or others, but be forewarned, for what you write may come with unforeseen consequences. If you wish to relinquish the journal, you may simply place it back at the location in which you found it, and it will choose someone else.

“Wishes? Like a genie?” I felt stupid as the words left my lips.

This book would grant my wishes. Any wishes, there were no rules. I could write anything I wanted. Or I could not. I could put the book back where I found it and never look back. Nothing in this world was free, certainly I wouldn't be able to just wish for anything with no repercussions. After all, the book did say there may be consequences to the wishes. Was it worth it? I needed to think. I left the journal safely on my desk and decided to start fresh in the morning.

The next morning I picked the journal up and checked the pages, partly to make sure I wasn't dreaming, and partly to make sure I had read it correctly. It was all there, as clear as day. It was mine now and I decided I was going to use it. Part of me didn't even truly believe it would even work, but a bigger part of me wanted to at least give it a shot.

I picked up my pen and flipped to a blank page. I needed to be mindful of my wording since I wasn't sure about the consequences of my wishes. I wasn't sure what to wish for, so I started with something simple. I started writing and the words just started flowing, it was like this journal was made for me. I stared at the page after I finished writing just waiting for something to happen. Maybe it wasn't instant? I put the journal back in my desk drawer and tried to start my day. I guess I would wait and see what happens.

I headed toward a small diner I went to every morning for coffee, as thoughts of the journal raced around in my head. That's when I saw it, sitting on the bar of the diner, folded three times and placed under a salt shaker was a fifty dollar bill. I picked it up and raced back to my apartment grabbing the journal and flipping to the page I had written on. It was right there in my handwriting;

I wish to find a fifty-dollar bill at Wolf Pack Diner, neatly folded three times and placed under a salt shaker on the bar.

It happened exactly as I had written it. I couldn't believe it. I tucked the journal into my bag and left my apartment again. My wish worked, but what else could I wish for? I was lost in my thoughts as I crossed the street, not seeing the car coming, it swerved to miss me and plowed right into another person waiting at the crosswalk. They fell instantly to the ground. People rushed to the scene but it was too late.

I stood there frozen in disbelief. The word consequences popped up in my mind. Was this because of the wish? Did I cause this? I shook my head. There was no way, it was just a freak coincidence, it had to be, but I needed to find out for sure. I slipped down a small alleyway and pulled out the journal. I remembered hearing a story on the news a few days ago about someone who had recently robbed a store and made off with thousands of dollars worth of merchandise. They were still looking for them. I started writing;

I wish for the person who robbed that store I saw on the news to immediately go to the police department and turn themselves in, also bringing with them the merchandise they stole and handing it over.

I closed the journal and headed back to the diner to watch the news to see if my wish came true. No sooner than I arrived the story went live, the news announcer was telling the miraculous story about how a man had just walked into the police station carrying stolen merchandise and turned himself in for the crime. The journal worked again. But, like before it came with a price.

Almost right on cue, the diner owner let out a sudden gasp grabbing his chest, and fell to the ground, dead from a heart attack. My wish, although intended to help, had caused harm and death to innocent people. The consequence the journal had warned me about, was an innocent life for each wish I made.

I sat there staring at the journal, was it worth it? Killing innocent people just to get what I want? Even if it was used for good. Would the good deed outweigh the price of an innocent life?

I scrubbed my hands in the bathroom sink until they physically hurt from the scalding water. I had to make sure they were clean. Nobody could know what I had just done. It was so impulsive and out of character for me.

Let me backtrack a little and explain myself. My name is Myra Grey, and I'm a nineteen-year-old college student at Primrose University in Stonewall, Pennsylvania. I'm a fantastic student, very into my studies. I'm going to be a journalist. That was always the plan, at least. Sometimes life takes a different turn from what we wanted, and that's exactly what happened here. It wasn't supposed to be like this, I wasn't supposed to be like this.

About two months into my second year of college I met this guy, Jeremy Duchamp. Normally guys weren't typically on my radar, but something about this particular one sparked my curiosity. He was on the school newspaper, a job I had been trying to score since freshman year with no success. I started out thinking that if I can get in good with Jeremy, maybe he could help me get on with the paper. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Our relationship began strictly platonic, with a coffee here and there, study sessions, and things like that. Eventually, it became so much more than I could have expected. We started spending all of our time outside of classes together, but I still hadn't secured a spot on the newspaper team.

Every time I would bring it up in conversation, Jeremy would brush it off saying he was doing all he could, and I simply needed to be patient and it would come in time. It seemed to me though that he didn't want to share the newspaper with me. Jeremy was an amazing writer, but so was I. It wasn't like I wanted to steal his job, I just desperately wanted to be a part of that fast-paced world.

Months went by and still no luck or help from Jeremy. I was growing cold toward him and began to resent and even hate him for not allowing me this opportunity. All my rationality went out the window and I started seeing red. I don't even know why this made me so upset, but it did, and Jeremy didn't even seem to care.

I decided to take matters into my own hands and walk right up to the editor of the newspaper and demand a job. I didn't tell Jeremy my plan because I knew he would object. I marched down the hall to the newspaper room and barged right through the door. Instantly I was frozen with horror at what I saw. Jeremy was there alright, and he was with another girl. The way they were acting was no place for a news room. They should have been in a damn hotel bed. I felt rage course through my veins as I hurried out the door before they saw me. That was why Jeremy didn't want me to be on the newspaper with him. How could he cheat on me if I was right there? I felt so betrayed and hurt.

I didn't confront him right away. He deserved so much worse than just having me hate him. He needed to suffer for what he had done. I made a plan for how I would proceed. I told him I had a surprise for him and wanted to tell him over a nice, quiet dinner at a cabin my parents owned. This cabin was perfect, right by a huge lake, with no neighbors, totally secluded put in the middle of nowhere. Stupidly, he agreed and we set up a date and time. I went on with my routine like nothing was wrong and patiently waited for the time to come.

Finally, the time was here. I gave him directions and told him I would head up to the cabin a few hours early to make sure everything was set up and ready for his arrival. Once at the cabin, I knew I had a short time to prepare. This would be my only shot, it had to be perfect. I carefully got everything I needed prepared and checked the clock, Jeremy should be here any moment.

I heard a car engine and saw headlights through the window. He was finally here, and I was ready. The longer I had sat in solitude at the cabin the more time I had to think about what Jeremy had done and how pissed off I actually was at him. I opened the door and let him inside as he complained about the cold and how shitty the drive was. I told him not to worry, he was here now and soon he wouldn't be thinking about the drive.

Before we are I told him I had a surprise for him in the basement that I thought he would really enjoy, poor idiot probably thought I was going to have sex with him or something. He agreed and I motioned for him to lead the way. Once I had him at the bottom of the staircase, I picked up a decently sized brick and smashed it across the back of his head. He gasped before falling to the floor. I didn't waste any time, I jumped on top of him and continued hitting him with the brick until his face was unrecognizable. It was almost like I was watching myself with no control. I couldn't stop. I didn't want to stop.

After some time, I managed to collect myself and realized what I had done. I just killed someone. I planned and plotted and murdered another human being. I stood over Jeremy’s lifeless body when I noticed I was covered in his blood. There was so much blood. I don't think I had ever seen that much blood in my life. I just stood there, I didn't know what to do. I had this body and I couldn't just leave him here. Nobody could know what just happened.

I spent the next hour pacing back and forth upstairs trying to come up with a solution to my new problem. I finally decided I should probably start with cleaning myself up. I went into the bathroom and began scrubbing my hands under the hot water from the sink. Then I splashed some water on my face and tried to make sure all the blood was off my skin. After that, I went into the bedroom and found some clean clothes, and changed. Now I just had to figure out what to do about Jeremy’s dead body.

I glanced out the window to make sure there were no signs of anybody else being up this way. Stupid, considering there was never anybody up this way, but after murdering someone I guess paranoia sets in. That's how people generally get caught, at least that's what I'm telling myself. That's when I noticed it, the lake. It was perfect! I would drag Jeremy’s body out of the basement and down to the lake, throw him in and that would be that. Nobody was ever at this cabin or on the lake so they would never find his body, and if by some freak chance they did, enough time will have passed that he would be unrecognizable.

I made my way back down to the basement and grabbed Jeremy by his feet, I struggled a bit, but managed to get him outside. It was around two in the morning at this point, so I was surrounded by darkness. I dragged his lifeless body down to the dock. I realized I need his body to be heavy so he wouldn't float so I looked around the dock and found a few cinder blocks, pushed his arms and legs through, and carefully pushed him into the water. He sank almost immediately and I breathed a sigh of relief.

I hurried back to the cabin and grabbed some cleaning supplies and scrubbed the basement trying to remove all the blood. I had class the next morning so I needed to get back to school soon to keep up appearances. Thankfully nobody knew I had been seeing Jeremy so I wouldn't have to deal with all the questions about his sudden disappearance and I could just go about my business as usual.

I arrived back at school just in time for my first class of the day. I was beyond exhausted and in desperate need of a shower. I had just enough time after this class to go to my room and shower and take a nap before I had to be at my next class. As I was heading to my room I had the realization that someone would be wondering what had happened to Jeremy. The girl he was cheating with. He had to have told her about me and where he was going. I knew what I had to do. I wonder if she had ever been to a cabin by the lake?

I don't regret doing what I did. He deserved it, and besides, if he wasn't going to love me, he wasn't going to love anyone.

Lori snapped the clasp on her suitcase and scanned the room, carefully making sure she hadn’t forgotten anything. She knew this was for the best, but she couldn’t shake the sour feeling in her stomach. Trevor couldn’t know. He would do anything for Lori and she didn’t want him to give up everything he’d worked so hard for, just because of her. A single tear slid down her cheek as she took one final look around the small apartment they had called home for the past four months, she laid a white envelope on the couch and let the door close softly behind her.

Lori made her way to the bus stop just as the bus pulled up and stopped. The doors opened and she lugged her heavy suitcase up the steps and found a seat in the back. Taking a book out of her bag and making herself comfortable for the long ride ahead, she settled into her spot.

Trevor entered the apartment with a dozen red and yellow roses, he knew those were Lori’s favorites and she had seemed to be down in the dumps recently so he figured he would surprise her with flowers and dinner at her favorite restaurant. He was met with shock when he discovered the envelope on the couch with his name written on it. He opened it and read silently:

Trevor,

I know there’s nothing I can say to make this situation any better so I’ll spare trying. Just know that I am so sorry for leaving like this, but I didn’t have any other choice. Things are complicated now. I can’t really explain it at the moment, but I will in time. I promise. Please don’t be upset, I couldn’t take it if you were mad at me. I really do care about you and I don’t think that will ever change, but this is what is best for both of us right now.

Love, Lori

Trevor dropped the roses and ran to the bedroom, throwing open the closet to reveal that all of Lori’s belongings were indeed gone. She left. She left and all she gave him was a letter. She didn’t even have the decency to tell him to his face. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed her number, but it went straight to voicemail. He left a message and sank into the couch, mind racing a million miles a minute. How could she do this to him?

The sun beamed in through the window shining directly into Trevor’s face and waking him up. He had fallen asleep on the couch with Lori’s letter in one hand and his cell phone in the other waiting and hoping that she would call him, he must have left dozens of messages. Or that he would wake up and it would all be a horrible dream, but it wasn’t. She was really gone and he didn’t know why or where she was, or if he would even see her again. What could possibly be so bad that she would just up and leave like that? Trevor hoped he would find out soon.