My shoes left rough indents in the muddy ground behind me as I rushed through the rain to Maple Street. One month ago from today me, my boyfriend Nathan, and my best friend Valerie, had used a magic spell book to send Valerie to a different dimension yet to our suprise it had actually worked. Now I was running, in the rain, in the middle of the night begging and pleading that all of the work I had done over the last month had paid off and that a portal had opened up wherever Valerie was and brought her back here alive. I was just about to take a right and turn onto Maple Street when my phone fell out of my right pocket. I stopped and turned to pick it up. I bent down and picked up my phone from the concrete ground. It had fallen in a puddle so it was drenched but it wasn’t badly broken or anything like that it was just a bit glitchy. I grumbled in annoyance as I wiped my phone off and put it back in my pocket I felt my soul jump out of my body as I heard a gunshot ring through the air. My head whipped around to where I had heard the gunshot come from and it had came from directly where I was going towards. I picked up my pace and began running as fast as I could to the street where I heard the gunshot from. Deep down I prayed that the gunshot had nothing to do with me, nothing to do with Valerie, nothing to do with any of this nonsense that’s been happening the past month. After what felt like forever I made it to an intersection and in the middle of the empty street there was a small note that laid on the ground. My worries immediately changed from the note to what was next to the note. On the rigid concrete floor next to the note was a stain of blood that went from the middle to the road to side. The worst part was that the blood was fresh and liquid and it was already being washed away by the rain. My breathing quickened as my eyes dashed down to the note and I read it. “Take this as a warning next time. You mess with my world and you’ll pay the consequences.” I glanced up as I heard police sirens from the distance. I kept reading the note. “The cops have been called. I have just murdered Valerie Jean Anara. I had hidden her in the woods for the last month, tied up. I’m plotting to murder my boyfriend Nathan soon as well. I hate my mother. I hate my friends and I am nothing but a cold blooded killer.” and at the very bottom was a signature. It read ‘Bethany Faith Baker.’ But that’s not true. None of that’s true. I didn’t write this note. I didn’t murder my best friend. I’m not going to murder my boyfriend. I love my mother. I love my friends. My hands trembled in fear as I felt my fingertips touch a cold wet substance on the back of the note. I dropped the note on the wet ground and stared at my hands which were covered in blood in which I could only guess was Valerie’s. I heard the police sirens getting closer. Her blood was on my hands. I had a knife in my right pocket that I had brought for protection and Valerie was nowhere to be seen. I felt a panic attack coming on as I looked up and saw the cop cars lights getting closer and gaining speed. With no other option I quickly turned and booked it with no exact direction in mind. I grabbed my phone as I ran to attempt to contact someone yet the rainwater from earlier had killed the phone entirely by this point. I threw my phone which was now unusable into the bushes and took a left towards my home as I felt teardrops forming on the corners of my eyes.

I didn’t do it. I swear.

the boy of my dreams spun me around, my silky white dress flowed in a circle as we laughed. he always knew how to make me happy in dark times. he spoke with the same calming voice he always used. “may death do us part” he spoke with his stupid smirk and his cute dimples. i returned the words. “may death do us part.” i spoke indefinitely.

a scream could be heard from the woods beside us. he told me to stay by the roses as he went to check it out. and so i waited and waited. and waited. my back hunched over as I plucked flowers from the roses. minutes of waiting turned to hours turned to days turned to weeks. ive lost track of time but he’s nearly back i swear. i slowly lowered down to sit just to be met with a concrete slab. I sat up and read the words on the slab. “death did his part” was all that it read.

i felt bound to the slab in which i refuse to name a coffin. young kids run past the coffin each one aggravating me more and more as they gain closer. i have to protect my love i thought as i drew a knife from my dress pocket.

“maybe that’ll teach them to stay away.” i spoke as i wiped the red liquid off of my long dress slowly staining it.

Nearly three months at this point, yet I still don’t believe it’s been that long of a time period, me and my boyfriend at the time had peer pressured my best friend into trying if this stupid spell from this magical book she’d found in detention one fateful day. The spell happened to be real. Two months later I found her favorite pin in the middle of the road which ended up being the only last trace of her ever. Shortly after my boyfriend had committed due to the guilt he had felt since the only reason Valerie kept the book is because she knew he loved magic. The gelid wind sent a chill up my spine as I looked down. The building is higher up as I had expected. The wind blew through my long hair which used to be a bright blue but not was a faded greenish color. I had stood on this edge one too many times for a teenager. My legs and hands trembled as I thought of reasons to not listen to the voice in the back of my head but I couldn’t find any. This is my kismat. This roof. This time. This day. I dangled my left foot over the chilled air that laid like a carpet infront of me. My eyes closed unconsciously and squeezed themselves shut as I thought. 200 reasons to die. I heard a voice behind me and I turned my head to look at the person. 1 reason to live. I thought as I stepped back. The lady spoke. “Bethany what are you doing all the way up here you said you were using the restroom!” Vianna, Valerie’s little sister spoke to me. She’s only about seven. I had told her mother that I could take her out somewhere so that she could fill out more paperwork on Valerie. I’d totally forgotten that I just left her at the kids table.

Maybe I should take a break from this roof. She needs me.