“I saw what you did last night. And I’ve told everyone” Micheal said. My eyes widened as I was worried that the truth had slipped out like a frail worm escaping a bloodthirsty bird. But was the only thing bloodthirsty the truth or was truth always the only thing to have ever existed? Micheal should be clueless and he shouldn’t know what actually happened to Penny. Penny was stone dead by the morning of the crisp rainy November morning. November 22nd stamped into my mind like a postal code on a letter sent by a bloodthirsty bird. It has been endless months that her murder has been investigated and with no trace of proof, I thought everything was safe. So why was Mike now dropping the bombshell that he knew what occurred to Penny on that fatefully selfish November night?

“What do you think happened to Penny then” I questioned with a slight hint of worry in my tone. “You know, that you killed her” Mike responded in no time with no tone of hesitation. He seemed brave to stand up to a killer and I didn’t think Mike had the guts to to do that. “Mike, I never killed her” I added as I was confused about the whole ordeal. Then suddenly it dawned on me, Micheal was trying to cover me up for his crimes. My body felt shot with anxiety and my breathing hitched. “You killed her Mike”.

“I saw what you did last night. And I’ve told everyone.” I said running away from that psycho he was hunting me down with a large machete. I trip and fell off a clif and landed in the water. As I looked back up at his dull eyes he was not human obviously. Something more cruel something with no remorse something that shouldn’t exist. “Sorry” I whispered as the creature stared at me intently. I started drown slowly as it stared and stared and stared. I slowly died while being terrified and staring back at it. It said these words “Go to Hell”

One day as I want to school, it was the first day of school so I was very nervous. Didn’t have any friends at the time, but I made one friend her name is Scarlett. She was nice but the thing is she was friends with someone. I hated Maya she was so rude. She thought that she was so popular. I’m like girl doesn’t mean you have a Stanley doesn’t mean you’re popular so she pulled my hair. I punched her when I went to the bathroom and went back to class. She shoved me into locker so I shoved her back when Scarlet told me she was friends with Maya I blew. I was so mad. I realize you can’t trust everyone friendship is about the person who stepped in their life and said I’m here for you so I made a new friend Quinn me and her are best friends now but she said she’s gonna move. She says a 50-50 chance. I hope she doesn’t move but she said miracle can happen you can’t trust anyone nowadays that’s why the title is called you can’t trust anyone, 💅🏼

I saw what you did last night, and I've told everyone! Of course, nobody remotely believed me. I am passionate and have a touch of fantastical. I will write my thoughts down and deal with them in the morning. Since this directly affects you, I feel I'm in a “safe space” with you. Bear with me, as this is unusual! Do you not think it slightly out of character to utter my well-rehearsed and inane thoughts, please? Am I crazy? How queer it sounds to utter from your well-trained but thorough when you and practically only you utter only you? Does it make you feel when you hear that undeniable utterance pour from your mouth like a piece of Turkish Delight? Does it even slightly peek at your desires? No judgments from me! As one wise or stupid man (depending on the day you hear the saringbbthe dislike of the momentary ill mnmefeel sick like a child overindulging in…lets us call him “Edmund” with his “Turkish Delight.” Or do you notice the modern twist that has ruined the taste of caramel for me…at least my tastes are maturing. Who needs salt anyway? Undoubtedly, it's an utterly ridiculous conconcoction greeted by a Food Network employee. One word of caution: don't dig too deeply into the vast quantities of Belladonna. Of course, you'll make a remarkable specimen with an unimaginable iridescent glow about you. You have three choices: First, abandon your family and friends and accept your immortality; you’ll forever be beautiful and wise but incapable of reciprocating the love and affection offered to you.

“I saw what you did last night. And I’ve told everyone.” That’s what I’ll tell him. It sounds intimidating enough to spook someone as young as him.

He’s got a lot of nerve being so reckless in this neck of the woods. He must have been born just yesterday to be this foolish among humans. 

I can’t risk him exposing not just myself but our whole species. We’ve gone this long without being discovered. We can’t let a foolish kid like him ruin centuries of anonymity.

 I saw him attack that woman and drain her of her blood in the early morning hour. There’s no denying the fact that he’s a young foolish vampire with no sense of direction. I could have helped him adjust to this world. But too bad for him, it’s either him or me. And quite frankly I’m not willing to leave this delicious little town. 

 So I’ll do what I do best, get rid of the dead weight. I’ll scare him away by revealing I know what he is and then I’ll strike. This sort of thing is frowned upon among us vampires but it needs to be done. This isn’t my first rodeo. Lucky for him I’m starving.

“I saw what you did last night, and I told everyone.” I looked down at my phone at the coffee shop I went to every night. My heart started to race as I read the message. My hands started to shake as it made it difficult to type. “I have no idea what you are taking about, who is this?” “You murdered James Henderson.” replied the random number. My eyes widened. “Who is this?” I replied again. A phone notification goes off from behind me as I freeze. I looked down at the message, sending another text message, “?” The message ticked again from behind me as I quickly turned around, “It’s James.” James stared at me smiling, the cut I had made last night still on his throat as he laughed. I screamed, falling out of my chair as everyone in the cafe stared at me. I looked back to where James had been sitting only to realize he was gone. I looked down at my phone, there had been no messages from James Henderson. I sat back up, looking at my sister who had been sitting across the table from me. “Are you okay?” I sat back down. “Yeah, I just..” I dodge the question as I look down at my phone. I was expecting another message to appear, but there was no chat history of the random number. It was all a hallucination. “You should drink more of your coffee.” my sister smiles at me. “You seem to be tired after your long run down the alley last night.” I nod as I lift the coffee back to my lips as I look back at my sister, lowering the cup from my lips. “How did you know I was in an alley last night..” She smiles. “I saw what you did last night, and I told everyone.” My head starts to feel dizzy as the room starts to spin. I look down at my coffee seeing a bunch of white particles floating around. I look back at my sister as my eyes start to get us heavier.. and heavier..

“I saw what you did last night. And I’ve told everyone.”

“And?” His tone was cool and confident. “You really think they didn’t know already?”

He plays with a deck of cards in his hands, his back facing me. The only light in the room came from the moon which shone from the window he looked out of.

I hated everything about him. I hated the way he proudly puffed smoke in the air after winning a game or the way he ordered around his employees. I hated the way he always straightened his posture, adjusting his shades, as if he was in control of everything. Even now, I hated his arrogance and how it made me regret ever confronting him. But I couldn’t back down. Not now.

“You’re such a dishonest man.” I scoff in disgust. I close the apartment door behind me and walk closer to him, my foot stamping a cigar lazily tossed on the floor. My nose wrinkles at the thick scent of dust and smoke.

“Dishonest how?”

He knows exactly what I meant, but it put a smile on my face to expose exactly how much I knew of his cunning ways.

“The tax evasions. The bribes and illegal contracts you’ve been constructing for months. Ha! Even your poker career is dishonest.”

I’ve investigated his every move since he got his big breakout in the poker scene. This man moved quickly up the ladders in ways unlike the others. He established a successful business in the shadows of our city, and gained power with the careful crafting of a perfect persona.

I stayed on his tails—to think his shady behavior went beyond cheating in a game of poker. I had him cornered tonight, and the thought of him going behind bars by my hands felt more poetic than ever.

“But last night, I saw your men assault that man. After everything you got away with, this is the one thing that will finally bring you down.”

“Are you really that naïve?” He says, his confidence still ever so high. He finally turns around to face me. A dark shadow cast on the halve of his face, covering the thin scar I knew travelled down his cheek. “Do you really think Officer Lee is going to find interest in your claims? Or what about Chief Stanley? Do you think he cares about what I do on a nightly basis?”

“Of course they do.” I knew Officer Lee and I knew Chief Stanley. They were both honorable men, and my leaders. No leader would ever associate with someone as low as he was.

Yet that dirty smirk sprawled on that stupid face of his gave me reason to doubt. It’s so unnerving that a chill runs up my spine.

“You see, Officer Lee and Chief Stanley know there are huge prices to pay for inserting themselves into my personal affairs. Just as others know there are certain benefits.” He says.

He’s moved on from playing with his deck of cards, and was now fiddling with a cigar. “That man you saw yesterday. He was a good man. Always timely and respectful to me. A rare businessman who had a strong sense of responsibility. So tell me then. Why do you think I had him dealt with?” He questions.

I wasn’t in the mood for his silly games. The man he killed was innocent, and that was all I needed to know.

“Even if what you say is true, that anyone I told won’t do a thing, I am a lot more resilient than you think. I will get justice for him and his family, even if I have to do it myself.”

“I wouldn’t worry so much about him, darling.” He inhales his lit cigar and exhales a bubble of smoke into the air. “It’s a fine and quiet night today. What do you think is going to happen to you?”

“I saw what you did last night. And I’ve told everyone.” “What! Why! Why did you do that?” Every word causing me to increase my volume to enforce the anger and irritation involved with telling the world about my meeting with my former boss. “Yes, I did. We all need to know that you met with Mike and that now you are thinking about going back to work for him.” “No! No you did not. I am not going back to work for him. I am not. I need to make the next chapter of my life work without him involved in it. “Well they need to know if you are going to be that nasty negative person again. No! Stop being animated. You were a horrible person when you worked for that office. “Fine Yes you are right. I was horrible back then. AND That is one of the very reasons I AM NOT GOING BACK!” Arms in the air and voice as loud as possible I looked her in the face. Did she hear me this time?

We went into the den to sit down together. I need to share it all.

“I have been pounding up the friends list on Facebook asking for bookkeeping business. I have been posting every day to Facebook. For a month so far and I have to keep it consistent. I am adding new friends within the demographic of people who might own property to the degree of needing a bookkeeping. Not that they are accepting my requests. Not that they reply to the message when I send a “thank you” message.”

“GOD! Above I have been praying daily for help and guidance finding my purpose. I have been doing everything humanly possible to keep a positive attitude & keep to my personal commitment to this business. I know that the wheels of progress need to keep moving forward. It is like a roller coaster. I keep an emotions journal. I speak regularly with a coach. I have massage work weekly to reduce physical stress and pain. I eat well & try to sleep at least 7 hours a night. I am keeping the house & managing the laundry to keep our home on a nice schedule. I have leadership books to read and LinkedIn learning classes I have saved for taking.”

“Please have faith in me. Have faith that we can survive this COVID environment without having me work for a man who does not respect me.”

“My goal is to find those people who own properties. They happen to rent their property out. Now they need help getting their bank accounts reconciled. Devoted attention to getting their records organized into clear cash flow and profit & loss statements. Lord GOD There has to be because I have the skills to offer. I know the universe has that perfect job and I am ready to find it.”

“So can you just… hang in with me and just stop pushing me to go back to that job. Yes you are the one that keeps talking about the old place.” I watched as she realized what I was saying.

She finally speaks, “So what can I do?” “Hug me. Tell me how great it is to be following my dream. Stop talking about that place.” “Okay, I can do that.” The hug long and warm and comforting.

“I saw what you’ve did last night. And I’ve told everyone.” Brittney said with a smirk.

My heart suddenly weighed an abnormal amount and slowly fell to my feet. This could not be happening.

She laughed and walked off, joyous in her actions. My life was over. I could never show my face to anyone again. I had to run away. That was the only logical choice.

I had to hide in my car until everyone went inside for class. My heart was the hare against the tortoise, speeding much faster than usual. As soon as the last person went inside, I drove home, as fast as I could get without breaking the law. I parked on the corner of our street, so my mom wouldn’t be able to see me. I didn’t have to wait too long before she and my little brother, Seth, walked to the car to take him to school.

As soon as they were gone, I gunned it to my house, and leapt out of my car to go inside. I had to pack quickly, or else she would see me, and everything would have been for nothing. I couldn’t let that happen.

As I was packing some things in my room, I heard the lock on the front door click open, followed by the dreaded sound of my mom’s voice calling out for me. She probably forgot Seth’s lunch. And because of that mistake, my life as I knew it, was over.

My brother and I were in the corner store getting some groceries, we were running low with only kale, mayonnaise, orange juice, and cheese left in the fridge.

As I was grabbing some kraft dinner when this guy in a leather jacket walked up to me-no he stormed up to me, leaned in, and spat in my face

“I saw what you did last night and I’ve told everyone.” “What?” I asked confused.

Two police men came up behind me and put me in handcuffs

“What the hell?! get off me!” I struggled but it was no use. My brother came to my defense “What the hell are you doing to my sister?” He asked astonished and a bit aggressive “Your sister was seen last night hiding a dead body,” said one of the police holding me My brother scoffed “yeah right, you lying piece of shit. My sister would never-” The policeman pushed my brother off “That remains to be seen, until then we question her.”

My brother was finally allowed to come and see me, I was pacing the cell when I saw him coming down the hall. When he got to my door he looked devastated.

“How could you?” He whispered

“What are you-” I didn’t have a clue what he was talking about.

“They saw you, on a security camera. They showed me the tape”

“You don’t actually think I killed som-“

“I SAW YOU!” He shouted banging the door, I backed away. I didn’t recognize him, he’s never got this mad at me “you think I wouldn’t recognize my sister?!”

“NO!” I shouted back, “I just thought you would know me well enough to know that I would never kill somebody!” I said tears running down my face.

He stormed off. I sat on the floor crying. Through my tears, I saw something white on the gray stone floor. I crawled towards it, it was I piece of paper. I opened it and recognized my brother's handwriting, I wiped away my tears so I could see more clearly sniffing, it had only two words,

play along.

Play along? What was that supposed to mean? I sat there brainstorming. My brother and I live together, he went out last night. I was home studying, he had said that he went to his boyfriend's house, but what if.

I asked if I could make a call, I called Leo (my brother's boyfriend)

“Leo hi,”

“Holy shit! why are you in jail”

“Long story,” I said hurriedly “I just need you to tell me, was Andrew at your house last night?”

“What, no, I asked him to come over but he said that you guys were having like a sibling night or something”

Silence

“Gabby? Gabby are you there?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m here. Listen I’ve got to go”

“Ok but-“ I hung up

There’s no way, it can’t be. But why would my brother lie? Theirs no way, my brother would never. The next day he came to visit, I had to ask him.

“Where were you the other night?” I whispered

“At Leo’s, I told you”

“No you weren’t, I called him, he said you weren’t there,” I said in a shaking voice still whispering into the phone looking straight into his eyes

He looked shocked,

“Right I meant-“

“Don’t lie” I said tears brimming in my eyes? “tell me the truth, where were you?”

He said also whispering “I- don’t worry I get us out of this. I just need-“

“God damn it, Andrew, Did you kill that person?” Trying to stay quiet

“I-”

“Did you?” He put down the phone that he was using to talk to me, and walked away.

I sat on my bed in my cell, I can’t believe it. My brother is a murderer.