The inflatable ice cream man hands me the tar coloured dessert and ushers me away.

I have a queue to serve, he says.

Whatever. I walk away and take a bite of the frozen cream. I don’t have sensitive teeth. I can do what I want.

I have nowhere to be. Lectures are finished for the year, I’ve got no shifts at the posh cafe place down the road until next week.

I’m present. I’m living life, spending money however I want, on whoever I want.

Right now, that person is me.

My phone dings, vibrating my consciousness into being through my thigh.

My heart drops.

It’s a message from the date I was just on. It was a elegant yet degenerate date and we spent most of the day together.

I saved her as “🗿” in my contacts. You wouldn’t get it. It’s a running joke.

The ice cream begins to melt onto my hand.

I should have been excited to hear from her, but it was no text, just a picture.

It was from when we said bye, and she asked to take a full body picture of me. I struck a great pose and the fit’s clean, but she didn’t send me that.

She sent a cropped image, zoomed into the most embarrassing thing that’s ever been highlighted to me by a date.

I nearly walk into the road, just barely avoiding a van who honks in aggressive protest before blending into the city’s ambience.

I look back down at the phone.

She’s typing. I don’t bother trying to reply before she does.

Her next message comes through.

“Your fly was undone all day.”

My fly was down all day.

💩

Disclaimer: Please be considerate as this is something I have been dealing with.

"We can't be friends anymore, I'm sorry. I wish you the best of luck in the future. But I can't do it. I just can't. You will find someone who can love you more than I can, but I can't be that person. We have different needs in life, and we just can't be compatible like this. I'm sorry."

It felt like my heart had just been ripped out of my chest. I instantly felt nauseous. I couldn't believe she was making such a big deal out of this. I was just worried about her, like any other good friend would be. I understand she has a lack of communication skills, but leading me on for so long, and suddenly ghosting me, just wasn't right. If she would've just told me she needed space, I would've given her space. She can't expect me to be able to read her mind, she needs to communicate with me, instead of hurting me.

This whole situation has had me out of sorts. she was the person I would go to for everything, and now I can't talk to her. I know one day in the future we will meet again, and maybe we can try again then, but no matter what, I will always love her. Even if that means loving her from afar.

-𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙤 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝-

Those six words crushed my heart. What did he mean 'will'? What did he mean 'miss'? We see eachother every day.

-𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯?-

No reply. I sit on my bed biting my teeth, hoping to get an answer. We're not done. We can't be done. This is not happening.

~𝓕𝓲𝓿𝓮 𝓶𝓸𝓷𝓽𝓱𝓼 𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓵𝓲𝓮𝓻~

"It's going to be okay. I got you," he said, trying to comfort her best he could. She sniffles and cries as she tells him her cat has just died. There hug was warm and welcoming, just like they always are. He was the perfect shoulder to cry on, and oh boy she sure was crying.

"But she.. but she was," her breath is heavy and panicked along with the occasional sob.

"It's okay. Don't talk. I know. I know." His chin sits on top of her head, and his hands move up and down her arms, making the situation slightly better. She breathes into his chest, the sweet cedar wood scent something familiar. She slows her breathing down, trying to find peace and calm.

"Hey, see. Deep breathes. Just keep on leaning into me."

He was her crutch. His voice soothed her into relaxation. She felt most comfort in his arms. At least that's how it was.

~𝓟𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓭𝓪𝔂~

My breath hitched as my phone buzzed a message from him. I so wanted to look at it, but at the same time, it could be the worst news of my entire life.

-𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣'𝙩 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚-

My eyes didn't close shut and my jaw started to shake. I grabbed a pillow and started rolling back and fourth on my bed. My grip tightened and my voice quivered. Why couldn't he date me? We've been dating for over 6 months. So why now? Was he moving? Did his mom not approve? Did he.. meet someone else? No. No. No!

I was breathing fast and harsh, sobbing with no tears, light headed from the spinning in my head. Nothing made sense. I couldn't focus on anything. I didn't even notice my shaky hands. Pools of tears clustered at my eyes, along with my vision fading. I couldn't stop this now.

I woke to muffled voices and a still blurry vision. I mumbled something myself, but was interrupted by my loud angry stomach growling.

"Get her some food!" I made out in the voices.

I rolled over and clutched my empty stomach and greatfully took the string cheese that was swinging in my face.

"How are you doing?"

"Mhmm"

I saw my mom's face and heard her dramatic sigh from my response. She walks out my room and slowly closes the door, giving me some space.

Once I realize what had happened, tears start to glisten down my cheeks. I try to wipe them away, but they just keep on coming. I feel numb, so I pull off a piece of string cheese and eat it slowly. I put the thought in the back of my mind and gradually return to normal. I dare not look at my phone, and do all the breathing exercises that I know. It works, eventually, and I'm calm.

"Mom?"

Her heals click fastly and in no time she opens my door, breathless.

"Yes? Do you need water? A different snack? Anything?"

I take in her concern for me, which is very unusual. That's why I always went to him. Him.

I try not to break down again, I mean I just got back to normal! I focus on my feet and close my eyes.

"Mom?"

"Just tell me what you need already!"

I shake my head and keep my eyes shut.

"Mom, let me go at my own pace."

I hear her feet shuffle and some awkward breathes follow. My air is shaking and I sense each muscle in my body, bottom to top. Once my scalp becomes aware of the rest of my body, I open my eyes. My mom is sitting on the bed next to me, looking down at her hands with her head tilted.

"Mom." I sigh and reach for my phone and pull up the text message. I cringe as I show her the text, and her face softens and shows empathy of sadness.

"Why?"

I feel numb and don't say anything back. My expression is blank and I feel as if I just went through war and have no cares left to live.

"Oh hunny," she sighs and hugs me.

I don't even flinch. Her hands graze my wet cheeks.

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"Why?"

She grows eerily quiet and looks down. My muscles tense and I'm done with today.

"I'm going to bed now. Please shut my door on your way out."

Without hesitation she walks out the room and quickly shuts the door. I fall back onto my bed and scream into my pillow. I close my eyes and my air goes heavy. Sleep finally takes me away for a few hours.

---

Okay first, I know that it changes from 1st person to 3rd. Secondddd, this was based off of Kallian's writing titled "Miss". Third, do we wanna p2?? 🫶🏻🫶🏻

I walk up the stairs of Eastwood High and the dead leaves crunch under my black doc martens. “It just doesn’t make sense though. Why would a preppy know it all be the final girl in a nineties slasher?” I said.

“Well it would be like, a plot twist, y’know?” Ashton remarks.

“Maverick back me up here!” I say as I look over at him to my left. He shrugs. “She’s right dude. The final girl is always someone like, Avery.” He gestures to me, “Weird and quiet.” Maverick says and then quickly adds, “I mean, no offense.”

“None taken.” I say as I push open the double doors. The three of us navigate our way through the crowd of people in the hall, all the way to my locker. It’s really like our locker though. Kelsey is already waiting there for us, fixing her platinum blonde, curly hair in the tiny mirror on the inside of the door. She turns towards us and gives a little wave.

“OMG you guys! Major Halloween news! Fear Forest has all new characters, and themes, they added Jason, and Freddy Krueger so it’s going to be totally epic this year!” She smiles so brightly and I can’t help but chuckle. “That’s good, last year their actors were really unenthusiastic. I’m excited for a change.” Ashton responds with, a grin on his face.

“Well that girl who was sobbing behind us thought otherwise.” Maverick adds with a laugh, “I’m also glad Halloween is on a Saturday this year because now I can stay up late watching Friday The 13th and mom won’t be all upset about me not getting enough sleep for school.”

“Yeah I can’t believe it’s already a day away.” I add with amazement.

As we go our different ways to class I can’t help but feel a sense of dread creep up my neck. I turn around and see a shadow round the corner but I can’t tell who it was. I ignore it and walk the rest of the way to history class.

Later that day, at the end of school I wait outside for Ashton. He has been my ride to school ever since he got his license because he lives five minutes away from me. When I see him walk out the door I watch him walk towards the car. Today he is wearing a Scream graphic tee with a black zip up hoodie, Converse shoes, and a friendship bracelet I made him back in eighth grade. He runs a hand through his black hair and gives me a slight smile, “Hey. Ready to go?” He asks.

“Yeah, can I stay at your place tonight though? My mom is working a night shift at the hospital tonight and I don’t want to be home alone. We can watch horror movies?” I ask him with a tinge of plea in my voice as I get into the passenger seat of his Jeep. “Of course. My parents are going to dinner tonight so we can watch the movies on the TV instead of my laptop this time.” He says as he puts the key into the ignition.

My mom usually works night shifts because of the extra pay. My dad and mom got divorced and he never shows his face around here anymore. He lives a few blocks down and even though he “loved” me, he never texts. I don’t even have his number. He never asks for me to come over. He started a new life with his wife and three kids. Mom never told me why they divorced but one time I found police records on my moms bed with my dads name on them, Steven Jewett. But I never thought much of them…

I come back to reality as we pull out of the parking lot.

The rest of the ride is silent. We never talk a lot on car rides because we both appreciate silence with a little background music.

After I get out of the car I spin around. I swear I just saw someone following us, they were just there! I don’t start panicking though, I can’t. Especially infront of Ashton. “You okay?” I hear him ask from the front door, “What’s wrong?” He has already started walking towards me. “N- nothing I just thought I saw something. I’m fine.” I say shakily, still looking back at the other side of the street. When I turn around Ashton was right infront of me. “Are you sure? You only stutter when you’re nervous, you can talk to me y’know.” He says. voice too soft for me to focus on anything else. I also can’t help but notice just how little space that was between us. Maybe a few inches. “I just thought someone was across the street. I thought they were following me because I saw someone in the hallway today too.” I say quietly feeling too pressured to keep lying. “Okay,” he put a hand on my arm, “You’re fine. No one is going to hurt you.” His green eyes stare into mine. What if- No. I pushed that thought down. We’re just friends.

As nine o’clock hits we are already on the couch scrolling through Netflix. “Texas Chainsaw Massacre?” Ashton asks. “Definitely. I haven’t watched that in ages.” I respond with. So we watch it. And without even realizing it, I fall asleep. I wake up the next morning at five still on the couch, but I have a blanket draped over me.

Ashton is sitting in the kitchen scrolling through Tik Tok, “Morning.” He says without looking up. “Can I borrow a hoodie? I don’t have time to go home because I don’t have my car, and it would just be easier.” I ask. God, I ask so many questions, he probably thinks I’m annoying. “Sure.” He stands up and I follow him to his room. He hands me a faded black zip up hoodie from the back of his closet. “You can keep it, I have too many of those things.” He chuckles. “Thanks.”

That night after school I am sitting in my bed and Kelsey texts me,

“OMG 😱 I just realized who’s hoodie you were wearing today!”

“So? We’re friends isn’t that normal?”

“Yep sure. Totes normal to wear Ash’s hoodie 🤷‍♀️”

“🫤goodnight Kelsey.”

“Night! 🫶🏻”

The next morning I look at my phone and grin at the date at the top of my phone screen,

October 31st_ _

Finally it was Halloween. Time to watch scary movies all day and then go to Fear Forest tonight with my best friends while also eating tons of candy throughout. It was the best day of the year. My favorite holiday.

I watch a nineties horror movie marathon while I eat pumpkin spice ice cream and drink coffee but it all gets interrupted by a text message from an unknown number,

**“You better stay in tonight. Kelsey would benefit from it.” **

I shrug it off. Just a basic Halloween prank. It always happens, just not in text form. I guess they’ve upped their game this year.

When Maverick texts me that they are on the way I get ready to go. I put on my Halloween costume which is a silky dark green witch dress with a black hat and sneakers. Kelsey is going as a cheerleader, Maverick as ghost face, and Ashton as a clown. It’s our best costumes ever. When I see Ashton’s black jeep pull into the driveway I smile and get in the backseat with Kelsey.

“Who’s ready for the best Halloween ever?” Maverick asks excitedly. We all laugh and raise our hands in response. “I’m so excited! You guy’s costumes are amazing!” Kelsey squeaks out. I turn on our Halloween playlist on Spotify and we drive to Fear Forest while singing at the top of our lungs. What could go wrong?

As we bought our tickets and waited in line to get on the haunted hayride that led to the corn maze, and haunted house walkthrough I looked over at Ashton while he was laughing with Maverick about something. He had on a suit themed around a clown and he had his black hair messy to complete the look. Then I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Kelsey.

“Staring much? How about you just enjoy Fear Forest instead of being all pouty about the fact that Ash is your bestie.” She said with a small shrug. “Ugh fine. By the way, you make a great cheerleader.” I said back with a slight grin on my face. Then our turn was up.

We got onto the hayride and sat down. Me next to Ashton, and Kelsey next to Maverick on the opposite side of us. It was all pretty exciting, I screamed and laughed and overall the changes we’re great. Before I knew it we are all standing outside of the corn maze.

“I’ll race you to the end Ash.” Maverick says with a mischievous smile on his face. “Oh I’m gonna win!” Ashton says running into the maze after Maverick. “Well I guess it’s just us. C’mon let’s go.” Kelsey says grabbing my hand, “I don’t know, I’m not really feeling it tonight.” I replied nervously, my mind flashing back to that text message. “Well fine. I’ll go. But if you don’t go with me I might die!” She says eerily pointing up to the sign, “Forbidden Cornfield” then she laughs and goes into the maze. I loose sight of her and I start to worry.

_I have to go in after her. _So I walk into the maze, the darkness of the stalks swallowing any light from the moon. “Kelsey? Kelsey!” I call out for her quietly. And then an ear piercing scream comes from somewhere in the middle of the field. It was her. I’m jarred from my thoughts and run towards where I heard it. Why am I so scared? It’s a “haunted” corn maze, of course she’s screaming. But something still didn’t feel right so I went to find her. “Kelsey this isn’t funny! Please come here!” I yell, louder this time. Then I am finally in the middle of the maze. Darkness is all around me now. When I look down I can’t even see my shoes. I turn on my flashlight and then point it up towards the middle of the area.

Blood. There’s blood _everywhere. I step in a puddle of it and it’s sticky and thick, I almost pass out. _I am already panicking but step closer to find the source. My hands are shaking so bad that I almost drop my phone, once the light meets something infront of me I recognize it immediately. It’s Kelsey. She’s on the ground bloody with multiple stab wounds in her chest and her eyes are glazed over. “Oh god! Kelsey! No no no, you have to be ok!” I scream after I check her pulse and find nothing. I needed to get help. I ran as fast as I could to find the exit.

When I finally found my way out I was out of breath from running and sobbing. Ashton and Maverick were waiting there for me and Kelsey but it was just me. “Avery? What’s wrong?” Maverick asked me worried. “We need to get help! Call 911! Kelsey’s dead!” I’m frantic and my words are between sobs, I needed to keep it together. Tears are running down my face in torrents. “Come on. We need to get back to the main building to tell someone, we can’t just wait here.” Ashton says sternly.

The three of us are sprinting to the main entrance and when we walk in I walk up to the person selling the tickets. “My friend is dead, someone needs to call 911! Please, I’m not lying!” I plead the ticket attendant. “Okay I believe you but are you sure it wasn’t a decoration?” She asks. “No! She’s dead! Please I don’t want anyone else getting hurt!” I’m hysterical now, crying and shaking. “Okay ma’am go sit down and the cops will be here soon.” So I oblige.

After the cops ask me what seemed like a million questions, I went and sat down and put my head in my hands. Was this really happening? I saw the medics come around the corner and held my breath. They were carrying a body bag. I put a hand on my head and started to sob. She was really dead, this wasn’t just a joke, the text was real. Ashton walked over with tears in his eyes and sat down next to me without a word and put his arm around my shoulders. After a few minutes of silence between us he spoke, “I’m really sorry you had to find her like that. I’m just glad you’re okay.” His voice was soft but shaky. He met my gaze and lingered there for a bit but then looked away. “We should go. This place just isn’t the same anymore.” So we did. I had to get out of there anyways because the memorie of her bloody cheerleading outfit was still lingering in the back of my mind. Maverick had already gotten took home because his parents were always paranoid of something happening to him so it was just me and Ashton.

I cried softly as I looked out the window of the passenger seat. I couldn’t look back because Kelsey’s bag was still in the backseat. It had her iconic cherry lip gloss, portable mirror, money, and her pink heart shaped sunglasses that she always wore. The car still smelled like her ocean scented perfume.

When we reached my house Ashton pulled into the driveway and said, “You can text me if you want to talk. I’m probably not sleeping tonight.” Then with a small wave he pulled out and left me in my dark driveway with the singular porch light. As I walked into my house my mom was crying, “I’m so sorry, honey. That must have been awful.” She tried to hug me but I pulled away, “I’m going to my room.” And then I locked the door and collapsed onto the floor and cried. This went on for hours until I was to exhausted and finally moved to my bed.

That night I slept horribly. Every time I drifted off the image of Kelsey’s dead body in that cornfield flashed into my mind and jolted me awake. And even then, when that didn’t happen I had a nightmare that I was the one getting chased and killed instead of her. I mean, I was in there with the killer at some point, it could’ve very likely been me. My god. Why did this have to happen? I put my hands over my face and cried yet again. The tenth time that night, it had to have been a world record.

Sunday went by like this; I woke up and layed in bed for at least four hours until it was noon, and then I skipped breakfast and locked my door. After that I opened my laptop and watched every single _Scream _movie. I turned on my phone after I was finished and saw thirty text notifications but decided to ignore them. At five o’clock I had dinner which consisted of a bowl of soup and one piece of bread. Then at six I got back into bed and tried to sleep.

When I woke up on Monday sweating from a nightmare I had, I groaned. I had to go to school. This meant people looking at me and whispering things they thought I couldn’t hear, people telling me, “I’m so sorry,” or “that must have been awful.” When in reality, they didn’t care.

I pulled on Ashton’s black hoodie he gave me, and leggings I found at the back of my closet. I hated leggings but I didn’t really care about my outfit today. I just wanted to be comfortable. And ironically I was wearing all black, usually I wore dark oranges and reds, and flannel skirts. It seemed like a clichè since Kelsey had just died. Then I put on waterproof mascara (because I would definitely need it today) and that was it for makeup. I was really giving up today.

When I had walked into the school things were already different. I wasn’t with Maverick or Ashton, and Kelsey wouldn’t be waiting at my locker fixing her hair. People were already looking at me and talking. I hated it so much, I just wanted to walk out and climb under my covers to watch more horror movies. They were the only thing keeping me sane. And just like that the sorrys came in. “I’m so sorry Avery. That must have been horrible.” A kid from my grade I don’t remember the name of said as I passed by. I ignored it. This happened a bunch of other times too. People I haven’t talked to in years saying they’re sorry to me. I just wanted to scream at everyone to leave me alone.

Just as I reached my locker a kid from our grade named Jonas ran upstairs from the auditorium hysterical and yelling, “Someone’s dead! Someone’s dead! Call 911!” This had to be a joke, a bad one, but a joke. This couldn’t be happening twice in the same week, but before I know it cop cars are outside the school along with the medical team and I’m still at my locker horrified. Who was it? Who had been killed _in _school? Where were my friends?! I was panicking but an officer had asked me to answer a few questions even though I had no idea what was happening. This could be a nightmare for all I care.

Ashton met my gaze and hurried over. He looked sad and panicked at the same time. “Avery, it was Maverick. He’s dead.” Ashton says this breathlessly with tears already filling his eyes. I really can’t believe it. I start crying and panicking. Ashton was down there, he could’ve been the one who was killed. Wait…

Ashton was down there…

“Everyone else is leaving, we should go too.” He says it no longer showing sadness. It’s strange, but I can’t help but wonder…

“O-okay…” if this were a horror movie I would be yelling at the screen to not go home all alone with the obvious suspect, but I’m too frozen with the realization that my closest friends are dead. All except one. One who was at every crime scene, one who wasn’t seen during the murders, one who is connected with the victims, stop overthinking this. You know Ashton, he wouldn’t kill anyone. Would he?

As I’m walking out of the building with Ashton, Jonas, the guy who found Maverick, is speaking with a cop. He barely looks distraught now. Jonas is a junior in school like me and it didn’t used to be just me, Kelsey, Maverick and Ashton in a group. Jonas used to be our best friend too, until last year when we all got into a huge fight about how he talked about us behind our backs. Now we haven’t spoken since then. He joined the theater club and made new friends.

I’m sitting next to Ashton and I must’ve looked nervous. “Are you okay?” He asked this as if our friends weren’t dead. “No im not okay! Our friends are dead and it could be either of us next! Who knows the motive, maybe they just wanted to kill off our entire friend group!” I’m nearly in tears at this point and in shaking. I’m on edge so much that when Ashton pulled out his phone I thought I was about to die. I flinched and he flashed me a strange look, “It’s just my phone, why did you flinch?” He puts it away and looks at me for a moment but I won’t meet his eyes. “I’m sorry I just… never mind.” I look out the window. “Drop me off here. Please.” Ashton looks at me like I’m dumb. “What? Why? I’m offering you a ride home but you want dropped off at a random sidewalk in town?” He looks desperate now, “Just… stay in the car… I’ll drive you home.” He locks the door. “Ashton, let me out.” I’m shaking and I clench my fists to stop looking scared. I can’t read his expression but he unlocks the car and stares at me as he pulls out of the parking spot. I let out my breath and start my walk home.

Leaves crunch under my feet as I look around to make sure I’m not being followed. Why was he acting like that? Maybe… No! Stop thinking like that. I put in my AirPods and turn on my fall playlist. Oh Klahoma by Jack Stauber always took my mind off everything.

I walk into my house and see my moms purse on the table. She must’ve gotten off early. “Mom? I’m home. I need to talk to you.” I walk into the kitchen and look around. Maybe she’s in her bedroom. I quickly realize it’s too quiet, when my mom wasn’t calling someone from work, she was blaring My Chemical Romance from her room. Something was off. “Mom?” I call her name again but still no reply. I step out of the kitchen and turn into the living room and scream. Written on the wall in blood is four words,

**_ Having Fun Yet?

_**Underneath the words is my mothers body. Blood covering her work scrubs, neck snapped at a disturbing angle, arm cut off at the shoulder, leg broken and her insides are no longer on the inside. I try to cry, try to scream, but I’m too frozen by fear. I open my phone to call 911 but check life 360 first. Ashton turned his location off at 12:45. Right after he had dropped me off on the street.

I spoke to the operator and gave her my location and what happened. Police and medical services were in my front yard in minutes. Now being at every crime scene in town got me a trip down to the station, I sat in a questioning room and waited for a detective to come talk to me. When he walked in I broke into tears. “It wasn’t me! I know who did it, don’t waste time here, it’s Ashton Hallowes! Please, don’t let him hurt anyone else!” At this point I’m so tired of all of this and just want to go home but now the memory of my living room haunts me whenever I close my eyes.

I explain everything to the detective and he stands up. “We will go talk with your friend but if we have no evidence he is guilty, we can’t take him into custody. I appreciate your honesty and cooperation. Have a good day ma’am.” And just like that I’m driving home with blurry eyes filled with tears. I had no one left.

When I pulled into the driveway I saw Ashton waiting on the porch. Oh no. I got out but had to play it cool, so I walked over and started to cry. “Avery! I’m so sorry… I can’t believe this is happening.” He pulled me into a hug and I sobbed. Even though I had my suspicions he was still my best friend. I decided to confront him. “Why did you turn your location off after you dropped me off?” I stepped back and he looked confused. “Because my house had no internet when I got home, it always turns off when there’s no internet.” He suddenly looked hurt, “You didn’t think… Really?” He takes my hand, “You really think I could do this?” I pull my hand away and his expression turns sad. “You’ve been at every single… murder.” The word was like a bad taste in my mouth. “You have to admit it sounds pretty bad for you…” I step back again. I don’t know if it’s just in my head but he suddenly looks nervous. “I’m sorry you think that about me. I’ll see you later.” He walks past me and our shoulders brush. “Ashton wait, don’t go. I didn’t mean-“ I suddenly feel bad and not sure if he’s the right guy. But if not him then who? I watch as he pulls out of the driveway and then walk inside. I think I made a mistake. My mind flashes to the day Jonas joined the theater club. That took lots of acting.

I lock myself in my room for the night and collapse onto my bed. I’m so exhausted from this past few days and I just need to sleep. But I can’t. I pull out my phone and decide to text Ashton.

“I’m sorry. I just don’t know who to trust anymore.”

“You don’t mean it.”

“I do, please can we talk? I’m still awake, just come over and we can talk.”

“You sure I’m not going to kill you like the psycho that I am?”

“Shut up. That’s not what I meant earlier.”

“On my way.”

I had a bad feeling about this but even if he is the murderer at least if I die then I’ll be with my friends and mom again. I sit on the couch anxiously waiting for the doorbell to ring. I hear thunder and flinch. I’ve been so on edge lately it’s ridiculous. Then the doorbell rang.

I hurry to the door and swing it open. He’s standing there, green eyes looking down at me. “I can’t stay long. Can we talk out here?” I nod and close the door behind me as I step onto the porch. It’s raining so there is a haze in the darkness of the night. “I’m so sorry, I was exhausted and delusional, and my life is literally falling apart infront of my eyes.” I put my head in my hands. “It’s okay. I believe you. Just don’t blame this on yourself, I know how you think.” I look up at him and he takes a step closer and grabs my hand. “I should probably go, I have stuff to do at home.” He is at least three inches away from me at this point and I can’t focus on anything else, and before I know it he’s pulling me closer.

I wrap my hands around his neck and he pulls me closer until our lips are touching. I don’t want him to stop but he pulls away. “I need to go, my mom needs help cleaning the house. I promise I’ll come back later. Don’t leave, I don’t want anything to happen to you.” I nod still stunned by the kiss and he smiles. Then he hurry’s to his car so he doesn’t get too wet from the rain.

After about half and hour of sitting in my room to nervous to go into the living room because of what happened earlier, I hear a knock at the door. Ashton must have been back. I open the door and no one is there. There are no street lights on, and it’s deadly quiet. “Hello?” I don’t hear any response and I’m already on edge. My phone chimes, the same number that texted me before Kelsey…

**“You shouldn’t lock the door. Just let me in, I’ll be there in a few seconds.” **

I slam the door shut and hurry to lock it, my fingers slipping over the locks. I look back at my phone, no signal. I run over to the kitchen and grab the emergency cell. No signal. This isn’t happening. Then as I am hurrying to my bedroom I hear a window break. The bathroom window. The bathroom, blocking the exit. Then footsteps that sound familiar but I can’t place why. I grab the closest thing I can find that is close to a weapon, it’s a lamp. I see a shadow illuminated by the moon light through the window in the kitchen just past the bathroom. As they turn the corner im terrified. They have a knife in their hand already crusted with blood. Their ungloved hands were also covered in thick blood not dry yet. Someone else has to be dead. My mind flashed to Ashton. No. He wasn’t gone. I look down at the killers shoes, they haven’t seen me yet but I haven’t seen their face. Jonas. The killer is wearing Jonas’s shoes and jeans. It was him? Jonas killed who used to be his closest friends? It all made sense though… but before I could continue to piece it all together Jonas turned towards me. He was wearing Mavericks ghost face mask that he had worn on Halloween. He lunged and slashed my arm and tried to grab me but I ran towards my bedroom and I slammed shut the door and hurriedly unlocked my window. I lived in a one story house so it was easy to get onto the lawn and start sprinting. I looked back and my house was silent. No sign of a killer or a psycho in a ghost face mask. That didn’t matter. I sprinted as fast as I could to Ashton’s house. Once I got there I could call the police and wait with him, safe and secure.

I don’t even knock I just run in. “Ashton?! I need help!” I hear footsteps and he appears, hair messy and hands dripping with water freshly washed. I walk over and hug him. I’m so glad he is alive. “What’s wrong? Did you hear about Jonas?” His eyes are looking into mine, but something wasn’t right. He was hiding something. “No? What happened to Jonas?” I step back. If Jonas wasn’t the killer… then who was? “Yeah he’s dead. He got murdered a few hours ago.” He steps towards me and pulls me into another hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay… why is there blood on your shirt?” I showed him my arm. “The killer, he came after me next. I almost died… I need to go rinse it out first before we call the cops.” I hurried to the bathroom and looked in the sink… blood. I gasped and turned towards the hallway. Ashton was walking towards me. “Avery, wait!” I slammed the door muffling his words and locked it. “It’s not what you think!” He tries to turn the knob, “Let me in! I didn’t do it!” He pounds on the door. “Let me just talk to you!” Another try at the knob. “You never should’ve told me about Jonas! You could’ve gotten an easy kill, but I outsmarted you!” Laughing now since I survived this whole situation, I opened the window and was facing a corn field. I turned back to see Ashton finally getting the door open. “What do you mean?! I didn’t kill anyone! I’ve been here the whole night!!” He looks sad and angry at the same time. I hear two footsteps behind me and I gasp, if Ashton was inside then who was outside with me? Ashton’s eyes grow wide with fear and he yells one word, “RUN!” So I do.

I’m sprinting as fast as my legs can carry me. I run down the street and Ashton pulls up next to me in his jeep. “Get in! Hurry!” I open the door with the car barely stopping and get into the passenger seat. He turns around to see if they are still following us but it’s just a dark street. “Oh man, that’s my parents car.” A green Buick passes us heading towards his house. “We have to go back and warn them!” He turns around in the middle of the street and speeds down the road.

We burst through the door but it’s quiet. The car is in the driveway but his parents don’t seem to be home. “Mom? Dad?” Ashton calls them but no answer. We walk into the kitchen and see a figure towering over the two lifeless body’s off Ashton’s parents. There is blood coating the walls and the white tile on the floor. The scent is strong and metallic and I feel like im about to pass out. I gasp and the killer turns around. With no mask this time I can see every detail of the killers face and I recognize it immediately. “Dad…” “Avery…” his hands are bloody and the knife is pointed at us. “Put the phone on the ground! Don’t move!” He yells at us with that booming voice he always had and we oblige. We both put our phones on the ground and then my dad speaks again. “Come here Ashton. Don’t make me hurt you just yet.” And Ashton has no choice but to listen. My dad grabs Ashton’s neck and turns him to face me. “You are so grown up. I just wanted some time with you so I came to find you.” He speaks so calmly it’s nerve wracking. “But now that my cover is blown I’ll have to kill Ashton here, and then frame you by slicing my arm.” “No please, kill me instead! Ashton doesn’t deserve to die!” I glance at Ashton and he gives me a sympathetic smile, though his eyes look sad. And he says quietly three simple words, “I love you.” Then stands up and fights my dads strength before stabbing him with his pocket knife. But before he had done that, my dad’s knife had gone right through Ashton’s chest. He crumpled to the floor and I see tears in his eyes.

I rush over and hold him in my arms. “You can’t go! Please just try and fight it. The cops will be here soon, I’ll call right now! The paramedics can help! Please…” I’m sobbing and my tears are falling onto his shirt. “It’s too late, I’ve lost too much blood,” he coughs and blood coats his teeth, “I will always love you, even though it sounds cliche.” A small but sad laugh escapes his lips and then with that he exhales one last time. A tear rolls down my cheek and I already hear sirens even though I didn’t call.

I walk out of the house tears making my face feel sticky and warm, and Ashton’s blood coats my shirt like a sticky blanket. I put my hands up and I’m blinded by the police lights. And then I speak,

“The killer is dead. He’s in there, and his name is Steven Jewett.”

But before I can take another step I hear footsteps behind me. An evil laugh follows. “Haven’t you ever seen Scream? There is always an accomplice.” I turn around to see Ashton standing behind me with blood all over himself and a knife in his hand. Ashton plunges the knife into my stomach and twists it three times. As my vision is fading he leans over and whispers into my ear with a grin on his face, “Never trust the love interest, darling.”

I don’t understand It was all fine yesterday Try as I can Have it your way

Why are you leaving We didn’t fight Your just cleaning To a life isn’t right

"It was epic! I've never experienced a ride th. at before. Like, the most immersive experience ever! I can't-" Connor’s phone lit up on the table, it read,

Text Message _ Melissa Clark __ __ He glanced at it, expecting it to be his boss asking him to come in early for his shift like he did almost every Saturday. But when he saw her name, his mind went blank and he immediately started to panic. It had been nearly a month since the last message where they had agreed that it wasn't going to work for them to stay friends. _What could she possibly have to say?

"Are you okay?" Jasper asked, bringing Connor back into the room.

He looked up at his best friend who sat clutching his happy faced mug of coffee and was staring at him with a concerned expression on his face.

Jasper pressed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and adjusted in the hard wooden coffee shop chair. He was terrible with silence but know that he had to give Connor a moment to collect himself.

After a moment Connor took a deep breath and turned his phone around so Jasper could see the preview that had popped up on his Lock Screen on top of the beautiful picture he'd taken at the hotel pool in California.

Jaspers dark eyes widened, "Do you want to read it here?"

Connor looked around the coffee shop, it was that weird time after lunch only an har or so before they closed for the day, so it wasn't busy. All the way across the room was a young mother a who was obviously preoccupied with a young one in a stroller and another kid sitting at her feet playing with toy trucks on the floor. The only other people in the room where a couple older gentlemen playing cards.

"I guess,” he said picking up and unlocking his phone. Almost as quickly as he picked it up, he set it back down on the table and put his head in his hands.

"Whatever it is, we can handle it." Jasper tried to reassure him. " I’ll help you write a response. I promise she's not going to walk back into your life and make a mess of things."

When Connor lifted his head there were tears in his eyes. His soft brown hair was plastered to his forehead and his lip quivered as he said, "I think she's going to do exactly that. She's pregnant.”

"But, how?”

"I mean, I don't think she did this to purposely mess up my life. Of course she didn't, she never wanted this. But fuck, how am I supposed to pay for a kid? I was trying to save up to finally go to college. Wait," Connor interrupted himself to look at Jasper who was running his hands through his thick dark hair. "Did you just ask how? I'm pretty sure you know where babies come from even though you're fucking dudes.”

For a moment they laughed. But a tear quietly ran down Connors face.

I stared at my screen. A number I did not recognize had texted me once. “Look.” Then again, an image. I zoomed in, thinking it was fake at first, but then I saw it: my father, bound with rope and glaring into the camera, kept in a small room with a wooden floor. Then again: “Ha.”

I Googled the number, my heart pounding. Nothing came up. I looked up from the restaurant where I sat with my friends. They asked if I was okay and I showed them my phone.

“A prank!” One person laughed and patted me on the back.

“Probably,” I smiled, although my voice was shaking.

This was all part of the plan. I had hired someone to do this, to rid me of my overprotective father. He’d make it look like a ransom and . . . But now I second guessed myself. My father was so human in that picture, so …

I had to call it off. But as I type, fingers flying on my phone, I feel it in my heart: it’s already done.

No…no…

Nononononono.

God, no! I thought I stopped it!

I couldn’t budge my eyes from my phone. I don’t even think someone could if they tied them to a speedboat and drove off at full speed. These words… these four words would haunt me for forever. I couldn’t even watch the building as it continued to collapse. The screams of terror around me were white noise compared to the noise of the thoughts in my head. The blazing inferno rising from what used to be a 30-story building, filled with rich office managers of a billion-dollar corporation, which outshined the sun and could’ve been a signal fire for someone 1000 miles away, only furthered the fiery thoughts in my own head. The heat and the crashes of falling rubble only furthered the burning in my heart. I might’ve been in shock. There were too many emotions to tell. Whatever I was feeling, it kept my eyes locked on those four words.

“Thanks for your help.”

This isn’t how this was supposed to go down. My plan was perfect. I was only supposed to pretend to be helping him. I’d trained for so long for situations just like this one. After years of only working intern jobs and basic robbery cases, they finally gave me a chance. They finally gave me a chance, and instead of focusing on the building that blew up, I’m focusing on how my career just did.

God, how selfish am I? These people around me are screaming, terrified for their lives because a goddamn 30-story important building just got demolished before their eyes, and I’m thinking about my job. Myself. I’m not trying to save anyone. Maybe I deserved this. If I’d just been smarter.

How am I supposed to explain this to my superiors? I’m fired for sure, but they’re going to want more than “I don’t know.” I don’t have more. I have no idea what went wrong. I only helped them infiltrate so I could plant the tracker…

Oh, my god. I’m such an idiot. The tracker’s on me. I thought I planted it on him. That’s where everything went wrong. They never sensed him entering the building and couldn’t stop the attack. He must’ve swapped out my tracker for the detonator. I planned that detonator as a failsafe so the bomb couldn’t be hacked; it was the only way to make the bomb go off. God, such an amateur. I deserve to get fired. I deserve to get locked up. I deserve everything that’s coming.

Burying my face in my hands, I slump down quickly, landing butt-first. However, I perk up as something pokes it. I don’t even want to know; it was probably just a rock or a piece of rubble. I should’ve gotten crushed by one. I slump back down slowly, feeling that thing more deliberately. It’s too boxy to be a rock. Too smooth to be a random piece of rubble. Giving in, I reach back and pull the detonator out of my back pocket. My eyes light up with surprise and I take a sigh of relief.

“He didn’t have the detonator…” I mutter to myself. Wait. That makes no sense. How did he detonate the bomb? This was the only way, and if he didn’t have it, that means the bomb was detonated remotely. But that would mean someone redesigned it right before we executed “the plan.”

I jump in surprise when I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. When I pull it out, I see my boss’s name displayed. Do I have to answer it… yes. I do. This is gonna suck.

“Hello?” I say.

“What the hell happened?! You blew up a building?? This isn’t your superhero movie, Agent Lieu. You weren’t supposed to let it explode!”

“I know, Captain. I promise I’m looking into it. I was double crossed. Someone changed the bomb last minute to detonate remotely. This isn’t a superhero movie. It’s a mystery.”

And the mystery is, if I didn’t detonate the bomb…who did?

Don’t be alarmed. Ok that’s stupid be alarmed but just a moderate amount of alarm not flappity arm alarmed. I’m Pemberley. And You are not what you think you are. You are Virginia. Vee to your friends and your Mom Mom called you Gingy Ale. You love to sing Backstreet Boys alone in your apartment. Little Weirdo.

Sister Joseph inhaled. Panicked, the slight woman looked around the cafeteria quickly. This was a prank, right. She was studying for her RN at Lewis County Community College. The brothers would be here to collect her soon. Technology is severely limited at the order especially for novices but she kept a burner in her college locker to play Candy Crush. Her phone chimed.

Ow! Stop hitting me. I’m trying to prevent her brains from pouring our her nose like tapioca. Vee listen. Don’t panic, your heart is racing. Try to remember. You’re were a journalist then you gave everything away to join a cloistered Zilpha order. But your nightmares wouldn’t stop. Remember. You reached out to Desperation Pawn to have us locate your earliest memories. Des found you aren’t you at all. Your brain has been hacked and our AI is kinda stuck in your noggin in a crisis of faith loop. Put down that chicken salad. You are plugged in a squid set now. Stop looking around at people eating lunch. Stop! Listen.

Sister Joseph hurled the phone across the dining hall. No one noticed. She turned realizing each person was a faceless mannequin. slipping and sliding Sister Joseph ran from the cafeteria. She needed an exit. Instead she was in a tangle of corridors.

Faceless student bodies running down bumped her over and over again. The young nun tripped spilling down a short flight of stairs. She staggered to her knees. More people crowded her pushing her back. Sister sought refuge in the ladies.

Her phone chimed. It was set on the bathroom counter. Sister Joseph vomited in a nearby stall. Virginia stood up and wiped her mouth. Her phone now on the back of the toilet chimed.

Gingy good to have you back.

“It’s in the street lights” __ __ Robert stared at the message on the screen in confusion, even checking the sender’s phone number, willing it to be a mistake. Looking out of his apartment window, pin pricks of fear crept up his neck as he realized he couldn’t even begin to count the number of street lights visible from his window alone. As his eyes darted around the fourth story window in front of him, both looking at everything and seeing nothing, his stomach tightened and he felt his blood run cold. He turned back to his desk and reached for his phone, for a moment forgetting it was still in his hand.

“Are you sure?” __ __ They’d had countless hours of research and sleepless nights invested in searching for an explanation no one seemed to have for a phenomenon most didn’t know existed. There had been several times when they thought they had finally figured it out only to find holes in their logic or that a small detail didn’t quite line up. As crucial as it was for them to find an answer as fast as possible, Robert found himself hoping Jamie was wrong.

“Get to the office. Sam’s here.” __ __ “Fuck,” he huffed through gritted teeth. Hurriedly grabbing his bag from the corner he’d tossed it into the previous night, he grabbed the manila folder of research materials and stuffed it into the largest pocket. After gathering a few journals and bits of equipment, all shoved into the same barely zipped bag pocket, he turned to grab his shoes and head out. He knew Jamie’s response meant this was not just another possibility. He knew that everything was about to change drastically. Not finding his shoes by the coat rack, he dropped his bag to quickly search across the apartment. His chest tightened and his pulse quickened as he stooped to look under furniture and behind messily scattered boxes of news papers. Glancing back down the hallway, he blinked in confusion as he saw his shoes sitting right where he had left them by the coat rack. Rolling his eyes in exasperation, Robert quickly slipped the shoes on and raced through the door, his bag catching on the latch as he went. Grumbling and yanking the bag off of the door and locked the dual deadbolt he’d installed recently, he turned left and headed for the stairwell. As thoughts of Jamie’s revelation buzzed through his mind, he felt acutely aware of where his body ended and the world around him began. His skin felt clammy and tight against his starched clothing, and even that layer felt distinctly separate from the space surrounding him. As he found himself becoming almost certain the lights felt dingier than usual, he set his teeth and blinked hard, dismissing the paranoid thoughts as nothing but. Nothing had changed yet; they just had an explanation.

With his chest a tight from making it down three flights of stairs in what seemed like only a handful of steps, Robert gripped his shoulder strap and trudged out into the rain. Ducking under the awnings along the sidewalk, he found himself gazing intently at street light after street light, feeling caught somewhere between relief that the search was over and dread for what was to come. The glow of each light against the deep inky black of the starless sky made Robert’s knees ache and stomach tighten, evoking a deep, nagging feeling he could not place. He knew Sam would be pleased with the discovery. As powerful as the company he kept tended to be, this was sure to earn him a great deal of favor. He wouldn’t be concerned about the after of it all; that would not concern him or his colleagues. As Jamies was less of a one-dimensional numbers driven type than Sam, he wasn’t sure how he would be handling it, but it probably would be fine. They had all worked together in some capacity for the last decade. Robert knew how they thought, and he knew they had all been working toward the same goal. Why was he suddenly dreading stepping into the room with them?

After walking for several minutes thinking up elaborate scenarios in which each of his colleagues reacted in different ways, Robert tripped on a lifted patch of sidewalk and his eyes snapped back up from the ground he didn’t remember staring at. As he was snapped out of his thoughts, reality crashed back into him all at once. As soon as the spiraling train of thought was broken, the weight everything suddenly felt much heavier than it had before. Would the news outlets even pick up the story or simply dismiss it as some baseless nonsense? How long would they have before it was too late to take action? What happened when everyone around him knew the same thing he did?