𝐊𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐌𝐞 𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐜𝐞

Chapter 28

One Month Later

A month had passed and there was no sight of the hooded man. The peace and tranquility that usually encapsulated the town had returned.

More evidence discovered proved Hardy to be the one who killed my mother and me. But I was still uneasy...if he was the murderer, why wasn't Death here?

Over the past month, we had heard from local news articles that Elijah was still in a coma at a nearby hospital. I visited him once but never went back again. It broke my heart to see him that way.

Skylar was still missing and local law enforcement had seemed to give up the search for her. They interrogated Hardy for hours about her whereabouts but he insisted that he had no idea what they were talking about.

Over the past weeks, I had spent a lot of time at Carter's house as Janelle. We spent countless hours talking and writing and I felt closer to him now than before I died.

I fought the urge to tell him who I was and run into his arms daily out of respect for Elijah. It felt wrong to be with Carter after his near-death experience.

I didn't know how I managed to be so in love with two boys at the same time but it was a shitty feeling. Choosing one meant hurting the other.

I wanted to wait to make my decision to tell Carter who I was after I got more memories. But after that night, I received no more painful headaches, meaning no more glimpses from my past.

It was a blessing and a curse. One part of me was glad for the incomprehension, but the other part yearned to know the full truth about my life.

I had learned to let myself become satisfied with just that.

Lizzie ended up telling our grandmother about our current "otherworldly" state and she went ballistic. We watched my grandmother beat Liz with a newspaper on the video call and I couldn't help but laugh.

After grueling questions on her part, she finally believed Liz.

I swiveled in the office chair in Carter's room and watched him as he slept peacefully. He was exhausted from spending hours at the hospital with Elijah.

I admired the way that he cared for his brother. Not many people would visit someone like that every day for hours on end.

I saw that it was almost 8 am and stood up to wake Carter. This was always the time he got up to go see his brother.

As I stood up I bumped my leg against the desk and knocked down a few notebooks and a book.

I winced as I looked back at Carter to find him asleep and picked up the items I had dropped.

I looked back down at the last item on the floor and sighed as I read: 'American Psycho'. I was beginning to hate this book. Over the months that I stayed here, it always seemed to find its way into my hand.

Even before I died, Carter would always try to get me to read it.

A wave of curiosity passed through me as I picked up the book and sat back down on the chair.

I hesitantly opened the book to the first page and before I could read any words, the worst headache I had ever gotten thumped against my forehead.

I winced as I rubbed my head to relieve the pain but it was useless. Slowing down my breathing, I attempted to relax but it was useless. A kaleidoscope of images passed through my mind and I shook in the chair as a memory appeared.

I laid against Carter's chest as he read the book to me. He had been begging me for weeks and I finally obliged when he promised to get me ice cream.