Once in a lifetime {h.s.} ON HOLD

12. Life is beautiful

TW: mentions of rape and murder
My drafts for this story are a mess lmao
Shorter chapter yk

I was not supposed to see this, any of it. He didn't know we were there.

His name was Cody, he was tall, blonde, and pretty cute. Her name was Margo. She was small and defenseless against the 6 foot 2 football quarter back.

One of my only friends growing up, Anna, was known in our grade for having a hot older brother, Cody. Me and Anna were supposed to be at the park, but we came home early because she had a headache. While she laid in her bed sleeping, I read a book and quietly organized and cleaned her room for her. It was totally silent in the house, until I heard the front door open. I peaked my head out the bedroom door. I was 14, Cody was only 2 years older than me. I wasn't supposed to see him shoving his friend Margo through the door.

"Get inside before you regret it, don't make this too hard for me." I shouldn't be watching this.

"Cody, please, I don't want to. I want to go home," she whimpers.

"Don't be a bitch. You know where to go."

"Cody, please!" She cries, walking to the door. He grabs her wrist.

"Get in that bedroom right now princess. You love your family don't you? Get in there."

I had to do something, had to stop this. I like Margo. She was pretty, fun, she loved me and Anna like little sisters. She didn't deserve this, but I didn't know what Cody would do to me if I stepped in. I slowly slipped out of Anna's room, sneaking over to where Cody forced Margo to go. I wish I didn't. I heard her cries, him hitting her, and eventually raping her while she cried out for him to stop.

I felt like I was going to throw up. I ran back to Anna's room and saw her sleeping peacefully. She was utterly clueless. I was supposed to be too.

"Now get the fuck out of here!" I hear Cody's voice boom across the house. I hear Margo leave, and Cody eventually leaves about a half hour later.

Something had to be done. While Anna slept, I plotted. I planned every detail, down to the second. If I ever got caught, my life was over. But Margo couldn't tell anyone, with Cody's threats to her family. I was supposed to be at a sleepover at another friend's house, and Anna and Cody's parents were out of town, leaving only Cody in the house, probably sleeping. I slid open the back door and stepped into the cool summer night, making the quick walk to Cody's house. I had orchestrated everything perfectly. I took only 15 minutes, from the time I snuck out of the sleepover to the time I snuggled back into my sleeping bag. I had committed arson and murder, burning the house and Cody with it. I had sick joy following me as I held Anna while she cried at Cody's funeral. I cried as well, a few tears slipping down my cheek.

"He had such a good heart," I lie, hugging his mom.

Margo did not cry. Margo didn't go to the funeral. Margo knows what I did. We exchanged a smile and a wink at his school memorial, and never spoke again.

I snapped awake. Guilt. Not a good feeling first thing in the morning.

"PTSD is a complicated thing," my therapist had told me. "It's not just flashbacks. It can be in your dreams. If you could tell me about your trauma, we could unpack things a little better, but for now, we can talk about PTSD."

I didn't tell her, because god knows what could happen, but it ate me up. A few months after the fire, I actually asked my grandma if I could go to confession with her. I sat in the little booth and told the priest all about how I watched Margo get raped and how I killed Cody. He told me god forgave my sins, but I wasn't there for forgiveness, I was there for my own conscious.

So when Niall tells me I deserve the world, he is wrong. And when he says I don't deserve any of this pain, I do.

Because I ended someone's life.

And karma's a bitch.

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I had such a good day then at the last minute like 30 seconds ruined it lmao why are people so mean