Wildest Dreams

t e n

When I woke up that morning, the inside of my stomach were in churns. The room had an odd feeling as well, as if it was a paranormal site for ghosts... or maybe it was just me being unfamiliar to a good night's sleep.

I set foot on the floor and a nauseous feeling came over me, making it hard to go to the bathroom. I quickly took a shower then immediately felt better, if the uncomfortable feeling in my mind was to be ignored. 

It seemed as well that I woke up a bit early. Grandma had just poured her first cup of coffee and Grandpa fetched the newspaper outside. I came into the kitchen and poured myself a bowl of cereal, thinking a heavy meal won't do me good.

It was silent again like any other mornings. Strangely, the quietness today was mixed with a lot of tension and a side of nausea.

As Grandpa sat down on the table and opened the paper, he froze and his eyes widened with shock.

"Something wrong, love?" Grandma asked him. She came by his side, read the inner headline, and drop ped  he r   co f f e e .

Something pinched inside my memory as I watched the two of them, seeing their faces and recognizing it somewhere else. I couldn't place when or where, but I knew I saw those expressions of complete fear and shock before.

"What is it?" I perked up on my seat.

The two of them glanced warily at each other. Grandpa folded his paper in half and laid it down on the table, showing the top headline. My blood instantly ran cold as I read it.

Teen Brutal Murder on Elm Street, Suspect Killer Boyfriend on the Loose

Tina Grey, 17, and her friends were having a sleepover last night at her house located in 1216 Elm Street. She was asleep in bed with her boyfriend, Rod Lane when their two other friends heard shouting and screaming from the upstairs bedroom around 2-3 AM. Neighbors also said they heard it, mainly the voice of a young woman.

"The door was locked so we couldn't get in. Rod was shouting and Tina was screaming on top of her lungs," said Nancy Thompson, their friend. Nancy was sleeping in the bedroom opposite when she was woken up by the noises.

"I kicked the door open and we rushed in to stop whatever was happening, but there was blood everywhere. It was frightening, everything had blood on it, and Tina's body was on the floor," described Glen Lantz, who was sleeping downstairs. He reported as well that he didn't catch anyone sneaking downstairs and all doors and windows were certainly locked.

Rod Lane was nowhere in the scene when Thompson and Lantz entered the room. Authorities were informed Lane had only been a surprise visitor that night and threatened Lantz with a knife when Lane was provoked by the other boy verbally. Said knife is the suspected weapon, also missing. Lane must have went through the window after killing Grey. The search for the boy is ongoing.

After reading all of it, my stomach churned again with shock and disgust. I rushed to the sink and threw up, emptying my insides until I was out of breath and a stray tear rolled down my face. I wiped away the vomit and tear and drank a glass of water.

Grandma placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"I'm very sorry, sweetheart," she said.

"I'll drive you to school today. Better be careful," Grandpa told me and I resumed to my seat, not eating breakfast but to process the news.

x x x

As I sat on the car on the way to school, my thoughts remain about happenings last night—the before and after.

Before the murder—

(Was it really? Was that the very final picture of the witnesses, the authorities, and the media? Could Rod actually do that to Tina, his friend for so many years? There were abstract evidences to outweigh the physical, still those were the ones preferred)

—I reminisced how much fun we had, the reborn of the inside jokes none of us had forgotten, the unspoken forgiveness that stayed all throughout the night as if I never left them and they always had me. It was the complete opposite to the news this morning.

There was a hole devouring me from the inside.

"You and Tina were definitely made for each other."

"Even Tina and Rod could see it and they fight more than other relationships I've seen."

"Match made in heaven, I suppose."

Nancy and Glen have been friends with them for years, they knew them more than I do. Rod wouldn't have done it, even if there's a bit of doubt.

But what about me? It was only the five of us who knew I visited Tina's house last night. What part did I take in that dreadful scheme?

Grandpa halted the car in front of the school. I didn't hear what he told me before I left the car, but I nodded. 

Once I stepped into the grounds, I found out that everyone was already talking about the murder. Some students, who knew me from first year of high school, gave me curious looks while others not so much. I passed by, hearing their own speculations. I started to feel like an outcast who's watching all these happen before me.

The clock rang at exactly 8 o'clock. I didn't expect to see Nancy Thompson arriving at school today.