Sebastian 'Bash' Walker is a partying Good-Time bloke who landed a full ride scholarship from out of The Bush of the outback in Australia to Magnolia Falls University. Magnolia Falls is located in Cajun Country, Louisiana USA where the food is hot...
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Am I an arsehole for feeding into this girl's desperateness to find answers? Yes. And I'm an even bigger arsehole for feeding her with false hope by giving her some sort of clue to send Aspen off in the wrong direction. Fucking ironic is she's staring her sister's killer right in the eyes and she has no bloody clue.
And who knows if I even truly saw that flip phone that night. For all I know, my unbalanced fucked up mind could have imagined it? That's what happens to psychotic people, right? And they are completely unaware of their insanity.
The locker room door swings open and Jared steps through, his eyes wide and frantic then they land on Aspen, "You don't want to go back in there. Now, how can I help you?" He asks, fixing the hem of his workout shirt, speaking to Aspen who still has complete confusion written on her face after the bomb I just dropped.
"I-I, what is the address to your frat house?" She asks, clearly struggling to pull herself together.
She's suffering because of me.
Should I blurt it out now? Put her and myself out of this misery?
Jared gives it to her quickly, and she types it into her phone while I open my mouth to end it all. I can't keep running from my past with this woman here. I've not only ruined Foxy's life but this woman has also been affected.
"I ki-" I admit but Jared nudges my arm as Aspen has her eyes on the screen. He throws a glare at me then interjects quickly.
"I have Giselle's number, she can give you more information." Jared offers and Aspen nods, taking the phone number while Jared reads it off.
Why? Why even send this poor woman on a wild goose chase? Hasn't she been through enough?
"Thank you, I'll call her now. I have a shift tonight, but can I come afterward to check out the house?" She asks, her hypnotic eyes focused only on Jared.
Every time I look into her eyes I want to let the floodgates go and admit everything I know. Foxy's eyes were the same, nearly. They blew me away when I first saw them, but now looking at Aspen, hers are different. While her left eye is a honey brown with darker chocolate flakes, her right eye is mostly dark blue, but a section has that same honey brown in it.
"What time does your shift end?" Jared asks.
Still, in a trance from her eyes, I begin to wonder if I killed Foxy because I was so enthralled with the unique set of eyes. Am I some fucked up psycho triggered by their eyes?
"I'm not sure, I think around eleven."
"Eleven?" Jared looks to me, astonished, "It's not a good idea to come by that late-"
"Why not?"
Jared scoffs and points to the locker room door beside us, "Did you not learn your lesson with that?"
Aspen considers his point for a moment and shrugs, "I don't care. Clearly, if you're worried about my wellbeing about going to fucking frat house at midnight, then I need to go."
"It's not that." Jared lets out a breath, "You'll be fine, but the killer hasn't been caught yet - you need to be careful."
Aspen narrows her eyes and straightens her shoulders, "Do you not think I know that? I'm here for one thing and that is not to be careful."
"Can't you leave this shit to the police?" I ask her, more afraid of the thought of her coming to my home tonight and afraid of what I could do.
"This shit? You mean Foxy's case? No, I can't leave it to them. Now, do you have anything else to give me? Otherwise," She lifts her phone and places it to her ear when Jared shakes his head. "Giselle?" Aspen turns, weaving around a group of guys in speedos and goggles.
"Jesus Christ, Bash." Jared turns to me, placing his fists to his hips and exhaling a tense breath.
"I can't fucking keep this shit up, Jared." My fingers rake against my scalp and I have to lean against the wall sharing the locker room door.
"You-"
"Did you see her, mate? I'm going to do the same fucking thing I did to her sister!" Clearly, my self-control only goes so far. I'm obviously attracted to this twin just as I was to the other. I know when the moment presents itself, I'm going to slip back into insanity and take the second Lewis daughter for my own sick fucked up pleasure.
"Listen to me man, " Jared grabs my face and shakes it to pull me from the depths of my self-loathing, "I told you, it wasn't you."
Shoving his hands from my face, I'm agitated by both his words and his sudden proximity. Jared's my best friend, of course, he's going to say that shit. Where's his proof that I didn't do it though? There's nothing he can come up with to prove his case. There is no explanation for my hands to be covered in dried blood and bloody clothes strewn about my room.
"It couldn't have been you, Bash. How the hell-" Jared hushes his voice and looks around suddenly aware we're in a gym full of students and faculty close by, "How do you explain the body in the bayou? You have a bike, bro? How would you transport a body on the back of your bike?"
This is the only proof he has; my fucking motorcycle. He holds onto this tiny fact so hard, because there is no explanation. It would be impossible to transport a body on it. Even if Foxy was alive when I brought her to the bayou, there is no way I could have driven it whilst I was blacked out.
"I should just go to the cops and turn myself in." I just want this to end. Especially now with Aspen here.
"No. There isn't any proof. If there was, you'd be arrested by now."
"I can't keep this up, mate. That girl deserves to know the truth." The chords in my neck tighten.
"The only truth you know is you woke up with blood on your hands. That doesn't prove you killed anyone. We've all been super drunk before, you probably got in a scuffle or fucking fell or something."
"And her bloody clothes?" I ask him, although his words mean nothing.
Jared sighs and runs a hand through his sandy brown hair. We both know he doesn't have an excuse for that one. "I told you, I never saw you leave the house that night."
"I went out the window? I snuck out - who the fuck knows. Why won't you believe me? What if I fucking kill someone else?" For some fucked up reason, Jared thinks I'm a Goddamn saint.
"You won't." He deadpans.
A whistle blows and we both turn to watch the swim team dive off into the pool.
"C'mon, let's go lift some weights, man." He returns to the locker room door and opens it.
"Nah, mate. I'm good. I'm goin' for a ride." I just want to disappear. I have three hours before my next class and to be honest, I may not come back. If it wasn't the first day of classes I wouldn't.
I leave the gym and cross campus, keeping my head down, and go straight to my bike. I straddle the bike, the black seat hot from the sun, and stick the keys into the custom ignition then kick start it. I twist the throttle, allowing the RPMs to fill my eardrums, then take off. Racing against myself until I forget everything I can't remember.
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Who misses Bash from chapter one? I do!
Do we think there is a reason Jared believes he's innocent? He seems to have his back, hard.
