Troublemaker

18. SELF-SUSTAINED

'Simon says' was just a warmup for the real game: 'Society says'. Do as society says or you're out.

If you ask for comfort, you're an attention seeker. If you don't eat, you're ungrateful. If you fail school, you're stupid. If you vent, you're not independent. If you defend yourself, you're selfish. If you state your opinion, you're a know-it-all. If you're mentally ill, you're overreacting. If you cry, you're weak. If you don't follow the standards, you're a disgrace.

Jayce's pen laid at the foot of Eric's bed.

She killed him? She did. What motive? No, this is a trap. No, why would there be a pen? Was she here? No, someone trapped her. Do I know Jayce that well? Why a murder disguised in a suicide? What happened to Eric? What was the damn truth?

Voices you wouldn't be able to resist.

Ashton shook. Why would he cry? He prepared for this. If it was going to happen or not, he prepared for it. There was not much reaction. He knew death would come, and it could not be cheated.

Now in his head was just ringing the questions. In his head, it just rang that Jayce's pen was there.

Maybe he was crazy, or blind, or unable to think right, but he went to the bed, bent down and took the pen, putting it in his pocket. Why? He didn't know either. But a gut told him she would've never done it. But what could he possibly know? Jayce Brooks was God damn insane.

"ERIC!" a voice echoed in the silence of sorrow.

The wind blew sharply on his back as a woman yelled and screamed with the sight of her dead son, blood pouring out of his head. The sound of the gun echoed around the house.

"Eric!" his dad went straight in the room.

Georgia shivered in shock as she called the police, while Oliver stood up weakly, heading to Ashton and then yelled at him.

"WHAT HAPPENED?" he yelled.

Ashton stood there, not being able to respond, but only looked blankly and coldly towards Oliver.

"ANSWER ME!" he yelled again.

"E-Eric?" a voice called out in shock from the doorway. Ella.

"Ella," Ashton finally spoke. She shouldn't see this. He immediately stepped past Oliver and went to Ella, closing her eyes.

"YOU PIECE OF CRAP, STAY AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!" Oliver yelled, "TELL ME WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!"

Ashton covered Ella's ears and made her turn around, to not see the dead body, "I left the room when he asked me to and when I was in the closet, I heard a gunshot. When I came in, he was already dead," he explained.

"WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I BELIEVE THAT?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Ashton yelled back, "ERIC IS DEAD."

Oliver approached him and grabbed his collar, yelling, "YOU BETTER TELL ME THE TRUTH BEFORE I SURRENDER YOU TO THE POLICE,"

"WHOSE GUN DOES THAT BELONG TO?" he asked back.

Oliver turned around and looked at the gun at Eric's hand, "It's mine..." he said desperately, "But how-"

The police sirens ringed in their ears and everything came into pieces.

~~~

Dave Brooks arrived at the location, shocked with the scene. He took the exact same statements from Ashton, and all the evidence from the scene.

The gun in Eric's hand was indeed from Oliver's garage as he liked hunting in the forest nearby, and everything seemed like a genuine suicide.

There were letters for his parents, Ella, Ashton and Jaxon as well, all put up on his desk which Ashton had not seen when he entered his room before he committed. Those letters were goodbye letters, but each of them had one same sentence.