𝐧𝐨 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲, 𝐧𝐨 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞- 𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧

7.

I woke up the next morning still without much rest. It was the first time I fell asleep in a long time. Well, it was the best sleep I've gotten in a week. My mom was extra careful with me last night once we returned home in case anything about Sarah staggered my mind.

But she's alive and there was only a matter of time before she returns. I called the number again last night without much hope, and without any shock, some women answered claiming to be a hotel maid. Sarah was no where to be found, I assumed, and I didn't ask in case she ended up in trouble over there. I lied, saying I had the wrong number.

"Atallia!" My mother calls from downstairs.

I moved down the hallway, down the stairs. My mom was in the kitchen making one of her special receipts, as she called it.

"Would you be able to go to the store and get some more milk?"

"Yeah." I said. "I'll be back."

I took the keys from the table and slipped on my shoes. I only made it a few steps outside when I spotted a white slip of paper under my windshield wipers. I spun around, questioning who left it. It was well stuck in there meaning it wasn't just the wind.

I took the note, unfolding it from its spot. I gasped, dropping the slip to the ground. My heart began pounding again, hearing it against my chest and the blood rushing in my ears and the sound of Trevor's skull- no. I can't think of that.

I read it again. I know what you did. Admit it.

It was typed out. I couldn't recognize the handwriting that way. Because whoever put this here, had thought of this well.

Suddenly my hands felt sticky. Not with sweat, but with blood from Trevor's body. My hands trembled, the note shaking in my hand. Every step I took sounded like his body hitting the cement road. I couldn't handle this anymore. It was like whoever sent this was toying with me, understanding how hard this was to keep secret. They wanted me to turn myself in.

I could only think of one person who could help me. The one person I still didn't want to see, but I couldn't ignore this. It couldn't be a coincidence. I got into my car and nearly sped to the Cameron's household.

I gripped the note in my hand, shoving it into my pocket before reaching the door. I knocked once then again and again. Someone had to be home. I hated knocking, because as bad as it sounds, Sarah never left her door unlocked because it was usually me who was over. I hated knocking and meeting Rafe on the other end. Sometimes I would do it for fun just to see him annoyed. But now the door isn't unlocked and even if it was, it would be rude to break in. No one else in this family is my friend.

Sure enough, it was Rafe who answered. Without a word from him, I busted past him. "I have to show you something."

The slip of paper was small in Rafe's hands. His hands were bigger than mine that anything looked small in his hands. He must've read it over a hundred times by now because we've been sitting here for multiple minutes without saying anything.

While he read it, I checked out his room. His walls were grey with shockingly very little decorative items on his wall. I at least expected naked women from magazines or multiple girls he found at parties to be hanging across his walls. There was nothing. Some pictures frames on his dresser with photos of him and his father. One with him and Kelce golfing on a nearby golf corse.

His room was also clean. I assumed it was because of the maid who came twice a week, but I doubted Rafe would let someone come near his room. He was just too stubborn to let anyone touch his things. Although I'm sure Rose would not let him have his room in a disaster. It was too imperfect for a Kook.

"It's a joke." He spoke up, snapping me out of my trance.

"What?"

"It's a joke." He threw the note like a basketball to the trash can across from him.

"It's too coincidental." I doubted, rushing to pick the piece of paper out of the trash.

"Forget about it." Rafe tried to convince, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I can't forget about it! Someone knows." I grabbed a notebook sitting on his desk, ripping out one of the papers. "We have to make a list of people who could possibly know. Someone saw us that night."

"Atallia, you're overreacting." Rafe denied.

I grabbed a pencil next, writing down possible witnesses. Of course I began with the Pogues. But then again, they would've called us out right away. But what if they didn't?

Kiara
JJ
Pope

John B wasn't here. He was in the Bahamas with Sarah. My thoughts swerved to the way Topper glared at me at the bar yesterday.

Topper

We were at Michael's house. That was the only other person I knew.

Michael

"Let me see that." Rafe seized the paper, laughing under his breath at my assumptions. "Topper?"

"He looked at me funny yesterday." I mumbled, fumbling with the pencil.

"The Pogues? Those shits can't do anything." Rafe crumbled up this paper too.

"They weren't afraid to accuse you of murdering Sheriff Peterkin." I pointed out, causing him to twitch at the mention of it. "If you're not going to help me figure this out, then I'll do it alone."

"Go back home. We aren't going to get caught." He assured, tossing the paper into the trash.

I stood up. Maybe he's right. It must be a joke. If someone knew then they would've called me out already. They would go to the cops and turn me in right away with that $13,000 reward. There's no way I would be sitting here talking to Rafe. And if I were caught, he would help me. He might hate me, but he would help me.

"Okay."

As paranoid as I was, I got into my car and did as my mother asked. Flashes of the hammer sitting in my drawer taking over. Rafe didn't help me. He threw it aside like it was nothing. I prayed it was nothing. A joke that was accidentally placed on the wrong car sitting at the wrong house. It was meant for my neighbors, I'm sure of it.