The heartstopper

Chapter 25

Morning felt like an eternity away. Charlie had the problem that he couldn't move all night, too scared to make the slightest noise. Neither one could close their eyes for more than a quick blink, otherwise, the sight of the girl's body lying in a pool of blood would fill their minds. It was a terrifying time when the security guard who would walk the halls at all hours of the night would reach their door.

Nothing happened all night, despite all their worries. Eventually, the sun came up, it turned out that no one had closed the curtains the night before, but no one slept anyway. No one talked until the sun was up and they were all sitting up, even though they all knew each of them were awake, staring at the ceiling all night long.

"Morning," Tao mumbled as he stood up and stretched. The others hummed in acknowledgement. They got out of bed, messily making them, before getting dressed and ready for breakfast, taking the stairs down to the main level. The elevator had a sign indicating that it was 'out of order'. Nick and Charlie knew why and that made it all so much worse. Seeing the sign and knowing that they were still having to disinfect the elevator from the girl's blood, it was sickening. Neither wanted to step into an elevator again in their lifetime.

At breakfast, they sat down with their friends. The girls pestered them with questions about the night, asking what had happened and if they were okay.

"We're fine, last night we got caught up," Charlie mumbled, staring down at his untouched plate full of food. It was obvious that he was lying but the others dropped it after seeing their uncomfortable friends.

"So, do we have any plans for today?" Asked Tara, changing the topic.

"Nick and I need to talk with Mr. Farouq and Mr. Ajayi," Charlie whispered, Nick nodded in agreement. Neither of them had touched their food and their friends had noticed.

"Nick, if something happened-" Imogen began.

"It's nothing, we just have some things to deal with," Nick reassured, quietly. Imogen dropped it, taking a bite of her food.

"Midway through breakfast, Mr. Ajayi walked up to their table, asking to speak with Nick and Charlie after they've eaten. They had no plan of eating, the familiar scent of blood stuck in their heads was giving them a nauseating feeling. They already knew they'd have to speak with their teachers as well as an officer at some point that day.

"We can talk now, if that's okay," Nick offered, feeling like leaving the room, he knew Charlie felt the same.

"Whatever works, Mr Farouq and I will wait in the lobby," Mr. Ajayi said, walking away from the table with a nodd.

---

"How are you boys feeling?" Mr. Farouq asked. The two teachers had led their students back to their hotel room, figuring it would be the most privacy they could get.

"Tired," Nick answered, Charlie nodding in agreement. It was clear from their eye bags that they didn't sleep.

"Your parents were informed of what you had witnessed last night," Mr. Farouq informed. Of course they had already known. The second they had checked their phones, they had missed calls and messages from their families. Nick had put his phone on silent while Charlie had turned his phone completely off.

The two teens were seated on the edge of the one bed, the two teachers on the other.

"The identity of the student was confirmed based on the one student missing," Mr. Ajayi spoke calmly. "She was indeed from Higgs, we're not supposed to give away her name yet but we thought it's best to tell you two,"

The two students looked pale. None of the previous attacks had hit them hard, it didn't feel real, it felt as if it was a dream but after last night, it was very much real. They didn't recognize the name. If they were to ask Tara, Darcy, Imogen or Elle, they'd probably recognize the name, she was in their year, but they couldn't say anything.

"If either of you wanted to talk about what you saw..." Their teacher began.

Charlie shook his head. "I would rather not," Just speaking about it with Officer Mulligan the night before was enough. Bringing the topic up felt sickening, it brought the image fresh into his mind.

The group of four did talk for a bit longer but the students were feeling drained, the same could be said for the teachers who hadn't slept for four days. They all needed sleep and it was clear so when Nick and Charlie were dismissed and told to 'Try to get some sleep,' they replied with a 'You too,' before leaving.

If they were to go back to their room, they'd have to interact with their friends - who still wanted answers. They didn't want to walk around aimlessly like they did the day before because it didn't end well. Instead, they went and sat in the alcove by the vending machine. It wasn't too far around the corner from their room, but it was down the hall of a dead end so there would be less people walking passed, just those trying to get to their rooms.

Charlie laid his head against Nick's chest. They sat in silence for a good half an hour, even if it felt like much longer.

"Hey, what's going through your head?" Nick questioned, lifting Charlie's head to make eye contact.

Charlie shook his head. He didn't know what to say. Nick would understand, he was experiencing the same thing but it was complicated.
"Why is this happening?" He questioned. Why were their classmates specifically being murdered?

"I don't know," Nick sighed. The hotel should be deemed unsafe. Why were they still there? They should have been evacuated the moment there was a murder, instead, they're stuck in the hotel, meaning the person doing it can't leave either.

"What if something happens to one of us, or our friends?" It was a horrifying thought. Charlie didn't think he could manage if one of them were injured, or worse.

Nick stared blankly. Maybe they should get back to their friends, they should stay in a larger group at all times. He then thought about him mom, Nellie, his dad - who is still ignoring him, even after he mentioned the murders.

"I need to call my mom soon, she's going to worry," He paused. "You should call home too," Charlie didn't like that idea. He did want to talk with Tori, Olly too, but his parents could be a lot to deal with, specifically his mom.

"They'll ask too many questions," Charlie mumbled. "I will call Tori though,"

"Alright, but you'll have to talk with them at some point," Nick gave him a pointed look. He knew his mom would be having a heart attack over the news.

"I know, it's just, we don't have the same relationship as you and your mom, it's different," He sighed. He saw the way Nick interacted with his own mom, they could talk without one of them storming off, he didn't have that.