Odd One Out

CHAPTER 8

Naya
Friday, October 3

Laney had begged me to ditch the commemoration with him to go to some new store that had just opened up a couple blocks away, but I told him I couldn't.

"Since when does Naya Mendoza reject an opportunity to go shopping?" he asked, only half-joking.

Since there's a murderer in town, I thought. Since I realized I could be that murderer.

I ended up ditching the commemoration with him, but it felt very weird to act like nothing was wrong when everything was wrong. One of our classmates had been murdered, and no one seemed to really care. It was creepy, knowing that death didn't matter as much as people made it seem.

I kept thinking back to the event, and how devastated his parents must be. Even though Francisco was a narcissistic, selfish, over-worked perfectionist, he was still their son, and that thought circled around my head the entire time there. I couldn't stand the idea that maybe I was the reason this was all happening, that maybe I had done something as unforgivable as murder all while being unconscious of it.

I told Laney I was going home and made up some lame excuse about how tired I was. He seemed too distracted by all the ripped jeans and expensive watches to pay much attention to me, but I could tell he didn't really buy it. He also didn't really care.

I rushed over to my car trying to avoid the sudden icy-cold breeze hitting my face, quickly glancing at the time on my phone before putting it away, back into my back pocket. My coat slightly loosened around my chest as I fumbled with my crossover purse trying to keep it from getting stuck between my legs.

Almost as soon as I looked back up, I crashed into a warm body of soft cologne and coffee, falling backwards before being caught by the culprit.

"Whoa, are you—"

Oh no.

I recognized his voice immediately, not needing to look up to know his light blue-hazel eyes would be looking back.

"Naya?"

"Hey, Ellis," I said, giving up on my silent mission to avoid glancing up and staring at him.

"Hey...are you alright? I didn't mean to crash into you."

"Yeah, I'm fine," I murmured out, now unable to look at anything other than him. His warm hands were still holding onto my arms, and it made me feel uncomfortable.

Not his actual hands, or that they were holding me, but the fact that I didn't mind them. It made me uncomfortable to know that this did not bother me. This day has been way too stressful. I need a break.

"I need to go," I told him, waiting a couple seconds before shrugging him off and continuing my path. Instantly, my arms grew cold but I ignored the discomfort, pulling my coat tighter around me instead.

"Wait," I heard him call out behind me.

"I don't have the time, Ellis," I called out, finally reaching my car and quickly unlocking it, stepping in and catching a warm break from the piercing wind outside.

I flinched when the passenger door opened, but felt myself relax when I realized it was just Ellis and his stupid cologne scent getting in.

"Are you meeting up with Bailey?"

"What makes you think I'm meeting up with Bailey?"

"C'mon, Naya," he murmured out, his body facing mine. "We both know she contacted you."

After a couple seconds of silence, I asked, "So what if she did?"

He stayed silent, thoughtful as the deceiving wind softly blew outside the comfort of my car.