In The Scenes

Sixteenth

WARNING: May be mentions of abuse, panic attacks, trauma, blood, etc. If you are sensitive to these topics, please don't read.

Lia POV:

Therapy's been going great. So has life, for the most part. Nothing weird or creepy has happened, thank god. Alex is more energetic and willing to tell us about how he feels and what we need to do to help him. Dr. Owl is kind and encouraging, just what Alex needs to recover.

"Ready for your session?" I asked Alex.

He looked at me and nodded. He's been gaining weight and looks less dizzy. He's still far from healthy but it's a huge improvement and, at this point, any improvement is good. Bryce, Micah, Mattheo, and him have been hanging out a lot recently and I think it's good for him. Having some time to hang out with his friends is good for him and it leaves me to hang out with the girls.

"That's odd," Alex mumbled.

I looked ahead. There was police tape all around Dr. Owl's office. We parked and went to check out what was happening. As we got closer, we saw what caused the commotion. A young girl, around Alex's age, lay dead near the front of the office.

"Excuse me, officer," I said.

A male officer turned around and pointed to himself. I nodded and he walked toward me.

"Can I help you?"

"I was wondering what happened to the young girl? My boyfriend was supposed to have a therapy session this morning but . . . I guess we're cancelling it."

"We're not sure what happened. We found a bullet in her but nobody heard a gunshot. It could be a silenced gun. There were no security cameras so as far as we know, she was fine one moment and then dead the next."

Alex's eyes widened. The officer turned to him.

"Young man, are you okay?"

"I know who did it."

The officer looked taken aback.

"How?"

"The earring. Was that found here?"

Alex was pointing to an earring at the foot of a bush. 

"Well, yes. Nobody noticed it, I guess. Why?"

"May I please see it? I believe I can help with your case. I know someone who has the exact same earring. If it's their pair, they have a secret compartment in it with their name engraved in it."

The officer signaled one of the CSI's to pick it up. Alex explained how to open it and the CSI followed his instructions. When the earring opened, Alex looked inside. His entire face turned pale. 

"What's wrong?" I said, looking into it.

I wanted to faint. The name Marcia E. Ramn was written in cursive font.

"Are you able to help our case?" the officer asked.

Alex answered his question.

"The person who owns this earring was my foster mother. She went to jail for abusing my sister and me but she recently escaped. My ex-foster mother, ex-foster father, and her" — he pointed at me — "stepfather kidnapped us and tortured us. The police eventually found us. I believe they were behind this. This girl could have had a connection with them."

The officer was about to say something when the CSI interrupted him.

"The girl was identified. 18-year-old Asha Doe," she said.

Alex POV:

No. No, no, no. No, no, no, no, no. It can't be.

"There was a note in the girl's hand. It said 'If you don't do what we say, this will be your fate'."

This can't be happening. Micah's going to kill me.

"Another body was found around the corner. It belongs to 18-year-old Mattheo Hawk."

Not Mattheo. I can't lose another person. The officer noticed my unsteady breathing.

"Are you okay?"

"They were our friends," Lia said. "His ex-foster parents and my stepfather have been targeting us for months. I guess . . . they finally won."

No. They didn't win. They won't win unless we give up. I won't give up. I'll avenge them.

"We will need you to come to the station and answer some questions. Both of you. Are you up for it?"

Lia and I nodded. She took my hand and we followed the officer. The next few hours went by like a blur. We texted our friends that we will be gone for a couple hours and then the police asked us many questions. We answered as best as we could. They gave us as much time as we needed to process what had happened. In the end, we were allowed to go back. We drove in silence and reached Lia's house.

"It's okay. It's not our fault. We have to tell them," Lia whispered.

I nodded. Lia's helped me through so much. I need to be strong for her. We knocked on the door and Micah answered it. He saw our puffy eyes and pink noses.

"What happened?" he asked.

Before he could say anything else, I broke the news to him.

"Asha's dead." He froze. "Mattheo too. They were killed by . . . by . . . "

I couldn't finish the sentence and chose to look down. Lia was looking anywhere but at Micah. We stayed like that before Micah gave us both a hug.

"I don't blame you. It's not your fault, it's theirs. I know Asha wouldn't blame you for this so why should I? We chose to be in danger. You didn't push any of us into this. In fact, you've told us numerous times why we shouldn't be your friends and why it's not safe to be around you. We trust you, okay? I don't blame you."

I couldn't stand it anymore. My legs gave away and I blacked out. When I woke up, I was in the hospital. I felt like I was under anesthesia. Lia, Bryce, Jane, Mindy, and Micah were around me. I was about to ask them where Mattheo and Asha were but I stopped myself.

They're probably at Lia's house. Yeah. That's where they are.

"Alex?" Mindy said. "Are you okay?"

"They're okay, right? Asha and Mattheo? They're not dead. Tell me they're not dead. Please, I don't want to lose anyone. They're not dead, they're okay."

Just like that, I blacked out again.