𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 || 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝗺.

eight.

eight.

These last three days were hectic to say the least. People were getting detentions and suspensions for bad-mouthing Sidney and her mom—leading to questioning by police—Sidney still refused to speak to us, and she even broke up with Billy. Funny thing is Tatum and I were more concerned than Billy.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to just show up here, Tate?" I asked as we sat outside of Sidney's house.

She looked down at her steering wheel and shrugged. "I dunno but someone has to check on her..."

Tatum had volunteered us to drop off Sidney's assignments during her absence. I assumed it was her way of being a good friend and sort of respecting Sidney's wishes to be alone instead of trying to hear about the budding case like others assumed.

"Are you?" I asked, scared to even be in the same area as Sidney.

"I think you should."

My eyes widened. "Me? She hates me, Tate!"

"That's why you should do it. Just give your condolences and the assignments then come back." She said. "I'd appreciate it if I was in her place..."

I sighed and slumped back into the seat. "If she kills me, you owe me a milkshake..."

"Deal."

As I undid my seatbelt and opened the door, I began to give myself a pep-talk. I always had to prepare myself when speaking to or hanging out with Sidney.

Tatum handed me the assignments before I made my way towards the house. I wasn't sure if anyone was home but I still decided to knock.

"Go away, I'm not doing any interviews!" Sidney yelled. Her voice sounded very hoarse.

"It's me, Sid! I have your schoolwork!" I responded.

A few moments later, the door began to creak open. Sidney revealed herself on the other side and damn she looked pissed!

Well hello to you too... I handed her a stack of papers. "They told us to tell you not to force yourself to get this done..."

She took the stack and stayed quiet. After what had happened between Billy and I, I found myself accepting her cold shoulder.

"Look, I just want you to know that I'm sorry for your loss and sorry if I ever did anything to offend you. You probably don't want to hear this from me but I'm here, we all are, if you need anything." I gave her a sincere smile.

—

After we left Sidney's house, Tatum dropped me off at my house. She told me that she'd be back in an hour or so and that we would meet with the guys at a cafe.

While she was gone, I took the time to shower and catch up on my writing. Nobody was home, my mom was at the salon and my dad was on his way home from L.A.

Everything was quiet, other than the sounds the raindrops made, as I tried to come up with new ideas. With everything going on it was hard to focus and come up with anything. It didn't help that the phone kept ringing either.