C O M P L E T E - first draft.
7x featured story.
Undiscovered Gem, Romance Ambassadors, January 2025.
Ambys 2024 Favourite - Mystery & Thriller
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I don't register what comes first--Mum's screams and curses, or the searing pain that perforates...
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September 7th (daytime)
C A R M E N
"Do you think her parents are paying the police to cover things up?"
"Probably. Her daddy has buckets of money. Money buys loyalty."
"That's super scummy if they're hiding him! I'd be fucking ashamed if I were her."
I keep my head down as I jostle through the college halls as fast as possible. The speculations of other students in my year are not going unheard. They aren't exactly trying to stay quiet.
These are people who used to treat me as a friend. A lot of them attended the party I hosted on August thirty-first. They once admired me for my skills as a dancer and enjoyed chatting with me about the latest gossip around campus. But now they are dragging me through the mud, and there is nothing I can do other than take it like some kind of punching bag.
They mutter about how I failed to do anything... how I failed to stop it from happening.
But how could I stop something I didn't know about?
I round a corner and practically jog my way over to the door at the narrow corridor's end. Rehearsals for the college dance team resume from today, and it's the only thing I've felt any emotion other than sorrow toward as of late. When I'm moving around to the steady thrum of music, I feel free and far away from reality, and god knows I need that escape right now.
Especially after what I discovered in Dad's office this morning.
When I push the door open with a small creak, fervent chatter hits my ears for the briefest of moments. But as soon as the room's occupants turn to face me, they fall silent and stare.
I take a deep breath. Ever since the night of that party, all aspects of my life have spiralled off into insanity. No way am I about to allow dance to run away from me as well. "Hi team," I say with a small wave as I enter the room and allow the door to fall closed behind me.
"Carmen, what are you doing here?" a member of the crew, Ella, asks with a blank expression. She certainly looks much more sober than she did the night of my party, so I can hardly blame her confusion on any alcohol.
"What do you mean?" I ask as I allow my bag to drop to the floor. "Why wouldn't I be here?"
"Um... yeah, I think we all need to—"
The door to the dance studio swings open and hits the wall with a 'bang.' Heavy, commanding footsteps then enter the room. When I turn to face the entrance again, I catch sight of a fiery head of hair tied into a messy bun and a heavily made-up face.
It's Jules.
"Right, team, are we ready to go? Let's get stretching to start with!" she yells and claps her hands together several times, the loud bangs echoing off the room's four walls.
