Faithless

Chapter 7

On Monday, Darren greeted me by slamming my head into the lockers.

News of Hannah's death spread through the town like wildfire. From what I'd heard, her two sisters arrived home on Sunday and discovered her rotting remains covered sparsely with black feathers. It was clear to the police that parts of her had been eaten, but the way her body had been mutilated was so strange that it was hard to really figure out the method used to kill her. The first I'd heard from any of Hannah's friends was when Darren caught me walking into school on Monday morning.

He pinned me against the lockers, gripping my blazer. Through gritted teeth, he hissed, "What the fuck did you do to Hannah??" So much for being the last person anyone would suspect.

"What the hell are you talking about?" My head still radiated with the pain of being slammed into the lockers, and with his tight grip on my clothes and knuckles digging into my chest, it made it difficult to speak.

"My dad's a policeman. He said that your fingerprints were all over the crime scene."

I wrestled Darren's grip away from my clothes and shoved him back. "Don't be a dunce," I snapped. "I was at her house on Friday. We all were. I wouldn't be surprised if your fingerprints came up too."

His nostrils flared, breathing heavily as his dark blue eyes burned with anger. Lucas and Nancy were standing behind him, their gazes downturned. With a heavy sigh, Nancy said, "That's enough, Darren. Let's go." Her eyes were red and puffy, a clear sign that she'd been crying. I wasn't sure how close Hannah and Nancy were, but they never left each other's sides. And as the three of them turned and walked away, for once Nancy cast a friendly look in my direction.

It wasn't hard to predict that I wouldn't be welcome sitting with them at lunch in the outdoor courtyard, and I didn't try. Everything had been set back to the way it was before Hannah had even thought of looking in my direction. I sat at the lonely table near the edge of the courtyard, staring absentmindedly at the students who had friends. I'd almost forgotten how miserable I'd been like this before. The only times anyone had paid attention to me was when someone thought it'd be a good idea to rip up my sketchbook or shove my face into a toilet.

I turned away from the students and instead watched the lawn, and just beyond it, the sports field. Crows sat on the bare trees, all watching me like they had been doing for the past few days. Though amongst them, I could not see Krieth. The one time I wanted him there, he was nowhere to be found. At the very least, it would've been someone to talk to.

"Hey, Jay?" I turned around to see Avery standing in front of the table, lunch in hand with her bag slung over her shoulder. Her eyes carried a sense of empathy within them, the kind of look I hadn't seen from anyone these past few days. It made me feel weak. "I'm sorry about... well I heard that..." She set her things down. "Mind if I sit here?"

I nodded. "Sure."

Avery settled down into the seat across from me, resting her gloved hands on the table and knitting her fingers tightly together. "I heard about what happened to Hannah. Well... everyone has. I'm sorry. I don't know how that must make you feel."

"Well it's... it's alright, really, I..." The more I thought about it, the more pressure began building behind my eyes. "We weren't really... like..." Images of Hannah's dead body flashed into my mind; I could taste her flesh on my tongue. "It was just..." And when I remembered the way that Nancy looked at me in the hall, tears started pouring down my face for the first time since that night. I stopped trying to speak, and instead choked on the strangled sobs that escaped my throat as I hid my face in my hands. So hard, I'd tried to distance myself from what had happened. But there was no way I'd be able to forget what I'd done, and with everyone else remembering it too, it would be damn near impossible. Now was as good a time as any to get the tears out.