Burning Fury

XV

My head was on Ryder's chest when I woke. It was pitch black outside and it took me a moment to realize what had made me wake up. Griffin was sitting up, breathing hard and crying.

"Hey, Griff, it's okay. You're okay," I whispered, sitting up and wrapping my arms around him.

"I can't get it out of my head, Clover."

"It's hard, I know. Maybe we should try therapy together. We could do video chat together for the first couple of sessions. Would you like that?"

He was shaking. "Maybe."

"Come on, lay down."

He laid down and I put my head on his chest and my arm around his torso. His hands were still shaking as he ran his fingers through my hair.

"How did you get through it, Clo? I can't do this."

"It'll get easier. I wake up at least twice a night to nightmares. It's easier when someone is with you, I've found. I took a nap on the couch one day and my dad was sitting next to me. He played with my hair and it kept them away."

"Can I stay with you? Just-just for a few nights."

"Anything to help, Griff."

"Thank you for everything, Clover. I needed you."

"We all need someone. Go to sleep. I'll be here when you wake."

I couldn't fall asleep again. When Griffin's breathing slowed and turned even, I slipped out of his embrace and tiptoed downstairs for a glass of water. My phone was sitting on the counter and I woke it to see a missed call from my dad. It was three in the morning, but I decided to call him anyway. He answered on the second ring.

"Clover, please tell me you're okay."

"I'm okay, dad," I sighed. "Griffin and Ryder stayed the night with me."

The phone was silent for a moment.

"This is too scary, doll."

"I know. Griffin found him. He's taking it very hard."

"Are you helping him?"

"Yes, dad. He just got back to sleep. I'm sorry I didn't answer, my phone was downstairs."

"That's okay. I'm just glad you're all right."

"You aren't leaving grandpa early, are you?"

"I would like to, to come home and make sure you're okay."

"Don't, dad. I'm fine. I've got the boys with me. We'll be okay."

"I can't lose you, doll."

"You won't. I promise. I'll stop drinking so if anything happens like this again, I'll be prepared."

"I love you."

"I love you too, dad."

I set my phone down on the counter and took a moment to breathe. When I finally went back to my room, I turned on my computer, turning the brightness all the way down, and started searching about the murders. There wasn't much that was new besides more reports absolutely slandering the remaining six of us. I paged through report after report, hoping something would surface. It wasn't until I'd gotten to the third page of Google that I found something worth looking into. The article wasn't corroborated by any police, but either way, the information made me stop.

According to whatever source the journalist had, things were stolen from the victims. Each of their wallets. I skimmed the rest of the article, but that was all I'd found. I went back through every article but not one said anything about missing wallets. Perhaps it was just a reporter wanting to get some shred of national attention, but it was worth investigating. Suddenly, I felt very tired. I crawled back into bed and was asleep immediately.

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The next day, I had a plan. I hadn't suspected any of my friends before, but stealing Gavin and Houston's wallets seemed personal. I told myself it was just to rule them all out. Before Griffin and Ryder left, I asked if I could stay the night at Griffin's house. I'd be heading over after supper. When I got there, his parents greeted me at the door and offered me supper, but I declined. We sat in Griffin's room and I watched him play video games with the other boys.

"You wanna try, Clover?" Griffin asked eventually, pushing his headset off his head.

"Yeah, sure. Fair warning, I'll bring your stats down."

"That's okay, I'm not worried about it."

He taught me all of the controls and then watched as I got killed over and over again. After a couple hours, I managed to kill a few zombies but it was like doing an hour long workout.

"You'll get the hang of it," Griffin said, laughing as I was blasted into oblivion.

"Griff, would you mind making me some tea? I'm feeling particularly despondent tonight."

"Yeah, no problem. Keep playing if you wish."

He left the room, but I had no wish to continue playing. As soon as his door closed, I was up and looking through his things. I felt terrible about it, but I rooted through his dresser drawers, his closet, his desk, even under his bed and found nothing. I'd just finished putting everything back in its place when his door opened and he came in with a cup of tea for me.

"Thanks, Griff."

He played for a while longer before we decided to go to bed.

"Is everything getting easier for you?" I asked, the glow of his keyboard turning his face different colors.

"It's easier when I'm awake. Sleeping still terrifies me."

"Me too," I whispered.

"Goodnight, Clover."

"Night, Griffin."