THE WAY IT ENDS ━ scream¹

01. TARA'S ATTACK

CHAPTER ONE
( TARA'S ATTACK )

        HARRY POTTER AND the Prisoner of Azkaban played on the TV as Carlyn Windsor and Wes Hicks sat on his bed. Her head rested on his shoulder while his arm wrapped around her waist. She'd begged for the movie and promised she wouldn't fall asleep, but the heat and utter comfort radiating from him made her fight hard to keep her eyes open.

Her parents had gone to New Jersey to visit her grandmother and, although Carlyn had the option to go with them and skip school for the week, she chose to stay behind. Mostly because she didn't want to fall behind, partly because she was embarrassingly attached to her boyfriend, and also partly because she would miss her friends.

Mindy and Amber made fun of her when she told them why she hadn't gone with them. She was supposed to spend the night with Tara since she would also be home alone, but ended up staying too late at Wes's. The girl insisted she stay and have fun with a suggestive edge to her tone.

Suddenly the door flung open, making Carlyn's eyes snap open at the interruption of her peace. Judy Hicks walked into the room, looking distressed – worried.

Judy let out a small sigh as she sat at the end of her son's bed.

"Mom?" Wes furrowed his brows. He straightened, letting his arm fall to his side.

Carlyn rubbed her eyes as an uneasy feeling settled in her stomach. She hated the look on Judy's face. The woman had stopped in earlier to let them know that she was leaving, something about an alarm going off.

Her hand went up to her necklace as she played with the small W, a habit she'd developed over the last month when Wes gifted it to her for their anniversary.

"What's wrong?" Wes pressed.

Judy swallowed. "It was Tara." Carlyn's eyes widened. "She was attacked. She's on her way to the hospital. She's gonna need surgery."

Her first thought was that she should've been there. Tara was home alone, she should've been there instead of here. "Is she gonna be okay?" Carlyn asked.

Wes reached down, taking her hand in his as he lightly squeezed it reassuringly.

Judy nodded. "She was hurt pretty badly, but she'll be okay."

Carlyn nodded, but she didn't feel relieved.

"Mom?" Wes urged, noticing that his mom looking like she was holding something back. "What is it?"

"She said it was someone in a Ghostface mask," Judy revealed, looking at her son and his girlfriend. Carlyn's stomach dropped. She felt like she was about to throw up.

Ghostface wasn't. . . Ghostface was something that happened to Sidney Prescott. It followed her around like a curse. As far as Carlyn was aware – because Mindy hadn't texted her about it, and Mindy was on top of anything Stab related – Sidney wasn't in Woodsboro.

"I want you two to be safe, okay?"

Wes nodded. "Yeah, of course."

Judy stood up, pressing a kiss to Wes's forward and affectionately rubbing Carlyn's cheek. "Try to get some sleep."

Carlyn looked at Wes when his mother left the room. Her eyes were full of tears that threatened to fall at any moment. "I could've helped her."

Wes frowned and forced her to look at him. "Carlyn, it's not your fault." Then, he pulled her into him. She buried her face in the crook of his neck as she sobbed.