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AFTER THE FACETIME call ended, Carlyn quickly dialed 911 and continued running to the Hicks' house. When she got there, she saw Judy outside on the sidewalk, death welcoming her as it had her son. She wasn't sure how the dispatcher was able to understand her through her heavy breathing and her sobs.
She was now talking to an officer, arms crossed as one hand came up to her necklace. He'd helped her calm down and was currently getting her statement. Carlyn was feeling too much that she was practically numb. "He, um — he —" Her voice broke as another tear rolled down her cheek. "I'm sorry, um—"
The officer shook his head. "You're alright. You're doing amazing for me."
"Carlyn—" a voice called out. The girl turned and watched as Sam ducked underneath the police tape a few feet away from them.
The officer quickly stepped in front of her. "Miss, you can't be here."
"What?"
"You can't be here," he repeated.
"No — I —" Sam's eyes moved from the officer to Carlyn. "Is Wes—"
Sam wanted to slap herself for asking. If Carlyn hasn't already looked broken, she definitely did now. It seemed like it had finally settled into reality as she nodded, eyes filling with tears once more.
Sam pushed herself away from the officer and threw her arms around the girl. For a second, it felt like Sam was 14 years old again and Carlyn was 9, crying after falling off of her bike.
But they both knew it wasn't that.
Carlyn pulled away, turning back to the officer as she stepped away to continue her statement. She told him how she'd watched the knife go into Wes's neck, how after Ghostface had pulled the knife out of him, he'd picked up the phone and hung up.
"Thank you," the officer nodded. "Do you need anything?"
"No," Carlyn shook her head.
She walked away, ducking under the tape and standing next to Sam in silence. She could feel her phone going off in her pocket, her friends in the groupchat or people from school asking if she was okay.
She didn't have the energy to answer.
She half-expected Wes to come up behind her and place a comforting hand on her shoulder — like he'd always done — but she had to remind herself that that wasn't going to happen.
And it was never going to happen again.
Sam lightly tapped her shoulder. "Hey, I'm going to call Richie. I'll be right back."
