On The Verge

Chapter 7- A World Made of Glass

(A/N: In this fanfic Paige and Josh are NOT related.)
———————Chloe———————
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⠀⠀My eyes wandered to the paper pressed up against the swing set. My mind willed it to simply be trash, perhaps a receipt someone had carelessly dropped but deep down something about this paper set me on edge. In the three steps it took me to reach the small white paper, my momentary panic had ceased as I convinced myself that the paper was nothing out of the ordinary.

⠀⠀Confidently, I reached down and plucked the paper from its place on the ground. It's smooth surface brushed against my fingers as I unfolded the paper to discover its contents. My heart seemed to drop to my feet as I read the single sentence typed neatly on the paper. This was definitely no receipt. I broke out into a cold sweat as my mind processed the information the note contained. I slowly turned the paper towards my friends, allowing them to read it.

I⃞ k⃞n⃞o⃞w⃞ w⃞h⃞a⃞t⃞ y⃞o⃞u⃞ d⃞i⃞d⃞,⃞ a⃞n⃞d⃞ i⃞'⃞m⃞ n⃞o⃞t⃞ l⃞e⃞t⃞t⃞i⃞n⃞g⃞ y⃞o⃞u⃞ g⃞e⃞t⃞ a⃞w⃞a⃞y⃞ w⃞i⃞t⃞h⃞ i⃞t⃞.⃞

⠀⠀I watched as their expressions turned from curiosity to horror. Kendall whimpered, her eyes trained on the paper. Nia's face paled as Maddie's bottom lip began to tremble.

⠀⠀"Who is this from?" I pondered, my voice small and scared.

⠀⠀Kendall shook her head and murmured her confusion. Our stares were aimed blankly ahead, stupefied by the turn of events. There was no doubt this note was sent to us in liaison to Paige's death. A single thought lingered in my mind, a thought who's truth was so horrifying it was nearly impossible to fathom; someone must have seen us bring Paige on to the roof, this was the only thing that could explain the contents of the note.

⠀⠀Someone had seen us, the only question was who?

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⠀⠀The following day, at school, I was spinning my locker combination into my lock when someone suddenly leaned against the locker adjacent mine. I jumped, startled by the person's sudden presence.

⠀⠀"You scared me!" I cried, playfully punching my boyfriend Josh in the shoulder.

⠀⠀"Sorry." He shrugged, sarcastically offering me a smile. He wrapped his arms around my slim torso, linking them behind my lower back. pulling me close, he briefly planted a soft kiss on my lips before we began to walk side by side towards our next class.

⠀⠀"So how was your weekend?" He asked casually. I stopped walking as my mind began to reel. Why did he care what we did this weekend? Did he know? Was he the one who had sent the note? I broke into a cold sweat, suddenly regarding my own boyfriend as a foe.

⠀⠀Stop, I told myself, dismissing my thoughts as paranoia.

⠀⠀"We visited Paige." I stated simply. He nodded thoughtfully.

⠀⠀"How was she?"

⠀⠀My gaze wandered downwards, unsure how to reply. There was so much associated with his question, and I wasn't sure how much I should be telling him.

⠀⠀"Josh, she died Saturday night, after we left," I said softly. "she, Um... Jumped off the roof. Suicide."

⠀⠀"Chlo, I'm so sorry." Josh sympathized. I wiped a tear that had begun to fall from under my eye, accepting Josh's sympathetic hug as we reached my class.

⠀⠀"Eat with me at lunch?" Josh asked, his face hopeful. I nodded, ignoring my previous apprehension. I bid him a three fingered wave before disappearing into the classroom. Sitting down at my usual desk at the back of the room, the bell rang, signalling the start of class.

⠀⠀The teacher began a lesson about the civil war, immediately losing my attention. My eyes began to wander, falling on a boy named Logan who was staring suspiciously in my direction. My heart clenched as another wave of suspicion washed over me. Did he know what we did? Is that why he was staring at me with such intensity? Maybe the note was from him, not Josh?

⠀⠀I pinched my palm, hard. Attempting to reassure myself once again that I was simply experiencing paranoia.

⠀⠀"Could everyone please open their textbooks to page 178?" The teacher instructed sternly. I was pulling my textbook out from my pink binder when a small paper fluttered from my binder, landing peacefully on the linoleum floor beneath my desk.

⠀⠀The paper, coincidentally, was the same size as the one we had discovered just yesterday at the park outside the police station.

⠀⠀My heart froze, bile rising in my throat as my breath caught. I carefully leaned down, as wrapped my fingers around the glossy paper. Trembling, I unfolded the paper and read over the words that were carefully typed on its surface.

C⃞o⃞m⃞m⃞i⃞t⃞ a⃞ c⃞r⃞i⃞m⃞e⃞ a⃞n⃞d⃞ t⃞h⃞e⃞ w⃞o⃞r⃞l⃞d⃞ i⃞s⃞ m⃞a⃞d⃞e⃞ o⃞f⃞ g⃞l⃞a⃞s⃞s⃞.⃞

⠀⠀My eyes darted around the room, landing on Logan. His head was once again turned towards mine, a era of a smirk lingering on his lips. We locked eyes; mine depicting fear while his outputted bravado. I snapped my head forwards, breaking our eye contact. The pit in my stomach grew and my breathing became increasingly rapid.

⠀⠀Receiving one note, although fearful, could have been a coincidence. But the arrival of the second note confirmed our worse suspicions; someone was after us.