Experiment Scarecrow

Chapter 20

"Right about what?" Olivia replied with a tone of pure confusion.

Brooke sniffed quietly, tugging down the sweater's sleeve to cover her hand, beginning to wipe away tears. "About Scarecrow-Andrew..." She shook her head, trailing off.

A heavy sigh emanated from the other side, followed by a moment of silence before her friend's newly formed, seething tone answered. "What did he do? Did he hurt you physically?  Because I knew he would try to kill you-"

"No, no! He didn't hurt me physically..."

"But he did  try to kill you, didn't he?" she interrupted.

She chewed at her lower lip, eyes casting down to the pink blankets underneath her, nodding. "Yes, but-but he was just scared, I swear. He-He even told me he didn't want to, and-and... he even stopped himself..." she whispered, beginning to understand Olivia's point.

"But that doesn't matter! What the hell did he do to you? I know you're crying, I recognize that voice," her friend growled, pacing footsteps echoing through.

"He-He-..." her voice began to waver before breaking into another fit of tears, her body racking with uncontrollable sobs. "He killed my dad!"

A silence answered instead, as the padding of Olivia's feet stopped. Soon, the stillness broke with a quivering, repetitive thump as her friend's hand began to tremble, unable to hold the phone steady against her ear. "He what..?"

"I-It wasn't a deer, it was him. He-He was crossing the road and-"

"Five years ago? At ten o'clock at night? Who crosses the road in the middle of the night like that?!" she cried, forcing Brooke into a temporary silence.

"I don't know..." she whispered in defeat, her voice still faltering each time she quietly sniffed, forcing down more sobs.

"That is such bullshit! So what, he just came out and said that to you? 'Hey, so, just to let you know, I killed your dad too, surprise!' No details at all? No apologies?" Olivia paused with another seething groan. "I knew he would do something to you. I just knew it. And I'm so sorry for it, Brooke. I just can't believe that-"

As Olivia continued to ramble on about Scarecrow's confession, Brooke's mind floated off into her own world. She stared out the southern window facing the woods, a single tear trickling down her cheek and onto the bedspread beneath her. Outside, the world continued--the wind still howling against the glass window, bringing more dark clouds with, while stuck inside her own room, her world seemed to end; shattering.

"Like, honestly! At least an apology would have been nice." Olivia paused. "Brooke? Are you still there?"

Brooke shook her head, thoughts parting to allow her to return to reality. "Ye-Yes, sorry," she desperately replied, forcing herself to swallow again. "I-I will admit, he did apologize."

"I-Yeah, but still, you can't really apologize for literally  killing someone's father, but I guess at least he tried," she scoffed, hypocrisy rolling off her tongue.

"I guess..."

Rain began to pelt the window in a light drizzle before changing into another heavy down pour, forming a greying mist to block her view. 

"Hey, I have an idea. Since tomorrow is Saturday, why don't we go to the café on main street tomorrow? Molly's Muffins? I heard they have a new  muffin for the week," Olivia suggested, trying to redirect her friend's focus. "It may help you forget about him..."

"Yeah, that-that sounds nice," she said quietly, a faint smile curving the corners of her lips. "But, what about the pictures? You said you were going to send them out if he did anything, are you-"