Suicide Tree || ✓

4. Adrianna Scotty Thompson

The first time I met Adrianna Scotty Thompson, she was crying in a bathroom stall. It was lunch break and the prim and proper Adrianna was balling her eyes out and I stood there, the new student, completely at loss on what to do. It took a while for her to compose herself, but when she did, she gave me a heart breaking smile and told me she was practicing for a play. Despite being the new student, I knew that the school had just finished showcasing their play and her smile was in fact heartbreakingly faux. I of course, nodded mutely and she promptly walked out of the stall.

Later I found out that she was being cheated on by her boyfriend, again, with her supposed best friend, again. Of course the student body only knew he cheated with someone outside of school. Only I knew that. I told Adrianna and she slapped me across the face because I was accusing her supposed, trusted, best friend since childhood of a serious betrayal. But then finally, she caught her making out with her next boyfriend underneath a deserted stairwell after I told her to see it for herself. Since then, Adri decided that I was her new best friend and I didn't mind because she, apart from Lily and I, was the only real person in our high school. I'm not even sure about myself and I didn't meet Sam until a year later.

The next week she had another boyfriend. Instead of chasing after love she began chasing after sex. She became the heartbreaker of our school. Maybe he was lashing out on others as payback for her numerous heartbreaks. She didn't have that many secrets. She only had one. It was big, and it was dark, and most of all, it was deadly.

"Promise me Scarlett, promise me you won't tell anyone about this," Adri pleaded, abruptly interrupting our weekly, movie marathon sleepover. I raised an eyebrow at her.

"You know you can trust me," she gave me a tight smile, it was her fake one, and she seemed like she couldn't decide if she wanted to continue or not.

"Please don't freak out-"

"-Well that's reassuring," I joked but quickly fell silent when I saw how serious she was.

"On my way home from the club," she had a habit of sneaking in to clubs. "I was-I," she took a deep breath, her eyes already welling up with tears. Adri never cried. The first time I saw her cry was the last time, and it had been a while since then. I immediately became worried.

"O-on my way home from the club," she repeated. "I was drunk," I clenched my jaw. "I was drunk and I couldn't see properly or concentrate on the road. I didn't see him, I swear, I was drunk, I couldn't see him!" she was beginning to grow more hysteric as she jumped out of bed and I followed suit.

"Adrianna, what happened?" I asked calmly when I felt anything but.

"I-he...he crossed the road and I hit him and I couldn't see and, oh god, he was so small and," she choked on a sob while I stared at her, frozen and horrified. "He shouldn't have been there, he should've been sleeping, and at home, he shouldn't have been there!" she cried with her fist pressed against her mouth. "It's not my fault, it's his fault! He shouldn't have been there!" I faintly remembered that we were alone at home and I thanked every god for that.

"I killed him Scarlett, I killed him and left him to die," she whispered. Prim and proper Adrianna was finally broken and she was the one who did it. Perfect Adrianna who could take on the world had killed a boy and flawless Adrianna finally had a dark secret that I wished I never knew about. A part of her had been lost and she did that all by herself. That night, I lost a piece of Adrianna Scotty Thompson.

Ronnie Hamilton had been eight years old when he died in a hit and run incident, the first and thus far last of its kind in our town. His parents saw him run out of the house, chasing after the bunny he got that day as a birthday present. By the time they had reached him, he was already a crumpled heap of crushed bones and oozing blood. Two months later they had his funeral, and two weeks later I found Adri trying to commit suicide. This time someone had done it for her.