𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄, original story

nineteen, the cliffs

The cliffs were easy to get to from my house. It was right by the seaside. All you had to do was navigate a few forests and it was a ten minute walk. That was how I did it when I killed Callum, I had played in them as a kid and could vaguely remember the way.

I stood on top of the cliff, feeling my breathing pace increase by the second.

"Your here," Harry said, "Good,"

"Are we retracting the murderers steps?" I asked, to which Harry nodded.

"Yeah, so why don't you pretend to be the killer and I'll be Callum," Great.

I smiled and nodded, acting as though I had absolutely nothing to hide.

"I take it you know how they did it?"

"I have a vague idea," Harry said, he was now in front of me, he looked me in the eyes and said, "I think Dan done it. He didn't seem happy about Callum getting drugs is what you said. It makes sense. Kill him whilst he's high, pretend it was a suicide,"

If I wasn't so good at acting, Harry would've seen the fear hidden inside my blue eyes. He would've known that was my plan and not Dan's.

"Why do you think he ran off yesterday night?" I said, starting to feel the sea breeze creep up on me.

"I think he got scared, he realised you were calling the police," Harry said it so calmly, as though this were easy for him, I guess it was, "And so he took Lily as some warning and ran off. Next time he'd actually hurt her,"

That thought sent shivers dancing down my spine, a breath of fear leaving my mouth, "Hopefully, there won't be a next time,"

Harry smiled, "That's the spirit," he then walked off into the distance, out near the cliffs edge but not close enough to fall off.

It was a large cliff, it towered over the beach. That was where they found Callum's body, his skull was smashed in. Apparently his death had been quick and painless, but the adrenaline and fear made it hurt him more mentally than physically.

They said he was lucky, and that thought made my insides burn and my throat feel sore.

Harry spread out his arms wide, he had to shout over the wind, "So, we need to figure out how exactly Harry was killed,"

"What?" I shouted back, making my way over to him and then hearing him repeat what he said, except this time I understood what he had said.

"Oh, right, yeah," I brushed it off, "How do you think?"

"Dan got mad, pushed him. Or maybe Callum was hallucinating and fell off and the work was done for Dan without anything,"

"Maybe he jumped off because the hallucination scared him and that was his only way out," I suggested, to which Harry nodded.

I was toeing a thin line, like a trapeze artist with no net to catch them in case they fall. I was ready to be eaten alive, and if I weren't careful I'd end up earning a spot in Young Offenders... or Harry would end up doing the same as I'd done to Callum out of rage.

And the worst past was, even with that thought I still felt butterflies when he put his hands on my forearms, trying to get me to focus.

"Maddie, we need to solve this,"

"I know, I know. My heads a bit everywhere. Hope had hold me something important today," I hadn't been thinking about that, but it made a perfect scapegoat.

"About the case?" I shook my head.

"Sort of. Not really," Harry quirked an eyebrow after I said it, "Just the fact that Hope was bisexual and her and Will had been talking more after Rob left the group. I think she was talking to him the night that Callum died, I don't know if she knows about the drugs though,"

"You don't think she's the killer, do you?"

"No, I don't,"

Hope wouldn't ever date anyone out of fear they'd break her heart... or worse, she'd break theirs and have to live with the guilt. She would name spiders to make them less scary instead of killing them. The girl didn't have it in her to kill.

"Who do you think is?"

'Myself ' I wanted to say, it came out as a strangled, "Dan,"

"I think so too," Harry replied, with a sweet smile that reminded me so much of Callum before he had turned sour.

I think the time he turned sour was when he got into drugs and started cheating on me. He had always hated the hard conversations, that's why he hadn't broken up with me or told me the truth or ever mentioned Harry that much. Callum was too soft to talk about the hard things, yet he pretended he didn't get mushy because it made him soft.

I remember the night I killed him, he took me out of school and we walked to the common. We had messed about there, danced and had fun. He had told me he'd love me forever, that I was the only girl he'd ever love. What a load of bullocks.

We had then went through the forests, getting lost a few times until we ended up on the cliffs. We watched the sun set and then sanded some more before he turned bitter.

The rest I could remember was pushing him off that cliff. I had seduced him with my charm, pretending I was happy to be around him. I had played the part so perfectly that in the memories I still thought I was happy... I was starting to believe my own lies.

How long before I actually thought Dan had killed Callum and I had no knowledge of one of the best things I had done in my life?

At least then the guilt would subside and Harry wouldn't ever catch on. We could actually be something. We could go out and hold hands and kiss under the stars and watch cheesy movies and say that the couple was us.

Fuck, I think I've fallen for Harry Brentwood.

And if he keeps me dangling over this cliff edge, it might be in more ways than one.