After Rory left the washroom she immediately dialed Ajax's number. She hated that she couldn't call Autumn right now. She hated herself for doubting her best friend but she didn't want to hurt her either. Autumn had a good judgment of Rory's sophisticated emotions. If she was near, she would be able to read her feelings of uncertainty.
"Rory?? Are you at school? What's wrong?" Ajax called through the phone.
"I just got information on Adam through his ex-girlfriend in the washroom. Chrome had been working with Adam and Connor on what they thought was a game. They were exchanging rolled-up paper and communicating through notes with Chrome." Saving the big reveal that she was freaking out about. She wanted to wait for her heart to calm down.
"Holy shit, this is news. Chrome was targeting them both? But for what reason?" The news about his ex-friend being a potential murder target made him queasy.
"I don't know, but they may have been sacrifices, like minions for Chrome. Theoretically, they were either tricked in blindsight or they were aware of Chrome's plans. Either way, Chrome is untrustworthy so they probably got tricked their way."
"That makes sense. But Rory, do you think Chrome's target was Connor? Something tells me that it may have been someone else.." Ajax said what his gut was telling him.
"I mean it would make the most sense. Killing the student that everyone had mixed feelings on. He was the most interesting target for an appeal of a sadistic game."
"Yeah, that may be the case."
"And Ajax?"
"Yes, Rory?"
"Naomi, Adam's ex-girlfriend told me that she saw Autumn with Connor late at night once. She said they were smiling together." Rory said quietly, hoping that the morning swarm of students wouldn't overhear her conversation.
"I don't what to say. Could they have had a thing going on?"
"I'm not sure. But why Autumn be with a douchebag like him? Plus she never told me." Rory said annoyingly.
Ajax knew why. He knew why Connor acted the way he did, it wasn't like he was born evil or a maniac. He was only an insecure boy. At one point in his life, Ajax hated his former friend for all the negative emotions he had put onto other people.
But ultimately, his actions merely reflected him as a person. The way Connor treated others was the way he thought about himself. Someone unworthy and deserving of bad.
But Ajax was done trying to change his best friend. He was done taking all his negative emotions and comforting him all the time just to get rejected and abused when he was in a bad mood. However, in the end, Ajax pitied Connor for not learning from his mistakes, and failing over and over again to make himself a better person. He had thought Connor would rediscover himself in college once he had graduated, but now, none of that was going to happen.
Ajax's nose stung like needles. "Maybe she had her reasons." Hoping Rory wouldn't get angry.
There was a pause. Then Roy made a sound like she was choking. "What do you mean she had her reasons? Why the hell are you defending the shittiest person in the school?"
Ajax's voice came out louder than he expected. "He's dead Rory! Can't you have at least a bit of compassion? Yes, he was an asshole but he was also miserable and depressed. Connor was suffering and no one else could see that. So stop shitting on him when he's already in the grave!"
Thankfully there was no one around in the parking lot that could understand English. Except for an old couple who turned around like they saw a car with legs.
"I don't understand." Rory's voice had gone ice cold, Ajax could feel her slipping away from him and he hated it.
"I was best friends with him in elementary school. I cut contact with him when he started being a bully during junior high." Ajax's confession made Rory burn like a sore fire.
"And you're telling me this now? This would have been great information for the whole group y'know?? To know why Chrome would target us. We could've prevented Adam's death and saved broken hearts. You betrayed my trust and gave me false hope." Rory said while feeling like her throat closing in. She had never felt like this before and it felt like her heart was on fire.
"I'm sorry Rory, you have to under—" Beep. Rory had already hung up. She could not bare to hear his voice any longer.
Rory was done and sick of lies and facades that were displayed to her as truths. First, her best friend and now her new friend she had learned to trust and be patient with. She felt like being backstabbed by the two people in the world she genuinely cared about.
Nothing felt worse than this.
She stalked to her morning class feeling drained and unsatisfied, her head hot and her eyes heavy. She felt the heat settle in her lower back, anguish unreleased.
She was going to confront Chrome tonight and end this nonsense.
YOU ARE READING
The Girl Who Couldn't Kill
Mystery / ThrillerRory Peng has always fantasized about murder. On the outside, Rory is the ideal student, philosophically smart and independent of her own problems. On the contrary, she doesn't really stand out at her American High School in Taiwan. There was just s...