When 17-year old Scarlett Adair is found dead, having been brutally attacked with an axe, at a house party, the local police find themselves in over their heads. Now, nearly a year has passed and no new leads have been discovered and they have no su...
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Song of the Chapter: Labyrinth- Taylor Swift
NIGHT OF THE MURDER:
"I can't believe we're late!" muttered Sage as she pulled into the Motter's driveway. Nine PM. I wanted to be here by eight-thirty.
"It's not exactly your fault, y'know," Carly piped up from the backseat. "You did have to pick me up last-minute," She was right, though Sage would never blame Carly. An accident. That's all it was.
"It's not yours either," She replied, opening the car door. The Motter house was pretty notorious in Harborough, almost as much as the lodge. It was a three story ivory building with a large wrap-around porch. The driveway was located on the left side of the house, leading up to the garage. A path connected to the driveway from the house, lined with small bushes and various patches of wildflowers as well as a couple of garden gnomes. On either side of the path, right in front of the bushes, was a row of small pink-tinted lights to allow an easy walk in the dark and for ambience. The front door, painted a deep teal, was wide open, allowing the sounds of music mixed with conversation and the occasional yell or bang to leak out, greeting the three teens as they made their way towards the porch.
Sage, who was already at the door, had turned around just in time to see Carly nearly trip over an empty beer bottle that had been left on the lawn amongst various other pieces of trash. Luckily, Carly caught herself just in time, preventing her face from colliding with the pavement. "Ughh," She scoffed, joining Sage.
"You ready?" whispered Sage. Carly held up a finger, signalling that she needed a moment, tightened her ponytail, then took a breath and headed inside. Morgan, who had finally caught up, followed behind Sage as she entered the house.
Inside, the house was the same as it always was on a Friday night: packed full of teens, loud, slightly obnoxious music, and a few coloured lights here and there, similar in tone to the lights outside, though there were other colours, too.
The pair found Carly already on the living room sofa, joined by the Motter's cat, Ginger. Ginger was a sweet cat, though not an orange one despite her name. She was a fluffy calico with brown, white, and grey fur.
"I'm gonna go grab something to drink," Morgan whispered, quickly turning towards the kitchen. With Morgan away, Sage took the opportunity to talk to Carly. There was no doubt that the events of the past few months had changed her. Much more than was obvious on the surface, though there were some noticeable changes in her appearance. For one thing, Carly's signature dirty blonde hair had darkened a bit, making it appear more brown than blonde. Her skin was dulled and she had lost a significant amount of weight. She looked less lively.
The changes present in Carly went deeper than skin. She seemed to be more hesitant--cautious even. The Carly that Sage had known all her life was anything but cautious. She was reckless, never giving any decision a second thought no matter how serious the matter was.
