stab | scream applyfic ✓

chapter sixteen

STAB,
CHAPTER SIXTEEN

"DID YOU SHOW them my list?", Mindy was asking. She was on FaceTime with Stephen. She tried to call her family every now and again, since they'd left Woodsboro. Mindy always picked up, so he was easiest to call. Stephen just kept feeling like one of these calls was going to be her last. "What did they think?" Truthfully, the mixed girl seemed way too excited to be talking about serial killers. But Stephen was glad that Mindy always stayed the same. Even though she felt like her continuously guessing at who the killer was was just Mindy's weird way of coping with everything that had happened to her.

"I didn't show to anyone, Min", Stephen sighed, going over to the fridge. As she opened it and looked outside, she completely missed the figure lurking outside her window. "I already told you that opening that list would absolutely destroy the friend group. Completely. I don't want that. They'll just start pointing fingers at each other. It's better they don't know."

Mindy sighed dramatically, rolling her eyes. "Fine, don't tell them. But at least let me know in the end if I was right!"

"You got it dude", Stephen said dryly, closing the fridge door. She was juggling her phone and her ingredients precariously as she moved over to the counter. "Speaking of that list, why am I on it?"

"Hey, you're only on there as an alternate", Mindy defended. "But it's only fair to suspect that at least one Loomis daughter would completely snap the fuck out. So far, it hasn't been Sam. So... What is it that your little friend Leighton said? Never trust a Loomis?"

"Sometimes, Min, you can be a real bitch", Steph sighed. She hadn't found the joke at all funny. "Where's Sam? Put her on the phone."

There was a bit of shuffling before Sam's face appeared on the screen. "Hey, what's up? You look like shit." Steph immediately rolled her eyes. She loved her sister. Even when she was being a little shit. She had missed her.

"I just wanted to talk to you. You're the only one I feel like truly gets it", Steph answered. She couldn't think of anyone to talk to beyond her sister who could completely understand everything she was going through. Who could get a Loomis better than a Loomis? "I just feel like everything's gone to shit lately. No matter what I do, everything keeps spiraling out of control. Dad's alive, Sam. And he's out of jail! He's been here for weeks, apparently."

A sheepish look crossed Sam's face. Her cheeks burned red. Stephen frowned. She only ever made that face when she was hiding something from Steph. "Yeah.. I already know that, Steph. He called a few days ago from Sidney's phone."

Stephen's heart dropped to her stomach. If the rest of the world wanted to hide things from her and keep secrets then fine, whatever. She didn't care. She could easily handle that. It didn't matter about the rest of the world, but Sam? Her own twin sister? The fact that she was keeping things from her was beyond hurtful. They were supposed to share everything with each other. Steph told Sam everything! "Oh... okay...." It also hurt that she seemed to be the only kid that Billy wasn't trying to contact.

"He thought we'd be together", Sam explained. "But song even worry about it. Nina is clearly his favorite. He's not worth caring about."

Stephen put the food she'd been holding aside in order to look at her sister. "You knew that too? You knew she was our sister?"

Sam looked uncomfortable. She fidgeted in her seat. "Well... yeah. I've known for months now, before filming even started. I found the rumors in mom's diary, so I called Sidney and talked to her about it. She told me the truth."

Stephen was in shock. She felt hurt and betrayed. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists tight. "So, what, everyone knew but me? None of you were going to tell me anything?" Never had she ever felt more betrayed by everyone around her.

"Okay, to be fair, I genuinely didn't think you'd wanna know about dad. I thought you'd be better off without him. Without ever knowing the truth. But as far as Nina goes, that wasn't my story to tell.  It was hers. It wasn't my place to tell."

"Bullshit, yes it was!", Steph exclaimed. "I deserved to know!"

"Maybe so, but if she decides she wants nothing to do with us, Steph, we can't change that", Sam said softly. "It has to be her choice. That's why I didn't say anything. It's Nina's life. She might decide she wants nothing to do with that side of her family."

"Doubtful, since dad is living at her house", Steph scoffed.

"What?", Sam exclaimed in surprise. "And Sidney is allowing that? Are you sure."

"Pretty sure. She said it. But she was losing a lot of blood, so who knows. She might have been talking out of her ass. But honestly, fuck this entire bloodline at this point. She paused. Bloodlines.

Sam raised a thick brow. "That's your thinking face. What did you just figure out?"

"Nothing. I'll tell you later if it turns out to be something", Steph answered. "I'll call you later. Heading to the library", she added, ending the call. She locked her phone and pocketed it before grabbing her keys and heading outside. She made sure to triple lock her front door behind her. No one was getting in there if she could help it. As she got into her car and headed off towards the library, she was none the wiser to the fact that this impromptu library trip had just saved her life.

OCTOBER 22, 2023
POPPY SPEAKS !
i'm gonna keep doing these little short chapters every now and again, they're quick and easy and i enjoy writing them. y'all while i was writing this chapter a female wrestling match came on (idk what it was but the logo was literally 'wow') and tell me why the announcer started freaking out about one of the teams taking out / setting up a table and then setting up a second one like he had never seen some damn tables before. bro was excited af over TABLES. "the audience is stunned silent" the audience was loud af bro it was just you 😭