Gracie Freaking Hall

Brianna

"Black roses and a card with a death thread. You shouldn't have," I say with a broad smile as I open the door to Mason who stands there with them in his hands.

He looks up at me dumbfounded and as if in deep thought responds, "I- didn't."

My face falls as I move aside, letting him in. I put a hand on my waist and sighed, "A girl sleeps with you after knowing you for 5 minutes and you couldn't bother to get her something."

Mason cocks his head to the side looking at the items in his hands, his confusion still etched on his face with tightly knitted eyebrows and his lips to the side. "I found them outside your door."

"Oh-" I pout at the fact that he couldn't even lie and say they were from him. Ugh men. I point to the kitchen table where a couple of more cards are scattered around, a teddy bear with a necklace of a wooden board that held my name and a knife in its chest bleeding out, and more black roses I had already put in vases so they wouldn't wither away soon and say, "You can put them with the rest."

He warily eyes the things and cautiously walks over to them, places the things in his hands with them, and runs his hands over some of the death notes. They varied in statements such as, "Hope to see you dead soon," or "Once a murderer- always a murderer." That one to me felt stupid because it's not like I could bring someone back to life and pretend they weren't dead. Who could?

"Jesus, Brianna. Why does this town hate you so much?"

I purse my mouth and go to sit on the couch, in front of the puzzle I have been working on all morning. The puzzle was a huge galaxy with tiny black pieces that I had to try and make sure it fit, it was harder than it looked. "You already knew, I killed a girl."

"I thought that was a rumor," he says, clearly exasperated. I watch as he runs a hand over his face, clearly bewildered at the reveal.

I cross my legs and look up at him. "I'm not sure why when I cleared things up for you when we first met." I narrow my eyes at him, "also, aren't you the mayor's son? Seems like something you should know but I've never seen you before. What's the deal with that?" I put my hand on my lap and scan him from head to toe. "Feels like you were a well-kept secret or you just don't pay much attention to the town's affair. Nothing here stays secret."

He huffs and takes a deep silent breath before responding. His gaze flickered to my scrutinizing one as I impatiently awaited his response, my foot tapping on the coffee table where puzzle pieces lay sprawled everywhere. "I didn't grow up in this town, I was sent to an academy a couple of cities away. Recently decided to come back, so no- I didn't know any of the rumors that were true."

"Interesting," I hum and shift my gaze back to the puzzle once again. I pick up a piece and try to fit it into another jagged one. It looks as if it should fit perfectly, but alas, the piece does not.

"How did- you- know?" he questions, a bit hesitant. Each of his words came out calm and calculative, clearly, he was starting to feel weary of my presence but I could tell he was also intrigued. If he wasn't, why was he still here?

"You were at her memorial service yesterday," I told him.

"She's the one you killed?" His mouth falls open as he takes a seat. "Why?"

My eyes glance over to his wide-eyed expression. "Why are you still here if you're scared of me?"

"I'm not-" he responds quickly.

"Lier-" I say and point at his trembling hands that continue to tap on the counter, the small thumping of the impact annoying me. "I don't owe anyone explanations on why I killed her- so leave."