Brutal Bonding

Chapter 13: Blame

Author's note
Here's a quick recap: In an act of rage and vengeance, Wren Brennan brutally murders Warner Hartfelt in the woods outside of a bonfire party. After helping Wren hide his body, Noemy, Ariana, and Kim invite her to move into their sorority house as a member of the Sisters of Stygian. Later, Wren befriends Warner's brother, Aaron. But now that Warner's body has been found, the police pay the Sisters of Stygian an unwelcome visit.

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"It's heartbreaking, Officer. We never expected something like this to happen to Warner."

The somber air in the common room was punctuated by Noemy's carefully crafted words, her eyes gazing at the police officer seated across the table. Next to her, Ariana sat upright, while Kim maintained her usual stoic demeanor. Wren fidgeted in her seat.

Officer Anderson leaned forward, eyes fixed on the quartet. "Tell me about your relationship with Warner Hartfelt," he inquired.

Noemy Welch, maintaining composure, was the first to reply. "Warner was our close friend. It's devastating to think someone could harm him."

"We never expected anything like this to happen," Kim added. "We'll miss him."

Wren, though silent, held a somber expression, her eyes casting downward as if torn between grief and concealed guilt. As her thoughts rewinded to their argument that happened upstairs just mere minutes ago, she was certain that there was truth behind her sisters' words – that deep down, they did miss Warner and that his death was indeed devastating.

"I watched you murder my friend," Noemy's previous words echoed. "I helped you hide his body, Wren. I helped end his life for you. And when I look at you, that's all I think about."

And yet, here they were, lying in the face of the law for her. This sisterhood brought the term "girls girl" to a freakishly new level.

Ariana feigned disbelief. "I can't believe anyone would want to harm sweet Warner. Maybe it was an accident. People get drunk at bonfire parties, stumble into rivers. You know how it goes."

Officer Anderson's gaze hardened. "How do you know about the bonfire and his alcohol consumption?"

The blonde shrugged.

The man leaned back, unimpressed. "I have a witness placing three of you as the last seen with Warner before he disappeared. Other accounts mention Wren and Warner leaving together after a house party hosted by this sorority."

Though the other women remained seemingly calm, Wren had internally panicked. She feared that their carefully crafted facade crumbled in the face of the truth. And yet, while Wren's nerves escalated, her peers seemingly maintained composure.

"Who?" Noemy mumbled darkly. "Who is the witness?"

Officer Anderson shook his bald head. "I will not disclose that information."

"Officer, are you insinuating that we have something to do with Warner's death? Are we suspects?"

The officer stared back. The president continued, "We were together at the bonfire. We were having a good time with Warner, when we decided to look for some place private to, you know, fool around," she glanced at Ariana and Kim. "No judgment; it's perfectly normal to be sexually active in our early twenties."

Kim's horror deepened, and Ariana mouthed, "what the fuck," as Officer Anderson shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"We thought Warner was behind us the whole time," Noemy continued, her eyes welling with tears. "But when we turned around, he was gone. We figured he must've wandered off somewhere else. We were all too drunk, and it was too dark to look for him. We didn't think much of it at the time.

"None of this would've happened if we were responsible. It's our fault he's dead." She confessed, her voice breaking.

The room hung in a heavy silence, the officer momentarily caught off guard by Noemy's emotional revelation. The girls clung to the facade, awaiting the officer's next move.

He cleared his throat, then shifted his attention to Wren. "Can you tell me your side of the story when you left the house party with Warner?"

Wren, her heart pounding with the weight of the lies she had rehearsed, took a deep breath. "Warner brought me as a plus-one to the party. I was struggling to make friends at the time, and he thought it would help. Truth is, I've never been much of a party person, and I accidentally went overboard with the drinking."

She felt a lump in her throat, then glanced at her sisters, who shot her a subtle nod, as if telling her to stick to the script. So she did.

"Being the gentleman that he was, Warner took me to his home to make sure I was okay. That's all that happened." Lie. Lie, lie, lie. She was so sick of lying.

A tear rolled down her cheek, and she wiped it away, the officer interpreting her emotion as grief for her friend. In reality, the tear carried the weight of the hidden horrors she dared not speak aloud.

Officer Anderson scribbled notes on his pad, a frown etching across his face. The sisters continued to play their roles, concealing the controversial truth beneath a narrative of innocence. In that moment, the reality of Wren's victimhood clashed with the necessity to preserve the illusion of Warner as a good guy, even in the eyes of the law. It was maddening.

Officer Anderson nodded. "Did any of you see anything suspicious the night of Warner's death? Do you suspect anyone who might have something against him?"

Wren opened her mouth to say 'no,' but, to her surprise, Noemy interjected, "Actually, Officer, there's someone many of us had our suspicions about—Aaron, Warner's brother," she said, her gaze avoiding Wren's eyes. "He was alone at the bonfire party until he mysteriously disappeared. He didn't seem pleased to see all the girls hanging around Warner."

Ariana, the perfect sidekick, quickly chimed in, "Yeah, people have always suspected he's got some deep-rooted jealousy toward his older brother. Warner was the favorite child, more popular. Aaron never liked that."

Wren felt her stomach drop. This was not part of the plan. Had the others discussed this sick scheme behind her back? She wouldn't put it past them. "He's not a bad person; he's just reserved."

The officer turned to Wren, "Are you close to Aaron?"

Wren stammered, "We just started talking. He seems harmless, just misunderstood."

Ariana rolled her eyes, "Please, you've known him for a few weeks. We've known him for years. You should keep an eye out on him, Officer. He could be a suspect."

Officer Anderson frowned, making a note in his notebook. "Thank you for your input. If you remember anything else, please don't hesitate to contact us." Then, without waiting for a response, he gathered his belongings and left the sorority house.

As soon as the door closed behind him, only three of the four girls released a sigh of relief. As always, everything had gone according to plan, for they were seemingly in the clear. They wielded enough influence to convince the rest of the school to suspect the younger Hartfelt as the days went by.

Wren, on the other hand, only had one question on her mind: what's going to happen to Aaron Hartfelt?

Author's note
Who do you think is the witness(es) who snitched on our girls? What happens to innocent Aaron Hartfelt? Please vote, comment, and follow for updates.

FYI, sorry, it's been a while since the last chapter. Thankfully, summer vacay starts soon! Ong this story will be complete this year frfr.