𝐈𝐥𝐥-𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 ✔️

25

V A L E R I A

Penelope Dillion. 
Beloved friend, daughter, and sister.
R. I. P

I stare, looking at the door, at the flowers and candles left at her door. They say she committed suicide last night. I had my doubts. 

"I don't understand," her friend cries in the distance while hugging somebody. "She was so happy."

Two suicides within the same week when this school had never seen one before.

"Mental health matters! Consider coming to one of our meetings today!" a preppy voice says. I plan to ignore it until the flyer is shoved into my hands. I look down at the sheet. Mental health, I didn't buy it, I didn't believe these suicides. 

But the bell rings for lunch. I pull my eyes away from the flames on the candles and make my way to the cafeteria. 

With my tray, I sit down, I plan on eating my food and ignoring everybody until a witch sits down with us who never had before. With lowered eyebrows, I look up at him, away from my muffin.

He chews gum while smiling. He says to me, "Hey."

I force a fake smile before taking a bite of my muffin. He continues, "My name is Ryan. You're Valeria, right?"

"Quit making a fool of yourself," Cristella says to him, unimpressed.

"What does that mean?" he questions, looking offended.

"It means, do you have a death wish?" she asks him, making me confused. "She's with Adonis. She's untouchable." 

I believe I nearly saw Heaven again as I choked on my muffin for a moment. I say to her, "I'm not with Adonis."

"Maybe," she shrugs. "But everybody knows he wants you."

Adonis Priest did not want anybody. He liked me, maybe, in a friendship way, a friendship where I kissed him and let him sleep in my bed. An announcement ends my thoughts, "Valeria Brookes, please come to the principal office."

"What's that about?" Hazel asks me. 

"I don't know," I shrug. "Probably about the mental health campaign."

As I stand and leave, I see familiar dark eyes on me.

I walk across the school until I reach her office. I knock and she calls out for me to enter. When I step inside, I'm expecting for it to be about the campaign, for her to ask me to be an advocate. But I knew that was not the case when I saw Stella sitting in the other chair.

"Have a seat," the principal says, her voice stern. Stella does not look at me as I take a seat beside her.

"What's going on?" I question.

The principal gives me a harsh look. It feels like forever passes before she speaks. She finally says, "Stella says she saw you leaving Penelope's room with a knife the night she took her own life."

My jaw dropped. I look over at her, but she doesn't even look at me, I can see the smug look behind her blue eyes.

"That's a lie," I say. "Last night I was in my room, asleep all night."

"Can anybody confirm this?"

My stuffed bear, maybe. But besides that I was alone. I couldn't believe this. My stomach, deep in my core, felt hot. Anger. No, more than anger. As an angel, I had never felt this angry with somebody before. I dig my nails into my palms to try and let out some of my anger.

"No, I was alone," I say. "But I did not kill anybody."

The principal's eyes move between us. She sets her glasses down.