The Secrets We Keep

The Sixteenth Chapter

Hayden

They close the school on Friday. I don't know if it's out of respect for Amelia and her family or because the school is an active crime scene, but we're all told to take the day off. 

I'm still in my pajamas as I head out of my room and collapse onto the couch in the cluttered lounge. I grip the remote and turn the TV on immediately. 

The first thing I saw this morning after I woke up was a text from Diane. 

Just saw the news. I'm so sorry Hayden! What an awful thing to happen. Did you know the girl who died?

I quickly change the channel from the sports one to the local news one. A lady in front of the school gates pops up and I turn up the volume. 

"Local authorities were called onto the scene late yesterday afternoon after two students stumbled upon the body. Sources say the deceased is Amelia Gibbons, the granddaughter of the school's headmaster. While it is still unclear how the girl died, many are speculating that it was suicide-"

"What are you doing?" My mother asks as she enters the room, also dressed like she just woke up. She sees the TV and her eyes narrow. She takes the remote from me and quickly turns off the TV. "You shouldn't be watching that stuff, Hay," she says, and starts stroking my bedhead out of my face. 

"They're saying she killed herself," I say quietly, hating that this reporter is spreading false information. 

"I know. Your dad told me last night that the reporters have been all over the place like rabid animals. But don't worry about that. What you need to do right now is relax and not think about it. I'm going to make some tea. Do you want some?"

I nod my head so that she'll leave and then turn the television back on. How can I not think about it? Amelia was my friend? And now she's dead. 

A moment later, I hear another door open and then Damien stumbles out of his room. As soon as I see him, my thoughts start churning. 

"Turn that shit off," he tells me, narrowing his eyes at the reporter on screen as he continues on to the kitchen. 

I bite my lip, preparing myself to ask him the question that's been bugging me since I saw him last night. "Why were you at the school yesterday?" I ask, turning around on the couch to watch his progression. He stops in his tracks and turns to look at me angrily.

"Why the fuck are you asking me that?" He spits, heading back to me. 

"Because I don't know why you could've been there-"

"I sent you a message, Hayden. Mom asked me to pick you up. She gave me her car. I was supposed to get there, wait for you, and then take you to Mario's. We were going to have a family dinner. Are you happy now? Or do you want to ask me another insulting question?"

"I didn't know," I tell him, my voice weak as I turn back around. Johnson had confiscated my phone yesterday. After everything that went down, I only got it back as he handed it to me on my way out with Mom and Damien. And I had been too out of it then to check my phone for messages. My voice comes out small as I remember how yesterday was supposed to go. "I'd made plans with Amelia. She was going to take me home." 

Damien's face shutters when he hears her name. He looks down to the ground. "We were supposed to go out. Tomorrow..."

"I know," I say, feeling miserable. I never should've been suspicious in the first place. It's just that nothing makes sense anymore. 

Yesterday morning, I was finally starting to have fun at Excelsior. I'd found someone I could be really great friends with. And now she's dead. And I'm pretty sure she was murdered.