——☆ HAUNTED chapter five: what happened in woodsboro
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A FEW WEEKS had passed since the party, and Genevieve was starting to feel settled into her life in New York. Ethan, Mindy, Chad, Tara, and Sam had quickly become her core friend group, and she often found herself spending afternoons lounging around the campus lawn or grabbing coffee with them between classes.
One Saturday afternoon, Genevieve was laying on her bed, scrolling through Instagram. Annika had gone over to Mindy's for a movie marathon, so the dorm was quiet. She swiped through posts and stories aimlessly. It wasn't until she stopped on a random post on her explorer page that something caught her eye.
INSTAGRAM
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user98746292 wait, isn't that the girl from woodsboro? tara carpenter? her sister is a psycho user6492947 yeah, sam carpenter she went full ghostface or something alyqnts weren't they attacked last year
luvxrk this is so mean omg user256798 she will get what she deserves
Genevieve abruptly sat up. Tara?This couldn't be right. There was no way. She clicked out of the thread and quickly typed 'Woodsboro murders' into the search bar. Instantly, dozens of news articles and videos popped up. She opened the first one, an article from about a year ago.
According to the author, Tara and Sam had been at the center of that killing spree in Woodsboro last year. She knew something happened, but she didn't know it was them. The article went on to describe Sam and the rumors cycling around her that she was the killer.
"What?" Gen muttered to herself.
Before she could think too much, her phone buzzed with a new message.
IMESSAGE tara & gen
Tara: wanna meet up for coffee? im bored
The girl hovered her fingers over the screen as she processed the information. Tara had never mentioned anything about her past. Her phone buzzed again, pulling her out of her thoughts. Another text.
IMESSAGE tara & gen
Tara: you free?
Genevieve: yeah, ill meet you at the café in five
After she sent the message, Genevieve felt her mind race. She liked Tara, and nothing she'd read could change that. But she wanted to know the truth, and she needed to hear it from Tara herself. And as much as she wanted to push away the nausea settling in her stomach, she couldn't help but feel that life in New York was about to get a whole lot more complicated.
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Genevieve arrived at the small coffee shop just off campus, and the cozy atmosphere helped calm her nerves. She spotted Tara sitting by the window, her hands wrapped around a cup of coffee, staring out at the street.
Taking a deep breath, Genevieve ordered her own coffee and made her way over, trying to appear as casual as she could.
"Hey," she greeted.
Tara looked up and smiled. "Hey, Gen. Thanks for coming, I was dying to get out of the house."
"Girl, me too," Gen replied, taking a seat across from her. "Do you want anything more? I just ordered a coffee but I can get something for you if you'd like."
The girl hadn't rehearsed exactly what she was going to say, but she knew she couldn't dance around it for long. After some small talk about whats been going on in both of their lives, Genevieve finally mustered up the courage to bring up the subject.
"Tara, I have to ask you something," Genevieve began. "I saw something on Instagram earlier...something about you and Sam."
Tara's face dropped slightly, her smile fading. She looked down at her cup, her fingers tightening around it.
"I know this might be weird to bring up," Genevieve continued, "but I read about what happened in Woodsboro. About the murders. And you and your sister being involved."
For a long moment, Tara didn't say anything. Genevieve felt her heart pounding in her chest, worried she had overstepped a boundary.
"Yeah, it's true." Tara finally replied. "I was hoping you weren't going to find out about that, at least not yet."
"Tara..."
"It's not something I like thinking about, obviously. But yeah, Sam and I went through hell last year. A bunch of people we were close to were killed."
Genevieve's heart sank as she listened. She couldn't imagine living through something so horrific. "And the stuff about Sam...?"
"I know what people are saying about her. That she's some psycho, that she might have been involved in the murders. But that's all bullshit. Sam saved my life."
"I'm really sorry, Tara."
"No, it's okay. It's not something I can run from, even if I try. Thanks for asking about it, though. Most people would just gossip behind my back."
Genevieve rolled her eyes. "Like I would let some stupid internet rumors change what I think of you."
Tara smiled. "Thanks, Gen. That means a lot."
After a brief moment of silence, Tara nudged Genevieve playfully. "Anyway, let's talk about something fun. What are you wearing for Halloween this year?"
"I was thinking of going as a siren. You know, like an ocean goddess luring sailors to their death."
Tara's eyes lit up. "No way! That's perfect! I'm going as a pirate this year."
Genevieve raised an eyebrow and laughed. "Pirate and a siren? That's such a cute duo!"
Tara grinned. "Right? We'll have this whole sea adventure thing going on."
"Oh my gosh, yes!" Genevieve said, clapping her hands together. "I'm so excited!"
