Lies In The Dark

We're Cleaning Up Blood, Trying Not to Die, and Oh Yeah, There's School Tomorrow

Aurora:

By the time the house finally quieted down, the mess had been mostly cleaned up, but none of us felt any better. No one was in any shape to drive, and as much as we all wanted to get the hell out of there, we were trapped. Trapped in a mansion that now felt haunted by the weight of what we'd just found.

Lara. Dead. Right there in front of us.

The party had turned into a nightmare. Now we were crashing here, too exhausted and too wasted to leave. The plan was simple—sleep for a couple of hours, get our shit together, and haul ass to school in the morning. It didn't matter that we'd barely slept. The last thing we needed was for anyone to notice we were missing. Not when we had the biggest secret hanging over us.

The girls—Emma, Poppy, Mel, Maya, Zyran, Miri, Tessa—and the guys—Kayden, Jake, Liam, Colton—were all sprawled out across couches, chairs, and floors. The mood had shifted from frantic panic to an eerie silence. No one was sleeping, not really. Everyone was too on edge, pretending they could just ignore what had happened.

I glanced around the room, watching them. The unease gnawed at me like I was watching a horror movie unfold, but I couldn't figure out who the monster was. One of them had killed Lara. That much I knew. But who?

My gut told me it wasn't Tessa. I trusted her too much. Tessa had been my rock through all the chaos tonight. Even though she was freaked out, there was no way she could've killed someone. I wouldn't let myself believe that.

But everyone else? My mind raced as I eyed them, one by one.

Emma looked wrecked. Dark circles under her eyes, her hair a mess, but it wasn't just exhaustion—it was something else. Guilt? Fear? She was always the leader, always the one to take charge, but tonight... she was holding back. Emma was hiding something, I could feel it. She had been acting strange ever since we found Lara's body. And the way she avoided looking directly at any of us? It made my skin crawl.

Poppy? She was glued to Mel's side, the two of them practically inseparable, whispering to each other every chance they got. I knew they were close, but tonight, it felt like they were keeping secrets. Like they had their own little world I wasn't allowed into. I trusted them both, or I had before tonight, but now... I wasn't sure. Poppy could be ruthless when she wanted something, and if she had a reason, I couldn't put it past her to snap.

Mel had been quiet. Too quiet. Normally she was the loudest one in the room, always laughing, always making sure people were having a good time. But not tonight. Tonight, she was a shadow of herself, sticking to Poppy like she couldn't function on her own. That didn't sit right with me. Maybe it was the shock, or maybe it was something darker.

Miri? God, I didn't even know where to start with Miri. She'd vanished for half the night before we found Lara. No one even knew where she'd gone. Miri was always disappearing, getting away from the crowd, but now I couldn't help wondering if she'd been doing something more than just finding a quiet spot to escape.

And then there was Zyran. She was cool under pressure, like nothing rattled her. I used to admire that about her, but now it freaked me out. How could she be so calm after finding a dead body? Zyran had been taking charge with Emma, but something in her eyes felt too controlled. Like she was keeping it together too well. That sent a chill down my spine.

My thoughts swirled, paranoia settling in deeper with every passing second. I could practically feel the tension between all of us. No one was saying it out loud, but we all knew it—one of us had killed Lara. We just didn't know who.

The silence stretched on, too heavy, too thick to breathe in. I could feel my heartbeat pounding in my throat, every sound amplified by the dead quiet of the mansion. The clock on the wall ticked slowly, making me more anxious with every second. I glanced around again, my eyes landing on Emma. She looked exhausted, ready to collapse, but there was something off about the way she was holding herself.

"Emma," I said, my voice barely more than a whisper.

She looked up, her eyes glassy and distant. "Yeah?"

"What are we going to do?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

Her gaze flickered around the room, landing on each of us before she spoke. "We'll figure it out in the morning. We just need to stick together."

Poppy huffed from across the room. "And what? Pretend like none of this happened? Like we didn't just—"

Emma cut her off. "No one is pretending, Pop. But we're not making any decisions right now. We're all too... messed up." Her voice cracked a little, and she sighed, rubbing her temples. "We clean up, we go to school, and we act normal. We'll deal with this later."

I watched her closely, her words sinking in. She was trying so hard to stay in control, but I wasn't sure if it was for our sake or hers.

"How are you so sure we can just... wait?" Zyran's voice was steady, but there was an edge to it.

Emma didn't answer right away. She just stared at her hands, her fingers twitching slightly. "Because we don't have a choice."

Her answer sent a shiver down my spine.

Hours passed, and the tension didn't let up. We cleaned up what we could, threw away the empty bottles, scrubbed the floors, tried to erase every trace of the party that had spiralled into a nightmare. But none of us could erase the memory of Lara's body.

The sun was rising now, casting an orange glow through the mansion windows, but it felt more like a curse than a new beginning.

We had school in a few hours. I knew there was no way any of us could go in acting like nothing had happened. We were a mess. Physically, mentally, emotionally. Yet we had to. No one could find out about Lara.

We all crashed in the living room again, the air thick with unspoken fears. I lay there, staring at the ceiling, listening to everyone's breathing. No one said a word. No one could sleep.

I shifted uncomfortably on the couch. My mind was racing again, going over everything that had happened. I didn't trust anyone. Not fully. Tessa was the only one I knew in my gut couldn't be capable of murder. But everyone else? I couldn't shake the feeling that any one of them could've done it. Emma was holding herself together too well for someone who had just found a body. Poppy and Mel were too quiet, too focused on each other. Zyran was... too calm. And Miri? Well, she'd always been a little strange.

But it was Emma who stuck in my mind the most. She was acting like she had the plan, like she knew what we needed to do. But what if she was just buying time? What if she was playing us, pretending to be in control while she covered her tracks? The thought made my stomach twist.

Eventually, the morning came, and we all dragged ourselves to our cars. None of us said goodbye. We all just left, still too shaken to function properly.

As we piled into Emma's convertible—me, Tessa, and Zyran—I couldn't help but glance at Emma again. She looked like hell. Her hair was still a mess, her face pale, her eyes tired and bloodshot. The morning sunlight hit her face in a way that should've made her look serene, but all I saw was someone barely holding it together. She was gripping the wheel so tight her knuckles were turning white, and her eyes stayed locked on the road, avoiding everyone.

I sat in the backseat, the open sky above doing nothing to ease the tension sitting heavy in my chest. The wind whipped through my hair, but instead of feeling free, I felt trapped. The thoughts that had been circling in my head all night wouldn't leave me alone.

Emma had always been the one to take control, to organise the chaos and make it seem like everything was going to be okay. But this? This wasn't like losing a phone at a party or covering up for someone sneaking alcohol into a school dance. This was murder.

And that nagging voice in the back of my head was getting louder, whispering that maybe, just maybe... Emma wasn't as innocent as she seemed.

I stared out at the open road, watching the trees blur by as the car sped through town, my mind racing faster than the car itself. I didn't want to believe it, but the suspicion was there, festering like a wound that wouldn't heal.