AVRIL'S CASE -BOOK 2

Chapter One.

Into the mirror she still stared, shock clearly weakening her facial expression, she placed her hands on her rapidly beating chest, trying to convince herself that the photo she received meant nothing, but no matter how hard she tried, she knew for sure that it meant something big. 

No one knew about she and Avril's friendship, she kept it a secret; for selfish reasons. The only people who knew about them were Avril's parents and everyone who went to the camp of course, but she knew that surely, if it was someone she knew, a message would have followed, and a private number wouldn't have been used to send the message. 

After the turmoil that swirled her life in a blazing tornado, with the 'rose killer', she swore off ever obsessing over any case, minor crimes happened within those two years, both in Freetown and even one at her school, but no matter how nettlesome the itch to meddle was, she never scratched it, she just let it itch till it went away. But with Avril it was different. Despite being told that she had no obligation to solve Avril's case, she had always felt like she did, but she could control that urge a bit before because there was no starting line, so she didn't really know where to begin the race from. Through the picture sent to her,  she was before what could be a starting line for Avril's case, and all she wanted to do was cross it and run as fast as she could, till she won the race. Avril's case was more than an itch for her, it was  like fire burning her skin, eating deep into her, and she knew  that the only way to save herself from burning under the fires of frustration, regret and agony was by quenching it with answers, solutions.

She washed her face one more time and dried it with a hand towel placed on Danny's towel hanger. She put on a smile--one that felt so unconvincing but hoped her friends would not see through. She picked up her phone, and walked back down, all the way to the basement where her friends were still worried. As soon as she walked back down, they all tried to act normal- not wanting to look at her as though she was running crazy--even if that's the only conclusion they could come up with. They knew that her reaction was over dramatic. Even if she actually found out that someone died, they knew that wouldn't be the way she would have grieved over a friends loss.

With the fake smile still on her face,  she  walked over to the seat she placed her purse on, she picked it up and walked over to a standing and worried-looking Tyler.

"I need to leave babe, his death really shook me, and I just need to be alone," she said, placing a kiss on his lips.

Danny looked at her painstaking for a while, placing his hands under his chin, he uncrossed his crossed legs and leaned forward. "Her," Danny said to Cassie, carefully studying her expression.

"What?" She shook her head slightly and looked at him, confused.

"Her death really shook you," he said. "You said your friend was a girl, but right now you just referred to her as a guy, using the possessive adjective 'his' "he explained.

She shook her head and hit it slightly "Right, it was just a slip," she said as she blinked a couple of times, and looked  at him warily. She knew that he was on to her and that sooner or later, he'll ask questions that she really did not  want to answer. She was well aware that her friends would not let her drive down that shaky path again, and she really didn't want or need anyone to convince her that she should not go ahead with trying to figure out what that image meant, who sent it, and why it was sent to her.

"Need me to drop you off babe?" Tyler asked, as he ran his hands tenderly, up and down her arms.

"No, I'll rather be on my own," she smiled. "Bye guys," she barely waved at the rest of them before speed-walking out the door. They all watched her leave, and as soon as she was out, they all exchanged knowing looks.