17 Things I Found In Your Bedroom

Chapter 2 Part 2

I flip through the photos we took yesterday night on the Bench, and smile as I see a few great ones. Ace is smiling, his guitar on his lap, and my feet are in the photo, leaning against his legs.

The next one has both of us in it. I'm leaning against his side, holding out the phone, and Ace has his arm slung over my shoulders, grinning with a smile... that doesn't fully reach his eyes. Maybe he wasn't ready for the picture when I took it.

There's another with the same setting, with me and Ace in the same position, but he's kissing the top of my head.

"Claire?" Alice is voice snaps my attention from my phone. She smiles lightly, but she has an expression which has me worried. It looks like concern, but it's obvious she's trying to cover it up. "You can go right on through... third door on your left." I nod and stand up, the butterflies swarming around my stomach. As I walk on by the front desk, Alice speaks again. "Oh, and Claire? Revise next time." She chuckles. I chuckle uneasily back, and she pats my shoulder.

I get to the main corridor and knock lightly on the office door. Someone yells 'come in' and I open the door slowly, my hand gripping my bag strap.

Mrs Quinn has natural, or very well dyed, blonde hair, straightened to under shoulder length with slightly darker highlights. Her eyes are a kind, chocolate brown, and her nose is slightly on the small side. She has black rimmed glasses, and always dresses like a nerd from school, with baggy sweaters and jeans. But we love her for it.

Sitting across from her is... Ace's mum? Her eyes are puffy, and there's a constant stream of tears falling down her face.

That's when I start to panic.

"Hello, Claire. Please, sit down." Mrs Quinn's voice is unusually thick with sympathy. Maybe she thinks you studied, and are just failing math because you're terrible at it...

I hesitantly take a seat next to Ace's mum, Sasha. She seems to snap out of a trance she was in, and when she looks over at me, she cries even harder. She's wearing a pair of sweats and a beige jacket, a very thrown together outfit. I open my mouth to speak, but the head teacher cuts me off.

"Claire, honey, there's been some news this morning." I nod slowly for her to continue, my eyes switching between Sasha and Mrs Quinn. "Ace was your boyfriend, yes?"

"Ace is my boyfriend, yes. Why? Is he okay?" I reply hurriedly. A stray tear escapes her eye, and she shakes her head subtly. She pushes a piece of paper towards me, and I look down at the desk, reading it quickly.

Dear mum,

So I guess this is goodbye. It's sad I couldn't tell you face to face, but I know you would've tried to stop me. And as much as I love you, I can't do this anymore. You need to understand that.

You have been the best person in the world to me, and I can't stress enough how much I love you. But my life has so many complications to it, and I can't live with it anymore.

It's a stupid thing- to ask favors of your mum after you die by your own hands. But I need some things to happen now I'm... not here anymore.

First, don't bury me in a graveyard. They spooked me out as a kid, and they still do now. I don't want to be the source of someone's terror, even though I committed plenty myself.

Second, keep my uni fund for yourself. Spend it on a holiday, or a cruise or something. It's your money, and if you don't put it to good use, I'll feel awful in the afterlife.

Third, there's a letter in the mail going to dad. I put your mobile number in it. And if the ass calls, just talk to him, okay? That's what I want you to do. Just communicate with him.

And last, please can you give the book under this letter to Claire Johnson. Tell her I love her, and she'll understand when she reads it. Don't ask questions if she breaks into our house at midnight to go into my room. I get it, it makes sense, don't bother yourself with it.

Bye, mum. Love you.

Ace x

I stare at the paper for a minute, not moving. The world spins slightly.

No, Ace isn't dead.

"What kind of sick joke is this?" I whisper, before looking up to meet Mrs Quinn's eyes. They swim with tears. Wow, Ace must have done some convincing to get a teacher to play along. And his own mum?! Last time I checked, it wasn't April Fools...

"I so sorry, Claire." She replies, looking down. I shake my head and stand up, bracing my hands on the table.

"I can't believe this... wow, this is why he skipped form tutor, isn't it? Ace, come on out. I'm not falling for it." I swallow a lump in my throat when the room stays eerily quiet. A tear slips from my own eye.

No, no, it's not true.

"Ace...?" I mutter, shaking my head. No. I look around the room, and start rummaging through large cupboards, looking under the desk and even chairs, throwing random items across the room in horrified terror.

But he's not here.

My actions grow more frantic, and I feel myself start shaking. Tears pour from my eyes and I cry Ace's name, scream it.

Suddenly, someone grips both my shoulders. I lift my head to find Sasha, looking at me with red, swollen, stern eyes. And that's all I need for the sobs to start.

From both of us.

"No... no, it's a nightmare... no... God, please, no..." I sob into her shoulder. We both sink to the floor and I can't stop the tears from pouring from my eyes, not that I try to. "How..." I manage to mutter. Mrs Quinn walks over, her own eyes leaking tears. "I'm going to kill whoever did this... who did it? WHO KILLED HIM!" I can feel myself growing hysterical as Mrs Quinn makes her way over to us.

"Honey, there's no one left to confront." I stare at her with blurry eyes as she takes a deep breath. "His body was found in a stream in the forest earlier this morning... all evidence points to... suicide."