Masked (now an EBOOK on Amazon)

Chapter #30

                                                                                          CHAPTER #30

Z's POV:

When I woke up, I was still in the same place, surrounded by grass and rocks. I was still down, recollecting everything I had just heard. Noah was partly accountable for our dad's death, and Aaron had...finished the job. I could not believe my ears. How was I stupid enough back then to ingest a drug without a care about its effects? How was I stupid enough to trust Aaron through all his lies and how was I stupid enough never to question 'Noah's' death and me being put in Juvie?

I sat up slowly to see Noah and Sky staring at me, offering me water. I drank it and sat still, looking down at my hands on my lap.

"Are you okay? Your fainting is really starting to scare me, Z," Sky said nervously. I nodded.

"Lazy, I- I don't know what to say. I understand if you hate me and never want to see me again. I'll leave again- I'll do anything-"Noah started.

"No," I said firmly, "Never even let the thought of leaving us come back to your head, Noah. I can't hate you, you know that. Yes, I'm crushed for you... doing what you did but I really, really appreciate you for telling us everything. I'm convinced it wasn't your fault he...died. Throwing the punch to knock him out though, I don't know how you did it, but..."

"I'm so, so sorry, Lazy-"

"And besides, mom would be heartbroken if you left. Sky," I suddenly remembered something, "do you remember the time mom said she wasn't safe in her own house?" Sky nodded, confused.

"What if she saw Aaron? Maybe he'd come to leave one of his shitty cryptic notes and mom saw him? What if he threatened her with something and that was what led her to- you know," I ended, voice shaking slightly.

"Could be. This is a weird question but Noah, did you see Aaron around that time, even by accident?" We explained the entire incident. He shook his head.

"No, I haven't seen him since... Wait, one of the guys said somebody had come to see me but I wasn't there. It was sometime then, I guess. No one came back, that's for sure."

"Why would he come see you all of a sudden?" Sky asked.

"Absolutely no idea, but it couldn't have been him; he never knew where I was."

"Wait a minute, do you think there's any remote possibility of this; I meant Aaron being connected with Ellie? If he killed once, he could have done it again," I said, shivering with the thought of it. Sky's eyes widened.

"Bloody hell, it's like this guy is everywhere. God, that's definitely possible, Z. He made Alicia his 'friend', maybe Ellie too." I put my head in my hands and took a deep breath. I looked up at them.

"We need to find him, and get him to confess."

"I'm going to sound like a wimp, but you two go ahead. I'll do the needy when you actually find him. If he knows that I'm not 'in hiding' anymore, he will kill me," Noah said, eyes wide.

I sighed, "Fine, I'll do it. I'll get him to meet us; me and then you can come in and...whatever. We need to get him to talk."

Sky nodded. Noah came over and hugged me. I hugged him back and pulled Sky in too.

"Let's do this," I said, feeling dramatic.

I knocked twice, hesitant to go ahead with the plan. I had been standing outside on the patio for over ten minutes, trying to muster up the courage to ring the bell. I did not want to talk to him, ever again, but I had to get him to tell me everything he did. I waited for someone to open the door, got impatient and rang the bell. A minute or so later, Aaron's mom opened the door, expression quickly turning grim as she saw my face.