Phobia

You Are Not A Murderer, Vivian.

I sat there, eyes wide, staring at Mathia. I wasn't sure what to say. I didn't want to say no and hurt him. Being new and having that kind of courage is rare. But I didn't want to say yes and Tiarna get mad at me. I barely knew him, but I knew he was a nice person. My mouth hung slightly open. I wasn't swinging anymore, and he seemed to notice how uncomfortable I was. He looked sorry, and started to stagger on his words. I didn't hear what he was saying, but I put my hand up to stop him. Oh why can't someone walk up and interrupt us and save me like in the movies?

"You'll have to let me think..." I finally said, looking at my aunt and Tiarna. They seemed too caught up in what they were doing that they didn't even notice I was sitting here.

"You could just say no if you don't want to. I'd understand." I shook my head.

"It's not that I don't, or that I do. I'm not sure. You'll genuinely have to let me think about it..." I let my words drag on, not entirely sure on how to continue. I looked up to see my aunt and Tiarna finally walking up. Tiarna seemed to have a big smile on her face, which seemed to increase when she saw Mathia.

"Hey, Mathia!" She said, walking up to us and standing beside me.

"Hey...?" He let it drag on, clearly forgetting her name. "Sorry, what was your name again? I have problems remembering some names." She looked taken aback, almost as if she was heartbroken.

"Oh, my name is Tiarna! So what are you guys talking about?"

"Oh I just asked Renee over here if she wants to go on a date." He said with ease. I looked at him, wide eyed. Tiarna's face dropped and my aunt stepped back, noticing drama was about to overtake.

"You what?!" She yelled. "Renee, what the hell?!" Mathia looked shocked, confused even.

"Tiarna, no, please, I didn't say yes or no. I wanted to talk to you before anything. Please understand." I put my hands up, standing up from the swing. She shook her head, confusion overcoming her. Suddenly, Dakota came sprinting towards us. She stopped in front of us, panting. Fear was covering her face and she seemed to be in a hurry.

"Dakota? Are you ok?" I asked, pulling her towards me. My aunt immediately came to us, and helped me bring Dakota to a bench. She was mumbling things about needing to go, needing to hurry. Something about what happened to Zama. I looked at her confused, holding her close. "What about Zama?" She looked up at me.

"Zama has gone missing." She said bluntly. She burst into tears, holding onto me. I looked over at my aunt, whose eyes were wide. "The police are questioning everybody and we're sending out a search party. Oh my god what if she's hurt? She wouldn't run away. Oh my god, what if she's dead?!" Her tears came out quicker, harder. I held her tight, holding back tears of my own. Tiarna stood there with shock, calling Dakota's parents, probably to come pick her up.

~

Tonight wasn't fun, it was scary if anything. I was sitting in the police station, beside my best friend and Vivian. Dakota was questioned earlier, and we were the three other people that were close to her. Tiarna had already been questioned and it was my turn. The officer led me into a room and sat me down. It wasn't your typical movie scene - metal walls, a table and chairs. This room was brighter, with food, drinks and it was pretty, for a police office that is. I sat down, and took a sip of the tea they has put in front in me.

"So, Renee Marie Richards, correct?" Office Mahone asked, coming into the room.

"Yes." I simply said, looking at him. I was still shaking slightly. I wasn't sure what to do, what to say, or how to react. Zama has gone missing and she wouldn't contact anybody.

"What association do you have with Zama Diane Hutt?" he asked, taking a seat across from me.

"We've been friends since about ninth grade. She's a good friend of mine."

"When was the last time you saw her?"

"Sunday afternoon after I had gone for that sleepwalk. She, Tiarna, Dakota and Julian all came over to help me feel better." He looked down at his notepad, taking down a few notes.

"Your friend had said you had gone to a park, is that correct?" I nodded. "Alright, so, what time had you guys gone your own ways the day?" I thought back, trying to recall what time it was, since we had lost all sense of it.

"I would say nine, or ten, since it was a school night. Though I'm not sure, I wasn't really paying attention to the time." He took more notes.

"Do you know anyone who would want to hurt Zama?" I looked at him wide eyed.

"The only person that would have a grudge against her would be Vivian but I highly doubt it was her since she had a dance performance that night."

"And what were you doing that night?"

"Tiarna had slept over, and we were watching movies and hanging out at my house." Now it was his turn to nod at me.

"Alright, you can go. Thank you for your participation, Miss Richards." I nodded, standing up and leaving the room to find Tiarna pacing. She hugged me instantly, holding me as close as possible. Tears were flowing out of her eyes. She seemed scared, and I couldn't blame her. Vivian looked extremely shaken as well. Her mascara was running down her cheeks as if they were black imbedded tears. She was playing with her thumbs, clearly anxious. The only thing you could hear in the entire room were the sniffles, our breathing and the tick of the clock in the far end of the room. You could also hear the faint sound of typing from a room over. Tiarna and I sat down as Vivian went in. We waited for her to come out, since this was not the time for hate. This was effecting everyone in town, especially the people closest to Zama. The only thing any of us could hope for was that she just ran away and would be back soon. That this would be a whole misunderstanding or that maybe she had gone on a trip to her grandparents again and her parents forgot. It's possible, right? Soon enough, we heard the click of a door opening and we both turned our heads to see Vivian walking out.

"How'd it go...?" I asked. She looked up at me, tears streaming down her face.

"Someone said they saw me dragging Zama. Someone said they thought I hurt her. I couldn't hurt her, but who would believe me! I'm not a murderer!" She yelled, falling to her knees. I knew there wasn't enough proof to keep her here, so they had to let her leave. I fell beside her and held her and let her cry.

"You are not a murderer, Vivian. I know that for sure." She looked up at me, a soft smile on her face.

"Thank you, Renee..." She whispered, letting me rock her back and forth. Tiarna had begun pacing again, clearly wanting to yell at whoever framed her.

"Who said that, Vivian?" She blurted out after a few moments. It took both me and Vivian a few seconds to understand what she was talking about.

"You know that... That cute guy in our English class...?" She asked me. My mouth hung open, and so did Tiarna's. Then, at the same time, Tiarna and I both blurted out his name.

"Mathia?" Vivian slowly nodded. She had mostly stopped crying, and was just letting out small whimpers.

"He said he saw me and her hanging out Monday and that we were by the mostly abandoned side of town. He said he was pacing through there to get to the fishing pool, which stacks up with his signature there. He said that he had heard screams and saw me dragging her body somewhere... He said he was too scared to say anything, and that he thought he was seeing things... He's lying, though! I swear he is!" I nodded, us still sitting on the ground.

"Maybe he thought it was you, maybe it was one of the new kids. It's possible, and more plausible. Zama got around, knew everybody. It could have been anyone and he might have thought it was you. We believe you, Vivian, I swear we do." She nodded, holding on tight. I slowly began standing up, bringing her with me. "Let's go, alright? You can stay over for the night, how about that?" She nodded, not saying anything. We all just needed rest. We needed to think about this, and figure out what to do.

Especially since we have a missing person.

><><><><><><><><><
Word count: 1522
I hope you are all enjoying it ahh
~ (J/P)