Inaudible ↛ Jake Fitzgerald [MTV's Scream]

03

chapter three ; ding dong the bitch is dead

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"No. This isn't him. He would never do this," Alexa assured, refusing to believe what she'd been told. He couldn't have done this, she knew that in her heart, but whenever she told them that they just looked at her with pity. All of the voices in the room faded, becoming nothing more than a buzz in her ears as she stared at her hands absently.

After hearing about Nina Patterson's death, Alexa was stunned. The thought of that being true was such an unimaginable concept to her. Despite her being one of the most terrible human beings Alexa had ever met, Nina was just so lively and wild and present, not to mention she was the reason Alexa and her friends stood high amongst the social rankings. It was hard for her to believe that the Patterson was gone. No matter how horrible she was, Nina didn't deserve to be murdered in cold blood.

It wasn't until a few moments after the sheriff told her of Nina's death that he informed her of the fact that Tyler was under suspicion for being the one to do the deed.

"Alexa, I know this is hard to take in," her mom said, her voice low and soft in an attempt to sound comforting. She placed a hand on the Reynolds' shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze, "You need to tell the police anything you know on where Tyler may have gone. They need to find him, Alexa. Justice must be served."

"But he didn't do this, mom. Why would I tell them where he could have gone if they're just going to arrest him for something he didn't do?" Alexa questioned, brushing off her mother's hand as she stood up, stepping away in an attempt to put as much distance as she could between herself, Sheriff Hudson, and her mother.

Running a hand over his face from where he leaned against his desk in the sheriff's office, Hudson sighed as he stepped tentatively closer towards the girl. "Look, either way we need to bring Tyler in. Then, we'll be able to prove whether or not what you say about your foster brother is true. If it turns out he did it, like your mom said, justice must be served. If he didn't, maybe he'll be able to tell us something that will get us closer to finding whoever killed Nina."

Alexa turned away from them as she thought about Tyler. Would she be betraying him if she helped the police find him, wherever that boy could have gone? He must have run for a reason, but certainly it wasn't for killing Nina. But could it be? The thought made her head spin. She let out a silent breath. No, it couldn't. She knew Tyler.

"I can't defend him in a court of law. It's a conflict of interest," her mother informed her after a beat, "but I promise we will get Tyler only the best lawyers."

Balling her shaking hands into fists, Alexa shook her head, "You're not listening to me mom. Tyler doesn't need any lawyers because he didn't do this. Besides, I don't know where he is."

"How about you tell me some things about him," Sheriff Hudson suggested, sensing that the girl was going to talk as he gestured for her to return to her seat. "Start from the beginning. When did you first meet Tyler O'Neil?"

Obliging to his silent request, Alexa settled back down as the sheriff took his own seat behind the desk, placing Tyler's file in front of him beside an empty notepad. "Well, Tyler and I have known each other since we were in diapers. Our parents were friends, so naturally we were forced to become friends, though we actually ended up liking each other."

The sheriff looked up from his notepad, his brows furrowed, "Were you two involved-"

"Oh, god no," Alexa recoiled, the mere thought of being with Tyler in that sense made her cringe. "He's like my brother more than anything. Anyways, after his parents died in a plane crash while going on a business trip, Tyler came to live with us. My parents were his godparents."