Love & Carnage✗Noah Foster [2]

Chapter Seventeen//Pretty Much a Psycho

+++

"Remember, there is a killer on the loose."

--Quinn Maddox

+++

It happened way too fast. As soon as the police got there, the school went into lockdown immediately. Everyone was rushed out of the auditorium. Except for Brooke and I. Maggie had told me to stop as I went to leave. She told me I was part of the scene. But I didn't understand... I only had a couple spots of Jake's blood on my outfit. Brooke was drenched in it. But I knew that it was because Brooke did not want me to leave. Because she still held my hand. She had a blank look on her face as Maggie snapped pictures of the body and us. "Usually I'd be helping with this, right?" I giggled nervously, trying to ease the tension. "I'm really sorry, Arielle. We're almost done." She promised. I looked at Brooke. "You're doing great." I told my friend, who squeezed my hand harder. "Why don't you talk to us, honey?" Maggie asked her. Maggie took another picture. "That night at the pool, he wanted to take me to the carnival." Brooke whispered. "I wanted to say yes." Brooke added. "Oh, sweetie." Maggie said with sympathy. "Why didn't I say yes?" I heard footsteps and I turned my head quickly. It was Audrey, Emma, and Mrs. Lang. "Guys, are you okay?!" Emma said in a rush, running towards us. "No, no, no! I'm not finished." Maggie grabbed her daughter, holding her from us. "It's evidence. It can't be compromised." Maggie told Emma. Mrs. Lang walked closer to us, inspecting us. "Excuse me, doc. I need Emma, Miss Jensen, and Miss Collins." Deputy Newsome approached us, holding a clipboard. "Why?" Audrey asked. "No, please don't make them leave." Brooke pleaded, gripping my hand tighter. "No, we're her friends. She needs us right now." Emma told the deputy. "Someone should stay." I told him. "I'm almost finished, Dwayne." Maggie spoke. "The girl is in shock. She's gonna need a hand to help clean up." Mrs. Lang told him. "Okay. Emma, you're higher on the sheriff's list of questioning. You come with me. Collins and Jensen, you stay. Let's go." He nodded at Emma. "I'm sure they're just questioning all of Jake's friends. It's gonna be okay." Maggie grabbed her daughter's hand. "Mm, okay." Emma nodded reluctantly. "I'll come find you after the lockdown's lifted." Emma walked away, following Newsome. "Almost done, Brooke." I squeezed her hand. She nodded, looking at me with a blank expression.

I scrubbed my hands viciously in the bathroom sink. I sniffled and cried as I did. The dry blood was from Brooke. Holding my hand. I didn't understand why I was crying. Jake and I weren't close. But you knew he was dead. My self-concious told me. I looked into the mirror. How would I tell her? "Brooke, I knew that Jake was dead the entire time. I'm pretty much a psycho. I thought my sister was dead the other night." I said inside my head. Audrey appeared in the mirror, scaring me. "You good?" I nodded quickly, turning off the tap.

I wiped my face with my wet hands. "I'm fine." I lied to her. I whipped around to face her. "We have to tell her." I told Audrey. She shook her head furiously. "Brooke would hate us." Audrey whispered. I watched her face for a minute. "Brooke's in shock, Arielle. She's hurting, do you really want to add onto that?" Audrey came closer to me, until I was pressed against the sink. I gripped the sink tightly, for I was frightened of her. In all the time that I've known her, I'd never been scared of her. But her blue eyes bore into mine. I suddenly felt awkward, remembering that I had actually kissed Audrey the other night. And my high/drunk self had enjoyed it... I pushed past her. "I need to tell her." I whispered. I turned back around to look at her. "Arielle, listen to me." Audrey neared me again. "If this only involved us, I'd let you tell her. But this involves our friends, our families..." Audrey listed. "You telling her... could set off the killer, and he could kill someone. Remember, Arielle, he killed a hotel clerk just to prove a point!"She said in a hushed whisper. I nodded, biting my lip. I looked down at the ground.