The Silence Within

Sudden Confrontations

By the crack of dawn, yellow strips of police tape closed off the corner to the town's busiest boutique. Just beyond that line was a hoard of people, buzzing with interest as the uniformed officers enforced the boundaries. The first bright flash of a camera kick-started a dozen as photographers and newspaper outlets captured the scene and the chattering people that gaped at the wall.

In the midst of the total chaos, Riley, Scarlett, and Charlie stood in silence. It was as though a higher entity was telling them that, no matter how hard they tried to get back on track, something would always throw them off.

In this case? A message spray-painted for the world to see. If the whole case hadn't been completely exploited before, it sure was now.

Charlie spotted his father ducking under the tape and groaned softly, shuffling behind Scarlett. The last thing he needed was his father seeing him there. Charlie had been home all night, but he could imagine that his father would assume that he had something to do with the grafitti.

Which he didn't, obviously.

A shoulder brushed against his, and with a soft pardon he made room. He gave a start when he realized who it was.

"You are kidding me," Finley said, sliding in beside him. He'd come at Charlie's request, ignoring the throbbing in his hand and the burning of his eyes. He really had wanted to stay in bed all day.

"It's horrible, isn't it?" Riley shook her head in disbelief. "What kind of...of..."

"Douchebag?" Scarlett offered.

Riley nodded. "Yeah, that! How could anyone do this?" To say that she was hurt would be an understatement. She was that, and angry. She felt like she could cry tears of anger at the lack of compassion in a person.

An aggravatingly familiar voice broke through the noise; "That's a good question; mind explaining to us, Miss Quint?"

Scarlett ground her teeth together. "Can't you just - die?"

Sarah flashed her teeth in a snarky smile. "How could you wish that upon me? Unless," she jutted a hip out, "you're the killer."

The other girl had whipped around so fast that Charlie, startled, had stumbled back into Finley. Riley showed her anger with only a glare while Scarlett shot out a long string of colorful phrases. Then, a camera flashed in their direction.

Finley went rigid as his name was called out. He vowed silently that, if they took another picture of him, he'd break the camera on the ground. "I'm leaving," he growled out.

Riley wordlessly followed his lead, pulling the hood of her sweatshirt over her head. Charlie noticed a moment later, snagging the back of Scarlett's blouse. "Time to go," was the reason he offered when Scarlett turned her fiery glare onto him.

The four left with as little conflict (and attention) as they possibly could.

------

Hours later, Finley found himself standing over a grave he'd never imagined to exist. Not while he was still alive, at least. Since he was a kid, there had always been a place in his life reserved for Oliver.

It never really crossed his mind that Oliver would die, at some point. They'd always be together, and that was what had always been the plan.

A wave of weariness crashed upon Finley, dragging him to the soggy earth below. He let out a whuff of air, closing his eyes. He felt something in his chest - it wasn't peace, but it sure resembled it.

There was a faint chuckle that echoed behind him. "Finn."

The voice brought on anger, sadness, and guilt all at once. It relieved him, but with that relief came absolute terror. With a sharp cry, he whipped around and gaped at the boy standing before him. "Y-You?"

It hadn't been his best acknowledgement of a friend-come-back-to-life, but it was all his tongue could form. All that time he'd spent wallowing, he'd visioned hugging Oliver until he couldn't breathe anymore. He played out scenes on the ways he'd welcome Oliver back - but now, all of those plans and ideas faded into dust.

Oliver.

He was actually standing there.

With another chuckle, Oliver smiled his typical, friendly smile. "You should forgive her, ya' know."

Finley frowned. "Huh?"

"Don't play dumb," Oliver said. "You're holding that grudge against Scarlett."

"But how do you know about that?"

"You don't even look at her, and you just got that glint in your eyes when I mentioned her." Oliver pointed at him, laughing softly. "Friendships are sacred, you don't want to lose that," he said. When Finley remained quiet, he added, "Just...sleep on it, hm?"

Finley, despite the emotion building up in his throat, nodded. He and Scarlett really had been friends for a long time - it felt weird to fight for any longer than half an hour. "O-Of course..."

"Good," his best friend beamed. "Great. I love you guys, ya' know?"

Again, Finley nodded. This time, a tear licked at his cheek as he did. "We love you, too." He picked at a bit of grass before looking up. His heart sank when he found that Oliver was no longer standing there.

Once again, he was alone.

------

"I'm not sure how much more pain this town can take. I heard about what happened to Principal Edwards daughter last night, it's awful isn't it?" Patricia "Grams" Quint said as she folded her arms quietly.

Emmeline Marshall nodded her head in agreement before letting out a huge sigh. It dawned on her even more that the person responsible for the tragedy striking her daughter and her friends was somewhere in town. A sign like this often meant that the killer had unfinished business, but what was their unfinished business?

"Emmeline?" Grams called.

The matriarch of the Marshall family pushed those sinister thoughts to the back of her mind and engaged in meaningless small talk, trying to take her mind off of everything negative that seemed to be governing her life.

It wasn't until her doorbell rang that Emmeline was brought back into reality. Excusing herself from Patricia, she opened her front door, astounded at who stood opposite her.

"Detective Lynch, can I help you?" she asked, gesturing for him to come inside. To her surprise, he stood still and shot her with his finger.

It was evident that he was furious. "I don't want you filling my son's head with nonsense!" he yelled.

Grams who was listening from the kitchen could feel the aggression radiating through the entire house just by the presence of one mere man.

"I'm not sure what you're referring to, but if you're talking about my conversation with Charlie then I can assure you that everything I told him was the truth." Emmeline responded.

It was strange that one could present herself as calm as Emmeline was, considering the circumstances. But it was noticeable that the calmer she remained, the more irritated, Detective Lynch grew.

He scowled in frustration. "I haven't got time to be arguing with you Ms. Marshall, in case you haven't noticed, I'm in the middle of solving a crime."

Emmeline scoffed, how dare he remind her of something that eats away at her soul each day she wakes up.

"You came here didn't you? It seems to me that you have plenty of time on your hands, Detective. The question is, what have you been doing in your spare time?" she smirked before closing the door in his face.

Bitch.

Next time on The Silence Within...

Secrets are unsealed...

"You really want to know what I'm hiding from you?" Detective Lynch asked his son.

Bonds aren't necessarily broken...

She didn't mean for all this to happen, you couldn't help who you feel for. Even if it was your best friend's brother.