The Masks We Wear

CHAPTER 5

*Trigger Warning: Gore, Profanity*

           Homecoming week had come and gone, and the police were hot on the trail. They had narrowed the list of suspects down to someone in the student body at [HIGHSCHOOL]. While Skylar wanted to be hopeful, the case had taken a turn she couldn't bear. It had started to seem less like a kidnapping investigation and more like a hunt for her body.
          The thoughts that assaulted Skylar's mind every day were gruesome and unwaivering-- bloated in the creek; gutted in the shed; maggoted and rotting behind the school-- and each time she felt an overpowering dread. Sometimes, though, in the quiet times with nothing else to do, she daydreamed of getting the news. Of finally closing the case, everyone realizing that she had been right under their noses all along. Of the funeral. Of saying goodbye. Of moving on with life, knowing there was no more she could do. These thoughts were always worse to acknowledge, so most times she didn't. Today, Skylar sat slouching on her couch, its green fabric embracing her as she did exactly that. She and Tyrone had looked everywhere, helped with whatever they could, and yet it still wasn't enough. Skylar could feel her heart breaking in her chest, its shattered pieces dropping into her stomach.
          Her hair fell towards her face as she inhaled shakily, opening her phone. Skylar lifted her head off of her hands, and wiped her eyes as she stared at the pictures on her wallpaper. Pictures of her with AJ. She realized he would be over in minutes, and her stomach turned with guilt. She and James had been seeing each other for weeks, calling from ever-changing internet nuumbers and meeting in any darkened spot they could. Skylar had been agonizing over these rendezvous, but for some reason she couldn't stop. He made her forget the world for awhile; but sitting on that couch, looking at those pictures, she realized it was time to wake up. She opened her phone and typed in the latest number. Then, in the corner of her teary eye, she saw her front door open, and watched A.J. slowly put his key back into his pocket.
"Hey, beautiful,"
He said carefully, wiping his muddy sneakers on the doormat before stepping inside.
"I got you something."
          Skylar's eyes widened as she made room for A.J. on the couch and slid her phone into her back pocket. She hurriedly wiped the tear streaks from her face, and managed to lift the corners of her mouth into a small, forced grin. A.J. hurriedly took a plastic bag out of his white canvas backpack, anxiety painted all over his face.
"I hope you li-"
He looked up from his bag and rested his gaze on Skylar's eyes shining with tears.
"Aw... It's okay..."
          A.J. slid closer to Skylar, pulling her into a loving hug. Tears rolled down Skylar's face, just as heavily as the first day.
"I... I just... I tried so hard..."
Skylar's sobs cut through her sentences like a hot knife through butter.
"I know. You did what you could. Listen, it's not your fault, okay? It's not your fault..."
Skylar rested her head on A.J.'s shoulder, and her sobs slowly became sniffles.
"You're the best."
A.J. blushed a light pink, and reached into the plastic bag.
"Here. I thought this might cheer you up..."
           A small, dark green box emerged from the bag. Skylar's face seemed to brighten as the corners of her cherry-colored lips turned upwards. She carefully took the box from A.J.'s open palms, brought it close to her chest, and opened it.
"Oh my god..."
A pair of sparkling earrings twinkled in the light of Skylar's floor lamp.
"They're gorgeous."
A.J. breathed a sigh of relief. Skylar pulled him into a hug of gratitude before walking to the bathroom.
"I'll try them on right now."

~*~*~*~

          Skylar stared at her reflection. She was pretty, but blotchy. Skylar's eyes started to sting, and pinpricks of tears to come attacked her from within. She felt so weak this way. She put her phone down on the edge of the sink, and her hands started to fiddle with the plastic that was protecting the precious jewelry. Years ago she couldn't believe that anyone would care about her enough to even buy her lunch, let alone anything that valuable. Skylar had just taken the earrings out of the box when her phone began to ring. Absentmindedly, she put down the beautiful pieces onto the sink and picked up her phone. Caller I.D. didn't have a name for the number.

James must be calling.

          She quickly clicked the bright green answer button and brought the phone to her ear.
"Hey, baby. What's up?"
She whispered. No response came but ambient, static-like noise.
"Hello?"
"Hey..."
          Evie's voice crackled over the line. All at once Skylar's chest flooded with an aching mix of panic and excitement. She clutched the phone tightly. Before she could respond, a mumbled voice came from the other end,muffled by the static.

Someone is with her.

Evie spoke again.
"I'm alright, I just-"
She shivered. A quick inhalation, but noticeable.
"... had to get away for a while."
          Sky paced a circle in front of the sink. Her brow furrowed and she could feel her muscles constricting more and more with each anxious second. She lowered her voice as to make herself heard only by Evie.
"Oh my god, I've missed you... where are you?"
The mumble came again. More static, more shuffling.
"Arizona."
          There was a long pause. Skylar listened with bated breath, waiting for anything that could tell her more. Nothing but Evie's voice again.
"Please tell my parents I'm alright."
A pang of dread hit her in the stomach.
"But-"
"Oh, sorry, I have to go. I love you."
Skylar stuttered.
"I love y-"
Call ended.
          Skylar put the phone down on the sink. Tears welled in her eyes, and she ran into the hallway only to collide with AJ. His face reddened with rage.
"Who is he?"
          Skylar stood, stunned. She tried to read his face, but all she saw was anger. He had only heard a few moments of what Skylar said, but he was sure he didn't need to hear anymore. Baby, she said. I've missed you. I love you. They hadn't even said I love you yet. How long had she been seeing the guy on the phone? He watched her stand, silent and unanswering, for a few seconds. She watched his face, unable to form the words he needed to hear, as his anger melted into a bleeding sorrow. His lip started to quiver, and for one vulnerable second it looked as though he would cry. Then, the expression changed. He pushed all thoughts to the background, shaking his head as if clearing an etch-a-sketch. The anger returned in the way his eyebrows arched inwards, in the set of his jaw; but the tears in his eyes stayed stubbornly.
"Nevermind. Keep your fucking earrings. We're done."
He turned to leave, not waiting for her to acknowledge him, knowing that looking into her eyes for one more second would leave him in tears. She stood, dumbfounded and silent, staring at the space he used to fill as though watching a ghost. She had the look of a woman on the edge of conciousness; a dormant woman, waiting for that one to shake her awake and send her spiraling. The muffled sound of his truck starting outside was that thing. Clutching the earrings in her reddened palms, she slid down the door frame of her bathroom and let out an eerie, guttural sob; one that can only come after a long drought of anything but melancholy. She was in the ring against an unknown darkness, and it was winning. Skylar lay heaving on the hardwood until it indented itself in her legs, her thighs a patchwork of reddened lines and dust, while AJ sat in the gas station parking lot. There he sat, head in his hands, hands on the wheel, somehow still unable to let himself feel anything but angry. To let himself do anything but breathe. To let himself cry just once.