Lost Off

Chapter 10 - A Sister's Affection

20th October – 13 hours Ago

The sagacious Matthew Park went to school on 20th October. He never ran into Brad or Ariana. Both of them were missing. As the case came closer and closer, his friends and alias went farther and farther. Park stopped in the mid hallway with the crowd of teens so hectic and so cheerful that he was almost comforted. But then he looked around, nobody was there for him. Nobody stood with him by his side. And then a pat on his shoulders, warm and vivacious. For him it was like a ray of light seen at the end of a pitch black hole. He turned. It was Rontella. Brian's girlfriend. Or ex-girlfriend.

"How are you Park?", she asked and Park thought even though the guy she was about to marry, died because of him and she's asking about how's he. Some people are so nice, it almost seems fake.

"I-I'm fine. Not great but I'm getting through", Park said.

"Yeah, yeah....Same for me too, it's kinda lonely here without Brian".

Park knew exactly what she meant. It's kinda lonely...no not 'kind of'...it's lonely here without Brian or Kate and his so-called friends, Brad and Ariana. The least they could do was show up.

Park started having second thoughts about confronting this killer. He thought about how this wouldn't change anything. Even if he defeats the killer, Kate and Brian won't come back to life, would they? The pros of this were a lot but a con, only one but so powerful, it outweighed all the pros. His life.

Sitting through history, Park was sure of what he would do. What Brian and Kate would've done. He will go. Not for himself or for any heroic symbolization he might get. But for his friends because they've been there in the times of need for Park, and it's time he should do the same.

He stopped at the main gate of the school and looked back for the last time. Who knows what might happen to him. Who knows if he's gonna live?

Or Die

* * * * * *

10:59pm

Park sneaks his way into the living room. The lights are dim. He goes into his parents room. Asleep. Great, he thinks. He closes the door and his eyes become teary. How are they gonna feel when he's gone? "You Can't Die", Park says to himself. "Don't Fucking Die".

He lifts up his backpack consisting of a knife, a lighter and some gasoline stored in a bottle. He takes his pedaled bike and sways from the driveway heading towards Kate's. If this is a place Kate knows about, then Park needs to find out about it.

"Farmhouse", he says to himself again.

He laid his bike on the sidewalk and looked up at Kate's window. He rings the bell, 3 times and no answer. A text popped up in Park's phone and his screen lights up as he looked terrified.

"Look under the doormat", the text read. The number was anonymous.

"Unknown numbers never do you good", Park says.

He lifts the doormat and discovers a key. He inserts the key into the keyhole and the door opens. Nobody's home. Her parents are away due to some urgent work.

"Is anybody home?", he shouts.

"Judy?", he shouts again but he hears nothing. Silence and fear is in the air inside the house. The only noise is of the creaking floor Park is walking on. He goes upstairs and to the Kate's room. The door is ajar. He takes out the knife from his backpack and slowly open it. Nobody. The water is creeping from the bottom of the closed door of bathroom. Park runs to close it. He opens the door. The bathtub is full. Who knows for how long. But the tap is still running. A picture of what seems like a farmhouse is tapped on the wall above the bathtub. He closes the tap and scraps the picture. He looks closely at it, scrutinizing. Then turns it over.