Guilty

Chapter 24

Before.

I propelled through the door of the King Funeral Home women's restroom, the room dimly lit by bulbs that mocked the brightness of candles. My dress lagged behind as the door swung shut, leaving my family on the other side of the door. I leaned against the granite sink, peering into the cloudy mirror. Reflected behind me was the shiny blond hair against the pale pink wall. My veiny wet eyes checked the reflection of the clock above me.

The doors of the viewing room opened at four. It was seven after.

"He will die guilty. Everybody will know what he did."

I flipped the handle of the sink and ran my hands under the faucet until my palms shriveled, then splashed freezing water onto my face.

"You've got to do it. Come on, the entire town will be here in a few minutes. Hayden, you understand the deal." She waved the flash drive as she danced around erasing the blurry image of Samara's body from afar. Suddenly all I could see in my mind's eye was Dana. Dana and revenge and Violet's threats.

My knees buckled.

"God. Are you okay? What the hell is going on with you?"

Sunk heavier and heavier onto the sink until it croaked against the wall, complaining that it couldn't stand against the weight of the sorrow and guilt of a teenage girl in her black dress that she'd worn to pay respects to her dead best friend.

"Sweetie, come on. Just, I don't know, pinch yourself or something. You haven't even knelt at the casket yet. Haven't you seen a dead body before?"

I grunted, forgetting how to form words.

"You need to get this done before this place turns into a zoo. I don't expect the pervert to join the party any time soon; if he shows up thinking he'll blend with the rest of the town census, he's an idiot and could never pull off murder in the first place. If we do everything right, though, he'll be here tomorrow for the funeral. Right on cue." In the mirror, Violet smirked and sighed as her reflection cut into the rectangle from over my shoulder, adjusting the way her shiny curls fell. "I must say though, you look nice. Did you curl your eyelashes? I've never noticed how long they are. Is that the dress you wore to the semi-formal back in December?"

My knuckles whitened.

Kneel down at her casket--I couldn't do that. Close the space between the flowing blood inside of me and the embalmed, dead version of a girl I used to know. I couldn't do that.

And the ring of the flash drive swung on Violet's little finger.

I couldn't touch the flash drive. I couldn't place it in the casket. I couldn't expose the man who got away with killing Violet's little sister. I just couldn't do this.

I watched her in the mirror, speaking through closed teeth. "How did you know what I wore to semi?"

She giggled, knocking a shoulder in my direction like she was in the middle of a photoshoot. "Well, my dear, I've been told that I have quite a fashion sense. And memory, of course."

I shivered and tested my balance.

"Are you well now?" she asked, inviting herself next to me to grab a breath mint from the basket aside the sink. "Simple task, that's it. Then you can leave and we'll only have tomorrow to deal with. If you want, I can have Gav take us all to ice cream. The gang is getting antsy out there all alone." She popped the mint in her mouth.

"I don't want ice cream. It's the wake of a sixteen-year-old girl who committed suicide, not mini golf," I shoved her away. The puffy skirt of her dress flew behind her, but she kept her footing, stiffened and frowned.