You Killed Him

Moving In

When I got home after the night in the forest, there was a note on the coffee table from my dad.

“Kayla, I know you’ve been going through a lot lately and I wish I could be there for you through it all but I have to leave. You might not realize this but everything I’m doing is for your safety. I will keep you up to date if there are any leads on Vincent’s case. Also, I’m sorry for having to leave a note instead of confronting you. The urgency of my job requires my presence immediately. Love always, Dad.”

I was about to put the letter away when Colin walked in. “Hey, Kayla. What’s that?” he asked, pointing to the piece of paper in my hand. “Uh, it’s nothing, just a note from my dad. He had to leave right after the funeral. You know how busy he always is”, I told him as I tucked the note away.

I plopped myself on the sofa, thinking about what Nathan said. I still couldn’t believe it never crossed his mind to let me know that he was friends with Vincent. “Colin, guess what? Nate knows Vincent”, I scoffed. “Of course he does. He was there when we were talking about Vincent, remember? Why are you so surprised?” Colin asked, puzzled.

“No, what I meant was he was friends with Vincent way before I met him. And it never occurred to him to mention that.”

“Really? Maybe he didn’t realize that the Vincent he knew was actually your brother?”

“I don’t think so, Colin. Why are you defending him?”

“Oh come on, I’m not defending him. There has to be a reason why he didn’t tell you.”

“Okay, fine. Maybe you’re right. I’m probably over-thinking everything.”

“Well, that’s you, Kayla. Anyways, we haven’t been doing anything much during this break”, Colin said, “So I did some thinking and I figured since my parents are away, maybe I can move in with you until the holidays are over. What do you think?”

“Move in? Really, Colin?” I laughed. Then, I realized Colin was serious – dead serious. “Well, I don’t think it’s a bad idea since there’s an extra room in the house now.” There was no use in keeping Vincent’s room the way it was. It seemed like a good way to help me move on.

“But you’ll have to come back tomorrow because I have to put away Vincent’s old stuff”, I told Colin.

“Sure. As long as you don’t mind,” he replied, “Thanks.”

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. “It’s Nathan”, I said to Colin after checking the message, “He asks if we would like to go to the arcade later tonight. He suggests that ‘it would be a good distraction’ to take my mind off everything.”

“This is one of those rare times I agree with him. Doesn’t it sound good to you?” Colin asked. I could tell he was excited.

“Yes, it does. I’ll let him know that we’ll be meeting him at the arcade.”

We walked in the arcade, looking for Nathan. The arcade was quite crowded but there were still a few games with no players. I saw Nate standing at the snack bar. He was wearing a simple button-down shirt with long, dark denim jeans. The downlights that reflected off the surface of the bar made it seem like he was glowing.

Colin and I made our through the crowd to meet Nate. My gaze didn’t stray away from Nathan as I pushed past a few people. But when his eyes finally met mine, a shiver run down my spine and I started breathing heavily. I felt butterflies in my stomach. “What has gotten into me?” I thought to myself as I tried to shake those weird feelings off.

After paying for our tokens, the three of us went to the racing booths which had empty seats. “Not bad, Carson. Not bad at all”, Nathan said, “Who knew a girl like you could race.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I only beat the both of you four out of the five times we raced”, I mocked.

“You just got lucky, Kayla”, said Colin, slightly frustrated that he kept finishing last, “We shall have a rematch some other time.”

Nate laughed at us and tried to change the subject. “Do you guys want to grab some chips?” he asked, gesturing to the snack bar.

“You go ahead. I’m going to head home since I’m not feeling too good”, said Colin.

I was worried about him. “I’ll go with you”, I said.

“No, you should stay and enjoy the rest of the night. I can make it home on my own. I think I just need some rest.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, feeling bad for him. I watched him nod his head and then walk towards the exit.

“What do you think of bowling?” Nate asked. “I think I’ve never played it before”, I replied. “That’s okay. There’s always a first time for everything”, he said with a smile.

When we entered the bowling alley, I was relived as I noticed that there weren’t many people there. After renting our shoes and choosing the right balls, Nate started showing me how to bowl. “Go ahead, give it a go”, he encouraged. I took a few wobbly steps on the lane, trying to remember what Nate had told me. I pulled my arm back and swung the ball forward but before I knew it, I lost my balance and fell to the floor with a loud thud.

“Oh my god, Kayla”, Nate said as he came running over to me. “Are you okay?” he asked, kneeling down to help me up, trying to stifle his laugh. “Help me up. I don’t think I can feel my butt anymore”, I told him. I pulled his arm to get back on my feet but he slipped and fell instead, pulling me back down with him.

He let out a short grunt and lay on the ground helplessly. “Fun fact, the bowling lanes are really slippery” he said and then we both laughed. I was laying on top of him, my face inches away from his. I stared into his green eyes and let out a dreamy sigh. “We’re still on the bowling lane”, he interrupted. “Oh, right”, I said as I quickly stumbled to get myself off him, hoping he didn’t hear me sigh.

The rest of the night in the bowling alley went by in a blur. After we were done bowling, Nate walked me home. I told him, on the way home, that Colin was going to move in the next day and I had to clear the room for him. “Can I help?” he asked. “Nah, it’s okay. There’s not much to pack up. Thanks anyways”, I said with a smile.

“You should smile more”, he said out of the blue.

“What? What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, puzzled.

“Just saying, you have a great smile.”

I half laughed half choked. “Umm, thank you?” I said softly. I could feel my cheeks starting to redden.

“It’s just a compliment, Kayla. Take it easy”, Nate said as he put one arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to him. “See you around and have a good night”, he added. I didn’t realize we were already in front of my house. “Yeah, you too, Nate. Bye!” I said, waving to him as he walked away.

I went up the stairs, into the first room on the right with a blue door and on the door, a wooden ‘V’ sign. As I stepped in the room, memories came flooding in. I saw all of Vincent’s belongings neatly placed on his shelves, awaiting his return. I sighed as I walked across the room to grab a box to pack everything. I was about to remove a few books from his bookshelf when I noticed that his laptop was on the shelf.

“That’s weird”, I thought to myself, “Didn’t he bring it with him when he left?”

I turned on his laptop and a window popped up – his mailbox. It seemed like he never turned off his laptop, as if he was in a rush to leave. There was an email from an anonymous sender on the night of the party, the night before he was killed, that read, “Meet me at room 029, Sunshine Motel, midnight. Come alone.”