Hidden Truths|✓

Chapter Two

I felt like I couldn't breathe. My lungs feel like they can't get in any air. Maybe I've died too. They're full of freezing water while my heart works in overdrive to smack heavily against my ribcage. There's blood everywhere. Even in the dim light, I can see, her hair is crudely painted red and splays over most of her body, dyeing her clothes the same deep color. Everything felt like it was in slow-motion.

"Is she alive? Jesus dude, Liv?" Ben asked concerned, crouching down onto the ground next to her to, "Liv," The second sounding more panicked which seems to propel the rest of us back to life from whatever form of shock we've been placed under.

"I'm going to call nine-one-one," Isla says to me, her face flushing red as a vein in her forehead throbs, I'm pretty sure she was hyperventilating. "I don't have any service, why don't I have service?" she screamed, hitting her phone over and over again like it's going to solve our problems.

Charlie is sunken on the ground, knees just barely touching the pool of blood, already staining his pants, not saying a word. He must be in shock, makes two of us. His twin sister splayed out crudely in front of him, right arm bent in a way that I was pretty sure it wasn't supposed to be, legs covered in what looked to be bruises that I was sure weren't there an hour ago. Could bodies even bruise that fast? I wasn't sure.

"We're basically in the woods, go in the house and try. Hurry. Ben, do CPR, everyone stays here and we'll take over if he gets tired okay?" I say words that when I hear them slurred together and slow.

If anyone hears what I said they don't give any indication. Everyones either frozen in shock or pacing waiting for either Ben or Isla to tell us what to do. Besides me, Poppy seems to be vibrating, bouncing in place letting out whimpers every few seconds.

Ben flipped over Liv and leaned over her, ear pressed against her chest, "I don't hear a heartbeat, I'm going to start CPR. What the Fuck happened?" He asked and he began pumping his hands in a steady rhythm. I'm reminded of when Mrs. Peabody told us to sing "Staying alive" in our heads if we're ever put into a situation that warranted CPR.

I gasp and have to turn around and dry heave so violently that I fall to my knees in the mud when I see Livs front. Her eyes bulge out of her head, staring off at nothing in the distance, her lips are blue and her skin takes on a bluish tinge too. Her neck is almost the most horrifying part; it's slashed open and gaping. Bruises litter her body and blood pours out from somewhere under her shirt.

When the heaving stops I look up panting to find Isla on the porch yelling into her phone, trying to get the emergency services to get here faster. "Hello? Yes Hi, we need an ambulance, there's been an accident and our friend... I think she's dead. I don't know what happened, oh my god," Isla, ever the voice of reason, says into the phone as calmly as any of us can. Though her voice waivers slightly, becoming hysterical towards the end; her hands shaking, close to dropping the phone.

What the hell happened?

Ben stands up and stops CPR at some point, Isla screaming at him to stop after relaying what Liv's front looked like. Poppy's screams start a second later "We have to save her, she can't die. Liv isn't dead she's not-"

We're all huddled over Liv's body at this point. Unable to do anything but stare at it in slack jaw horror. It seems like almost instantly we all realize the magnitude of what's happening and We're screaming and crying and drunk. We're a mess, we always were but now we're even more fucked up than we could've ever imagined. Wes is gripping onto me, yanking me away, probably realizing I'm about to pass out from shock or disgust. I'm not sure which. I'm vaguely aware that sirens blare in the distance and quickly become deafening as they seem to reach the house quicker than should be possible.

At some point, someone yanks me backward, it's a police officer, I realize as paramedics rush around us, weaving and pushing between all the bodies to get to Liv. We're all led to the police cars as more paramedics rush out with a stretcher, grabbing Liv and lifting her onto it yelling out information at each other.

"Female. Senior in Highschool. Olivia Parker. No heartbeat found, found at 143 West Street on scene of the senior party."

"What the hell happened here?"

"Again? Chiefs going to kill us"

We're silent, besides Poppy's sniffles, as the sirens blare and we watch the paramedics rush the stretcher into the waiting ambulance, slamming the doors closed as soon as the stretcher is in and drives away, tires squealing.

Poppy grabs my arm tightly, manicured nails digging into my skin so hard that I find little crescent-shaped cuts when she lets go later. I cling right back, to comfort myself or her I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure I've stained her outfit with mascara, maybe I'm not crying. I'm dimly aware that she's saying something to me-asking me what happened, who did this. Like I had the answers and knew something she didn't.

An hour before we were partying and living our best lives, an hour ago we were happy, carefree, normal.

We'd never be normal again.