Restart/ AHS Murder House

I Like Birds Too

At school the next day I went to the library during lunch. This is where the shooting happened. There was a plaque I never noticed that was dedicated to all the people who died. Fifteen people in total that Everett killed, fifteen! I walked away from the plaque and down the aisles of books. He killed five of the fifteen people in this library, right where I am standing. I was horrified, why would he do this. When I talked to him he cared about me, I could tell he was kind. I couldn't believe he would kill fifteen people just for the heck of it. There had to be a deeper reason. I glanced around the room and saw a man in a motorized wheelchair he wheeled over to me,
"They were over by the sofa, used to be a row of tables. I get four or five of you sickos a year, usually freshmen. What are you a transfer?"

I looked at him in disbelief, "you're that teacher. The one who blocked the door. You're like a hero."

"Yeah? Well now you know what hero's look like."

He started wheeling back to a desk.

"Wait! I'm sorry. I'm not like those other kids, I knew Everett. I mean I know his mother she lives next door to me. Did you know him? Before he did this?"

"I knew his face. Saw him around. He spent a lot of time in here actually, didn't seem like a bad kid. Kind of thoughtful, liked to read. He checked out books on birds, random stuff."

"Was he bullied? Did he even know the kids he shot?"

He started to wheel away again.

"Wait! I just want to know why he did it."

"Me too."

"Why are you bullshitting me!?"

"If the bullet had been and inch to the right it would've missed my spine, and I would've walked out of here. I might've been able to stop him too. But if it were an inch higher it would've killed me. Sometimes shit just happens." He explained

"Good people don't have a bad day and start shooting people."

"Maybe he wasn't a good person." He said as he left the room.

After school I went home. I was nervous, I wanted Everett to leave. He killed people. He might try to kill me. As I walked through the front door I saw a blur run across the hallway. I followed it. The room the blur entered was the basement. The door was open to the basement and a nonexistent breeze was in the air. I hesitantly walked down the stairs,

"Everett? Everett?"

I walked down a few more stairs,

"Come out! I'm not playing hide and seek, Everett. You have to leave, now! Get out of my house!" I yelled angrily.

I was at the bottom of the steps. He was nowhere in sight. I looked around and saw a nurse with stab wounds covering her stomach,

"Look what he did to me," she said angrily.

I turned some more and saw a man and woman with blood on their temples,

"Excuse me ma'am. I don't want to bother you, but I'm hurt and needing some help." They said together.

I started screaming when another ghost appeared. It was a doctor,

"Has my wife medicated you? Are you here for the procedure?"

I ran up the stairs and then ran up another set of stairs until I was safe in my room. Then I saw on the chalkboard, written in big white chalky letters,

"I LOVE YOU"

I started crying. I'm confused and upset. Everything is fake, I'm going insane. I need to sleep, maybe it will all go away if I go to sleep. I grabbed my bag and pulled out the bottle of pills Leah had gave me. I took one after another, washing them down with water. Soon the whole bottle of pills was gone. I started to feel woozy, my eyelids closed and I tucked myself in a ball. I fell asleep.

I was in a deep sleep when I heard Everett calling my name. It was faint and sounded far away,

"Hazel! No. Don't you die! Don't you die on me! Hazel!"

He was screaming the words and crying. I didn't know why. He must've thought I was dying. I was waking up now, he had carried me to the bathroom. He was cradling me in the tub and the shower head blasted water down on us. He put his fingers down my throat and I coughed, I coughed up the pills. But only a few. Then I started crying again, what is going on? He kissed my neck and held me tight. I fell back asleep in his arms.

It was hours later, my clothes were dry. I couldn't think. I was confused. I was back in my bed but the pill bottle was gone and so was my water bottle. I reached for my bag but the pills weren't in there. As I reached around I pulled out a book. There was birds on the front cover. I brought the book with me and sat down on my bed. Inside the book was a notecard with the times it had been checked out and who it had been checked out by. I picked the card out and looked at it closely, Everett's name was written in neat letters.

"I like birds too," Everett said.

He was standing at the end of my bed watching me.

"Why do you like them?" I asked.

"'Cause they can fly away when things get too crazy, I guess." He continued, "are you going to tell your parents? About the pills?"

"No," I said. I guess it wasn't a dream, it was real. It had all happened and he had been there. I needed him. Then I thought about my parents, they would freak if I told them. "I've been sleeping a lot. They think I'm depressed."

"Are you?" He asked patiently.

"I'm sad."

"Me too." He said. Then he looked up from the floor and into my eyes, "Hazel. Something has changed in you, toward me. You're distant, cold. I don't know what I've done but I'll leave you alone from now on if that's what you want. Is that what you want? You know why I'd leave you alone? 'Cause I care about your feelings more than mine. I love you. There, I said it. Not just on some chalkboard. I would never let anybody or anything hurt you. I've never felt that way about anyone."

I could tell he meant it. With the passion in his voice. He did love me, and I loved him too.

"Come here," I said while patting the spot next to me. He crawled over to me and we laid down together. We held each other in silence.

"I'm tired," he said quietly.

"Me too."