Touched by the Fear

[22]

The four-day weekend had come and gone. It was Monday again, and the school was buzzing with talk of Wednesday night. The horrors of what had happened peaked everyone's interest. Everyone was engrossed in the rumors that spewed left and right, each one more unbelievable than the next. No one seemed to care what the police had stated, what the truth was because their own assumptions were deemed better and far more interesting. It would have bothered Hollis but the fact that no one knew who had been at the school that night almost made it seem as if it hadn't happened to her, Allison, Scott and the others. With the anonymity, it made her feel detached. Truth be told, she wasn't complaining. There had been enough whispers about her after the accident in the summer, and she was more than happy to not be in the limelight, so to speak.

Her eyes took in the hallway as she walked alongside Allison and Lydia. It was strange seeing the school intact and normal looking after everything. The messes had been cleaned up and there was no trace whatsoever of the destruction and terror that had happened in the confines of the building. Rather than make her feel better, a chill crept under her skin. Hollis knew what had happened. No amount of cleanup could cover it up. She stole a glance at her friends. Lydia looked like her perfect self, as if she had already forgotten that they had run down these very halls in an effort to save themselves. Allison, however, looked wary as she looked around.

"Can you believe some of these rumors?" Hollis asked, finding her voice. She had to hold back the urge to roll her eyes at the talk that overfilled the hall.

"It's just weird," Allison said. "Everyone's talking about what happened the other night. And nobody knows it was us."

"Can't say that I'm complaining, though. I'd hate to be bombarded with questions from everyone. Of having to relive that night again," Hollis said.

Lydia nodded in agreement. "Thank you protection of minors."

Allison agreed but seemed lost in her thoughts. She stayed quiet, her eyes surveying the overpacked hallway. "Guys... Do you think I made the wrong decision?"

Lydia looked over at Allison, her eyes assessing her. "About that jacket with that dress? Absolutely."

Allison exchanged a look with Hollis. "You know what I mean."

Lydia slowed her pace then looked at them both. "Hello, Scott locked us in a classroom and left us for dead. He's lucky we're not pressing charges or making him pay our therapy bills."

"Yeah, but..." Hollis started.

Lydia rolled her eyes, giving her a look. "Please don't tell me you're going to defend him after that."

"I...maybe. I mean, yeah," she said. "Look, I just don't think he had bad intentions, that's all." Hollis noticed the skeptical look on Lydia's face and sped up her explanation. "It's possible that fire bomb thing you made didn't work. So maybe the only thing Scott could do to help us was to lock us in the room. He was out there on his own with whoever wanted us dead."

"Yeah, or he was helping Derek the entire time," Lydia said.

"But we didn't even let him explain," Hollis continued.

"I don't really care for an explanation," Lydia told her, her voice rising. She sighed and gave her a gentle smile. "Look, I love that you give everyone the benefit of the doubt, Hollis, but...Scott doesn't deserve it. Not this time."

Hollis looked at her with a doubtful look, unable to agree with her words. It was true that she believed more times than not that people's intentions were good. Although there had been times when she had been wrong in her convictions, she still believed in the innocent-until-proven-guilty concept. And she wasn't about to abandon that concept on Scott.