There Was Blood

Chapter 11

Cait chuckled as the Jeep stepped over the bumps on the road. "So, his name is Julian, huh? Who names their kid Julian?"

"Someone who wants their kid to ruin a town." Answered Belle. Behind me, Doug was getting flirty with Belle. He had his hand on her thigh, gripping it tight. She placed her fingers softly on that hand. Every time they looked up at each other, both of them blushed. Until, of course, I swived onto the other lane for a moment.

"Danny! Watch the freaking road!" Cait yelled except she didn't say freaking. Without warning, a big bump moved the whole vehicle up into the air. The smell of curdled milk, strong feces, and burning garbage hovered under the gang's noses. I stopped abruptly. "God, do you even know how to drive?" Cait slammed the door after stomping out.

"I don't even know what that was." I calmly admitted. I understand why Cait was in an angry mood. Her ex was dry humping a new girl, no one seemed to trust her, her ex tried to kill her, and we are stuck on somewhat of a goose chase that she was suspicious of.

We all gathered around what looked to be the deceased body of Avery. Doug confirmed the body to be as cold as tone. The scent detected the body to be 2 days dead. It would've been a tragedy if Avery hadn't tried to kill us, but my heart still skipped a beat. My attention leaned over to Doug and Belle who melted their hands together. I looked around at everyone's faces now. They all had their jaws dropped and eyes penetrating my body. The needles everyone's eyes possessed made me defensive.

"I couldn't have killed her. She seems to have been dead for a long time." Their concentration still stuck to me. I dropped next to the corse. "Look. Doug said she was cold, she wouldn't smell like this if she just died, and- "I paused in danger mode. My speech was now slow. "There are multiple knife wounds on her ribs. Someone else is around, we need to leave as fast as possible."

"And leave the body?" Ruby asked. I let a long sigh before checking the body. Then analyzing the surroundings.

"Yes." The scene was empty in seconds. I checked the rearview mirror obsessively. Someone could have taken us down with Avery. Unless they were smart enough to flee and never come back, but I wasn't ready to take a chance. After miles of silence, my house appeared in the distance. Relief ran through me. Inside my home was a mess from all the battles and fight. Blood dripped down the walls like paint. Few dead bodies blanketed the floor which was just another thing I had to clean. I scouted the rooms for the one named Julian I saw fighting a furry creature. No one was in sight. It was like everyone had their shared of chaos and left. The vibe felt like a haunted house.

"No one in the bathroom!" Called out Belle.

"No one in the bedrooms!" Cait added.

"No in the fridge," Doug said stuffing his face. If Julian wasn't here, then where could he be? I wanted to scope out the whole neighborhood, but we wouldn't have enough time. It was 5pm, so we had 7 hours to find him and collect the key. That was if he was willing to hand it over so quickly. I'm sure he'd want something out of it.

"I knew he wouldn't be here." Cait complained.

"I'm sure he's somewhere close." Then I remembered something. Of course, this house wasn't where he would be. He was the skinny kid who wore gym shorts and a plain shirt with a cap to top it off next door. It all made sense. We hung out every day as kids before his mom passed away when he was 16. I never saw him after that. The journey took us next door in the two-story building with a possible dictator.

My body shivered from the memories. The kitchen triggered the time I settled down on the counter as he prepared sandwiches. My hormones raced around the 15-year old body I carried and his testosterone was flooding his. So, there were many moments when our faces met close and our brain died of anticipation with who would kiss who. We never did.

The huge living room reminded me of the time we played 'The Floor is Lava" as adventurous 7 years old. Let's just say I totally won that game and the other few times we played.

Everyone's attention was broken when a loud sound was heard from upstairs. I turned around to everyone. "I'm going up there. Don't follow me." I confirmed. None of them wanted to object anyway. Before I charged into possible death, I leaned in front of Ruby.

"If I don't make it, I want you to have this." I handed her a necklace from my pocket that read st ends ver. Ruby had the other half of the necklaces with Be Fri For. She gasped in realization as to her and my relation. I stepped up and made way for the stairs.

As I took the last step a voice call calmly, "took you long enough." A man taller than me stood facing away. He held a glass of what looked to be vodka. He didn't look like the small boy I used to know and compare heights to. He turned around. "I knew you'd be the one to find them all. You were always the detective type."

"So what? Were you waiting for me?" I questioned trying to keep confidence.

"You could say that." On spur of the moment, he grabbed me and pinned my arms to the wall. At first, I thought I was a goner, but then our lips met. My eyes grew bigger. What is happening? And why am I ok with it? I guess all those teenage estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone consumed us all that time away from each other.

He led me to the bed and hurdled on after pushing me down first. Looks like Doug, Belle, Cait, and Ruby will be waiting more than expected.