Betrayed

Chapter 5

I glanced at Raphael and we climbed out of the hole. Andrew made it out first and I started to follow him. I reached for the edge of the hole and slid back down.

"Try again," Andrew said, "but this time, reach for my hands." He extended his arms and I jumped up to them.

Raphael pushed my feet upwards and I slid over the edge. "Thanks," I said as Raphael climbed out of the hole.

Together, we raced over to the court and saw that we were the last to arrive. Everyone else was standing around Hayley, who was pressed up against the wall. "It's not what you think!" she yelled.

I separated from the two boys walked over to Ashley. "What's going on?" I whispered.

"Hayley has blood all over her clothes," she whispered back.

I strained my eyes and made out dark spots on Hayley's blue shirt. "Is anyone else dead?" I asked.

Ashley shook her head. "I didn't kill anyone!" Hayley cried, but her words were muffled by her tears. She slumped to the cement and covered her face with her hands.

Crystal walked over to Hayley and started to speak to her softly. Ashley turned away from Hayley and asked, "Where have you been?"

"With Andrew and Raphael," I replied. I decided that it was not a good time to tell Ashley about Hayley accusing me of helping Andrew.

Ashley glanced over at where Andrew and Raphael stood with Xavior. "What were you doing with them?"

I followed her gaze and saw them whispering furiously. In my mind, thoughts of the hole the three of us were digging flooded me. "Nothing," I told her, my gaze darting back to Hayley.

Ashley crossed her arms. "Are you sure?" she asked.

I nodded and gave her a fake smile. "Positive."

Ashley frowned, but she turned her attention back to Crystal.

"Can I have everyone's attention?" she asked.

The whispers and low voices stopped as all eyes turned to Crystal. She nodded to Owen, who said, "First, to whoever the killer is, why are you doing this? Hayley is now afraid and broken because of the mistrust you created."

"But what if Hayley is the killer?" Xavior asked.

Owen glanced at him, his blue eyes flashing. "That is exactly what I mean," he stated. "No one has actually seen the killer, so we can't be going around accusing people."

Xavior ducked his head and Andrew patted him on the back. Crystal continued Owen's statement. "Second, if you think you know who the killer is, don't accuse them in front of everyone, in case you are wrong. You may have just helped the real killer remain hidden."

We all nodded, and concern washed over me. Instinctively, my eyes darted over to Andrew, who had lowered his head.

"We will start the next game of Manhunt as soon as Hayley calms down," Owen said. Crystal and Owen walked over to Hayley, leaving Ashley, Xavior, Raphael, Andrew, and myself by the basketball hoop.

"I still think that Hayley is the killer," Xavior declared.

Andrew nodded. "If she isn't the killer, then why does she have blood on her clothes?"

"And if it isn't her, then who is the killer?" Ashley asked.

I swept my eyes around our small circle. "Then it would be one of us, Owen, or Crystal," I said.

My words made Ashley begin to shake, and Andrew placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't touch me," she said and left our circle.

We watched her leave. "What's gotten into her?" Andrew asked, turning to me.