Unpredictable (A Lashton Fanfic)

Chapter Fifty-Eight - Evidence.

Ashton and I remained inside for the rest of the afternoon, just enjoying being together and watching music videos on the flat screen television, until there was a loud knock on the door. I already knew who it was-only one person would be rude and obnoxious enough to knock so loudly-and sure enough, when I eased open the door I found Michael standing there with an unreadable expression on his face. "Have you heard the news?" he asked, averting himself from my gaze by picking at one of the woven bracelets on his arm.

"What news?" I replied, the annoyance I felt earlier when he intruded on my private time with Ashton being replaced by curiosity.

It seemed like Michael had to choose his next words before he said them, and that was something that was incredibly out of character for him. Normally he just said whatever came to mind without thinking twice about it or the consequences he may face afterwards; with that said, I was both inquisitive and concerned about what would come out of his mouth next. "They've found some evidence regarding Gemma's disappearance."

I couldn't help but laugh at how official and important he was trying to sound. "For one, you can stop talking like a law enforcement officer now, and secondly, what kind of evidence?"

"Well," Michael said quietly, so quietly in fact that I had to lean forwards a few inches to hear him. "They found a white bracelet in one of the blood pools, but strangely the blood on the bracelet wasn't Gemma's and it didn't match anyone the police had in their system. Along with that they also found a pair of broken Ray Bans next to the door, but it was the same situation as before-the fingerprints and DNA found on them wasn't Gemma's, and it didn't get any hits on the police database."

I nodded thoughtfully, silently trying to process all of what he had just told me. Something clicked inside of me when he mentioned the white bracelet, and I spent the next few seconds trying to figure out where I had seen such an article of jewelry.

It was only when Michael pulled out his phone and showed me the article on a local Florida news station that all of the pieces clicked together, and I inconspicuously glanced behind me to make sure Ashton was still positioned on the bed before grabbing Michael's arm and pulling him out into the safe confines of the otherwise empty hallway. "I know who killed Gemma."

"Wait," Michael replied in confusion. "How do you know she's dead? She could just be missing like I was a while back, remember?"

"I remember, but judging by my past encounters with the person who did this I know he's not the type of person to start something without finishing it," I answered. "Plus, all of us know, even if we don't want to admit it, that there was just too much blood in that apartment for anyone to have survived, much less Gemma."

Michael sighed loudly and ran a hand through his recently dyed red hair, causing it to appear more unruly and messy than usual. "Okay, on to the next question. Who do you think killed Gemma?"

"Shawn Mendes," I whispered, my voice shaking with an emotion that was somewhere in between sadness and anger. "and for your information I don't think he killed Gemma, I know he did."

Michael finally looked up at me, his eyes desperately searching my face for some type of answer to the millions of questions that were undoubtedly running through his mind. "How?"

"He has a bracelet just like the one you showed me a few minutes ago," I said, quieting my voice when a group of people walked by. "Aside from that, he sent me some very suspicious and very questionable texts earlier today."

"What kind of texts?" Michael wondered aloud. "I mean, did he come right out and say he killed her or something?"

"Not exactly," I admitted. "but he might as well have." I didn't elaborate on the topic because I was still trying to figure out the meaning behind his cryptic messages myself, and when Michael realized I wasn't going to say anything more he shrugged and started to walk off. "I'll go tell Colin and the others and see what they say." He stopped just before he reached the elevators, turning around to give me an ever so slight wave. "Don't forget to meet us downstairs in an hour for soundcheck, okay, Hemmings?"