TITLE:FAYETTEVILLE
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Natalie tossed her beautiful painting into the
trash can that sat in the corner of her room.
For some reason, she couldn't see the
masterpiece that it was or the talent she put
onto the canvas.
Natalie's talent and beauty were the same:
natural. Her short brown hair was wavy, and
she hated it. Her eyes were cotton-candy
blue, which just so happened to be her
favorite color. She was short and petite in
size, but she wasn't boney. Her favorite outfit
was simple: leggings and an oversized t-shirt
(probably Derrick's), but she could only wear
it when she wasn't at school. Good thing it
was Christmas break.
The green and blue watercolors dripped from
the canvas to the wrapping paper in the trash
can. It was the leftovers from her present
she got Derrick Colten, her boyfriend.
Derrick always wore the most recent solid-
black, trending tennis shoes with khaki
joggers. He was flat-chested and long-
legged. He kept his face clean-shaven and
showed his dimpled smile. His short brown
hair matched his hazel eyes and bushy
eyebrows.
Natalie had wrapped his new phone case in a
beautiful, bright red wrapping paper. She felt
like the intensity of the color showed how
much she loved him.
She flopped onto her bed, grabbing her
phone from the white nightstand. Her fingers
had dried blue and green paint making her
fingerprints show. She scrolled onto
Instagram and looked through Derrick's
photos, reading every caption. She loved to
look at them. It was a way for her to relive
the great times she had with him. She
stopped at her favorite photo he had posted.
It was a moment she would never forget,
standing on a bridge watching the fireworks
show over the rippling water.
That's why she loved her best friend Jasper.
He was great! But he took even better
photos. She would let him snap photos of
her and Derrick every time they were
together.
"I love this one," she typed to Jasper after
sending him the Fourth of July photo he
took.
"Thanks! How are you?" he responded.
"...I'm okay."
"What's wrong?"
"I just miss Derrick. I know that's annoying."
"No, it's okay lol. Where is he?"
"He's asleep."
And Natalie believed it... She really believed
that Derrick was asleep. She had not even
considered that he was making out with the
new girl, Kathrine, in his car just five minutes
from her house. Derrick had both of them
fooled. Neither girl knew about the other. But
that's the way things go. People like Derrick
stay in control until someone talks. And in a
town like Fayetteville, it'll happen.
-----
"That's weird. All these white cars?" Genni
laughed, pointing in the dimly-lit store
parking lot.
Genni was short, so Kathrine towered over
her. Her real name was Genesis, but "Genni"
got less attention. She laughed a lot, which
showed off her bleach-white teeth. Her
cheeks were plump, and freckles danced on
her nose.
They knew they probably shouldn't be there,
but Genni loved adventure, and she was
taking this opportunity to get to know
Kathrine. Genni needed to show her that
Fayetteville isn't horrible. To show her that
this could be home if she would let it be.
There wasn't any wind that night, so their
hefty jackets were enough to keep them
warm. They couldn't even see their breath,
maybe because it was too dark, but it wasn't
even cold enough for them to shiver.
Occasionally, they'd hear a car driving down
Park City hill, but it wasn't close enough for
the headlights to even showcase the parking
lot. The sparse security lights would have to
do.
"What are we even doing here?" Kathrine
asked, scratching her arm with her light-
orange nails.
"I've never really been over here. I always
just pass it going down Park City hill. Who
knows what's over here."
"I'm starting to get a little cold."
"Yeah, well, not everyone is used to the beach
in Florida," Genni laughed as she kicked a can
and let it roll off the pavement of the
parking lot and into the dead grass.
"So, you know Derrick, right?" Kathrine asked
Genni.
"Yeah, what?" Genni asked as she peeked into
the window of the rotting store that used to
sell farming supplies.
"I think we're a thing. We made out last
night."
"You did what?!" Genni snapped around to
Kathrine so fast she almost lost her balance.
Kathrine leaned back, giving her a confused
look.
"Made out? Is that weird?"
Genni pointed at Kathrine wondering if she
was kidding. Genni let her mouth drop,
making Kathrine feel uneasy.
"What?" Kathrine asked.
"Oh, wow. He is cheating on Natalie," Genni
said to herself, looking up at the night sky
trying to understand the situation.
"He's cheating!?" Kathrine yelled.
"Girl, look." Genni pulled out her phone and
scrolled through his Instagram showing
Kathrine the truth.
They were both so invested in Derrick's
Instagram pictures, they didn't notice the
slight sound of the can being stepped on at
the edge of the parking lot. Kathrine had her
hand over her mouth as they scrolled two
months deep in Derrick's Instagram.
Kathrine could just feel it. That feeling when
you know you're not alone. Usually, it's just
paranoia and you're wrong... but Kathrine
was right. They weren't just being watched,
they were prey. She felt like a poor animal
sitting alone in the parking lot just waiting to
be eaten. She listened to her gut and turned
around to see the shadowy figure and a red
hoodie hiding the face.
"Um, Genni. I don't like this."
"Me either. I can't believe he is cheating."
"No. Not Derrick." Kathrine's voice was
trembling as she stepped backward in fear.
Genni finally turned around and locked her
eyes on the heavy crowbar. The heavy
crowbar that would soon be bloody.
The red hoodie ruffled as the crowbar swung
back and forth. Back and forth. The
moonlight occasionally catching it.
"Run!" Kathrine yelled.
Genni dropped her phone and her screen
shattered as she spun on her heels to follow
Kathrine into the dark street, but it was too
late.
Thud.
Genni hit the pavement of the shady parking
lot she knew she shouldn't have been at.
Kathrine kept running... hoping Genni was
running away with her... but she wasn't.
Then, the killer jerked the crowbar out of
Genni's neck, letting her blood paint the white
cars red.
