The Fire

Chapter Sixteen

Present

It had been one week since Josh was found in his car, burnt beyond recognition, murdered by The Hooded Man. All because of me. Chris had been around most days, just to hold me and tell me everything was okay.

I obviously hadn't been to any of my lectures. I could only imagine what it would be like with everyone talking about Josh. I was already torturing myself by watching the news every hour of every day for any progress on the investigation – just waiting for them to find any sign of DNA. But everything had been burned, and there was no way he would be caught.

He had gotten away with it.

Again.

Now the guilt was becoming too much to deal with, I wanted to tell someone badly, but I would be putting them in danger. So no one could ever know and that was the most painful thing.

Even though I couldn't talk to anyone about why he was killed, I needed to talk about him to someone, anyone. And, for me, the best option was to talk to the people who knew him best – his family.

I climbed out from under the covers that had been my home for the past week, went downstairs, and found my mum who was very surprised to see my face for the first time in seven days.

"Hello darling," she said in her most sympathetic voice, "how are you feeling?"

"Uh, I was actually thinking about going to visit-" I paused and took a deep breath, I had to say his name, "-Josh's parents."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I think it would be good for me if I talk about him instead of bottling everything up."

My mum gave me a look of uncertainty: eyebrows raised, eyes squinted, lips pursed. Her auburn hair was swept back by her hand as she shook her head in disbelief. "If you think it will do you good then go ahead, darling." She paused. "Do you want me to give you a lift?"

I gave my best attempt at a smile and nodded gently. Turning around to grab my coat from the cupboard behind me, I heard my mum grab her keys and unlock the front door to hold it open for me.

The drive was silent. The only noise was the revving engine of the car and the pitter-patter of the rain on the windscreen, the wipers chasing after the droplets of rain like a predator catching its prey.

I whispered thanks to my mum as I stepped out of the car and started a slight awkward jog up the drive to get out of the rain. I could sense my mother's eyes burning through me when I knocked on the door.

Josh's mum came to the door. Tear tracks were carved into her red, blotchy cheeks. Her face was bare of makeup and her eyes were puffy from lack of sleep. Maybe this was a bad idea. But her eyes lit up when she saw me and sent a weak wave in my mum's direction as I heard the car whizz past the road behind.

"Sophie! How nice to see you, darling. Come on in, out of the rain."

I stepped into their hallway and was hit with an overpowering wave of emotion. Josh was everywhere. The walls were lined with pictures of the boy I used to love. Out with friends, at family dinners, at theme parks, he seemed so happy in all of them, his smile perfectly captured and frozen in time. I would never see that smile again.

"I am so sorry about the state of the house Soph, it's been difficult with...everything."

I looked around; the house wasn't in as bad a state as you would expect for a mother who had just lost her son, but I still reassured her that everything was okay.

"Would you like a drink, love?" She questioned politely.

"Yes, please."

"Here," she gestured towards the sofa while backing up into the kitchen, "make yourself comfortable. I won't be long."

I sat down on the leather seat beneath me, bringing my one leg underneath the other and waited for Janet to return.

She came back soon after with a cup of tea in each hand. She handed me mine and sat down carefully on the seat opposite me.

"How have you been Soph?"

"I don't really know."

"I know what you mean, it definitely hasn't been easy." She took a deep breath; I could see she was struggling already; it must be so difficult for her.

"Have you heard anything about any progress that has been made?"

"No more than you. The police ring me every few hours to tell me the progress they've made and what they have or have not done. But every time, it's just the same thing over and over again."

"Me too, but I'm sure you deserve it a lot more than me." I definitely didn't deserve a break; it was my fault this had happened in the first place.

I sipped my tea.

"Oh, I'm not so sure about that, you two were such amazing friends, a bond like that must hurt an unbearable amount when it breaks."

"Yeah, I suppose."

We sat in silence for a few minutes while we drank our tea. I could tell we were both thinking about Josh, it was like we were having a conversation about him in our heads. The Hooded Man hadn't messaged me. I presumed he knew I knew my place and I wouldn't say anything now, not after what happened.

I looked at Janet. She was deep in thought, staring into her mug and swirling it round in a circle. I wondered where Elizabeth was. The poor child, she was probably distraught. Josh was her life and that was gone. Gulping down the last of my tea, I stood up and announced that I had to leave. She wasn't reluctant to this and took the cup from my hand.

"Thank you so much for coming. I really do appreciate having someone to talk to."

"Me too, it really helps," I grabbed my phone from the arm of the sofa and pushed it into my pocket, "and...I'm so sorry about Josh."

She smiled but said nothing, I returned it and made my way towards the door. I left with a wave and decided to walk home; the rain had stopped, and I needed the time alone.

Josh was gone. And there was nothing I could do about it. There was no way to bring him back, and I had to learn to accept that. One person who wasn't gone, however, was The Hooded Man. He was still here. And all this time I had spent grieving over Josh, I was letting him get to me. Letting him control me and my life and the people in it. Manipulating me, and them, for his own amusement and benefit. I couldn't let him do this anymore. The police would find him, and he would get the justice he deserved. He wouldn't be able to mess with me anymore or harm anyone I loved.

This would all be over soon.

I just knew it.

I turned the corner that led to my street and walked up the driveway of number two.

My mum was sat on the sofa watching TV, she jumped up when she heard the door slam shut.

"Oh, hello sweetie, why didn't you call me? I could have picked you up!"

"It's okay, I needed the time to myself."

"I understand," she grabbed me by the hand and dragged me onto the sofa next to her, "Josh's mum called a couple of minutes ago to let us know about his funeral." She had the same look of uncertainty painted on her face as before I left. I remained silent but nodded for her to carry on. "It will be on Sunday, it's just a small gathering of close family and friends, nothing to worry about, okay?"

I nodded and turned up the corners of my mouth in reassurance.

The news was on in the background and there was still no progress on the investigation. That made me think about something.

"Mum?"

"Yeah?"

"How has James been recently? I haven't seen him and was wondering if you'd spoken to him?"

She bit her lip, "I think he is just keeping to himself. People aren't being the nicest to him about this situation and is a bit upset by it all."

I took a deep breath and looked towards the TV. I had no clue who killed Josh, but whoever it was had to get what they deserved.