Shards of Blue Glass

Walk Away

I get another Tweet when I wake up.

    It's the same unknown person, the one who writes in a code only my father and I knew.

    I will divulge your secrets, Saira Collings. By the end of the day, the whole world will know that you've murdered five people. Maybe nine, counting your family, it reads.

    Anger alights within me, and I type back, What the hell do you want? Why are you threatening to do this?

    I wait, and a message appears for the first time in response to mine.

    I want you to break off the engagement to Zak. I want you to walk away, and never speak to him again. I want you to forget everything you learned with Paranormeon Crew. Only then will I not reveal your secrets.

    I blink, startled. Pain stabs through my back, and I'm reminded of all the twenty-seven scars upon my back, tributes to all the people I've watched die.

My fingers fly, though I have no clue what I'm typing until I read it after I send it. A gasp escapes me, and Zak rolls over next to me.

    Where are you picking me up? I'll do all that, but I'm no thief.

    I can almost hear a chuckle come through the phone. Quicker than I would've thought, a reply appears.

    I'm outside, Saira Collings. Come out, and I'll drive you anywhere you want.

    My hands shaking, I shut off my phone and stand. I don't look at the bed as I riffle through the dresser drawers quietly.

After pulling on some decent clothes, I pull my silver ring off my finger. I look at the curled dragon, and I feel my heart splinter and break. I put the ring on the dresser, right where Zak will see it immediately. Then, an idea strikes me.

    I pull out my sketch pad, and start writing. After I'm done, I take out my phone and take some photos. Once I'm done, I put my phone away, stand, and place the sketch pad on the bed. Not even looking back, I walk out the door.

    The hallways and lobby are silent. So are the streets. I walk out into the street, looking around for a car. Then, I see a flash of headlights from an alleyway, and I walk towards it, steeling myself. I have killed, I think to myself. I have fought. I have died. I have killed. It’s like a mantra in my mind, and I keep echoing it.

I'm met with a black sedan with tinted windows in the alleyway. I walk around to the driver's side door, and stand there, waiting for the person to open it.

    "Come on, Chelsea. I know that it's you sending me the Tweets. Come out, and I won't hurt you," I say, my mouth feeling sour after saying my least-favorite person's name. The door clicks open, and I step back to allow Chelsea to stand. But the girl I see is nowhere close to the sister of a boy I murdered.

    She is my friend. My old roommate. The one person I could live near without having a fluctuation of spirits all the time.

    "Jasmine?" I whisper.