the series of r/nosleep | volume one: the {smile} series

{T}ext

I pull off my sweatshirt and throw it in the hamper. With one hand I unclasp my bra and pull it out through my sleeve. Next to go are my socks and jeans both of which miss the hamper and lay in a toppling pile of dirty clothes. I stretch and yawn and stare at the little bookshelf beneath my bedroom window. A red spine with gold lettering is wedged between worn paperbacks and teen romance.

In the bible my mom gave us before she split is a passage about something I couldn't give two shits about. I can't remember what it said, or where it was, but I do recall it having a big red circle around a few lines of words. Now that circle has been carved out along with about a hundred other pages of quotes from old dead people and replaced with this nice ziploc bag of Bubblegum and a small one-hitter Bo gave me on our first date.

whats up

Speak of the devil. "Nothing," I write. "About to smoke and crash. Nuthin else goin on." If I'm going to be grounded I might as well enjoy it. I shift my bare feet and the old floor creaks beneath me.

fun you hear about steven

"Of course. Cops came to talk to Far." Stupid Farah, always picking the wrong boys. I could've told her Steven was a mental case. I mean, the homecoming prank was funny, but what he did to that Derek kid's family...

what did you hear

"What do u mean? The cat thing or the dog thing?" I would've loved to see the looks on their faces. All those strays on string.

hes missing

"He's prob just hiding from his mom. I bet he gets grounded for life." If his mom even notices. She spends so much time taking care of his brother. It's no wonder he switched schools.

maybe but the cops want to talk to him about Derek

"Of course they do. Derek probably whined about getting punched or something." First he complained to the coach about something Steven did to the mascot and stole the starting QB position, then he got into a fight after catching Steven during the Homecoming prank, and now Derek probably saw Steven messing with his dog. Maybe if Derek wasn't such a tattletale -

dereks dead

I have to read the text three times before it finally sinks in. "What?!!!! No way!!!"

cassie had his body come in yesterday

"OMG!! WTF?!! Is she sure?!!!" It had to be an accident or something. A car crash or -

totally sure the parents said it was him apparently his face was missing blown off

I feel my stomach turn. I look at the bible and close the cover. "Was it...." I don't know how to finish the text. I just can't see Steven doing something that awful. I mean, he has his issues, but...

what did the cops ask far

"I don't know. They asked about Steven, but she said she hadn't seen him since the party." I wish she was here now instead of crying in her room.

i dont think it was steven

I feel a blanket of relief cover me. "Good," I write. "Why do you think that?" There's a delay before I hit send. I stare out my bedroom window into the dark shadows of the backyard. Our old rusted swingset stands silent in the moonlight, its empty swings pendulum gently in the breeze.

Because.

That's not an answer. Curiosity gets the better of me. "Because why?" I write. A cloud shambles in front of the moon sending the outside world into a deeper black.