Asher Banning still mourns his mother after three years. When his friend, Caden, decides to get their group of friends together for Christmas as a way to help Asher not feel lonely for the holidays, things quickly turn upside down.
MATURE: for expl...
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"What's wrong?" Nick looked at her with his eyebrows knitted together.
It took a moment for Freyja to answer as she kept heaving on her reply. "Piper is," she said in-between sobs, "dead."
No, I thought. She can't be dead. I didn't want to believe it because it couldn't be true.
Though I hadn't been around in the house in a while, and the last time I saw her was upstairs, staring out the window with Freyja. We watched her and Abigale looking at the engine of one of the cars, tools in their hands, oil on their clothes.
This can't be happening.
All of the questions pondered through the empty spaces of my mind as the information crammed into my skull pounded on the walls of my brain. There were so many questions that sprung at me, processing in my head that were nothing more than a blur.
"Asher?" Her sweet voice brought me back, snapping me into reality once more. "You have to see."
No, I didn't. I might had hated her, but wishing she was a corpse wasn't on my to-do list.
I didn't say anything. My feet were nailed into the ground, unable to dig themselves out. What was there to say? I couldn't describe how a part of me was glad that she was gone. A part of me was glad that we didn't have to hear her verbal abuse, but I knew this wasn't the proper thing to say. I knew that if I wanted to say something—anything—it had to be sincere and genuine.
Freyja took my hand, now realizing how frozen I was, and guided me into the house, to one of the bathrooms on the second floor.
I wished I had yanked my arm away from her grip and told her that seeing Piper's limp body wasn't something everyone needed to see. It wasn't something that you'd tell your friends about because it was "cool" and "entertaining." This was real life. Piper was a real person, a human being with flesh and blood. And above all else, she was a victim. He chose her to be a trophy on his wall of death. But out of everything I could've said to her, I said nothing. Instead, I let her drag me to the bathroom door where Abigale muffled her sobs.
When Freyja pushed the door open, the spacious bathroom came into view; this was one of the biggest out of the whole house.
Caden stood by the double vanity as if he waited for a larger group to pile in. He didn't look upset, just tense as his expression held nothing and his muscles tightened, holding himself closer together like he didn't want to touch anyone.
Abigale stood by the walk-in rain shower, her back against the wall, her head bowing down, chin to chest. I couldn't see the pain in her eyes, but I knew it was there. While I wasn't fond of Piper in general, I couldn't help but feel that twinge in my heart, squeezing when I glanced at Abigale. Her body shook as tears cascaded down her face.
My eyes then scanned over to Sam, standing over the bathtub, trying to drain it. He showed tears, but his expression was blank.
"What happened?" I finally asked, trying to gain my voice. It was there, but it hadn't felt like it. It didn't sound like it either. Like it was inaudible. Could they hear me speak?
