Written in the Stars

Chapter 14: "Lullaby"

(Chapter 14)
"Lullaby"

Sunday, January 13th
5:00pm

"You really think we can solve a murder?" Daniella doubted.

"Brielle... we know as much as the police honestly," Shae pointed out.

"No. We have to know something," Brielle insisted.

"Well... for one thing, no one is spending the night alone in the dorm," Emma decided.

"She's right. Rachel was targeted because she was alone," Shae said.

"We don't know that. The killer could have just seen that as an opportunity. They could've been after Rachel anyway," Sarah proposed.

"We shouldn't rule that out," Shae shrugged.

"Well, regardless, she was alone. They're not going to target someone when another girl or two is there in the room," Emma continued.

"Yeah, I agree. No one spends the night alone anymore. We all stay in our dorms at night with each other. And keep the door locked. Always," Daniella said.

"There has to be some kind of common denominator," Sarah thought.

"What did we know from Julia?" Emma asked.

"That it had to be someone she knew," Jillian reminded.

"So we know that for sure," Shae confirmed.

"Roland..." Daniella said to herself.

"What?" Shae asked.

"What about Roland?"

"What about him?"

"He was her boyfriend. He wouldn't have hurt her," Brielle insisted.

"You don't know that," Daniella told her.

"This isn't going to work if we start pointing fingers," Sarah told them.

"I agree," Emma backed her up.

"Alright, let's take a step back from accusing our friends," Shae said.

"What about teachers?" Daniella shrugged.

"A teacher?"

"Julia was a teachers pet, she probably knew all of them."

"We don't know that she knew all of them."

"Wait..." Brielle paused.

"What?" Shae asked.

"Julia and Rachel... weren't they in a class together?"

"Yes! They're in the same math class," Jillian confirmed.

"Who's the professor?" Brielle asked.

"James Andrews. He's the professor. Darren is in that class, too."

"Monica is in that class too..." Shae realised.

"And she doesn't have a roommate anymore! Julia was her only roommate!" Brielle pointed out.

"Okay, okay, we'll tell Lamar to start sleeping in her dorm room. Whether the killer is a teacher or not, she still needs someone else in her dorm," Jillian settled.

"Alright, but what about the professor?" Shae continued.

"Wouldn't it be too obvious if you started killing girls in your class?" Sarah thought.

"Roland is in that class, too. Roland was in that class with the both of them," Daniella pointed out.

"Why do you keep accusing Roland?" Brielle asked her.

"I'm just making connections! Isn't that what we're doing here?"

"Even if she wasn't in his class, Julia may have gone with any teacher," Shae said.

"So, we're saying... it's one of our guys, or it's a teacher," Daniella claimed.

"Or someone else," Shae shrugged.

"Someone else like who?" Jillian asked.

"I don't know, I'm just saying."

"I think it's one of the guys. They're the closest to our group," Daniella stated.

"Okay, so what if I say it's Cody?" Brielle challenged.

"It's not Cody!"

"How do you know?"

"Okay, what if I say it's Jason?"

"No fucking way!"

"How do you know?"

"Okay, enough! We could go back and forth like this all night," Shae interjected.

"Or it could be Alex, or it could be Roland," Daniella continued.

"Or it could be none of them!" Brielle snapped.

"You can think you know someone and what they're capable of, but you may not know at all. No one looks at a person and says 'yup, I think that guy could be a serial killer.' They're good at blending in. They're good at tricking people. This guy's identity could be someone right in front of us."

"So you're saying it could be Cody."

"No, I'm saying it could be Jason."

"If you say it's Jason one more time-"

"I SAID, ENOUGH!" Shae yelled. "This isn't going to work if we start turning against each other. Look, let's just forget about pinning this on someone right now. The wounds are still fresh, let's give ourselves a break. We're all still friends here."

Brielle sighed. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too," Daniella replied.

"Good," Shae said.

"Maybe we should just call it a night," Jillian suggested.

"That sounds good," Emma agreed.
~

"Hey, you okay?" Darren jumped up as soon as Jillian came back to the apartment.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"It was starting to get dark, I was starting to worry."

"Darren, I'm okay."

Darren sighed. "Jill... I've been trying not to overreact about this whole thing, but I don't want you alone. Anywhere. Especially on campus."

"Darren, I-"

"I know you're a strong person, and you can defend yourself, and I know you're smart and you're careful, but I can't help getting worried. You mean everything to me, I love you more than you could possibly know and-"

Jillian kissed him to silence him.
He gently kissed her back and wrapped his arms around her.
Jillian laid her head against his chest and hugged him back tighter.
Tears started to swell in her eyes and she lost herself in his embrace.
For the first time all night, she felt calm and safe.
She clung to him, feeling like she never wanted to let go.

Darren rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head.
"I love you."

"I love you, too. So much."

After another few minutes, she finally let go.
Darren took her hand and led her to their bedroom.

Jillian changed out of her clothes and climbed into bed with him.
Darren held her against him tight and stroked her hair.

"Thank you..." she said softly.

Darren kissed her neck.
"I've got you."

Jillian was finally able to close her eyes and fall asleep.

END OF CHAPTER