Cypress Alley

Chapter 21

I threw myself, still quivering and wet with sweat and blood, into Eliza's room. Landing awkwardly on my side, I looked up to see her horrified face staring down at me. I did have to admit that the worn-out carpets were especially comforting today – even with all the prickly loose ends.

"Eli! What on Earth...?"

"L-l-lize. J-j-j-j-j-j-j-j-" I couldn't stop the stuttering. "J-j-j... Ja-"

"Oh my gosh, calm down...." She grabbed her drink bottle from her table and shoved it into my arms. I gratefully gulped down the entire bottle and let out the breath I had been holding since I entered the room. Sitting up, I pushed myself against the wall for support and sighed loudly. Eliza watched with her brows furrowed as I took careful, deep breaths.

"I didn't know... I shouldn't have..." she started.

"It's not... your fault," I said between breaths.

Her face had paled and she came to sit beside me. "What happened?"

"Jane." I hiccuped. A steady breath had entered my lungs, and the extra pain from my most recent fall had thankfully numbed the pain of my previous injuries.

"Jane?" Jane what?"

"Jane-Rose. Your best friend."

"She is so not my best friend! And what about her? I thought you were following Wendy. What did she do to you?"

"She didn't do anything to me."

"Then who did this?" she asked, motioning towards the blood on my arms, which had now soaked well into my clothes."

"I did it. I mean..." My breath had begun to quiver again. "I fell into some rocks and shrubs in the Alley."

"What?! Oh my gosh. We need some bandaids. And some disinfectant. And something for your head. Gosh, we need to call an ambulance!"

"Uh, there's no need to go that far. Calm down, Lize. It's not as bad as it seems."

"It seems like you've lost a lot of blood. And it looks weird."

"It looks severe because the blood spread through my shirt after mingling with my sweat, and it looks odd because it was diluted with sweat."

"I don't know what you said but it sounds disgusting."

"It's not important." She passed me some more water and I took a huge swig. "Do you want to know what happened?"

"Um... do I?"

"Yeah, you do." I took her through a detailed recount of my encounter, watching her face rise and fall with each sentence. When I was done, we were silent for a few seconds. It was a rare sight to see her so quiet. But under that cover of perplexed solemnity, I could see that wild look in her eyes that made me shudder to think of what would be next.

"Oh... my... gosh," she finally murmured.

"Uh-huh."

"Are you kidding me?"

I looked down at my soiled clothes and bleeding arms. "I'm pretty sure I'm not."

"Do you know what this means?" she exclaimed, grabbing my shoulders in excitement.

"Ow, ow. Stop."

"Oh, sorry... But do you know what this means?"

"Uh... yeah?"

"The killer," she announced, standing up dramatically. "... is Jane-Rose!"

I heard a clamour from the end of the hall. "Who's making that noise?" Ms Hartley boomed.