The Killer Secret

8.

As I left the cemetery for the second time this month, my eyes wondered around me. Just like Tammy's funeral, the entire town populated the entire south plot. The news crew waited, in the parking lot, as they attacked grievers with questions.

I unlocked my car and slid inside, watching as Axel's family break down right in front of me, calling for their son to come back to them.

This was such a nightmare.

Resting my forehead on the steering wheel, my mind wondered off to the night I found Axel's body. The blood, the gash on the side of his head, the bloody shoeprints...

I focused on the shoeprints and the way Axel's blood pooled around them. The prints were small, maybe female, and, by the look of the treads, the soles of the shoes were pretty worn out.

A small tap on my passenger side window, pulled me out of my thoughts, making me jump with freight at the person standing outside my car.

Pressing the unlock button, I waited for detective Carter to sit down next to me.

"Hey, you doing okay?"

I sighed and turned to face him. His eyes were full of concern and frown lines appeared on his forehead.

I nodded, even if it was a lie.

A few seconds of silence passed before I spoke.

"Did you...find anything at the Morgan crime scene? Anything that could point to who is doing this to my friends?"

"Actually, we do have a suspect in custody at the moment," he replied cautiously and I raised an eyebrow.

"Who?"

Detective Carter pulled out a note pad and pen. "What can you tell me about Travis Oscar?"

I shook my head in disbelief. "No way Travis did this."

"Kayla, it is just routine questioning, that's all."

I scoffed. "You're wasting your time, detective."

"Is there something you know that I don't?"

I looked at him, wondering if I should say my suspicions.

After awhile, he added, "A couple witnesses said they saw Travis at the Morgan's residence the day Axel was killed. I'm just crossing the Ts and dotting the Is."

I shook my head again and told him to get out. Despite his attempts at apologizing, my anger got the best of me.

"Just go! Okay?"

That was the final push he needed to open the door and step out of my car. As soon as he closed the door, I started the engine and sped off.

- - - - - - - -

As I sat on the grass, overlooking the city, memories of my old friends hanging out up here, messing around and drinking, took over my mind. I smiled to myself when I remembered Tammy screaming her head off because Travis threw a plastic snake on her.

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard the crack of a dried twig beside me. I jumped, clutching my heart, but sighed in relief when I saw who it was.

"Travis, you scared me."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know anyone would be here."

"Oh, um...I could leave-" I started to get on my feet, but he stopped me.

"No no. Stay." He took a seat beside me on the grass and I sat back down.

The wind blew through his blond curls as he stared at the horizon. His eyes were tired and I could see the heavy weight of grief taking a toll on him.

"You're staring," he stated, catching me off guard.

I cleared my throat and started plucking at the blades of grass between us. I kept my eyes strained to the ground, but I could his eyes intensely dissecting my face.

"Look who's talking." I smiled, lifting my eyes to meet his brown ones.

We held each other's gaze for what felt like forever. Travis had a hint of amusement in his eyes as he narrowed them. I knew what he was doing and he also knew how much I sucked at the game. My eyes were starting to burn and I blinked a few times to ease the pain. He chuckled lightly and I glared at him.

"You're the worst," I grumbled, blushing lightly at how comfortable he seemed with me.

A blanket of silence fell upon us again and I sighed at the quiet. The sun had set and the stars were starting to sparkle above us. The full moon was just above the horizon line, leaving the shadows of the sun behind. The wind was light, yet chilly and I shivered a little, tucking a few flyaways behind my ear.

"I'll get the blanket from my trunk."

Before I could protest, he was already heading to his vehicle and I rubbed my hands up and down my arm in order to keep warm. When Travis returned, he draped the blanket over my shoulders and I cuddled deep within it, inhaling the scent.

"How did everything go at the station today?" I asked softly, pulling my knees to my chest to completely cover myself.

"The police just had questions about where I was the night Axel died. No big deal."

I thought of my encounter with detective Carter and sighed.

"Do you think what happened, all those years ago, is coming back to haunt us?" I asked, speaking softer than usual.

Travis fell quiet for a second. I could tell he was contemplating his answer, maybe to reassure himself that wasn't the case at all.

"I mean, the way Tammy died..." I continued. "It seems all too familiar-"

"Kayla, what are you doing?" Travis asked, a little upset. "I refuse to believe that one of us is capable of doing such a thing."

One of us.

Those three words rang in my ear, bouncing off the walls of my brain.

One of us.

There were four of us, that night. Four of us were bound to secrecy. Yet, I couldn't shake the feeling that Tammy's and Axel's deaths were related to it somehow.

"If you had a chance to make it right, would you?"

Travis grabbed a handful of grass blades and let them fly with the wind, before answering.

"If I had a chance to actually find the person responsible, I would...for Axel and Tammy."

And there it was, his reason for doing what was right. I couldn't find mine. All I came up with were lame excuses as to why I was so afraid to find out who was actually behind all of this.

"Tammy regretted losing you." My eyes shot up to him in disbelief. "So did I," he finished, staring deep into my eyes.

I didn't know what to say or how to react to the sudden revelation that Travis had bestowed upon me. And then, like a ton of bricks hitting my chest, I finally found my reason.

* * * * * * * * * *

Soundtrack 14 = Uranus by Sleeping At Last

Soundtrack 15 = Never Think by Robert Pattinson