The Elites

Lies

"I got issues of my own
I ain't got time for
All this drama"

"Lies" – NF

I walk out of second period and frown as I see a bunch of people crowded around the area my locker is. Are people fighting or something? I walk over slowly, wondering what's going on now.

My school doesn't really have many fights. Most arguments aren't confrontational, people just spread gossip and leak secrets. The people at my school are petty.

I frown when I see a photo taped to my locker. What's going on? People back away when they see me, letting me go to my locker.

A black and white photo of Hope is taped to my locker. Hope's wrists are tied together, and her curly hair is hanging around her face, was this taken while she was held hostage? What the hell?

I grab it and turn it over, sure enough there's a note attached to it.

Don't trust Hope, you'll ending up drowning in her secrets.

What the hell? I turn around, looking for a familiar face in the front. I can't see anyone I actually know until I realize Ashton is heading towards me. Thank god, I don't really know Ashton but it's better than everyone else who's staring at me.

"Why is everyone looking at you?" Ashton asks me, his tone cautious, like he knows this can't be good. Wordlessly, I hand Ashton the sheet of paper. He looks at the photo and turns it over, reading the note on the back.

"Come on" Ashton says, and he starts walking off. I struggle to keep up with him since he's walking so fast. What is going on?

We enter a spare classroom and Ashton shuts the door. I assumed we were going to find Hope, but evidently that's not what is going to happen.

"Do you think that's definitely Hope?" He asks me.

"Who else at school has curly hair that goes past their waist?" I point out. Hope's hair makes her stand out because of its length. "Who else was kidnapped?" I point out. No one would go this far just to mess with Hope. Well, Courtney might but she wouldn't find someone who looked enough like Hope to stage the photo with.

"You need to find out who Hope's parents suspect" Ashton tells me firmly. He's worked up over one photo and one note.

"Maybe you should find out Hope's secrets" I snap, is he paying any attention to the note? I don't want to break my aunt's trust. Melissa took me in even though she never planned on having children since her and William work so much, she could have handed me over to one of my mom's relatives, but she wanted me to live with someone who I knew and trusted.

"I know her secrets" Ashton snaps. "The note is referring to the fact Hope hasn't told you that she doesn't remember anything that happened the evening Eleanor died." What the hell? This changes everything. This is solid proof that the attacker never planned to kill Hope.

"Why wouldn't Hope tell me this?" We're supposed to be working together! We have no chance if Hope is going to keep important information from me.

"How should I know what goes through her mind?" Ashton says in a way that makes me suspect he has an idea of why she kept it from me. "The school cameras can probably see who put the photo up."

"You figure that out, I'm going home to get answers" I tell Ashton. He's right, we have nothing to go on, so I need to change this.

I walk out of the classroom, heading back to my locker. The crowd has disappeared, but a few people are still looking at me. I grab my bag and the books I need and shut my locker. I should leave before the teachers find out about the note and want to talk to me about it.