"So, Miss... Shore." The doctor, who was dressed in a tight, crisp, royal blue suit, flicked over a page to see what I presumed was the woman's details. "You've come back for another session."
"Yes." The woman had her back to the camera, but I could see that she was restrained, and had little hair on her head. It looked like her hair had once been thick, but now hair pulling seems to be the main cause of her baldness. I couldn't make anything of the colour, as the tape was in black and white, but I'd say what was left of it was an auburn brown, like my own.
"Well... What would you like to discuss?"
"The truth."
"The truth?"
"Yes, Dr."
"Continue, Miss Shore."
"I've been lying this whole time, Dr."
"Go on."
"He's in my head,"
"Who, Miss Shore?"
"HIM! The reason I'm here! The REASON YOU WON'T LET ME GO!" She started to battle at her restraints;
"Miss Shore, please;"
"He's all in my head~ he's not reeeaaalll~"
The tape flickers to a stop. I sat there, unblinking, trying to understand what just happened. W-when d-did...
"LILAC!" Oh god, Dad! I'm not meant to be down here!
"Where are you??" Shit shit shit! I searched for a place to hide- under the spare bed would have to do. I scrambled under, and finally heard footsteps walking down the basement stairs towards me. I panicked, the tapes aren't packed up, he'll know I was he-
"Lilac?" He grumbled and after a quick glance around, retreated upstairs; I was about to leave as well but then...
Then I saw YOU. How are you back? Why are you back? Oh why oh why..
When Jane Madarang's neighbor Natalie kills herself and leaves behind cryptic instructions, it's up to Jane and her classmates to unearth deadly secrets.
*****
Natalie Driscoll is dead.
She threw herself out a window and left her neighbor Jane to unravel their town's darkest secrets. Following Natalie's instructions leads Jane to three other high school students who all have something to hide. The four of them must carry out Natalie's final errand while solving the mysteries written in her diary. But the secrets they unearth may be far more dangerous than what they ever imagined.
Content and/or trigger warning: This story contains scenes of suicide, violence and murder that may be triggering for some readers.
[[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]