Lara gulped a mouthful of blood, her face inches away from Jos’s but yet she felt the need to scream out her next words, as if she wanted the whole school to hear and not just Jos.
“He’s cheating on you! Your boyfriend Ben! He’s cheating on you with those two whores!!”
What the actual fuck? Did she really say that or am I listening things here? How could she go so far as to make up such disgusting lie? I mean it’s not like it’s impossible for either Kate or me to date Ben. It’s just that we never would! We are not friends to steal another’s man! I mean come on! It’s just utterly ridiculous!
Why would Lara go to such lengths just to have Jos as her friend again? Why go through so much trouble when you could just find a new friend? Unless she wasn’t actually looking for a friend…
Before I could think any further, Joslyn landed another punch on Lara’s face without a warning, making Lara’s jaw more twisted and broken, and Jos’s knuckles
The next day was when I received the news. Jos was expelled from school. Lara was hospitalized. And Ben hadn’t broken up with Jos, which I thought he would.But I guess that’s because he didn’t get the chance to tell her, for Jos had switched off her phone and wasn’t picking up any calls. Even when I tried, she wouldn’t. I understood her all too well.Just thinking about the previous day incidents sent my head spinning again, making me feel nauseous. And I knew that whatever Jos did or said yesterday, she felt guilty about it now. Whatever she had said, no matter how true they were, she felt that regret for not holding back her anger.She said she already knew Lara was messed up in the head, nothing would have gone wrong if she just let Lara babble out whatever she wanted. Being the cause of a person getting hospitalized wasn’t something anyone fancied. But what was done was done. Nothing we do or say could change it.I
12th September 2027,Once again, I told James that I’m heading, for the second time in one day. James face looks like he wants to say something, maybe try to stop me from going because we both know that boss will be very mad once he finds out. However, I don’t care. That’s the last thing I have to be concerned about.In a few heartbeats, I’m already in a cab and heading to my destination, to Kate. I don’t know if Dave still lives in the same place as before, but I’m still trying. The soft part of me is hoping that I’m wrong, and that Kate is not with him, but the stronger part of me is saying that I should prepare myself, that not all people we think are nice are actually good. And that Kate must have been lying to me this whole time about Joseph.Speaking about Joseph, I call him once, trying for the last time to see if I’m really wrong about Kate. The call connects in a few rings, and
He doesn’t deserve it. Joseph doesn’t deserve this. He is too good to be with Kate. Too good a guy to be a friend of Charlie.Now why am I dragging this guy back in my thoughts?But I’m angry at Kate because she deceived me, or Joseph. What angers me is the false hope that Dave had given her-once again.The same thing he did seven years ago.And Kate had fallen straight in the trap.No, Kate hadn’t fallen in the trap. She chose to walk into the trap on her own. She knew he was lying, she knew what he was, and yet she made this decision.She knew she was walking back to the monster.I didn’t realize that the car come to a halt due to my foggy mind and blurry eyes. Wiping my eyes in my sleeves like a child, I pay the cab man before making my way inside the building and towards the apartment.Dave’s apartment is in the second floor, making it easier for me to find. Once I reach the second floor,
12th September 2027,It’s raining outside. That’s the first thing that I realize after finally leaving the building. This whole time, my mind had been void of any emotions or feelings, just an eternity of darkness. It took the pitter patter of the rain to finally bring me back in my senses.I looked up at the dull sky, wondering how a sunny cool day turn so fast into a dark gloomy rainy day. The drops fall on my face, soaking me wet to the bone, but I don’t feel a single chill running through my skin. Today had been too much for me, getting soaked up in the rain is just a piece of cake.I begin walking, not really having a destination in mind. Going back to Trust and Co. was already out of the equation, considering that I’m soaking wet, I might have to explain myself and I really am not in the mood. I guess I should head home, take a cab, but a cab ride wouldn’t help me escape my thoughts and make me feel
My eyes flutter open as I wake up from a dreamless, peaceful sleep. I smile despite myself, having had a peaceful sleep in a long time. Slowly, my eyes adjust to my surroundings, only then do I realize, I’m not in my room, nor is this my house. Where on earth am I? “You are awake.” Comes a jolly voice, making me turn my head towards the direction of the door, where the voice came from. There stands Charlie, with a dashing smile and a coffee mug in hand. I force out a smile, still not sure how I got here and why I’m not dripping wet like I should, unless someone changed my cloths… “Where are my cloths?” I ask darkly, my smile immediately fading. Charlie just chuckles, walking with the coffee mug towards me before actually handing it to me. “Relax, I let them to dry. They were soaked wet.” What the fuck? So does that mean…No way! Before I can voice out my thoughts, Charlie lets out a squeaky laugh as if reading my though
I look out of the glass of the cab, biting my finger nails as the car moves past several buildings, not bothering to stop as other people try to hail it. I had changed from Charlie’s big shirt to my old clothes again, which are somehow dry and warm, lord only knows how. I had left Charlie’s a decent ten minutes ago, on my way back to my own apartment. At first, I had just thought to go home and rest the night away, completely exhausted after all the things that had happened in one day. But the ambitious part got the better of me. There is still a lot of work to be done, and every second is precious. I promised to rest once all of this is over, so I might as well finish this once and for all. Which means I have to call Grayson now and apologize. And that’s where the real dread comes in. I had been biting away at my nails ever since I decided that, the phone in my hand. How am I to call him? Knowing how rude I had been? I shake my head numerous times, n
13th September 2017, She finally called. Jos had finally called, but it wasn’t me or Kate. It was Ben. This was good because Ben had been getting lovesick ever since the incident. Jos really needed to calm him down. And calm him she did, but she also left us a task. She wanted us to visit Lara from her side. So far we knew Lara is was in Hospital and only recently she had escaped the worst. I don’t know if this whole thing was a good idea, or if Lara’s parents would even let us near their daughter. However, it was Jos wish, and her first genuine words ever since that tragedy. As told by our friend, the five of us, Kate, Ben, Joseph, Charlie and myself included, set out to visit the injured girl. I know how weird and awkward this sound, especially when Kate and I weren’t dating Joseph and Charlie anymore. But the truth was, Charlie and I never broke up. After that day, we had never contacted each other, at lea
"Here's your coffee ma'am." Said the lady at the counter, pulling me out of my trance.I stared at the cup she held out in front of me, gazing down at the dark liquid inside while my mind tried to register when have I ordered a coffee.Did I order this? When? Why don't I remember? Am I losing myself already?My mind would have gone back to its own world of thoughts had it not been for that familiar voice that spoke up."I ordered that. Thank you." Came the voice I had so much come to love, the voice of Charlie Wise as he finally took the extended cup from the lady with a polite smile and turned to me, holding out the cup."I bought it for you."Where did he even come from? Has he been standing here this whole time and I couldn't even tell? Wow...I stared up at his handsome face, his blond hairs in a tousled mess and yet he made it look like a trendy style.My heart beat accelerated, hands going clammy as this was the
5th January 2028,Dust kicks out underneath us, the dried dead leaves crunching as the car comes to a halt, and I step out immediately.The warmth of the car disappears the moment I step down on the dirt path covered in dried leaves, my breath coming out in wisps of fog every time I exhale.From the other side steps down Kate, coming to join me as we watch the view together. None of us say a word for a long time, before I finally turn around, pull out the bouquet from the car seat and shut the door behind me. Immediately, the car speeds off, living the two of us on our own.Together we start moving forward, listening to the leaves crunching under our feet while the birds chirp rhythmically, more like arguing with each other for the freezing weather.At least it has stopped snowing.At long last, we finally reach our destination, stopping a few feet away while I move forward and place the bouquet of prim roses on t
03rd October 2017, Dave was finally in jail. Finally. How you ask? Hmm, let's just say, Mrs. Airam had had enough of that bastard. The reason he was let off the first time was because the elders wanted to save their reputation as well, thinking that making him fend for himself for the rest of his life would be the best punishment. Sure it was, but not enough for what he had actually done. His crimes did not end with attempted murder and abuse, it was way past that. Dave had sexually abused Kate, and had photographed it all. That was the reason why Kate hadn’t asked us for help earlier, because she feared what he would do with them if she did. Of course he threatened her as well, and Kate thought the only escape was to let him have his fun for a while until he got bored and left. Little did she know that he would get bored, but he wouldn't let her go when the time came. He would end her to get rid of evidence of his
19th September 2017, It was a fit. Kate had a fit. That is what the doc told us when Kate and had been examined in the hospital. When I woke up, my parents were present in my chamber, making a fuss to call the doc or the nurse to see what my condition was now. They had been so busy calling the doc that none of them heard my plea for water, until they were both already out of the room, and it was Charlie who had given me the water. "Thank you." I said with a hoarse voice, feeling the rawness itch my throat and making me want the glass of water even more. Charlie stared at me the whole time I drank, making me nervous to the core that I almost choked. But when I was finally done drinking and took a good look at his face, I notice the actual way he was staring at me. There was no hint of worry, or pain at seeing me in the state I was. If anything, he looked bored, like I was some kind of...burden, that he didn't want to be
29th September 2027,The first rays of winter are finally beginning to show their colors, with the breeze being slightly colder than the usual warm ones and a familiar fog settling down every morning.It isn't winter yet, but I can already feel the chill in my bones, or is it because today is the day?The doorbell rings, indicating that I have a visitor. Without checking who it is, I swiftly move to open the door and let the guest in, for I have already been expecting them."Are you ready?" Ben asks first and foremost, letting himself in while I dump the dishes in the sink that I had ruined during breakfast. "Y-yeah, just give me a minute."Then I went on to make my bed, stuff my used clothes in the laundry basket, clear the garbage in the kitchen and-"You are stalling, you know that right?" Ben's voice pulls me out of my trance, stopping me midway with the broom and dustpan in my hands.I stare at him wit
I lean back in the chair while assessing Lara's reaction, who, as a matter of fact, begins trembling in her seat, hands into tight fists and eyes bulging."So...you are telling me, that you did all this, with a child's code language?" Lara all but whispers, to which I shake my head in an unsure manner. "You can say it like that as well."I would have flinched if I didn't expect it, but I saw it coming sooner than it happened. Lara slamming her hands against the hard wooden table and rattling everything on it, which are her handcuffs.She glares at me with all the venom, while I stare back at her, an amused expression on my face. "You are lying. You are a liar. You-""It's unbelievable isn't it? Even I didn't know I could be this dumb and not think about something as easy as writing notes. But of course, my case was different. I needed someone to come see me to write a note, but you Lara, you were a real damn fool." I laugh at the last part, shaking my hea
12th September 2027, Three days ago:I stayed rooted to my spot, unable to bring myself to move a muscle as the whole news sunk in. Lara had murdered Joslyn, and not just that, but she had also been to my house, left this creepy note and the clothes here, in the room Kate stayed in.Slowly but surely, I sunk to the bed behind me, dropping the clothes and staring at my hands while the silence around me thickened, and yet everything around me felt too loud. The distant honking of cars, the sound of leaking water from a tap, and my own breathing. Everything sounded just…too much.The words from the note circled in my head, giving me a nauseous feeling and the urge to throw up.Miss me? What kind of note is that? And why to me? The silence grew thicker, and so did my breathing, which was turning haggard. I didn’t know why, but I felt the hairs behind my neck stand on edge, goos
"Are you sure she's okay to move doctor? Isn't there still something else?" "No Katelyn, Rose is perfectly okay to walk now. We have managed to stop the bleeding and save it from getting infected, and the blood clotting has already begun. She will feel slight itching while moving, but other than that, she is fine." This is the nth time the doctor has to explain this to a stubborn Kate, who isn't letting me out of the hospital emergency. She questions the doc about each and every single thing that every time a doctor turns to answer her, I internally wince at the look of impatience behind their fake tight lipped smile. And I can't blame them. Kate is getting quite annoying now. "Kate," I call out, my voice stern as she finally looks down at me on the bed. "I'm fine, okay? Now let's leave." "But-" "Kate." "Fine, let’s go." Kate finally admits defeat, walking over to me with a sigh while the doctor she had been literally murdering
It seemed like time itself had no idea what on earth was going on, or why it didn't know whether to speed up or slow down. Everything seemed to be in a standstill, and yet in a roller coaster at the same time. I wanted to find her, but every single thought or idea seemed to freeze in my head at the same time I knew I was getting late. My whole nervous system was going into a panic mode. The only calm thing was the beating of my heart. How are you so calm at a moment like this? Our friend is kidnapped and missing and we don't have a clue as to where she could be. What's there to be calm now? And as if my heart already knew the answer, my eyes scanned the hallway once again, my sight turning blurry as another wave of tears flowed out. I was dead tired. My muscles hurt, and my bones felt weary. Exhaustion was getting the best of me and the health issue part of my brain was forcing me to retreat, to go back home and call the cops. But the
"Hello Rose.It'sme Lara.Let'scatch up on our good ole times hmm?" Lara. Lara has called. Finally. I glanced at Kate, whose face read confusion. Without replying, I begin to pull the phone from my ear in an attempt to place the call on loud speaker, but just then, Lara's voice rings out. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Of course you wouldn't. I scoff, putting the phone back in my ears. "That is true. Because you are not me and I'm not you, Lara Ahdieur." The mention of Lara's name had Kate widening her eyes. Then she looks away, having that look in her face when she is trying to put two and two together. Soon she looks up at me again, this time alarm written all over her face. Lara laughs on the other end, while I keep a straight face although my teeth are hurting from how hard I'm gritting them. "Same old Rose, with her sassy yet cool atti