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Chapter 26
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2021-02-25 05:22:29The square was fairly crowded considering it was a Tuesday evening. Zoey pulled her car into an empty spot, and they waited to see if they were in the right area. The group of popular girls was still sitting on the benches talking to Shane and his friends when they left, and Beth had never been a welcome member of their group before, so she wasn’t completely sure they were parked on the right side of the square. She noticed Brittany pull in way down on the other side, like she knew her car would be scoffed at if she parked where the popular kids hung out. Beth’s three friends slowly began to walk in her direction.
“Should we get out?” Dee Dee asked, looking out the window.
“Hell if I know. I haven’t been on a square in eons,” Zoey replied. “Not since my sister brought us up here when we were, what, eleven?” she asked, looking at Beth.
Beth remembered the few times Z
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Beth let out a sigh, sad to see Michael go, and slightly disappointed that he seemed to think she was doing something wrong, not because she cared so much what he thought but because it was uncomfortable to receive critical judgment from him. He was normally one of the few who wasn’t judging her.Beth headed back over to the group of giggling girls. “He didn’t know where she lives. Neither did Sammy.”“Who?” Carly asked, her forehead crinkled.“Halley, goofball!” Amber gave her a playful shove in the arm, and Carly started laughing hysterically at her own stupidity. Beth giggled along with the other girls, wondering how in the world anyone that stupid ever got her driver’s license.A few minutes later, she realized that Brittany was gesturing for her to come over. “What’s going on?” Beth asked, keeping her head up so that she woul
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Beth snuck to the bathroom and scrubbed the makeup off of her face, using some eye makeup remover of her mother’s she found in the medicine cabinet. While she hated to see her normal reflection in the mirror, she felt relieved that she could be herself again now that she was home, and since there was little chance of the outside world knocking on her bedroom window tonight, she didn’t even have to worry about impressing anyone while she was in her room.The door to the stairs squeaked, and Beth made her way up in the pitch black carefully, a wave of exhaustion hitting her. She made the last turn and readied herself to attempt to retrieve the chain to the light when her face made contact with what felt like a brick wall. She stumbled backward losing her footing and tripping into the wall. A pain hit her ankle, and she gasped, trying to figure out what had just happened when the light came on.Shane was standing there on the l
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Keeping up the façade of being cool was easier once Beth found someone to take her to the mall. She decided it was a little ridiculous to ask the very girls she was trying to impress to give her a ride to buy all of the things she needed in order to do so, and asking her parents was out of the question. Her salvation had come in the form of her old friends, which was sort of ironic considering if Brittany hadn’t agreed to drive her, Beth would’ve had a harder time turning her back on the girls who were doing their best to help them.Beth had spent nearly every penny of her savings, which was significant, since she had been collecting her scorekeeping money for years, along with cash from birthday and Christmas cards, a small allowance her mother sometimes gave her if she felt she’d been particularly helpful with her little sisters, blackberry money she’d gotten from selling the blackberries she’d picked in her grandmo
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It had been almost a week since she spoke to Ryan, even though he tried to get her attention every night since she returned from her escapade on Tuesday. As she put the final touches on her makeup Friday night, the clinking of rocks against her window began to annoy her, so once she was satisfied her eyes looked nearly the same as they did when Zoey did them, and she was otherwise ready to step out the door, she took a deep breath and opened her blinds. The pebbles stopped as she tugged her window open, and he was sitting there staring at her, a relieved look on his face.“What do you want, Ryan?” Beth crossed her arms and bent over so she could see without sitting on the floor, cursing her low framed windows.“Hey, Beth! Wow—you must be going out tonight.”“Yeah, I am. Soon. Did you need something?”“You, uh, look different.”She
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Carly looked slightly annoyed as Beth flew down the sidewalk from her front porch to her new friend’s waiting Mustang. “Sorry!” Beth said, trying to sound only slightly apologetic. “I just couldn’t get my eyeliner straight.”“Oh, yeah. That sucks,” Carly agreed. “It looks great, though. Get in. We’ve gotta go get Amber.”Beth jumped into the front seat, trying to make it seem as natural as possible, like she belonged there, rather than in the back, or the trunk. She put her seatbelt on, and as Carly took off, she wished she had a couple more. This car had too much engine for such a tiny, inexperienced driver.“Your house is way pretty,” Carly said, stopping at the stop sign a block over, mostly in the intersection. “I didn’t know you lived there.”“Oh, yeah, thanks,” she said, trying to sound no
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“He’s so hot,” Jessica muttered, and Beth was pretty sure she was actually salivating looking at Ryan, standing several parking spots over, with Halley next to him, chatting him up, touching his arm from time to time, like she thought he was the most fascinating person in the world.Beth felt sick to her stomach. Ryan had no idea what he was getting into. Not only did she not trust Halley as far as she could throw her, now all of the popular girls were talking about how gorgeous he was. He was safer locked up in his room, like Rapunzel in her tower. Now, he was out in the cruel world, where these bitches would tear his fragile heart apart. And there was nothing she could do to save him, either.The new Beth wouldn’t care, however. She needed to remember that. The new Beth would be happy to mingle with the other kids, maybe give a tad bit of attention to the new guy, but mostly set her sights on the more popular g
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After about a half an hour of listening to her new friends gush all over every word Ryan said, Beth decided she’d had enough. She excused herself and headed over to another group of people. Tiffany was there, along with Mindy, and Shane was, too, but he was a few feet away, having an animated discussion with Marcus about some pro baseball player. Mindy was hanging off of Kyle, a new development, and every time she laughed, Beth wanted to jab her fingers far enough into her ears so that she could poke her own brain. But she had to ignore that urge and join in with them like she belonged there. Almost immediately upon her greeting them, Sammy took a few steps over so that he was also in the group, Robby following along like a puppy dog. Beth turned to see where Michael had gone off to and saw him join the conversation she had just left, leading her to believe he was avoiding her. She couldn’t really blame him for that, could she?She hadn&rsquo
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The sounds of several vehicles disturbed the wild life, and a few birds went flying into the sky, their feathers ruffled at the intrusion. Carly turned toward the creek, pulled her car up to the tree line, and cut the engine. They all piled out, though Beth had to infuse each movement with an enthusiasm she no longer felt. Shane’s loaded car came in a few seconds later, and soon laughter and music filled the night. She watched Michael’s truck amble up the road, could see Ryan and Halley laughing about something while their driver’s face was solemn. Michael must’ve felt like she did, like maybe this wasn’t a good idea. Several more cars turned in before she saw Sammy’s dad’s sedan. The boy she’d had a crush on for so long was alone.The music was coming from Tyler’s jeep, and it was loud. Beth liked Alice in Chains, but she wasn’t sure she needed to hear the band inside of her brain. Tyler, a lou
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Latest chapter
Pretty Little Monster Epilogue
The sun was sweltering the day they put Hannah Day in the ground. It wasn’t a dreary, stormy morning like in the movies, but it seemed fitting that Hannah’s funeral wouldn’t quite fit the mold either. She certainly hadn’t.Beth and Ryan held onto each other as the preacher said a few words about the beautiful girl who had meant so much to so many. There was no mention of the fact that she’d drowned trying to commit murder, and that according to the journal she kept, this was her second such act. Unfortunately for Brock Hill, there’d been no one there to save him.As the preacher finished his remarks, Beth squeezed Ryan’s hand, and they gave the casket one last look as Hannah’s mother began to wail. Beth couldn’t blame her for being unable to accept what her daughter had done—or what her daughter had been through herself. The journals were full of secrets Hannah hadn’t con
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“Damn,” Beth muttered, hoping she was okay. She might be batshit crazy, but the thought of anything permanently damaging happening to her made Beth sick to her stomach, especially since she’d been the one to push her.“What happened?” Michael asked. “You’re bloody, Beth.”Beth hadn’t realized her face was scratched up so badly until she dragged her hand across her cheek, and it came back pink. Halley had made contact quite a few times while they were under the water, but she had hardly felt it at the time. Now that her adrenaline was starting to die down, she was sure it would all come back to her.Sheriff Bill Jones ran up, flashlight in hand, before Beth could answer Michael. He snaked his way through the fence. “You kids all right?” he shouted, straightening his glasses and running his spread hand across his mustache.“No, we n
Pretty Little Monster Chapter 49
It wasn’t enough to scare her off, though, and Halley lunged at Beth as Ryan began to float away, still not conscious enough to help himself. Beth was aware that the creek meandered for about a quarter mile before a small, but powerful waterfall merged the creek with the lagoon. She couldn’t let him get away from her, but Halley was coming at her again, and this time, Beth was close enough for Halley to scratch her face.Beth pushed her back as hard as she could, balancing on one leg as she brought her other knee up and made contact with Halley’s gut. The smaller girl groaned, and Beth shoved her backward as hard as she could. Halley stumbled, regained her footing, and came at Beth again, but this time, Beth was out of the way, already moving toward Ryan. She dove into the water, reaching for his outstretched hand when she felt Halley latch on to her ponytail.Halley wasn’t pulling her up, though, she was pushing
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There was no time. All of it seemed to speed up and slow down, to move backward and forward at once. Beth could hear a struggle, somewhere in the water, and she recognized Ryan’s voice even though it was strained and groggy. She couldn’t make out what he was saying as every word was clipped by the sounds of splashing and gurgling. Frantically, she hunted for the entrance in the fence and was just about to give up and climb over when she spotted it—and spotted them.Beth could see Halley in the water. It was deeper here than Beth had expected as it hit her above the waist. Either that, or the girl was on her hands and knees. Her face was lifted to the sky like she was praying, and though it was difficult to see, in the light reflected off the surface of the water that swirled past her, Beth could tell Halley’s eyes were closed.At first, she was confused, not understanding where Ryan might be, but then his hand ca
Pretty Little Monster Chapter 47
Rushing over to her friends, she pressed the lid back down on Ryan’s drink. “Lexy, hold onto this. Don’t let it spill, and don’t drink it. Brittany, can you drive Andi down to the pay phone? Call your uncle, the sheriff, and get him down here, okay? I’m not sure what’s going on, but we might need him.”“Do you think it’s that serious?” Lexy asked as the other two started to move.“Maybe. I don’t know.” Beth didn’t have any more time to talk about it. If Ryan really was in trouble, she should’ve already been moving.She took off running, not sure of where she was going, but instinctively, she thought the creek would be the most logical place for Halley to take him if she was really trying to injure him. She hadn’t given him enough of whatever it was floating in his drink to kil
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“Hey, where’s Ryan?” she called when she was a few feet away from them. All three stood with their arms crossed, serious expressions on their faces.“We aren’t sure,” Lexy admitted. “He got up about ten, maybe fifteen minutes ago, and walked off, that way, into the park. With Halley.”Beth was confused. She peered off into the darkness. There were no lights at all in that section of the park. Across the street that circled the ball field, there was mostly just wide open space where people flew kites or lay on blankets in the shade. A few hundred yards away, off in the distance, she knew there was a chain link fence that separated the creek from the park so that no children accidentally ran into the water, but she couldn’t see it from here.“Why? Where were they going?” Beth asked, trying to keep her voice calm.“We don’t kno
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The baseball game Thursday night was at home against Juniper, one of the smaller towns in the area, and there was a pretty good chance Barryville would win by the mercy rule. Beth climbed the ladder to the scorekeeper’s box alone since her friends decided they wanted to sit on the bleachers where they could keep a better eye on things. Beth remembered Ryan mentioning he wanted to go to this game back when he’d first won his freedom, and she thought there was a possibility he might show up with Halley. Since Beth wouldn’t be able to see the bleachers from her post, her friends had volunteered to observe, even though they had no idea of the potential threat.Beth hadn’t told them about the pills or all the details of Halley’s mysterious past. They only knew that there was a chance Halley wasn’t who she said she was and that Beth thought she might be up to something no good. Telling Andi, Lexy, and Brittany that she thoug
Pretty Little Monster Chapter 44
It must’ve been a day for cleaning because that’s what her mother was doing, too. “There you are. Your phone has been ringing nonstop since you left. I really wish it wasn’t so loud.”“Sorry,” Beth muttered wondering who was calling her now. She headed to the door to the stairs, her mother still talking behind her.“Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. Your dad just got home from work. You really should go out in the back yard and play with him and the girls. You never do that anymore.”“Okay,” Beth said, but her hand was on the door. How was she supposed to figure out who was calling so that they’d stop and also spend time outside with her family? Her mother continued to run a rag over the old piano in the corner of the room, the one no one knew how to play, and Beth headed upstairs, hoping whoever had been calling had good news.
Pretty Little Monster Chapter 43
Mrs. Wilson opened the door on the second knock. A surprised, yet pleasant, look crossed her face. “Beth! How nice to see you. How are you, dear?”“I’m good, Mrs. Wilson. Is Ryan here? I need to talk to him for a few minutes, if he’s not busy.”“Oh, uh, sure.” She looked worried, like she was afraid Ryan might be unduly stressed by having to talk to his unstable friend. “Come on in.” She gestured at the living room, and Beth walked in slowly. In all of the time she’d been neighbors with Ryan, she’d never come to his house before.The living room wasn’t what Beth had expected. It was clean, but the furniture looked much newer than the outside of the house would indicate. The television was small and built into a cabinet that sat on the floor, like the one Beth’s parents had had when she was little. She took a seat on a green and white ch
