She's missing, nowhere to be seen, and Toby's dead. It's not a coincidence, no matter how Jackson tried to convince me it was.I can't imagine that Gianna was strong enough to overtake Toby, but maybe he tried to go for seconds, and she fought back.
Maybe she was pissed and waited for him to come back so that she could take him out, and then she tied him up to send the rest of us a message.
I can feel something coming. It's in the air, in the chattering of the crows, the wind that whips around me as I drag in a breath full of smoke, letting the nicotine flood my veins. The cherry of my cigarette blooms red, the only bit of color in an otherwise dark night. There's a pale full moon, but it keeps slipping behind clouds, leaving me standing here on my front step in the cold night.
Mom and the girls went ahead of me to the fair, and Dad hasn't been home since he left this morning. I guess he's got his hands full trying to figure out how to explain this murder.
My phone went off all day, until I eventually shut it off.
Everyone is scared... everyone except Jackson, who whips into my driveway with his music blasting, completely unbothered by the fact that we saw one of our friends dead earlier today.
"Come on, fucker!" Jackson yells out the window to me as I drop my cigarette on the ground, stomping it out beneath my sneaker. "We're late!"
Coach is going to have our fucking ass for being so late, but if there's ever a time he may let it go, I have a feeling it's after one of our teammates was murdered. They canceled the game in the wake of it, but we're still all gathering to 'pay tribute'.
I turn his music down when I slide into the passenger seat, chewing over the words I want to say.
"Oh, come on," Jackson moans. "That's a good song!"
"Have you heard anything new? My dad's been out all day, so I feel like there's got to be something, right?"
"About Toby?" Jackson shrugs, glancing in the rearview mirror and putting the car in reverse. He drives us backwards fartoo fast and shifts into drive without even taking his foot off the gas pedal.
"Or Gianna."
Jackson turns to glare at me.
"I thought we agreed not to talk about her. Remember? Nobody knows we even know her."
"It's not like there's anyone around." I roll my eyes. "I mean, come on. You aren't the least bit..." I consider not saying it. Jackson's going to give me shit for saying it, but I don't care about my pride right now. "Scared?"
"Scared?" Jackson cackles as if that's the funniest thing he's ever heard. "Scared of what?"
"Anything." I shake my head, pushing my hair out of my face again. "Everything. Toby's dead. What if she's coming for us?"
"She wouldn'tcome for us," Jackson smirks. "I don't think she was all that into it last night."
"Can you be serious, for like, five minutes?"
Jackson turns to face me very dramatically. "Serious face. Go ahead."
He's patronizing me, but it's fine. I need to talk to someone, and my best friend is the only person here right now.
"The way I see it, there are two options. She survived and killed Toby, in which case, we're probably on her list. I mean, I'm the one who drugged her, and you put your whole fist inside her."
"Felt fucking amazing." Jackson smirks.
"I'm just saying, compared to that, what Toby did was innocent. I mean, he just fucked her pussy a little. Barely even took two minutes before he blew his load in her, and if she's that mad at him forthat, maybe she's plotting revenge against us too?"
"You watch too many movies." Jackson chuckles, but when he speaks next his voice is high-pitched, mocking. "Kids these days.Rotting their damn minds with horror movies and violent video games. And don't even get me started on the music..."
When I don't laugh at his sarcastic mockery, he sighs. "Fine. That's one option. What's the second?"
"That she's dead somewhere, Toby's murder was unrelated, and we're responsible for her death."
"That's the better option, honestly. We probably should have killed her before we left last night. It’s the only guaranteed way to make sure she keeps her damn mouth shut."
He doesn't blanch under my shocked stare. Instead, he shrugs.
