Present Day - June 7th, 2019
"To start off, I'd like to thank you for agreeing to speak with me today. I understand that this must be a challenge." The balding middle aged man kept his voice comforting as he motioned me into a crammed, dark room. I felt indifferent to the smell of stale dust and the slightly flickering light above us.
Goosebumps rose from my skin as I sat hesitantly on the icy metal chair. My expression fell flat, not responding to his comment immediately.
Really, what was I supposed to say? You're welcome, Officer Hudson. I'm so ecstatic to be here, speaking on my greatest trauma which occurred three days ago, brought about by the one person I trusted the most.
No. As unhappy as I was to be in my current position, being that much of a bitch wouldn't change anything.
"You're colleagues made me come, I wouldn't here here if I had a choice." I finally spoke, my voice dull and emotionless.
It was too soon for me to talk about this, I wasn't sure if I could even form the words. A monster like Kaden Wells didn't deserve my grief, nor would I bestow it on him. However, seventy-two hours is nowhere near the time I need to express that.
How does one recover from such a gruesome tragedy?
"I know this is a hard time for you Miss James, but in situations like this, actions need to be taken immediately. Since, according to the knowledge earned from interviewing some of your classmates, you were seen alongside Kaden Wells more than anyone. If he was capable of trust, he would've put it in you. You're the most qualified to give us some sort of motive." Officer Hudson spoke in sorrow.
Inhaling, I swallowed the disrespectful words which threatened to spew out. "Even if I did tell you everything Kaden had told me, what makes you think he was telling the truth? Obviously that boy lied with every breath, he manipulated me, and everyone else around him. If I had even the slightest suspicion that he was capable of such unthinkable actions, I would've turned him in myself. I'm not trying to offend you officer but I'm tired of everyone asking me about Kaden Wells. We were best friends, if you're implying that I knew about any of this, than you are mistaken. Yes we were close, but that doesn't matter. I didn't mean anything to him, I was just another pawn in his messed up game."
"I understand Miss, but..."
"No, you dont understand! Don't even pretend like you do, because I wouldn't wish this feeling on anyone. Pretending like you relate too me won't get me too talk."
"Miss James-"
"Could you imagine someone close too you doing something even remotely related to what Kaden did?" I was being rude, I knew it. But after everything that has happened over the last week, I was exhausted. I didn't want to be here. Officer Hudson looked at me with pity, but soon pulled himself together and placed a stern look onto his face.
"Miss James, I'm just going to cut to the chase. We need you to tell us everything about your friendship with Kaden, if we have any hopes of discovering a motive. You're right, I can't begin to imagine what you are going through miss, but don't you want closure?" Officer Hudson paused for a moment.
"The only way we can give you that is if you tell us everything. When you met, your fights, anything romantic, and when you realized a change in him."
I took a second to fully comprehend what Officer Hudson was saying, and as much as I hated admitting it, he was correct.
If I don't get all of this out of my system soon, I'll go mad. That is, if I haven't already.
"Fine. I'll tell you. But not for him, or for you. For me. However, if I'm gonna tell you the story of our friendship, I'm gonna tell it right. Every little detail. When I leave this room, I will never talk about Kaden again. I want to wipe his memory out of my existence. If you can promise me that I won't be hearing from anymore cops or reporters, I'll tell you everything."
Officer Hudson took a moment to reply, as if he was carefully thinking through his reply. "I think I can arrange that."
"Alright, where do you want to start?"
"As most stories start, from the beginning."
⦠psychotic â¦
September, 2018
"Welcome to Pine Hill high school! You must be Avery. I'm Mrs. Key! You know, the one you come to if you need any help finding your way around, or just some friendly advice. According to your file, you just moved from California, right?"
The uncomfortable fabric of the chair which I was seated in caused me to pull my skirt down. My arms couldn't find a comfortable position, therefore ending up drooping into my lap. When I focused on Mrs. Key, I picked up that she talks a lot and wears too much makeup.
That was my brutally honest first impression, though I scolded myself for it. However, Mrs. Key seemed like a genuinely caring person. Her smile was bright and her voice was sincere.
It seemed like I could use someone like that right now.
It's only a matter of time before you adapt to constant change, and I was easily past that. My parents, being financial advisors for several wealthy businesses, went wherever their customers wanted them too, therefore dragging me with.
In this case, that's Runswick, Maine. Home to many very wealthy families, who loved to show it.
However used to moving I was, I was still unable to shake the uncomfortable feeling that came with being the 'new kid'. It never got any easier, separating from familiar faces and starting all over again.
Although Pine Hill was beautiful, with large glass windows almost everywhere in sight, dark tile floors with tan walls with designs painted on it to match the schools mascot, and mottos all along dark lockers, it still wasn't right.
"Yeah, I used to live in San Francisco. Its a nice city, but its far more visually pleasing here." I replied politely.
"This is quite a town isn't it? I'm sure our students will be thrilled to have you here. It's not very often that we have a newcomer."
I smiled, although her statement made me feel even more nervous. "It is, but that's very refreshing."
The woman opened her mouth to reply, but the urgent squeak of the front door cut her off.
"Sorry I'm late Mrs. Key." A brunette spoke while he entered the room, sounding tired but not entirely out of breath. He looked well put together, wearing a white polo shirt with black jeans.
"It's no problem Kaden. I'd like to introduce you yo Avery James. She just moved from California and I thought you'd be a good fit to help her feel at home here in Pine Hill High." Mrs. Key exclaimed clapping her hands together.
"Hey, I'm Kaden, as you just heard." He said with a nice smile, and a tone that clearly showed he was trying to avoid awkward tension.
"I'm Avery, also as you just heard." I laughed lightly, turning back to Mrs. Key who handed me a schedule with my classes on it.
"Well, I shouldn't keep you two for any longer, first period is about to start, have a great first day! I hope you enjoy Runswick as much as I do."
Kaden and I both smiled at her and then walked out the door.
"Can I see your schedule?" He asked. I handed it over and Kaden eye's scanned the sheet.
"Ok so your first class is AP Literature, which is upstairs on the other half if the school. We have second and fifth together, so it should be easy for you to find me. I'll show you where you have third, fourth and sixth after second period." Kaden spoke fast, which made it hard for me to completely catch on. A look of amusement covered his face, he clearly saw that I wasn't following.
"Did you catch any of that?"
"Not really, But I should be able to figure it out." I admittedly lightheartedly. He nodded, leading me up the stairs.
"So whats this school like?" I asked, trying avoid uncomfortable silence.
The brunette shrugged. "It's fine, the people here are nice, but obviously spoiled. Unfortunately for you, I'm not a great person to ask."
I furrowed my eyebrows. "And why is that?"
"I don't necessarily get along with most people here, so I try to fly under the radar." He laughed, continuing to walk quickly.
"That surprises me." I admitted before I could stop myself.
Kaden looked back at me with an amused expression. "And why is that?" He mocked.
"I guess you just seem easy to get along with."
Kaden raised his eyebrows and looked like he was trying to hold back a smile. "Well, you don't really know me."
"Fair point." I nodded.
"Here you are." He lead me to a dark wood door, that had the words "AP literature" on it.
"Thank you, really. I'm sorry if I made you late to your next class. See you around?" I asked, about to open the door. Kaden had already began to walk away, but I heard him faintly yell,
"Maybe!"
I smiled a little, before opening the door.
My eyes felt immediately lost. I saw at least forty desks, all with at least one person in it. Unfortunately, this meant I had to relive every new kids worst fear. The "is anyone sitting here" line.
I could've switched it up a little, but you can't go wrong with the classics, right?
I locked eyes with a pretty blonde girl, who had short hair and blinding green eyes. She smiled, and waved me over. I returned her smile and went to go sit with her.
"Hey! I'm Kate. You don't seem familiar, are you new?" She stated as I took a seat.
"Oh, yeah. I just moved here from San Francisco. I'm Avery." I replied back with a smile. We continued to talk until a very tall man whom I assumed to be my teacher walked in. He had grey hair and a serious case of resting bitch face, which immediately made me intimidated.
"Good morning, class of 2019! I'm Mr. Sloane and today marks the beginning of the end of your high school career, and if my job to make sure you make the best of it." He announced with an enthusiastic clap, moving him down a notch on the intimation scale.
Mr. Sloane went on for a while, laying out lesson plans, future projects and his overall expectations. He wore a friendly smile, and his clear excitement made his monotonous voice far more bearable. His obvious passion for teaching made me want to listen to his continuous babbling.
Before I knew it, the bell rang and it was time for second, which was Calculus. As soon as I walked out the door, I saw Kaden standing a few feet away, having an easy with a teacher I didn't recognize.
When I caught his attention, he gave me a slight wave, wished the teacher goodbye and headed in my direction. I gave him a small smile, and a look I couldn't place, one with hints of amusement and surprise.
"Hey, how was your first class?" He asked, his face returning to its previous expression.
"Fine, fairly boring, but Mr. Sloane seems like a cool guy."
"I had Sloane last year for AP English, he's a great teacher. We should get to class, unlike Mr. Sloane, Miss. Willis isn't as easy to get along with, and if we're late she'll most likely give us detention." Kaden motioned me to follow him as he walked quickly down the hallway.
We walked at a normal pace until we reached the classroom. Luckily, we arrived two minutes early.
A seating plan was organized on the projector, which was abnormal to me, as my old schools had all been free seating, but I didn't question it.
Kaden gave me a quick smile than took a seat next to a guy with big glasses and colorful hair.
I was seated next to a girl named Laura. She hadn't come to class yet, so I just took a seat in my desk fidgeting with my pencil absentmindedly.
Soon enough, a pack of students came through the door. Two blonde guys wearing plain t-shirts along with at least five girls. They looked towards the board, earning split groans and shrugs.
Who I assumed to be Laura made her way over to me. She had glowing dark skin and curly hair tied into a ponytail. Her brown eyes dulled as she looked at me, but quickly put on a somewhat artificial smile.
"Hey! Are you new? I'm Laura." She said nicely.
I returned her expression, replying with a simple, "Yeah, it's nice to meet you. I'm Avery." Because it seemed as if she wasn't looking for much conversation.
Our teacher came in and introduced herself. She seemed less invested than Mr. Sloane as she read through our lesson plans for the rest of the semester.
As much as I disliked math, I was fairly good at it was wasn't too worried about what we were learning.
As the day passed, I couldn't name how many times I had received the comment, "Hi, are you new?"
All of them were of kindness, probably in hopes of making me feel more welcome. It worked to an extent, introducing myself to people made myself feel admittedly less uncomfortable. For the first time, I was able to place several names with several faces on the first day.
After the last bell rang, Kaden was outside my last class.
"So, was your first day everything you hoped and more?" He asked in a sarcastic tone.
I rolled my eyes and smiled. "Totally."
"Oh come on, I saw you talking to like a thousand different people, your day couldn't have been that bad."
"Hey, I didn't say it was bad!"
"You implied it."
"Implying is different. It wasn't even bad. Everyone here is very welcoming." I replied attempting to be convincing.
"You are such a bad liar." He laughed slightly.
"I don't know what you want from me." As I was speaking, I struggled to open locker. Today is not my day.
"You good there?" Kaden asked, probably getting annoying with my several failed attempts.
"Yep. I just haven't opened a locker since eighth grade. They were banned at my last three schools." I replied, finally getting my code right and yanking open the lock.
"You must move around a lot, don't you?"
"Yeah I guess, I've been to eight different schools in my life."
Kaden's expression hinted pity that I wasn't thrilled about, but his voice remained the same. "Doesn't that get tiring?"
"Yeah, I guess. But what am I gonna do?" I shrugged, gathering my stuff into my backpack. Kaden nodded.
"Alright Avery, I'll see you tomorrow. In case you forgot, the exit is right down the hall to your right." He mocked jokingly, trying to lift the mood.
"Very funny, see you tomorrow Kaden."
⦠psychotic â¦
"How was your first day?" My mother spoke in a disinterested manner. She was dressed in a tight white dress and wore expensive diamond earrings.
It irked me, my mom craved others envy and loved to make it seem like we had more money than we did.
I'll admit that we're doing well, easily in the upper-middle class, but we weren't like, filthy rich. My mother, obsessed with reputation, wouldn't allow anyone to think that we were any less than millionaires.
"It was good." I replied with a forced smile.
"Meet any friends?" She added, obviously distracted by rummaging through her Kate Spade handbag
I shrugged, pouring myself a glass of water. "Friends? No. Acquaintances? Sure."
"Thats good." Conversations with either of my parents tended to be awkward, but this was something I had gotten used too.
"The rest or our belongings have arrived, your father put your boxes in your room." It was obvious she was trying to keep the conversation going, but I wasn't really in the mood to have a thirty minute conversation that revolved around nothing, so I gave her a smile and walked upstairs to my room.
My socks slid slightly on the shiny hardwood, as I really looked around my new home. It was large, probably five hundred square feet bigger than the last. The floors were a dark brown while the walls were various shades of grey. The baseboards were white to break up the conflict of the colors.
It was a nice house, but not anything special.
Over the course of the evening, I unpacked my room, hanging up pictures with friends who I was probably never going to talk to again, organizing my wardrobe and figuring out what exactly I wanted to do with empty exterior.
Around eleven P.M, I made my room as much of my own as possible in a few hours. It was refreshing to fall back onto my pillowy bed, full of blankets and pillows I was unsure of what to do with.
I stared at the white ceiling, which was identical to all of my previous ones. I blinked, the flicker would bringing me back to California. I blinked again, picturing my childhood room around me now. Though it did nothing but ease the weight on my shoulders, the memories of my old lives brought about a sense of refreshment.
Taking a deep breath, I sat up.
I'm okay, I've moved on.
Everything would be okay.
Authors Note
hey guys!! so i have had the idea for this book for a very long time and i never really have had the time to really develop the plot and characters, but now, as you see, i finally am! the book concept started off completely differently but i like it a lot better now.
also, if you have read any of my other books i most likely won't be putting them back up (im sorry kssjsj) but i will do my best to update this one somewhat regularly!
thank you so much for reading!!