by Bella King
He leaned back. “I hate to tell you this, Alice, but Grace is missing. Her body wasn’t found in the fire, but we recently got a report in saying that she didn’t come home tonight.”
“What the fuck is going on?” I exclaimed, verbalizing my confusion. This was getting seriously crazy. Literally every single person that Travis knew was either dying or going missing, and nobody knew why.
“Do you know who Eve is?” Detective Charles asked me.
I shook my head, but then stopped when I remembered the day I had met Travis. He had been yelling at a girl named Eve, threatening her. I slowly began to nod. “Yes, I have seen her before.”
Travis glanced at me nervously, which the detective picked up on. He squinted at me. “How do you know her?”
I shrugged. “I saw Travis yelling at her during my first week at Crimson High. I never really spoke to her though.”
The detective turned to Travis. “Son, you have a lot of explaining to do. Eve is also missing.”
Travis frowned. “I haven’t talked to her since when Alice was talking about. I just got into an argument with her that day. That’s all.”
The detective leaned in. “About what?”
Travis sighed. “Her dad is abusive. I was trying to give her advice and she wouldn’t listen.”
What the hell was wrong with this school? First, I find out that Travis’s father beats him, then I find out that the girl he was yelling at, who apparently is now missing just like Grace and Kimberly, also came from an abusive home. I didn’t see how any of this tied together, but Travis certainly knew more than he was letting on to.
Detective Charles shook his head. “We don’t have any evidence of foul play from her parents. As far as we know, Eve had a completely normal life at home. The fact still stands that she is missing, along with Grace, and that the Brier house burned down, killing three students. That makes 5 people that could be dead, and over half of them are close to you, Travis.”
Travis shrugged. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”
Detective Charles looked back at me. “Continue telling me what happened tonight at the party,” he said.
“Well,” I continued, “I was at the party when Grace’s brother got mad at me, but Travis came and rescued me. Then I went home.” I purposely skipped over the part about Travis confronting and touching me in the bedroom. I was embarrassed and still confused about that. I didn’t want to tell this detective about something so personal.
Travis seemed more at ease once I skipped over the part about him and me. He seemed more concerned about getting in trouble for that, than for the disappearances of Grace and Eve, or for the house burning down.
Detective Charles drummed his fingers on the table, trying to figure out where to go with the interrogation. After a minute, he broke the silence. “We don’t have any reason to believe that the fire was an arson, but we’re still investigating. Both of you are free to go, but I would strongly suggest staying in the city until this case gets closed. Do you understand?”
Travis and I both nodded. He seemed almost surprised to be let go. The detective took him out of his handcuffs and turned to me. “Do you need a ride home?”
I looked at Travis. “No, I think Travis and I will go together.”
Travis nodded.
“Alright,” Detective Charles said, waving a hand at the other detective to step aside from the door. “Stay safe out there.”
“We will,” Travis said as we left the room.
When Travis and I got outside, I turned to him. “What the fuck is going on?”
Travis shrugged. “I don’t really know.”
“I know you do. I didn’t even tell detective Charles about everything that happened between us at the party. I honestly don’t know why I keep sticking up for you if you’re going to behave like this,” I said angrily.
Travis looked at me, then pointed to the parking lot. “My car is over there. Let’s talk inside.”
I followed him to his car, the cool night air feeling thick and heavy on this particular evening. I could have sworn I smelled smoke in the air from the Brier’s house as I stepped into Travis’s jet black car.
Chapter 12
Travis pressed a button on the dash and his car roared to life. “I think we can talk here,” he said, pulling out of the police station lot.
I nodded, not sure what he was going to tell me. I was a little scared, to be honest, because there was even more evidence piling up that painted Travis as a murderous psychopath.
Travis took a deep breath. “First of all, I didn’t kill anybody.”
“Okay,” I said, “Is that all you wanted to say?”
“No, but I want you to understand that. I’m not a murderer, but I don’t know who is. All I know is that Eve is okay. I don’t know what happened to Grace, or Kimberly for that matter,” Travis explained, his eyes staring at the dark road ahead, lost in thought.
“How do you know Eve is okay?”
“She said she was planning on running away from home. I was trying to help her, to convince her to stay at Crimson High for longer so that she would have a chance out there in the real world, but she didn’t listen to me. She’s gone, but I’m not going to say where she went. Her parents would make her life hell if they found her and brought her back home. Do you understand?”
“I guess so,” I said, trying to process all the information that Travis had given me. “Why did the house burn down though, and where is Grace?” I asked.
Travis shrugged. “Somebody is out to get me. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Kain died in the fire after he turned against me. I think someone wants to make it look like I killed him. It’s stupid, but it’s all I have.”
“Do you know anyone who would want to do that?” I asked, not sure whether to believe him.
Travis turned down another street and shrugged. “Half the people at Crimson High hate me. The other half love me. I don’t know who would hate me badly enough to fuck me over like this, though.”
“You do realize that all of this sounds crazy. I’m not sure whether I believe you,” I said. “You still haven’t explained the whole Kimberly thing.”
Travis shook his head. “And I won’t either. That’s not something you need to know about. I didn’t kill her, that’s all.”
Travis would admit to helping Eve run away, even to lying to the police about it, but he wouldn’t give me any information about Kimberly’s disappearance. He obviously knew a lot about it, being one of the closest people to Kimberly, but he refused to say a damn thing.
I placed my hand on Travis’s leg. “You can tell me about it,” I said gently. “I’m not going to tell anyone.”
Travis slammed on the brake, sending his car skidding down the liquid black pavement for a hundred feet before coming to a stop. I was flung forward, my seatbelt the only thing keeping me from flying through the windshield.
“Jesus Christ Travis, are you trying to kill us?”
Travis unbuckled his seatbelt, leaned over, and planted his lips firmly onto mine. I was in so much shock that I froze again, captivated by Travis’s sudden action. His hot tongue explored inside of my mouth as he kissed me with desperation.
I knew that whatever was going on between Travis and I needed to stop, like, the moment I had met him, but I couldn’t help but get pulled in by his energy. I eased into the kiss, going so far as to kiss him back.
Travis slipped a hand under my skirt again, moving it quickly up my thigh and rubbing between my legs. I was excited but scared by what was happening. This was too quick, and I wasn’t ready.
“Travis, stop it,” I said, pushing him away. I licked my lips, tasting him on me as he leaned back and removed his hand.
“I want you, Alice,” he said. His voice rumbled in his throat as he spoke. “I want you right now.”
I shook my head. “Why are you doing this? This isn’t right.”
Travis came at me again, but I was prepared this time. I raised a knee, hitti
ng him in the stomach. He clutched his stomach and curled over, gasping for breath.
I stayed in the car. “Drive me home,” I demanded.
Travis shook his head. “Fuck you.”
“I said, drive me home.” My voice was trembling with anger, shrill and unforgiving as I yelled at Travis. Any sympathy that I once had for him had vanished. He had taken things way too far, and I never asked for him to be a part of my life. It was time for this to stop once and for all.
Travis clutched his stomach, painful tears in his eyes as he pushed the button on his dashboard again and started the car. He didn’t say anything to me as he drove me home. When he arrived, I jumped out of his car and ran into my house.
When I got inside, my parents were still up waiting for me. My mom rushed over to me and hugged me. I held her and comforted her. She was an emotional person like I was.
“How did it go?” My dad asked, getting up from the old brown couch that made our living room look like it had been designed in the 70s. My parents had sacrificed a lot to be able to afford sending me to Crimson High.
“Fine. There are some people missing from school, but the detective just wanted my version of the story. I doubt I was much help to them,” I explained.
My dad nodded. “It’s normal for them to question innocent people. I’m sure they’re taking in a lot of the students to figure out how to fire started.”
I nodded. My dad didn’t know how close I had been to the action, or how deep I was involved with all of this now that Travis had told me about Eve. I was content to get back to school and ignore Travis from now on, but I doubted I could just forget about the whole situation. I was worried that this would somehow come back to bite me.
I didn’t want my parents to worry though, so I kept things low key. I yawned, showing them how tired I was. It was already long past midnight, and I still had to go to work the next day. I’m sure Amy would want to talk to me on my break tomorrow, so I had to take time to think about what all I would be telling her.
I wasn’t going to tell Amy about what happened between me and Travis. The best thing for me to do was to leave everything behind me and hope that Travis was done with me. He had done enough damage already, and his aggressive sexual actions had pushed things over the edge. I could no longer tolerate him.
“I think I’m going to go to sleep,” I said, excusing myself from my parents and heading up the stairs to my bedroom.
I got upstairs before remembering that Kain had died in the fire. Amy would probably be devastated. I grabbed my phone and sent her a text message to call me in the morning, before jumping into bed and falling asleep.
I slept like the dead that night.
Chapter 13
I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. It was Amy.
I picked it up my phone and croaked a greeting.
Amy’s voice was tired, probably from lack of sleep. “How are you doing, Alice?”
“I’m fine. I heard about Kain. I’m really sorry all of this happened.”
Amy sighed. “This shit is so fucked up. I don’t even want to go to school tomorrow. Crimson High is turning into a nightmare.”
“You can say that again,” I said, knowing full well how insane things had become.
“By the way, your work is closed because someone burned the place to the ground last night. It’s all over the news.”
I bolted upright. “What?!”
“Yeah, so I guess you’re free to hang out.”
“Wait a minute. There’s no way that’s a coincidence. First the Brier’s house and then my workplace, both in the same night?”
“Do you think someone did it on purpose?” Amy asked.
I didn’t want to bring Amy into this. As much as I hated it, Amy wasn’t the one who I needed to talk with right now, Travis was.
I tried to end the conversation as quickly as possible. “I don’t think so. It’s just weird, but I guess that’s life. Anyway, I have a family thing today, so I can’t hang out.”
“Aw, but I guess I’ll see you at school tomorrow,” Amy said hopefully.
“Of course. Take care of yourself, okay?”
“You too. Thanks!”
I hung up the phone and tried to think how I could find Travis. I didn’t know much about where he lived, and I didn’t have his phone number. I looked through my contacts, not seeing anyone who could help. Fuck, I wasn’t going to be able to get ahold of him unless someone I knew had his contact.
I flicked through my contacts again, searching more carefully, but I didn’t find anyone who could help me. I hadn’t been going to Crimson High long enough to really know anyone but Amy, who I had already known before I started there.
I went downstairs to make breakfast, feeling defeated. Neither of my parents were awake yet, so I poured myself a bowl of cereal and sat down on the couch to watch TV until I decided what to do with myself. This was going to be a long day.
About five minutes into my listless flicking through channels, I heard a rumble of a car engine in the driveway. I jumped up and tiptoed to the window, peeking through the curtains to see who it was. I was surprised to see Travis’s car idling in the driveway.
I left my bowl of cereal on the coffee table and rushed outside, placing a hand on my forehead to shield the morning sun from my sleepy eyes.
Travis opened his car door and stepped out.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him.
Travis didn’t really explain himself well, as usual. “You need to come with me, Alice.”
“Not after that stunt you pulled last night,” I said.
He chuckled. “Do you think I really care that much about you to be offended? I can have any woman at Crimson High. You’re not that special. Get in the car and I’ll explain where we’re going.”
I crossed my arms. “No way. Tell me what you want or I’m calling detective Charles and telling him about how you helped Eve run away from home.”
Travis grew serious. “I swear to god, Alice. Get in the damn car. I can’t explain everything right in front of your house.”
I groaned, closing the front door and trudging to his car. Travis looked satisfied as I opened his car door and jumped in.
Memories of the night before flooded in as Travis hopped in beside me. This time I wasn’t wearing a skirt, so there was no danger that Travis would try to get his hands under it again. I wasn’t going to let him use me. I had more respect for myself than that.
Once again, Travis pulled out onto the road with me in his car and began revealing more information to me. “The diner was burned down last night,” Travis said.
“I know. I work there,” I replied.
“Well, I’m starting to think you’re in danger,” Travis replied. “I don’t know who is behind this, but they literally killed three students when they burned down the Briers’ place. Grace is gone too, and nobody knows why. Shit’s getting heavy.”
“Do you think someone really has it out for me?” I asked.
“It’s possible, but it would only be because you’ve been hanging out with me. Maybe the person who is doing all of this thinks that we’re working together to uncover what happened to Kimberly. Maybe they want to hide it.”
“I don’t have anything to do with Kimberly. That was years before I even came to Crimson High,” I said, growing confused.
“You don’t but I do, and I think I’ve figured out where she is.”
“Kimberly?” I asked, the hairs on my arms and legs standing straight up.
“Yes, and I think she’s dead,” Travis said in a deep and serious voice. “And because I’m getting closer to the truth, you’re in danger. I think the person behind all of this doesn’t want you to help me. They probably think you know more than you actually do, so at this point, there’s no harm in telling you.”
“God, Travis, I don’t want to know. I never wanted to be involved in any of this crazy shit,” I pleaded.
“Yeah, but it’s too late. Whether you like
it or not, you’re part of this. You might as well help me.”
“I don’t want to help you Travis. You’re a dick,” I stated defiantly.
Travis laughed. “I don’t give two fucks what you think about me, Alice. You’re going to help me or I’m going to let whoever is coming to get you, have you. That’s not a threat, it’s a promise.”
I was stuck in a very bad situation. Travis was now forcing me to go along with him even if I didn’t want to, at risk of him leaving me to the dogs. I didn’t want to be another victim to whatever psycho was out killing the students of Crimson High, but in doing so, I was running straight into the arms of another psycho. Great.
I was between a rock and a hard place, but Travis didn’t give me the time to make the decision. Instead, he made it for me, beginning the story of what happened three years ago when Kimberly disappeared.
Chapter 14
“Three years ago, Kimberly and I became good friends. Sure, we had our quarrels, but overall, we got along well together. There wasn’t a day that went by at Crimson High that we weren’t skipping down the halls together and talking about everything under the sun,” Travis began, almost cheerfully.
“We were fifteen, Alice. We were teenagers, still coming to terms with who we were and what we wanted from life. I suppose things are still kind of like that, at least for me.”
“Anyway, the day that Kimberly went missing, there was some construction going on at the back of the school. I think that if someone killed Kimberly, its possible that they could have used that to their advantage. Maybe they hid her body in the cement or something. Shit, I mean, she could even be in one of the walls of Crimson High.”
I recoiled. “That’s horrible.”
Travis nodded. “Kimberly didn’t have any reason to run away from home like Eve did. That’s a whole different story. I don’t think she would do something like that. I think someone killed her and put her somewhere in the school. It makes sense.”
“And another thing. Grace has gone missing now, right after she got expelled. Now, I never liked her that much, but she was good at doing things for me. She was clever and knew how to listen. She was also the last person who saw Kimberly before she vanished. It would make sense to remove her from the equation.”
