I choked back tears as I couldn’t hide my anger and disappointment that this person didn’t show up. Now I feel as if they were fucking with me all along. This wasn’t right at all. They may have fooled me today with making me meet them somewhere so they could tell me who they are and why they’re harassing me like this, but I’m not gonna be fooled anymore from this day on.
CHAPTER 25
I was still seething from being stood up by this secret person as I sat in my fifth-period U.S. History class. I told Ava during lunch about receiving the text from this person and even showed it to her, and told her that even though I was very scared to go meet with them, I went because I really wanted to know who this was, but it was obvious that they were only fucking with me and had no intentions on wanting me to know who they were after all. She told me that I would eventually find out who it was, and it’ll probably happen when I least expected it — she was probably right about that.
Class began and was in session for five minutes when it was interrupted by an announcement over the speakers. “Please excuse this interruption. Due to an unfortunate situation, school has been cancelled for the rest of the day, as well as for the rest of this week. Students are to walk, not run, to get their things for today. The school buses are already here for the day for those who take them. Again, school has been cancelled for the rest of today and for the rest of this week. Classes will resume on Monday. Thank you,” the head administrator announced.
Everyone gasped as they looked at each other; we were all wondering what the hell was going on.
I walked out of class with Marie as I dialed Brad’s number. Since he was the school’s president, I knew that he probably knew why school was cancelled for the rest of this week. There was no answer so I hung up and continued to walk to my locker with Marie.
Ava joined us in the hall. “What the fuck?! Do you guys know why school has been cancelled for the rest of this week? It’s only Tuesday,” she asked as we walked to our lockers.
“No, we don’t. I was trying to get a hold of Brad to see if he knew,” I replied as I tried him again, and still, there was no answer.
The halls were loud with students cheering and some shrugging and talking to each other about why we were all let out early and not only early, let out for the rest of this week. Teachers were in the halls making sure students got their things and left, and it was obvious that they were hurrying all of us to get our stuff so we could get out of the building.
“PLEASE, STUDENTS! HURRY UP AND GET YOUR THINGS! NO LOITERING AROUND! YOU MUST LEAVE RIGHT AWAY!” a teacher yelled as he walked through the halls.
I looked at Ava. “What the hell is going on? Was there some sort of bomb threat that was called in that they don’t wanna tell us about?”
“I don’t know. Something seems really strange about all of this. Everything was fine this morning, and now we’re all being rushed out of here like it’s some kind of emergency,” Ava said while she collected what she needed out of her locker.
Ava, Marie, and I stood around in a circle talking.
“Come on, girls, let’s go. You all have a ride home, don’t you?” a teacher asked us.
We all said that we did.
I saw Brad talking to his friends at his locker; we all began to walk towards him. Once we approached him, I tapped him on his back.
He turned around. “Hey, Vanessa.”
“Hey, baby. I tried to call you. Why are we all leaving school early?”
He looked at me. “Um, could you all meet me at my house? I need to tell you all something but I just can’t do it here,” he told me.
I stared at him. I started to feel sick, like something was seriously wrong. “Brad, what is it? What’s going on? Does this have to do with why we all have to leave now?”
“Vanessa, just get Ava and Marie to come by, okay? All of my friends are gonna be meeting me at my house, too. I have to go, baby; I gotta get back to the office. I shouldn’t be that long here,” he replied.
“Brad, what the fuck is going on?!” I said, because now I was very much on edge, especially after being stood up earlier.
“Vanessa! Please! Just meet me at my house, okay? Go on. I gotta go. I’ll see you in about twenty minutes,” he said, and then walked off with a staff member.
I stared at him as he walked away. I didn’t know what to think, but I knew that something was seriously wrong; there was no more doubt in my mind about it.
Ava walked up to me after talking to Marc. “So, what did Brad tell you?”
“He wants us all to meet him at his house; he wouldn’t tell me anything more than that. I think he knows why we have to leave early — he just doesn’t wanna tell me here.”
“I think he knows, too. Okay, we’ll meet him at his house; that’s what Marc was saying that Brad wanted us all to meet him at his house.”
“Does Marc know?”
“No, he doesn’t — I asked him — unless he does know but he just isn’t saying anything.”
I nodded as I saw Marie talking to Lisa and some other girls. I walked towards them, and when Lisa saw me, she walked away with the other girls and left school. “Um, Marie, Brad wants us to come by his house,” I told her.
“For what?” she asked.
“I don’t know; he wouldn’t tell me.”
“Well, okay. I’ll be there.”
“Okay. Because as you see, the teachers are rushing all of us out of here so something serious must be going on.”
She nodded. “Yeah, I wonder what?”
Ava, Marie, and I walked out of school.
Just as announced, the school buses were already outside. More teachers and other staff members told us to get in our cars and leave right away. This was definitely making me uneasy because they were rushing us out of school and no one was telling us why. But I knew that I would find out from Brad in a few minutes because I knew that he knew why, and he seemed very upset.
CHAPTER 26
Ava, Marie, and I stood outside in Brad’s long driveway and talked as we waited for him to show up. His parents weren’t at home so we had no choice but to stand outside. John, Ken, and Zac were here as well, and we all talked about what we thought was the reason why we were all let out of school early.
“I heard someone say that it was a gas leak,” Zac said.
“Well, if it was, then I’m glad they got us the hell out of there!” Ava replied.
“Someone said it was a bomb threat that was called in,” Ken said.
“That’s possible, too. Who knows? I think Brad does know so I don’t know why he didn’t tell me,” I said with a sigh.
A minute later, Brad came driving up in his SUV with Marc. They got out of the car and we all walked up to the house.
Brad opened the door and we all walked in. “You can all have a seat in the family room,” he said.
We all settled down on the couches in the family room.
I stared at Brad because I knew that he was very upset about something. “Brad, what’s going on? Why did we all have to leave school early?”
Brad lowered his head. He let out a sigh. “I’m afraid I have something horrible to tell you all.”
Everyone gasped!
I stood up and walked over to him; I held on to him. “Brad, what is it?”
He looked at me, and then lowered his head.
“Brad, come on, now! What is it?” I asked again.
Brad looked around the room as everyone looked at him. He took a very deep breath. “The reason why everyone was let out early today because a janitor found a dead body in a room.”
We all went crazy!
“What the fuck, Brad! Who is it?! Do you know?!” I asked.
“It was Natalie,” he informed us as his head hung low.
Everyone exploded in grief!
Marie screamed as she collapsed to the floor and pounded her fists as hard as she could on it. “NOOOOO! NOT NATALIE! SHE CAN’T BE DEAD! WHAT THE FUCK?! BRAD, YOU’RE FUCKIN’ LYING!!” she
screamed at him.
Ava and I cried as we tried to help Marie off the floor as the guys sat in shock as they shook their heads.
“This can’t be real, man, it just fuckin’ can’t be! No way, man!” Ken said, and then got up and walked around the room.
Brad let out a deep sigh. “It was her, you all. She was found dead in a room down on the basement-level floor of the school where most of the janitors are stationed at before, during, and after work. I saw her body myself; it’s gonna haunt me for the rest of my life. She was murdered. I saw blood all around her neck and everything so it looked like her throat was slit—”
“SHUT THE FUCK UP, BRAD!!! SHUT UP!!!” Marie screamed as Ava and I held her.
I tried to keep from gasping as I still held Marie when Brad said this! It was a feeling that had come over me that I couldn’t believe and didn’t wanna believe about those horrific sounds that I’d heard during third period that came from a room that was on the same floor that I was on. No. Way.
“Marie, I’m so sorry. We’re gonna find out who killed her, okay?” Brad told her.
Marie nodded as she continued to sob.
“Well, since this happened at school then the killer definitely goes there or works there. And in terms of the room that she was found in, those doors are just as unlocked as the classrooms are. People go into those rooms all the time to make-out or whatever,” Ken said.
And I went into one of those rooms to wait for the secret person to show up, as well as made-out a lot in them, so I know what he means, I thought.
“Very true. Well, Marie, we’ll find out who did it,” Brad said to her.
“I really hope so, Brad, I really hope so,” Marie sobbed.
“What about the janitor who discovered her? He could’ve killed her, or some other staff member,” Zac said.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“That’s true, Zac. Everyone is a suspect,” Brad replied.
“This is so fuckin’ unbelievable. Never did I think that something like this was gonna happen, let alone happen at school. What could she have done that was so bad for someone to have wanted to kill her like the way they did? We all need to find out what happened,” I said while I wiped tears from my eyes. But I didn’t wanna tell them about what I’d heard after I’d left the room that I was waiting in because it could’ve been a sheer coincidence.
“And we’re gonna find out eventually. They wanted everyone to leave right away because the cops were on their way up to the school. They told me that I could stay but I couldn’t — I was so sick to my stomach — I had to leave because I knew I needed to tell you all,” Brad said.
“When are they gonna tell her family?” Marie asked.
“Probably as soon as they’re done processing the scene; they’re gonna go to her house and tell them,” Brad replied. “And also, I know Natalie had a crystal-encrusted phone, and I didn’t see a phone anywhere in the room so I’m assuming that her killer took it. The contents of her purse were scattered everywhere so it was obvious that she got into a fight with her killer.”
“That motherfucker probably did take it! She always had her phone with her; she never went anywhere without it! OH, MY GOD! MY BEST FRIEND WAS MURDERED!” Marie yelled, and then started to cry uncontrollably again.
Ava and I continued to hold her.
Brad came over to her and kneeled down in front of her; he put his hand on her right knee. “Marie, we are gonna find out who killed Natalie, okay? We all know that she was your best friend. But remember, we are gonna find out probably sooner than we think because everyone gave their DNA that day at school, including teachers and other staff members. This will be solved, Marie, and Natalie will get the kind of justice that she deserves.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“I know she will, and I’ll fight until my last breath to see that she does!” Marie cried.
“And whoever killed her will go down hard for it — guaranteed,” Brad said.
“And remember, Marie, my Uncle Stan is a sheriff at the county jail. I can have him keep me informed about this and I know he’s more than likely gonna since she went to our school. He can tell me anything that I wanna know,” Zac said.
Marie nodded as she still cried.
“That’s good, Zac. We do wanna be kept informed. We have no idea why she was murdered, so of course we wanna know every detail that he can give us that won’t get him in any trouble since they just opened the investigation,” Brad said.
“Will do. The fact of the matter is, she was murdered and had no reason to be. That motherfucker!” Zac said as he shook his head.
Ava and I sat with our arms still around Marie. I couldn’t believe that Natalie was gone, and we had no idea why this happened to her, but most of all, we had no idea who did this to her. I knew that Natalie had some secrets and that she was trying to get back with Marc, but maybe she had some more that ultimately led up to what happened to her. Her murder wasn’t a secret, but why she was murdered and who did it was, and this was only the beginning in us needing to find out why she was and most important of all, who did it. I looked at Marc, and I could see that he was visibly upset that she was murdered even though he was her ex and didn’t wanna have anything to do with her. I felt that finding out who murdered her and why was now a top priority, and this was a personal quest since she was a friend of ours. I also wanted to find out from Brad exactly what time did they discovered her body, but I felt that what I heard could be very different from what happened to her, because like I said, it was probably just a sheer coincidence between what I heard and what happened to Natalie, and I wanted to make sure that it was because hearing something was one thing, but seeing something was a whole other thing.
CHAPTER 27
It was the next evening after the candlelight vigil for Natalie that was held at school, and Brad, Ava, and I sat at Brad’s house and talked in his recreation room.
“I have to admit that Winston’s right, Natalie’s incident is very isolated . . . but I can’t help but to think that maybe it wasn’t. What if there is some maniac running around school that we don’t know about?” I said with a clear sound of panic in my voice.
“That’s not likely, Vanessa. If you all would’ve seen what I saw, I believe Natalie knew exactly who killed her — it just seemed personal; it’s hard for me to explain. I wish she could tell us who did it,” Brad said.
“Me too,” I said with a sigh. “But what she can’t tell us, DNA can.”
“Exactly!” Brad and Ava said.
“And we shouldn’t have that long of a wait to see who did this to her,” Brad said.
Ava nodded in agreement as well. She changed the subject. “I thought Marc was supposed to come over?”
“He said he didn’t feel well and didn’t feel like talking about it, and I can’t say that I blame him,” Brad replied.
“Neither can I,” I said with a sigh.
“Well, who do you both suspect that could’ve did this since DNA hasn’t told us yet?” Ava asked.
“Would I be going too far off the deep end if I suspect that Lisa could’ve had something to do with it?” I said.
“WHAT?!” Brad and Ava said as they looked at me in shock.
“I’m just saying. Remember, Lisa was really fuckin’ pissed off at Natalie for telling me everything that she’d done, you know, about her being the one who tried to run me down that night as well as all the nasty shit she said about me and Brad — I really hadn’t seen them talking since,” I said.
Ava nodded. “It’s possible. You never know.”
Brad shook his head. “I don’t know. Lisa may be on the crazy side since we broke up and especially crazy now since she tried to run you down, Vanessa — but I don’t know if she’s that crazy. But then again, you’re right, Ava, anything’s possible. I think it was a dude who did it, though. If you would’ve seen the way Natalie’s body looked, you two would agree with me. There was a clear struggle, and the way her throat was slit,
it was clear that whoever killed her totally overpowered her. Natalie was of above-average height for a girl — about five-foot-eight to five-foot-nine — so whoever killed her was obviously much taller and stronger than her.”
Ava and I nodded. A chill rippled through my body as I thought about the way that Brad had described how the room looked. I still hadn’t told him or Ava about what I heard that day because I just couldn’t deal with the fact that I could’ve heard this happening as it was going on and did nothing about it.
“That’s true. I think it was a guy, but who? Who could’ve done this to her? In fact, why do the cops wanna talk to all of us tomorrow about it? I feel as if they think we all know something!” Ava said as she was clearly starting to panic.
Brad and I grinned.
“Ava, relax, honey. We’re all on edge and are thinking crazy thoughts. We all know that we personally have nothing to hide,” I said, but didn’t know that for sure when it came to what I’d personally heard. “I think all the cops are gonna do tomorrow is ask us basic questions like what was our relationship with Natalie and when was the last time we saw her — stuff like that. We’ll all be out of there in probably an hour,” I said.
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