I took a step closer and knelt beside her, half-expecting her to turn her head and scream ‘psych, bitch!’ right in my face before erupting into hysterical laughter. A fake murder prank wasn’t really her style, but I wouldn’t put anything past her.
“Cerina?” I prodded her shoulder. She remained limp, vacant eyes staring into oblivion. An awful smell was wafting around her as well. Something pungent mixed with something metallic. Blood and… death.
“Oh, shit.Shit.” My eyes bulged and I sprang to my feet, wiping my bloody hands on the side of my dress.
This was no prank. Someone had killed Cerina.
The biggest wounds on her chest and neck were still bleeding, suggesting the attack had occurred recently.While you were standing right here,a sinister voice in my head whispered.It was you.
No,another voice firmly countered.I didn’t do this. I couldn’t.
Could I?
No, of course not. I knew it looked bad—really,reallybad—but I also knew I didn’t do it. Knew it at the very core of me. Someone else did this. Someone who wanted to set me up to take an enormous fall.
I had to run. Get the hell out of here before anyone saw me. Before—
“Oh my god!”
A feminine voice pierced the cool night air, followed by several loud gasps. I turned to see Jax, Erin, Brent, Bobbi, and Harlow standing on the lawn in front of the gazebo.
“Holy shit. Is that Cerina?” one of them asked.
I tried to speak, but the writhing ball of terror in my guts had slithered all the way up my throat, choking me of words and breath.
“Oh,fuck!” Erin dashed over to Cerina and sank to the floor beside her, pressing one hand to the side of her neck as the other went to the largest wound on her chest.
“Help!” Bobbi screamed, turning and sprinting toward the nearest building. “We need help!”
“I’m calling 911,” Brent said, whipping his phone out of his jacket pocket.
“Is she alive?” Jax asked.
Erin didn’t reply. Just stared down at the bloody mess in front of her and kept the pressure on Cerina’s chest, as if it would make a difference.
A small crowd started forming on the south side of the gazebo. The weight of their eyes on me felt like a crown of thorns on my head, sinking deep into my scalp. I lowered my gaze, not wanting to look at any of them. Especially Jax. I couldn’t bear to see the way his eyes looked right through me, through all my defenses. That felt far too dangerous at a time like this.
“She’s not… there’s no pulse,” Erin said a moment later, voice barely above a whisper. “It’s too late. She’s dead.”
“No, she’s still breathing! I can see it!” Harlow screeched, one shaky hand pointing to Cerina’s chest. “She’s moving!”
Erin weakly shook her head. “That’s just from me touching her. My hands are shaking so much. I… I can’t…”
She trailed off and pulled away from Cerina’s limp body, staring down at her blood-smeared palms. Then she inhaled deeply and raised her head to look at me. The others kept staring at me too, eyes flashing with unspoken accusations.
I started backing away, shaking my head. Jax clenched his jaw and took a step closer, steely gaze locked on me.
“What did you do, Kinsey?” he said, hands balling at his sides. “What the fuck did you do?”
1
Kinsey
August 18th,2021
It started with a funeral,as all great love stories tend to do.
Not.