Page 25 of False Idols

“Because if I’m around then I get everything when she dies and not my stupid baby brother.” Sunny strokes her chin and squints at the door. “What are the chances this psycho serial killer is going to break in through the door?” she asks.

I shake my head. “He doesn’t do that. If we’re inside, we’re safe.”

“Says who?” I open my mouth to answer her but I know how weird it’s going to sound, so I hesitate. My answer isn’t going to be comforting, I know this. “Answer me, Nevaeh. We’re friends. I’m in this shit with you now, so you open up about your freaky little town’s murder secret.”

“It’s not a murder secret an-and, okay, The Reaper said.”

“You guys are seriously listening to rules the killer made?” She throws her hands out and gives me a ‘what the fuck look’ “You can’t listen to the killer! The rules he gave you aren’t real. They’re just so you feel safe.”

I bite my lip, because she’s making sense. Shit. “He’s never broken them,” I point out.

“Yet. That’s the keyword, Nevaeh. Yet. But he will when the prize is too good. He’s going to cash in on the fact that everyone thinks they’re safe at home to get the person he really wants.”

“Who would he want enough to do that?” I ask and lower my voice, because it feels wrong to be talking about The Reaper like this. All my life I’ve done my best not to think about him, not to talk about him or the horrible, terrifying things he’s done in our town, but now he’s here. He could be right outside, and oh, god who did he kill today?

“That’s a great question.” Sunny goes to her bed and sits down cross legged. “It could be anyone, I guess. Hell, it could even be you.”

Fear shoots through me and I sit up straight. “Why would you say that? Why would he want me?”

“You’re the one who put the wrong guy away for a murder they did. Don’t serial killers have a thing about other people taking credit for their kills?” she asks.

“I-I don’t know.”

“He could be pissed and now that Beau’s out, he’s out. Seems like weird timing, doesn’t it? How long has it been since the last murder?”

“Four years,” I whisper.

“And now he’s back and both you and Beau are here at Bloom State.” She raises an eyebrow at me. “Don’t you think that’s weird timing, Nevaeh?”

My heart pounds painfully in my chest. She could be right. It is weird timing. “I don’t think it’s me,” I say, even though I feel like I’m trying to convince myself of it. It has to be because so many people are angry with me over Beau that I feel this way. It’s not The Reaper that I’m feeling locked on to me. It’s the target on my back the student body painted there. That’s all it is.

“I mean, I hope it’s not. I like you.”

I smile and nod. “I like you too, Sunny. But why are you just rolling with this?” I ask her. She’s taking it in good stride. A little too easy for someone who’s in the middle of a nightmare.

“Listen, I grew up in a really crazy family. The thing I told you about with the bicyclist? That’s not even the worst thing that happened to me when I was growing up.”

I nod because I can relate. Families are complicated. I know that. We’re both quiet. I hear someone run by our room and slam their door shut.

“Were you serious about your grandmother?”

“Serious that she wants to off me and would think a serial killer at college is the perfect way to do it?” Sunny asks and when I nod she falls back on her bed with a, “Yeah.”

My mother kicked me out, but she wouldn’t kill me. “Holy shit. I’m sorry.”

Sunny waves a hand at me from where she’s laying. “It’s all right. Money makes people weird and greedy. She’s old now, so I think she’s acting out some kind of The Most Dangerous Game cosplay with me right now. If I’m gone, then she doesn’t have to worry about anyone dividing the trust because my little brother has no spine and will do what she tells him to do.”

I wonder how rich Sunny is if there’s a trust worth getting murdered over, but that’s not polite. She didn’t pry about Beau or what I told her about seeing the murder, so I’m not going to ask her about the money.

“I’m sorry. That’s rough. I can’t imagine having a murdering grandma.”

Sunny laughs and lifts her head. “It’s not for the weak I’ll tell ya.”

I smile but then shake my head. “I don’t…why does this feel really…well, you know.”

“Fucked up to be joking around about my homicidal grandma when there’s a real killer out there?” she asks.

“Yeah, that.”

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