Page 39 of Baked

Haze sat back on the couch as I remained standing on the armchair. “We are playing charades. It’s Haze’s turn to guess. Maybe you can help him!” I posed. “Here. What am I?”

Mary-Jane studied me closely. “A flamingo?”

“A flamingo! Yes! Uh! That’s what I’m talking about! See, Haze? It wasn’t that hard!” I jumped from the chair and stumbled into Mary-Jane as she caught me. “Loser!” I held my fingers up in the shape of an L on my forehead and stuck my tongue out at Haze. He rolled his eyes. “I win, bitch!” I flipped him off, laughing as I fell back into the armchair.

Mary-Jane looked at us both. “Is this what you guys have been doing all day? Getting wasted and high?”

“Yup!” I twirled my hair.

“Haze?” She looked at him. “Don’t you think this is a bad idea?”

“Why are you here, Mary-Jane?”

She made a face. “I came to check on Indi.”

Haze silently watched her. “She doesn’t need you. She’s fine. Aren’t you, Indi?” I nodded.

Mary-Jane scoffed at him and approached me. “Hey, Indi? There’s something I need to tell you. Something important.” I blinked.

“Enough, Mary-Jane. She doesn’t need to hear this again. She already knows.”

Mary-Jane shot him a look. “Back off, Haze!” I watched him tense. She turned back to face me and leaned down. “Indi, Carter is dead. Someone…” She choked on her words. “Someone killed him.”

I leaned forward, playing with her hair. “I know.” I smiled up at her. “Your hair has always been so pretty. I wish I could have red hair. But Haze doesn’t like redheads, do you, Haze?” She furrowed her brows and looked over at him. “He never has.”

Mary-Jane turned back to face me. “Indi, the police are asking everyone to come and talk to them. They’ve been trying to get a hold of you all day, but no one can get through.”

I leaned back. “Well duh. I turned my phone off.”

“Why?” she asked.

I looked at the TV, watching as the news played. “Because he won’t leave me alone, and I don’t want to talk to him.”

“Who?”

I looked at her as a single tear fell down my cheek. “The man in the mask.”

Haze slowly sat up. “I think you need to leave, Mary-Jane.”

Mary-Jane fell to my feet. “The man in the mask? Who is he?”

“Mary-Jane.”

“Indi, tell me. Tell me!” She shook my arm.

I closed my eyes as the image of his mask burned into my eyelids. “It was him. He killed Carter.”

Mary-Jane gasped as I opened my eyes.

“Let’s go.” Haze grabbed her arm and forced her to her feet. The two began to argue.

“Let go of me, Haze! The police need to hear what she said. If she knows who killed Carter then?—”

“She’s wrong,” he growled. “She’s too fucking messed up and doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”

Mary-Jane quietly watched him. “How do you know she’s wrong?” She looked from him to me. “I knew it.” She backed away from him. “I fucking knew it.”

Haze remained still. “You need to leave.”

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