Page 13 of Dark Things
We ride in silence for a while, my mind drifting to the one person I can never get rid of, even if it’s been five years since I last saw or held her.
Aside from Brooks and Staff, Belle was the only other person I imagined spending my life with. The four of us were supposed to be destined, growing up in the shadows of our parents, finally stepping into the light when we all attended college together. Living on campus with a freedom we never had before was a dream we all shared.
Fuck, I miss her.
As if he’s reading my mind, Brooks pipes up from the backseat, “You know what today is, right?”
I cringe, staring out the passenger window. I know what today is, but I didn’t want to mention it. It’s bad enough I had to live through it the first time.
“Yeah, it’s probably why my day went to shit. I don’t think I’ll ever forget what today’s date is,” Staff says, his knuckles white on the steering wheel.
“It’s burned in my brain. Everything about that day. How we were supposed to be together, not separated, and how I found her,” I say, my voice cracking with pain. If only she hadn’t gone looking for me.
“Have you heard anything?” Brooks asks, his voice defeated.
Staff turns into our street and then the driveway before I answer. “You think if I found out something, I wouldn’t tell you? It’s the whole reason why we’re working with Mario. I haven’t heard anything new, not since she was released from juvie. It’s like she disappeared after that. She’s just gone. Not that she’d want to speak to any of us, anyway. We left her, were forced to stand back while she went through all of that, alone.”
Brooks growls from the backseat before getting out. He took what happened to Belle harder than he let on. While Belle and I grew up together, she and Brooks had a special bond. They were like magnets or planets, always being pulled toward one another.
“You both have to accept that she’s gone. It’s been five years. She’s not coming back, and we need to move on,” Staff says, pushing the door open to our house.
The house isn't as big as some in the area, but it suits us perfectly. Big enough that we're comfortable, but not so big that we ever feel alone. After what our families did, we've all refused to be a part of their daily lives. The only time we've budged even a little, aside from the few times we've had to make appearances, was taking the money from them to buy this house. To ensure we have our safe haven from the world and all the shit that comes with it.
“You don’t know that,” I say, pushing past him to head upstairs to get changed. It’s not like this is the first time he’s voiced this, but every time it’s like a piece ofhope is cut off. I want to believe we’ll find her. I want to believe that she’s better off where she is, but a part of me will never let go.
I open the door to my room and immediately know something is wrong. The window is open and my curtains are fluttering in the breeze. I always close the window before I leave. My eyes dart around the room, trying to see if anything is missing, but nothing seems out of place. Then they land on a wooden handle sticking out of my mattress, surrounded by a layer of feathers.
“What the fuck?” I say, walking over to the bed.
There’s a knife sticking out of one of my pillows. Nothing else, no note or anything else touched, just a knife buried deep in the feathers.
The handle looks familiar, but I don’t know where I would have seen it before. “Guys!” I yell.
Footsteps sound on the stairs before Brooks and Staff are standing next to me. A cold shiver races up my back as I stare at the knife.
“What is that?” Brooks says, moving closer. His hand is outstretched before Staff stops him.
“Don’t touch it, there could be fingerprints on it,” Staff says, taking a closer look.
His eyes meet mine, and I know he’s noticed it, too. “This handle it’s just like the one that killed Nathan.”
Fuck. This is not good. On the anniversary of his death. The day our worlds crumbled. The day theytook Belle from us and forced us to leave her behind to protect their own legacies.
“It could be a coincidence? I mean, who the fuck would know about that shit. All the records were sealed, and we were minors. Aren't there laws against that?” Brooks asks, turning to me.
“Just because my douchebag parents are lawyers doesn’t mean I know about the law. But I don’t believe in coincidences, and this feels like something else.”
I grab a tissue from the dresser and grasp the handle before pulling it out. The blade looks deadly, like someone sharpened it before it was stuck in my pillows.
“I’ll grab a plastic bag to put it in. Maybe the last PI you hired can dust for prints?” Brooks asks, before walking out the door.
“I don’t like this. My gut is telling me this is related,” I say, taking my eyes off the blade and watching Staff’s pinched eyebrows as he looks closer at the mattress.
“We have to get to the bottom of this. Could someone else know what went down that day? Could Mario have found out about what really happened? I thought your parents cleaned it up,” Staff says.
Brooks comes back, opening the bag, and I gently place the knife inside. I close it up and put it down on my desk.
Letting out a breath, I look over at the two of them. “They did, but there’s always a chance someone couldhave talked. Honestly, I’ve been waiting for the moment when this blew up in our faces. It’s been five years, but I don’t deserve the freedom I’ve had.”
