AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Before I know it, those boys will come and find me. Trap me in a room. Force me to yield until I can no longer run.
They’ve done it before, and they’ll do it again.
That’s just who they are.
Vicious.
Inescapable.
And I cannot let myself fall for that ever again.
I sigh out loud and move through the hallways in my hoodie, clutching my bag tight, hiding my face underneath to make sure no one recognizes me.
But Kayla’s voice still makes me turn. “Penelope?”
Fuck. Just one second was enough for her to spot me.
I turn and run off.
“Wait, Penelope!” she calls, but I can’t risk it.
It’s too dangerous, even for her, now that I know what those boys have done.
I glance over my shoulder to check if she’s following me, but no one is there. I’ve shaken her off my tail. Phew.
I turn my head and walk straight into someone else.
I’m knocked back to the floor, the contents of my bag spilling out. But the person in front of me doesn’t even seem to notice I’ve bumped into them.
A whole bunch of students have gathered like they’re looking at something.
I swiftly pick up my books and try to peek between the restless feet, skittishly walking around something in the middle of the circle of people.
But when I spot a hint of blood, my fingers drop the books.
I get up and push past the people, desperate to know if my suspicions are true.
At the front, I come to an abrupt halt.
On the floor in the hallway, in the midst of a circle of people, is a body.
Cut with a thousand slices.
Eyes pulled out of its sockets.
Mouth wide open, tongue sliced off, a stump all that’s left.
I gulp, and I drop to my knees.
People begin to scream.
The entire hallway swarms with people, running in and out, after realizing what they just witnessed.
But me? All I can do is stare at the nameplate on the front of the body’s jacket.
Peter Young.
The same boy who was in my sister’s diary.
Hours later
Several students who saw the body have gotten counseling and will probably need a follow-up. But it doesn’t appear that anyone else saw what happened to Peter. Apparently, the body was put there when all classes were in session and the hallways were empty.
But whispers floating around talk of a snake slithering down the hallway.
And I doubt they mean the animal.
“Are you sure you saw nothing?” the police officer asks me.
I swiftly shake my head.
The police officer puts his paper away and sighs, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Look, witnessing stuff like that is tough. I know that.” He tucks a note into my hand. “Give this place a call if you need someone to talk to.”
He pats my shoulder and leaves. Kayla is right behind me, watching me from the sidelines, but I don’t go to her. I don’t dare.
If I get too close, she might die too.
The body is gone, along with the trail of blood, but I won’t forget.
I saw it with my own eyes.
Those wounds …
They weren’t just inflicted by a killer.
They were my exact words.
Only one person could have done this.
It was a reckoning.
Some shuffling is audible behind me, and I flick my head in the direction of the sound. I swear I could see someone disappear into a room up ahead.
I run to it and open the door, but when I look inside, no one is there.
“Felix?” I call.
But no one answers.
“I know it was you,” I say.
Still, no reply.
Did I dream it all up, or did he leave that body for me to find?
Like a message?
A gift?
A shiver runs up and down my spine.
I told him to kill for me.
And he promised to bring every one of my enemies hell.
One by one, the people who tormented me and my sister fell.
He’s seen the pages, so he knows them by name.
All he needed to do was find and destroy them.
Just as he vowed he would.
And so he did.
They’ll never stop.
I open the door again and exit without looking back.
I can’t. I can’t go back.
No matter how big the gesture.
No matter how imposing the obsession.
I have to stay away.
PENELOPE
A few days later
I sift through the pages of the diary, wondering if I missed something about those boys. There must be. Why else would she hide this one page?
I don’t understand why Dylan, Ali, and Felix would say it was a joint decision.
Her words looked like she was desperate and distraught. Who would write these words and then still want to break up? It doesn’t make any sense.
I swallow as I come across the same text.
At the bottom is a number. 303.
Why would she put this here?
Was it a mistake?
I saw it before, but I didn’t think it mattered.
What if it did?
I sift through more of the pages until I get to page 303, but there doesn’t appear to be anything significant on it besides a picture of her and the guys taped on top of the page, adorned with hearts and smileys.
