AUTHORS NOTE: I published this story almost 9 years ago, though it was never completed. As my craft has improved since then, this is a refreshed look at something I wrote so long ago. Hope you enjoy!

Zaskia O'Loughlin made herself comfortable on the old couch that sat on the sundeck, curling her legs underneath her. She stared out at the afternoon sky, hues of orange and yellow stretching across as the sun began its descent towards the horizon. She sat silently next to her best friend, Sophie Crandell, and sipped gently at her coffee.

"I miss them, Soph."

Sophie put a hand on Zaskia's. "I know. It will get easier, I promise."

It had been three months since they had moved to Santa Carla. Sophie had suggested it, thinking it would be good for Zaskia to get away from the bad memories in San Jose. They'd found a nice little three-bedroom house only five minutes from the boardwalk. Zaskia had been hesitant at first, though she loved the vibrancy of the place; there was always something going on, whether it was bonfires on the beach, concerts on the boardwalk or hoons nicking merchandise from stores and being chased through town. She'd heard people say that Santa Carla was the 'murder capital of the world', which made her laugh. A little coastal town like Santa Carla? Surely it was a tourism ploy!

Connor Richards wandered out onto the porch and plonked onto the couch on the other side of Zaskia. He nuzzled her neck, planting a few kisses on it.

"You OK babe?"

"Yeah. Just having a down day."

Connor stroked her cheek. "We'll get through this."

Zaskia smiled at him. "I know."

Sophie squeezed her arm as if to cement Connor's words.

Zaskia put her coffee mug on the table, a thought hitting her then. "Oh crap! What time is it?"

"Ten to four," Connor said.

"Shit! I start at four!" Zaskia jumped up. She ran like a mad woman through the house and quickly threw on something to wear for work. Eventually, she decided on her floor length, emerald-green dress that was a soft velvet which she then accessorised with an emerald-green choker and earrings that picked up the green in her eyes. She grabbed her hair and pulled it back into a sleek ponytail. Feeling a headache coming on, most likely due to lack of sleep and hydration, she quickly downed two painkillers.

"Alright guys, gotta fly!" Zaskia called as she passed Connor & Sophie making a snack in the kitchen. Sophie waved and Connor ran after her.

"Hey, where's my goodbye!" he said, pulling her in for a lingering kiss.

"Babe, I've gotta go! I might be a little late coming home," Zaskia said. "We just a received a huge shipment of new stuff and we don't get much of an opportunity during the day to unpack it all."

"No worries. I'm making baked macaroni & cheese, so I'll save some for you."

"Yum! Thanks. Love you!" She kissed him again, then ran out the door.

Fortunately, she didn't have to go very far, given the boardwalk was five minutes away. Santa Carla was always busy, no matter what time of day so she wasn't surprised the Enchanted Forest was crowded when she walked in. It was a Middle-Eastern-influenced store full of incense, unusual ornaments, jewellery and knick-knacks. Zaskia waved to Karli, who'd just had a pile of clothes dumped on her by a customer who appeared to have tried on half the shop. Karli rolled her eyes. Zaskia giggled. It happened a lot. Zaskia quickly dumped her bag out the back before jumping behind the counter to assist a customer.

By seven o'clock, things had settled down; Zaskia and Karli now sitting on the floor at the rear of the store, unpacking small boxes of ornaments.

"You know, the problem with working in this place is that I spend way too much money," she told Karli. "I mean, yes at a discounted rate, but my wardrobe & ornament collection has doubled over the past few months, yet strangely my savings have halved!"

Karli laughed. "Story of my life."

As she was unpacking one of the boxes, Zaskia found a small pack of tiger lily ornaments with pretty pink jewels on them. She smiled, remembering a time before she'd really known Sophie that she'd given her a bunch of tiger lilies as a present when one of her many boyfriends had dumped her over text. Sophie told Zaskia that she would love tiger lilies forever and it was now their friendship flower. Zaskia kept one aside, and would take it home for Sophie tonight as a surprise.

"Ungh, I wish this headache would go away," Zaskia growled, rubbing her forehead. "I feel worse than when I left home."

"Do you want some painkillers?" Karli asked.

"I took a couple before I left. Probably need to wait a bit longer. It's just making my eyes heavy. I hope I'm not getting a migraine."

"They're the worst."

"I know."

Their manager, Arielle, overheard the conversation and walked over to the two. "Why don't you go home sweetie?"

"Thanks, Arielle. I'll try and push through. There's a lot of stock to unpack."

"We've got it covered. It's OK. Go home."

Zaskia looked over at Karli. "Will you be OK?"

"I'll be fine. Just go home and get some rest."

Zaskia smiled. "Thanks guys. I'll see you tomorrow." Zaskia grabbed her bag, paid for the tiger lily and headed out.

"Take care OK?" Karli called after her.

"I will!" she called back.

As Zaskia ambled through the mob of people swarming along the boardwalk, a familiar sound of roaring engines came from behind her. She turned to see the usual gang of youths on their motorbikes, whooping and yahooing, and generally trying to stir up the crowd. She smiled, thinking that they weren't doing any real harm; just trying to get a reaction.

Zaskia was grateful when she was finally able put her key in her front door. The five-minute walk had felt so much longer with her headache taking hold. As she closed the front door behind her, she noticed that the house was unusually quiet. A few lights were on, but there was basically silence. There was no music playing or TV blaring. Zaskia poked her head into the lounge room. Plates, forks and knives scattered the coffee table. It was unlike Sophie to leave a mess. Zaskia's heart began to pound a little, which seemed to keep time with the pound in her head. She clutched the tiger lily in her hand as though for protection and peeked around the corner to her room.

It was empty.

Heading down the hall, she could hear faint noises coming from Sophie's room.

'Santa Carla is the murder capital of the world' ran through her head then, which did nothing to allay her nerves

The door to Sophie's room was ajar, so Zaskia pushed it open carefully and froze.