Ch-Two: And She Speaks

Two Days Later…

She knew she had to come back soon, but it was hard coming to school knowing she had loss one of her best friends. After discovering her body, Jenna was traumatized. The horribly, morbid sight of her best friend subconsciously enters her mind. Who would want to kill her and why were they threatening Jenna, too?

"Jenna," Mr. Bhandari says in his thick accent. His voice is laced with sorrow and hurt. "If you can't cope with this day, call me. Ok?"

Jenna nods her head, not wanting to talk. She knows the moment she talks, she'll choke up and start with the waterworks. Grabbing her bookbag, she opens the door to the car and climbs out. Closing the door behind her, she slings her bookbag over her shoulder and walks towards the entrance. Some students are throwing her regretting, understanding looks. Some whisper and point at her, throwing her accusing looks. She was warned that some might find her guilty of such a crime.

Walking into the school, she was immediately greeted by Dallas. Ever since the death, Jenna hasn't talked to anyone...not even her own boyfriend. She hadn't want to talk to people about the death. She was taking it just as hard, if not worse, as the Bhandari's.

"Jenna," he says in a strained, hoarse voice. His eyes are bloodshot red. It looks as if he hasn't slept in a couple of days.

Jenna doesn't respond. She simply looks up at Dallas, not wanting to talk.

"Jenna, please, talk to me. I know she was your friend and this is hard for you, but she was my girlfriend."

"She was my best friend, Dallas," Jenna snaps harshly. "I found her dead...lifeless. I saw the fearful expression frozen on her face. It was traumatizing and a sight I'll never forget!"

"Jenna-"

"Whoever is out to get her, is out for me, too," she says in a trembling voice. "Then, some people think I killed her! They think I killed my best friend and wrote a threatening warning to myself to make it seem like I did it!"

"But you didn't," Dallas says. "You were with Connor during her murder."

"Exactly. Wait, how did you know I was with Connor?"

"Alli told me," he says quickly. "I was supposed to come over and chill with her that night before we got into an argument."

"About?" Jenna asks suspiciously, unaware of this new information.

"You know how our anniversary is coming up. She had something planned for us this weekend, but I had to cancel because of my son. I tried to apologize and make it up to her, but she got angry. My last time talking to my girlfriend ended in an angry argument."

"So, you didn't see her all that night?" she asks slowly.

"No, Jenna," Dallas assures her.

"So after that argument, you didn't call her or anything?"

"Jenna, I'm not behind this if that's what you're thinking," Dallas snaps, suddenly getting angry. "I love Alli. I saved her from that abusive French ass. I fought so hard to be with that woman. Hurting her was the last thing I'd ever want to do."

Jenna nods her head, walking away. She simply cannot deal with this today. She just wants to get through the day as if her best friend is still alive.

...

Dallas watches as Jenna walks away. Sighing, he turns around to punch the nearest locker, causing a few students to jump. Everyone knows he was on the edge for the past couple of days. He's been losing sleep and not playing his best in hockey. First the death of his teammates, now the death of his girlfriend. How was he going to cope with this?

Dallas feels a hand on his shoulder. He turns around to see Drew staring at him in the face. His best friend...his rock. The one who actually helped him and has been trying to look out for him. Surely Drew felt remorse for the situation, seeing as Alli was one of the first girls he dated at Degrassi.

After her death, he started thinking of how guilty he felt for all the things that happened between them during their sophomore year. If he hadn't gotten with Bianca behind her back, who knows where the two would have stood before she died.

"Drew, I don't know if I can get through this," Dallas whimpered. "Jenna thinks I'm the one who had something to do with it. How? How could I kill..." his voice starts to fade off as tears roll down his cheeks.

Drew pulls his billet brother into a comforting hug. After pulling out of the hug, Drew sees Clare walking out of the corner of his eye.

"I'll catch you later, okay?"

Not even giving Dallas a chance to respond, Drew jogs away from Dallas and towards Clare. When she looks over to see him, she starts to walk faster. Drew catches up with her, grabbing her by the arm and spinning her to face him.

"Do not touch me!" she growls, snatching her arm away.

"Clare please, can we ta-"

"No. I do not want to talk. I want to grieve over the death of my best friend without any drama so please, go away," she snaps as she turns to walk away.

"I know it's hard, especially after the loss of your son, but-"

Clare whirls her head around, shooting Drew daggers. Apparently he hit a sore spot that she was still not willing to talk about. It was two weeks ago when she lost her baby and he knew she was taking it hard. He's been hearing about it from Adam. Drew wanted to reach out to her, but he knew that she wouldn't return his calls or even talk to him.

"No, you do not get to mention my son!" she snaps. "You don't know shit, Drew!"

"Clare, I-"

"If you were sorry, you would've reached out to me the very second you heard about it!"

"I wanted to, but would you have honestly answered my call or responded to my text? You won't give me a damn chance to apologize, Clare!"

"Your apology is way too late, Drew," she says softly. "Please, leave me alone."

Clare turns away, running down the hall and leaving Drew to stand awkwardly in the middle of the halls.

...

Clare walks into the bathroom and walks into an empty stall. Tears starts to pour down her cheeks as she locks the stall. Losing her son was hard on her, losing her best friend makes it even worse. She's still grieving over the death of her son, now she has to add another person to grieve about on her list.

Alli was her rock, besides Adam. She's been there for Clare through everything. When she lost her son, Alli and Jenna stayed a couple of nights with her to make sure she was okay. Eli blamed her for the death of their son and it made her not want to even be alone. Her mother treated her like a porcelain doll; she wouldn't even hug Clare as if she was too delicate. It was frustrating when all she wanted was the comfort of her own mother.

Clare's phone goes off, echoing through the quiet bathroom. Taking her phone out of her pocket, she sees that she has a text message from an unknown number. Unlocking her phone, she opens up the text message.

Poor Alli; unfortunately her luck has strikeout. It won't be long until you're next, Clare.

...

"Who sent this?" Jenna asked angrily.

Clare pulled Jenna into the bathroom during their lunch so she could show her what was sent to her. Through the cracks of the screen, Jenna could see the message clearly. She couldn't believe that someone would threaten Clare next.

"I don't know," Clare fumes. "It's from an unknown number."

"Can't we take it to the police? Maybe they can trace it?"

"What good would that do? The number is unknown, Jenna. They can't trace the number."

"Maybe Connor can hack into the phone and go back to trace the number. He's really good at computers you know."

Clare sighs, toying with the phone in her hands. Se nods her head, allowing Jenna to pull her out of the bathroom and to the lunchroom. Connor is sitting with Adam and Dave, chatting with them. When the two approach the table, the three guys suddenly go silent.

Since the death of Alli, people has been walking on eggshells around Jenna and Clare. They have to be careful with their choice of words and be careful about not mentioning Alli's name too much.

"Clare got a threatening text," Jenna says, snatching Clare's phone from her hand and shoving the text in Connor's face.

"Clare?" Adam asks in a worried tone.

"I can hack into the phone and try to figure out who sent this. It might take some time; in the meantime, you might want to get a minute phone just so you can keep in touch with us," Connor explains quickly, not looking up at them.

"Yes, and in the meantime, Clare, you and I are staying close," Jenna says, linking her arms with Clare. "We're not safe, none of us are."