A/N:
Hey everyone, Ciel here! I want to apologize for getting the chapters mixed up again (oops)! Hopefully now, everything will be fixed! Thank you for pointing it out to me, and please continue doing so if anything is out of place!
IV
Back in town, miles away from the ocean, stood an apartment.
A girl paced in her small bedroom. Pink, damp hair fell down her back. Her hands shook as she walked in circles. Her mind was racing.
For this girl had just witness a friend die.
She had stood in shock as her friend fell in the water, and watched in horror as she uselessly fought against the waves. Only when her blond hair didn't resurface, did Luka take action. She dived off of the pier, and used years of competitive swimming to fight against the water. She didn't want her to die. Rin, however, was oblivious.
An off-duty lifeguard, walking casually against the shore, saw the pink haired girl jump into the water and immediately went after her.
The man pulled her to out of the ocean, ignoring her please.
At her tears-stained eyes, he convinced Luka that he'd look for Rin. He ran into the ocean.
Luka waited, anxiously, but the man came up empty handed.
Her hands went to her mouth. Tears stung her eyes as she mourned her friend.
He stood there awkwardly. Eventually though, he convinced her to go home saying: "if she did die, her body would wash up on shore eventually." she cried harder.
Moreover, Luka had no choice and went home.
By now, her grief was gone, but in its place was blind, unbearable rage—both at herself and at the lifeguard.
Luka walked over to her desk—and swiping her arms above the top—flung everything off the surface. Picture frames, a laptop, and notebooks all went scattering across her floor. A chair fell over, hitting a wall with a loud 'thud', it reverberated throughout the small apartment. She heard her baby sisters muffled crying.
She fell to her knees.
Her door creaked open.
"Go away," she her voice cracked, "I don't wanna hear it."
She expected her father to scold her, or her mother yelling at her to keep quiet, but she was only greeted with silence.
She turned around.
Luka gasped at the sight, tears formed at the corner of her eyes. "Rin?" she choked out, fumbling with her legs as she tried to stand.
"Guess again."
A sharp pain, agonizing pain came from her chest. Blood soaked the white fabric of her shirt. She gasped but only ended up choking on her own saliva. She fell, her head banging against the floor.
She looked up at the blonde-haired person, horrified. This was not Rin she was dealing with, she knew it in her bones.
"Wh-who…"
The boy's face twisted into a crooked, horrific grin.
"'Names Len."
The knife came down again.
She didn't even get a chance to scream
I awoke, my head spun. I groaned as I attempted to sit up, I hunched over slightly; the pain in my chest was agonizing. My hands went to support me. Once I felt the sand between my fingers the memory of earlier came back to me. Falling into the ocean; almost drowning; Luka running away—I shook my head trying to clear myself of the anger. That won't get my anywhere.
My head looked around lazily, searching for the person who had saved me.
I was under the pier, hidden away by large rocks.
Standing took effort, my legs were wobbly and I was so exhausted when I finally made it on my feet and glanced around.
There were footprints that came out of the water, thinking they were from my savior, I examined them from where I stood. The foot prints started from the water and made their way to where I was laying, they turned into a different direction slightly, and then once they appeared to be next to where I was laying, they just stopped.
I scratched my head.
From the cracks in the pier my view caught sight of the moon, the position in the center of the sky. My eyes widened.
"Shit! I got to get home!"
I stumbled a little bit at first then ran as fast as I could.
My phone, now ruined, wouldn't do me any good so I made my way onto the pier, praying that some type of store was still open.
There was not, however I was fortunate enough to find a payphone still in service.
My hand went into my pocket in search of loose change. The jeans rubbed against my sore hand and I instantly withdrew it. I used my other hand a pulled out 75 cents. Rushed, punching in the numbers as fast as I can.
"He-"
"Oh my god Rin, do you have any idea what time it is? You were supposed to be home ours ago! Where are you?" my mom bombarded me with question after question, leaving me no room to speak.
"Mom, I'm fine. I'm at the central pier, can you come get me? I'll explain everything in the car." my mom huffed, and then hung up the phone.
I sat by the road and waited for 30 or so minutes before I saw the headlights of her car.
She pulled up and unlocked the doors. She didn't say a word.
"Explain." she demanded the minute my door shut.
I took a deep breath and told her everything—well, the best I could. I didn't hold back a detail, I was already going over the possible punishments in my mind, I didn't want to make it worse if I got caught lying. Mom didn't speak, or even mutter a sound.
When I finished talking the car fell into silence. I shuffled in my seat, uncomfortable. I drew signs on the cream-colored leather armrest of the 2012 taurus.
I glanced at my mom, her brown eyes were focused on the road; she is still wearing the scrubs from the hospital.
"Mom?" I question when we pulled up into our driveway. The car was still on.
"Go on." she said, "I need to get back to work."
I shook my head and lazily slid out of the car. I stood, watching, as she pulled out and drove away.
School was the equivalent of a nightmare.
I looked for Luka, I wanted to settle things with her. How could she run away when someone was drowning? It didn't sit right with me. And to make things worse there were rumors going around that a girl was murdered in her own home.
I was walking the hall, on my way to lunch when Miku ran up beside me.
"Rin, you got to see this!" she panicked, her eyes wide. Miku pulled me down the hall until we came across a locker with a note taped on it.
"R.I.P Luka Megurine."
The air got caught in my throat when I saw what it said.
"What? But I just saw her!" I muttered. Miku shushed me and dragged me into the nearest girl's bathroom. She told the girls standing by the mirror to get out (not as nicely, however) and kicked in the stall doors to chase everyone else away.
"Miku, what are you so panicked about?!" I half-yelled.
"Rin, she was found dead Sunday morning!"
"So?"
"So, you were the last person to see her Saturday night!"
Reality slapped me hard against the face.
"But I-I'm innocent, I didn't do anything!" I shouted, panicked.
Just then a girl came running into the bathroom. "Out." Miku demanded.
"B-but I'ya really have to go!" the girl cried, crossing her legs. I pulled at Miku's arm. She sighed.
"Go on." the girl wasted no time and ran into a stall.
Miku's expression softened when she was how freaked I was. She lowered her voice to a whisper and said: "Listen, I know you're innocent Rin, but there's no doubt you'll be a suspect. Just… be careful." and with that, she left.
I just stood there, not knowing what to do with myself. I tried to ignore the sound of the toilet flushing as I sorted out my thoughts.