It has come to my attention while re-posting this story on another site that I skipped passed chapter ten. So I'm just adding it to this chapter as an update so the story makes sense. Sorry to anyone who's read both stories through already and the gap didn't make sense. Here's chapter ten.
CHAPTER TEN
ONE HUNDRED YEARS
"What do you want to do?" Will asked, intertwining his fingers with Athena's as they walked through the carnival. He held out his blue cotton candy to her, letting her drag out a puff of the sugar ball.
She let the sugar melt on her tongue, musing in her own thoughts, before shrugging, "Nothing that'll give me homicidal thoughts."
"Meaning nothing with annoying people?" he guessed, knowing her. "This is a carnival, you know that right?"
She rolled her eyes at him, "We could do the Ferris wheel, make out when we get to the top."
"Sounds like a plan," he kissed her cheek and pulled her over to the Ferris wheel at the end of the carnival. They had to wait in line for about ten minutes, but in the mean time they were able to talk and act like a real couple.
She felt like a real teenager, a real girlfriend, for once since moving to Lakewood, with Will's arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her back into his chest. She felt secure and happy, for once. She forgot about the phone call with the new killer that morning and her past, her secrets. And she could only believe that all these feelings were because of Will. He brought a calmness into her chaotic life. He made her happy when she felt stressed and overwhelmed. He made her stop and think when all she wanted to do was lash out.
And she loved him for it. She just couldn't say it out loud.
They finally got onto their own seat on the Ferris wheel, keeping their arms around each other as their seat rotated to the top. She looked around at the carnival, at all the people milling around in crowds of laughter and mayhem. "They look so small."
Will squeezed his arm around her shoulders, "Makes you feel big, doesn't it?"
She laid her head on his shoulder, "Makes me feel tall. Makes me feel like – I don't know – like all of this has a reason to it. I can't put my finger on it. Every little speck on the ground looks like a piece of a puzzle."
"And we're a part of it," he whispered, kissing her temple. "One big puzzle called Lakewood."
She let her lungs fill up with air before letting it out of her chest in a sigh as their seat descended to the ground, "And we're not gonna let him get another piece of it."
"Exactly," Will agreed, taking her hand so they were walking again own the other side of the carnival. They approached some of the games and he stopped them at a basketball contest. "Pick a prize, and I'll win it for you."
She smirked, "Any prize?"
He smiled at her, briefly pressing his forehead to hers, "Any prize. I didn't get into Duke for this sport for nothing."
She looked at the prizes from their spot in line, pondering which one would be more appreciated, have a place in her room. She smiled when she caught sight of a classic brown teddy bear with a white heart shaped belly. She used to have one like it growing up. But when she found out the truth about her 'parents' she didn't want anything left of them. Out of spite and lack of time to pack, she left it behind. Seeing the teddy bear up on the wall of prizes reminded her of being a kid. She wanted to feel like that again.
So, she pointed up at it with a smile, "That one. The bear."
They had just gotten to the front, Will being handed a plastic small basketball. He kissed her cheek, "The bear it is."
The object of the game was to simply shoot the ball into the three hoops sliding back and forth on the wall. A feat that Will achieved easily, without even thinking about it. He had a smirk plastered on his face as he pointed out the bear and handed it off to her, "One new teddy bear for my beautiful girlfriend."
She blushed under the praise as they continued walking, "Thank you. What should I name him?"
"Will?" he suggested with a light chuckle.
She laughed, "Right."
"What?" He laughed back. "It's a good name."
"It's also taken – by you," she pointed out. "I'll figure out a good name for him."
He put his arm around her, "This feels a bit surreal, doesn't it? Being here at a carnival after everything we've been through. I was so convinced after being kidnapped that I would never feel normal again. But here, with you, I feel blissfully normal."
"I was thinking the same thing earlier," Athena told him, weaving her arm around his back.
"Really?" he asked, pulling her around to face him. "Do I make you happy?"
"Yes," she answered, not bothering with the obvious 'why do you ask?' that usually followed such a heavy question. She just gave him her honesty.
He reached up to cup her face with his hand, "Good, I've been trying to. You've been making me happy most of the time too."
"Most of the time?" she teased, quirking one eyebrow up.
He laughed, "Yeah, most of the time." He sobered up, his expression changing. Not to a bad one. Just more serious, but still with a quirk of a smile to his lips. Before she could ask him where his thought process was going, he stated very simple yet profound words that made her freeze, "I love you, Athena."
"Athena, Will!" Emma's voice interrupted them before Athena could stutter out any kind of emotional response.
Athena blushed heavily when Emma and Audrey waltzed up to them, "Hey guys. Having fun?"
"Sure," Emma smiled, munching on pink cotton candy. "That's a cute bear."
"Thanks. Pretty boy won it on the basketball game," Athena gestured to the game vaguely.
"Practice for off-season?" Emma asked, looking over a Will.
He shrugged, keeping his arm around Athena's shoulders, "Just showing off."
Just then, Eli walked over to Emma and asked her quietly, "Hey, Emma. Can we talk?"
Emma frowned, letting him pull her a little way away from the other three. Athena could just make out him asking about whatever the Sheriff said to her, if she thought that he started the fire.
"No, I don't think you started the fire," Emma said. "But the Sheriff told me what happened in Atlanta... and that made me realize that I don't know you at all."
"What's going on?" Will asked, looking between his ex and Athena.
She shrugged, "I don't know the details. Eli is a bit sketchy."
She could see, in the distance, Kieran walking over. Emma tried to walk around Eli and back to them, but he grabbed her arm, "Emma, wait. I would never do anything to hurt you, okay?"
Kieran ran over and shoved Eli away, "Get off her!"
Eli tried to play it cool, "Back off, dude. This is not your business."
"I'm making it my business," Kieran growled, getting in his face.
Emma went to get in between them, but Will got there first, pulling Kieran away, "Hey, hey. Let's calm down."
"Will's right," Emma rasped, pulling on Kieran's arm. "Let's not do this right now. Okay? Please?"
Kieran took a breath to calm down and backed away, pointing a finger at Eli, "Stay away from her. Stop telling stories."
Eli smirked, "Don't worry, Kieran. It's not like I told her the worst part."
Kieran froze, clenching his fists as he lurched forward and punched Eli in the face. Gasps broke out in the crowd around them as people rapidly backed out of the way. Kieran had Eli on the ground in seconds before Will was able to strong arm him off.
"What the Hell are you doing?" Emma screamed, looking at Kieran.
He didn't say a word, just running off. Eli wiped at the blood on his chin, "You see, Emma? I'm not the one you should be afraid of."
"Come on," Athena said, tugging on Emma's arm so they started walking away from him.
Will briefly put his hand on Emma's shoulder before walking to Athena's side, "Are you all right?"
Emma nodded, looking at him with a soothing expression, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."
"Ladies and gentlemen, the Lady of the Lake Pageant will begin shortly. Please join us at the stage."
"We should head over," Athena mumbled awkwardly, looking between Will and Emma. "We need to support Brooke."
Will kept his arms around her waist, pulling her back into his chest as they stood in the crowd while the pageant princesses – her words, not theirs – made their speeches.
Zoe stood on the stage with a big ol' smile in her beautiful pink dress that Brooke picked out for her. "...So, in the end, I guess you could say that small towns are a great place to launch big futures. And that is why I love Lakewood. Thank you."
Athena half lifted her hands to give some applause for both herself and Will while the show runner nervously stepped back onto the stage and spoke in the mic with a wide Stepford smile, "And that was Zoe Vaughn. Thank you, Zoe! Please give a warm welcome for Brooke Maddox."
She gave some stronger applause as the blonde traipsed and tripped onto the stage, practically ripping the mic from the woman's hands. She was giggling and tilting from foot to foot as she spoke energetically, "Whoo! I, um... I had a speech prepared that I, uh... I worked on with my dad. Hi, Daddy! But, uh... I think I'm just gonna wing it." She said the last part with such confidence and flippant humor, it concerned Athena and the others immediately. Brooke looked like she was in a tornado of emotion, "Look at us... having a carnival... making speeches..."
Athena leaned her head back on Will's shoulder to whisper to him, "She's sloshed, isn't she?"
"It looks that way," he whispered back, his smile half fallen. "How did she even do that?"
Athena shrugged, "It's Brooke."
Brooke's face fell to a serious expression, "I just wanted to get real for a second. Some of you probably know I was... supposed to be here tonight with my boyfriend, Jake Fitzgerald. But I guess we all know what happened with that, right?" She gave a sardonic laugh and tossed her hair back over her shoulder. Her face crumpled, making Athena shudder. "I... I miss him so much. But... I mean, Jake had a great sense of humor. This all just feels so appropriate, 'cause this carnival's a joke!" She spat out the last word like venom from her tongue into the air, as if she could hurt the people in front of her. She glared out at them, "Congratulations, Lakewood. Happy one hundred years of lying to yourself! Lakewood is cursed. People die in this town. All the time. And we act like nothing happened. I almost died!" Her voice cracked on that last word.
The show-runner tried to step in and take the mic, speaking in her chipper tone, "And thank you very much..."
Brooke yanked the mic away from her, "No! I'm not done." She breathed in heavily as she continued, "And you know what I saw? Nothing! No white light. Just big, black, empty nothing."
Athena flinched, turning herself so her arms were around Will's back and her face pressed into his chest, trying to get closer to him. She flashed back to that afternoon she and Emma found him tied up, about to get cut in half. If Emma had made it one more step, Will would be gone. Where Jake is. Not next to her, touching her. She couldn't bear the thought.
Will's hands rubbed up and down her back, knowing she needed soothing. But she still felt on edge.
"And that's where Jake is right now!" Brooke cried out. "Instead of up here, with me, where he belonged. Unless we wake up and stop acting like this isn't Murderville, we're all gonna end up like Jake. And we'll deserve it. But he didn't." By the end of her speech, her face had drawn down into a blank, empty stare, as she dropped the mic with an audible electronic whine. She stalked off the stage with a click clack of her heels as the show-runner tried to salvage the pageant.
"Come on," Will murmured, gently pulling her away and leading her to the backstage area.
They met Emma, Audrey, Noah and Zoe back there, all trying to calm Brooke down. Emma sat the blonde up in one of the vanity chairs and kept a hand on her arm. Zoe walked off to get her some water to drink.
"What did I just do?" Brooke mumbled to the ground.
"I don't know, but it was kind of awesome," Audrey gave the girl a smirk.
"Kind of?" Noah scoffed. "You just read the entire town the riot act for having a beauty pageant instead of a funeral. Nicely done, Brooke Maddox."
Athena stepped forward and hugged the girl, "You did good, Blondie."
"Felt good," Brooke murmured. "Do you think Jake would have liked it?"
Athena pulled back, looking her in the eye, "He would have been cheering you on the whole time."
"Drink this," Zoe's voice sounded next to them, shoving a water bottle into Brooke's hands.
"How did you get so drunk?" Will asked, linking his hand with Athena's.
Zoe gaped like a fish out of water, "I gave her a shot and I didn't really..."
"Hey, I got myself drunk," Brooke slurred, gulping down the water. "Thank you."
"Brooke!" Maddox stomped over, staring her down. "Honey, what were you thinking?"
She stared blankly up at him, "What can I say, Dad? It was the truth... Jake would have liked that speech."
The Mayor softened, "Oh, honey..." he took her into his arms and helped her stand, "Honey... come on. Let's get you home." He gently led her away, acting like an actual father for once.
The sun was setting low on the sky as Will pulled Athena over to a park table and sat down, "Are you hungry or anything? We can try to get something here before they start packing up, or we can head to the Grindhouse or something."
Athena blankly shook her head, "I don't really feel like eating after Brooke's speech."
"Yeah," he mumbled, "that was something else, huh?"
She nodded, clearing her throat and pulling her hair back almost as a reflex, "A bit of arsenic for thought. And I feel a bit of a horrible person for just thinking about what I could be going through if it had been you. Of course, I feel horrible for her. And I actually do miss Jake too."
"I know," he but her off gently, pulling her face to look at him. "I know you miss him. We all miss him. But you're not a horrible person for being thankful that I'm alive. I feel grateful that you're alive every day. That's okay."
She nodded, feeling her throat burn with tears building up in her eyes, "I know. Just doesn't help her. And I don't know how to because ever since she made that speech I just keep thinking about that day at your house. First time I've ever been there, and it was to stop you from getting your head split open. And I keep thinking, what if I hadn't been there?"
"But you were," he pressed, keeping his grip strong on her face so she couldn't look away from him. "You were there and I'm here. It's useless to keep thinking about what could be happening now if things happened differently before. Okay? And – if it makes you feel better, you can be here with me all the time."
"Twenty-four seven?" she questioned, letting a playful tone seep into her voice, wanting to blow past the heavy stuff. "How are we gonna swing that?"
He shrugged, "Well, I pretty much stay at your place every night anyway. I'm convinced Diana and Till know that I'm there but just don't say anything."
"They're probably afraid I'll shout at them again or something," Athena snorted.
Will swung his leg over the seat so he was straddling it. He pulled her closer between his legs, stroking her hair when she placed her head on his shoulder. "We're going to be okay. As long as I have you, I won't let anything happen to you and you won't let anything happen to me."
"The park will be closing in 30 minutes," a voice announced on the loud speaker. "Please find the closest exit. Thank you for coming to the Lakewood Days Carnival. See you tomorrow!"
"Guess we should get going?" Will suggested. "I bet you that Mario's is still open. We can get tacos."
"Tempting me with tacos, Belmont?" she teased, taking his outstretched hand to help her stand up. "Is that how you expect to get me into bed?"
"Like I need to bribe you for that," he joked, leaning in to kiss her cheek before winding his arm around her shoulders and leading her to the exit by where he parked his truck.
She pulled her phone out of her pocket when it dinged with a text from Audrey.
Have you seen Emma? Can't find her.
She slowed down, frowning at the text, "Audrey can't find Emma."
"What?" Will asked, worried.
Athena looked around the dwindling carnival, "She has to be here somewhere. She can't be stupid enough to really wander off alone for no reason."
"Unless she had a reason," Will gulped. "What if she was lured off somewhere?"
"Shit," she cursed. "Seriously, one day off, is that too much to ask?"
"Apparently," Will mumbled, starting to search around the place for Emma. "Where would he take her?"
"Somewhere close," Athena guessed. "Somewhere isolated, disorienting, ironic."
"Fun house?" Will guessed.
"Exactly like that," Athena breathed, running with him towards the fun house. By the time they got there, the Sheriff and a handful of deputies were lining up outside the fun house entrance with vests and guns.
One of the officers kept back, "All right, stay back. Get these people back."
Athena and Will didn't listen well, getting as close as they could when the masked killer ran out of the building, a knife in his hand. She gasped, lurching forward angrily but Will quickly grabbed her waist and pulled her back into his chest.
"Drop the weapon!" the Sheriff yelled. The masked man frantically shook his head. "I said, drop the weapon!"
"Get down on your knees! Down on your knees, now!" another officer shouted.
The next moment Emma ran out of the fun house with a gun in her hand. Athena stilled in Will's grasp, "Jesus..."
"Emma, drop the weapon," Miguel tried to urge her calmly.
"Where's Kieran?" she shrieked, pointing the gun at the masked villain. "Where's Kieran!?"
"Emma, listen to me," Miguel stepped closer to her. "Emma... Emma, step back and drop the weapon."
She took a startled breath, as if she didn't realize that he was there and slowly crouched, putting the gun on the ground. An officer came over and gently pulled her arms behind her back, ushering her back. Another officer rushed to the masked man and got a grip on the hand with the knife. When he went to cuff him, he noticed there was duct tape attaching the knife to the hand. He unwound the tape and got the knife while a different officer came over and pulled on the mask to reveal Kieran with pain in his eyes and his mouth taped shut.
"Oh my god, Kieran!" Emma gasped shrilly. "Kieran!"
"Oh my god," Athena sagged into Will.
"So much for tacos and relaxing," Athena sighed as she changed into her pajamas while Will reclined on her bed. "I can't believe he got Emma to shoot at Kieran."
"He's been trying to turn us all against each other from the get-go," Will surmised. "You remember how the lock down went."
"Right," she slipped a tank top on and crawled into bed. "I think it's a good idea to get rid of all his ammo. All the secrets. What if he knows that Miguel is my father? It's not like he hid the evidence well. Stavo found it."
"Then what do you want to do?" he asked her, stringing his fingers through the ends of her hair as she laid half on top of him. "Tell everyone that Miguel is your biological father?"
"I want to talk to Diana about it, I want to get the truth," she pressed her lips into his shoulder.
"Then we'll do that," Will kissed her head. "Go to sleep, baby."
She hummed lightly but it turned into a groan when her cell phone chimed again. She reached across Will's chest to grab her phone off the charger cord and opened the message from 'A Special Friend' to see an audio recording. "What now?" she asked, not expecting an answer, pressing on the file for it to play.
Noah's voice came on, clear as his podcast, "Testing, testing. Welcome to The Morgue... I thought you were going home."
"What?" Will asked groggily.
Audrey's voice answered, "I was... but, if I don't tell you this tonight, I may never be able to."
"Okay, go."
"I know why the killer is after me. He knows what I've done... and that I would do anything to keep it secret... I brought Piper to Lakewood."
Athena's face hardened, "What the fuck?"
Now here's chapter eleven. Second and third trailer links are on my profile. Trailer 3 has spoilers for the end of the story.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
TIME TO PARTY
"This isn't happening, this isn't happening," Athena whispered to herself, over and over again, pacing the length of her bedroom.
Will watched patiently from the foot of the bed, "It is, okay? Audrey-"
"Was friends with that monster!" she nearly shrieked, catching herself just at the end of her words so as not to wake anyone up. "Brought her here, started all of this. And never said a word. Even when bodies started falling from the freaking sky."
"I know," Will sighed, pressing his forehead into his fists, his elbows resting on his knees. "This is so messed up."
Tears started to fall from her eyes. She just couldn't help feeling betrayed and raw, like her skin was scrubbed red or off. She tried to breathe deeply, calm herself down. But it wasn't happening. She backed up until her back hit the wall by her door and slid down, tucking her knees to her chest. "I can't believe this."
Will finally stood up, his jaw clenched in thinly veiled anger as he knelt in front of her. He kept his own reservations pushed down as he pulled her hands away from her face and kissed them in his grip. "Believe this – you and me. We survive. Whether it's physical battles or the mental ones. We will survive this."
"She lied to us," Athena whispered. "How do we know she isn't lying to us about something worse?"
"We don't yet," he answered, pressing his forehead into her knees.
"Do you think Emma got the same email?" Athena asked, jolting when her phone started ringing.
Will rocked back onto his feet and stood up, grabbing her phone from the bed. "Looks like she must have – it's Emma," he handed her her cell.
"Emma?" she answered her phone. "Did you get it too?"
"Yes," her voice was a low growl. "This is totally insane. I can not believe Audrey is the one who set Piper loose on Lakewood. She actually came over here. She tried to explain it away. She tried to tell me that she was going to tell me the truth. That it wasn't what I thought. I kicked her out."
Athena let her hair fall back into the plaster behind her with a low thump, "It is insane. I don't even know how to react. I feel frozen."
Will slid down on the wall next to her and pulled her into his arms, half on his lap. "It'll be okay."
"Is Will there?" Emma asked, a certain edge to her voice.
"Yeah," Athena replied distractedly. "We were getting ready to sleep when I got the email. And now I feel too fired up to sleep."
"Me too," Emma let out a shaky breath. "I'm sorry to call so late. I just wanted to know if you had gotten the same email."
"I did," she said. "Look, we're both angry. Let's just get some sleep, go to school tomorrow. There's nothing we can do tonight."
"You're right," Emma sighed. "I'll try. Goodnight."
"Night," Athena hung up and tossed her phone on the bed. She let her head fall onto Will's chest and shoulder, "Do you think we can sleep?"
Instead of answering with words, he strung his arms under her body and her legs and lifted her up as he stood, with little difficulty. He laid them both on the bed and kept his arms firmly around her, as if trying to protect her and make sure she didn't disappear. She felt him kiss the back of her head and smiled, closing her eyes.
Athena took deep breaths in and out of her nose on her way into the High School with Will by her side. She could only barely hold on to her temper as she made her way into the hall. She and Emma almost immediately found each other, staying by each other's sides with Kieran and Will while Brooke trailed behind them, catching up on the situation.
"I don't understand," the blonde stated. "Audrey?"
"Yeah. It's unreal," Emma said.
"All that stuff about Piper, everything that she said... it was just a lie?" Brooke asked.
"Yes," Kieran rasped, exasperated. "Right to our faces, everyday."
They were walking down the hall, passing Haley going the other direction. She smirked at all of them in turn, "Hey, you guys. Enjoyed your freak show at the carnival last night."
"You're pathetic, Haley," Athena snarled at her, having to be pulled away by Will.
"Hey!" Kieran pointed out Noah walking towards them, "there he is."
Emma walked right up to him, "How long have you known, Noah?"
Noah frowned, "A few days. I'm so sorry I didn't say anything."
Emma scoffed, "No, you are not sorry. You promised Audrey that you wouldn't tell me."
"I thought that she should be the one to tell you," he insisted.
"And she didn't," Athena pointed out. "She didn't say a thing until we got the email with the recording that you made."
"What?" he gaped at her. "Can I see that email, please?" Emma handed over her phone and he studied it, frowning, "'Secret Friend'?"
"Yeah, it's obviously fake," she shrugged.
"But imminently traceable," he murmured, tapping around on the screen. He sent the email to himself and handed back her phone, still a sober expression on his face, "Look, Audrey has just been destroyed..."
Emma let out a laugh, "Audrey's been destroyed? Noah, our friends were being killed, and she didn't say anything to anyone, including you!"
"Emma..." Audrey's voice sounded from right behind them.
She turned around, glaring at her, "No." She walked away but Audrey tried to go after her.
"No, look, I just want..." she tried to appease them.
Kieran put his arm out, blocking her, "Let her be."
"Emma, I didn't know it was Piper!" Audrey insisted.
Emma whirled on her, "Oh, my God! Yes, you did! You just didn't want people to blame you!"
"That is not true," Audrey said.
"It is!" she hissed. "It is true! And guess what? Everyone should blame you. I blame you!" She shoved her hands into Audrey's chest roughly, pushing her into the lockers behind her with a metallic thump. The other classmates around them gasped and started murmuring among themselves.
Athena pulled on Emma's arm and nudged her towards Kieran, "Go take a breather, Em."
The girl let Kieran lead her towards her locker, leaving Athena to stare straight at Audrey with betrayal in her eyes.
Audrey looked shameful under her stare, "Athena, I can explain – everything."
"What could you possibly say to excuse this?" Athena scoffed at her. "Even if you're telling the truth and you didn't have any idea that Piper was the killer until that night – after everything you still kept your mouth shut. We were all recovering from what happened and you didn't say a word. Nothing is going to make that okay."
Athena didn't bother waiting for a reply, turning around and walking off with Will and Brooke. She stopped at her locker and opened it, seeing a folded piece of paper taped to the inside of the door with capitalized letters spelling out; FROM: YOUR SPECIAL FRIEND.
She only vaguely heard Stavo's voice greet her, "Hey. I wanted to see how you were doing."
She didn't answer, pulling the paper from the metal and unfolding it. In black and white print was a photo of her when she was three years old, with all the information and her birth name from the original missing child milk carton type alerts that went out when she was first taken. Only next to the younger photo was a picture of her from the newspapers after she killed Piper, with her current name above it. In marker at the bottom were the words; 'THE TRUTH WILL COME OUT SOON. ARE YOU READY, KILLER?'
Tunnel vision set in around her eyes, focusing on the side by side photos of herself. Her rib cage capsized on her lungs, as if they were too small to fill up with enough air. Words were garbled and distorted in her ears but she knew Will, Brooke and Stavo were talking to her.
"Hey, babe," Will cooed, taking the paper from her. "Shit."
"What is it?" Stavo snatched the paper from him and looked at it. "Shit."
Brooke rolled her eyes, "Somebody has to snap her out of this."
"Baby, look at me," Will cupped her head and tilted it back up to look at him. "Breathe, in and out. This – doesn't matter. We survive, remember?"
"This can't get out," she whispered. "The whole town will treat me like some kind of psycho, ready to blow. I'm already in print as the girl who killed Piper. This will just make everything worse."
"Even if it does get out, who cares?" Stavo asked, shrugging his shoulders. "You're still you."
"He's right," Brooke piped in. "We're not going to let anyone mess with you."
She shook her head, "You guys I trust. It's the rest of Lakewood I don't trust with this. If it gets too big, it could become national news, everyone would know that I'm here. I will never be able to escape Jules Tyler or Athena Contos."
Will pulled her into his chest, at a loss for words. He didn't know anything that could somehow make it better. Because she was right. If people knew the truth, she would always be known as Jules Tyler, the girl who got kidnapped and returned so many years later alive. She would be trapped in that shadow, as that girl, or in the enormous shadow of the criminals who raised her. He hoped somehow that they could avoid that. That somehow the killer would forget or decide not to expose her secret. He couldn't say anything other than, "It's going to be okay. No matter what happens, we'll all be right there with you."
She nodded into his chest, "I think I'm going to just go home. I can't possibly focus on school right now."
"I'll go too," Will offered. "I can take you to get your car back later."
She nodded a bit absentmindedly, "Okay, let's go."
"Text me if you need anything," Brooke said as they started walking away.
Athena gave her a smile, "Sure. I'll see you guys later."
"I got an ID on the second body," Maggie lightly knocked on Miguel's door briefly before making her way into his office and dropping her file onto his desk.
"Body?" he asked, distracted by the case files of Ms. Lang.
"From the fire? Eddie Hayes, 24," she nodded. "He had an insulin pump implant. I matched him to the serial number. He was a clerk at the Crescent Palms Motel." She noticed he seemed distracted, staring at something on his desk. "Something wrong?" she asked.
He responded absentmindedly, "What? No, I'm fine."
"You don't seem fine," she responded gently. "You said you needed my help on this case," she said.
"And I do," he insisted.
She closed the door softly behind her. "I've been through this. It's not a normal case. If you want to stay objective, you're gonna have to find a way to deal with your personal stuff."
He mulled over her words and answered, "Stavo didn't come home last night. I've been trying to call him, but he won't answer my calls."
"Was he at school today?" she asked.
He nodded, "Apparently."
She leaned back in her chair with relief, "Well, at least you know he's okay."
"That's just it," he replied. "I'm not so sure. Ever since..."
"Since when?" she prompted, leaning forward slightly.
"Phoenix," he answered. "It happened right after his mother died. Stavo and his best friend, Kyle... somehow, they got a hold of my gun. They were messing around with it and it went off. And the boy, Kyle... got shot in the face."
"Oh, my God," Maggie gasped softly.
"Stavo called it in, but, by the time I got there, the boy was dead," he elaborated.
"He must have been traumatized," Maggie sighed. "To see his friend die in front of his eyes like that..."
Miguel wanted to agree, but he couldn't, "He was cool as a cucumber. He was drawing... in his notebook."
"Drawing what?"
"Kyle... dying... dead..." he trailed off. "There was a question as to how long the boy was bleeding before he called it in. Ultimately, they ruled it an accidental death." He let out a sigh, thinking back to the whole situation. "We came to Lakewood for a fresh start, but, then, I found these in his room."
He opened a file on his desk and handed her a pile of photos, drawings of Stavo. Maggie saw the first one, of her daughter with blood on her and a knife in her skull but her face still alive and aware. She saw others of Noah, Audrey, Ms. Lang on the ground bleeding, Seth Branson handcuffed by one arm to a bed. She stopped at a rough sketch of Athena, dressed in a black swaying dress and long hooded black robe. She held a scythe in one hand and what looked like a dripping heart in the other. Her face was fierce, determined, beautiful. She slid that sketch across the desk, "Did you see this one? Of Athena?"
"Yeah," he replied distractedly. "She's part of the little group, he draws all of them."
"But look at the differences," she urged him. "Everyone else is drawn as victims, dead or undead or dying. They're just parts of the story. Look at how he drew her. He drew her as the hero – he made her beautiful. He cares about her more of all the rest of them."
"What are you saying?" he prompted.
"He loves her," she said. "Do you think he knows who she is to him?"
Instantly, Miguel shook his head, "Not a chance. I mean, how could anyone guess that?"
Maggie shrugged, "Do you have any of her letters, the photos she sent you of Athena? Could he have found those?"
"Yes, I have them, but I hid them away years ago," he explained. "There's no way he knows."
"You need to pay attention, Miguel," she told him. "He's telling the truth in his drawings, how he sees the others. And he reveres her more than all of them. There has to be a reason for that."
Miguel looked at the drawing of Athena in deep thought, "If he does – do you think he would tell her?... Would she even..."
"Would she what, Miguel?"
"Would she like me?" he asked, showing insecurities for once.
Maggie sighed, having no real answers, "I don't know. That's something you would have to ask her."
Athena as still quiet and distracted while Will drove them to her house and she let them in the front door. By the amount of keys hanging, she knew that Diana was home. So overcome with anger, indignation, she grabbed Will's hand and marched into the kitchen. She stopped short when she saw her Aunt Abby at the counter with her. "Abby?"
Her Aunt smiled and hugged her, "Hey, sweetie."
"Sweetheart, what are you doing home so early?" Diana asked, a tentative smile on her face.
Athena sighed, "It was too intense today."
"What happened?" she asked, concerned. She went to walk around the counter and hug her daughter, but Athena backed up into Will's chest.
"Is Till my real father?" she asked, no preamble, no buildup. Just like a band-aid.
Diana balked at the question, "What? Of course he is."
"I'm going to ask one more time and I want the truth, Diana," Athena spoke lowly, not room for emotion or bullshit. "Is Till Tyler my biological father, or is it Sheriff Acosta?"
Diana's face dropped dramatically, pail, small, drawn in, "How... what? How..."
"How do I know?" Athena finished for her, bitterly. "Stavo found all your letters to each other. The photos and updates you sent him about me. Miguel kept all of it."
"Oh, my God," Diana whispered, tears building in her eyes. "Sweetheart, it's a lot more complicated than you realize-"
"No, it's not," Athena spat. "It's not complicated. You screwed around and you lied about it my whole damn life. Even when I was taken, it never occurred to you to come clean, to maybe think that the police might be able to use that information. You promised me no more secrets. But you lied. You keep keeping secrets when shit hits the fan, knowing it could help, knowing it could be important. Why? Did you think I didn't deserve to know where half my DNA comes from?"
"Miguel is not your father," Diana insisted. "Even if he is blood, he didn't raise you."
"Neither did Till," she pointed out. "Neither did you. Gretchen and Alonzo did. I don't really prefer to think of them as my parents now."
"And you shouldn't," she agreed. "But Till is the one who stood by me when I gave birth to you, raised you until what happened, and welcomes you back when we found you."
"Does he know?" Athena asked quietly, feeling Will put his hand on her shoulder from behind her.
Diana faltered, her eyes moist and glowing with emotion, unexpressed. Slowly, she shook her head, "No. No, I never told him. I only ever told Maggie."
"You keep doing this Diana," Athena cringed, rubbing her elbows with her hands. "You keep these important secrets, you lie. When it all comes out, you're sorry. And somehow, it's up to me to just forgive you. And then, once I do, I find another secret, another lie. Is this it? Huh? Is it all out in the open now?"
Diana went to answer her but Athena cut her off, "No, stop. You know what? I'm not ready to hear anything you have to say for yourself. I'm done today."
Leaving a gaping Diana behind her, she turned and walked up the stairs to her room, pulling Will in behind her.
Gretchen watched the room spin around her, the seedy little motel room having nothing to occupy her mind. Restless with boredom, she started pacing, speaking to herself. She had to find something, some way to get to her daughter. To reunite them. She could let her husband rot in jail for being stupid enough to let Athena apply for jobs before they had a real social security number for her to use. She couldn't lose her daughter – not again.
She stared at the mirror of her room for well over an hour, studying each and every photo chronicling Athena's day to day activities. Of her driving, leaving her house, getting home, having coffee with Brooke or Noah and Audrey, kissing that boy – Will Belmont. She had captured it all, wanting not to miss a single moment of her daughter's life until she got her back.
She smiled as she flipped through old family albums, of her little girl growing up. She loved her so much. She would do anything to make sure her daughter was safe. Even if it meant getting involved in a serial killer's game.
She slipped on her heavy duty sunglasses and beanie over her dark hair, like a walking criminal cliché. Making sure to lock the door behind her, she started driving her car to the Tyler house, staying at least four houses away, but definitely with a plain line of sight to the front door.
She would watch, camera out, and make sure her baby girl was safe. That's what a mother did.
"I can't believe I did that," Athena muttered out loud, stripping off her jacket and dumping it with her bag on the floor. "I wasn't planning on doing that."
"Hey, it's okay," Will rushed to assure her, turning her around so she was facing him. "You didn't say anything she didn't deserve. You deserve the truth."
"I'm just – I'm not ready for this," she told him. "I'm not ready for the whole world to shift around me and that's exactly what's going to happen if I keep digging into this whole Diana-Till-Miguel love triangle and if the killer tells the world who I am."
"Just breathe," he coached her, knowing she was going to work her way into some kind of panic attack if he didn't. Once her breathing was even, he spoke again, "No matter what, we survive, okay? Diana will survive too. Till, Miguel, whoever lies. They'll live. What I care about, is you. I won't let the world shift – unless it's in a good way."
She let herself blush under his wiggling eyebrows and smiled, "You certainly have a way with words, Pretty boy."
He grinned, "Just for you." He leaned down and kissed her forehead, "I love you."
This was the second time he'd said those words, and just like the first time, they were interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone. She avoided eye contact as she pulled out her phone, seeing Emma's name flashing on the screen. She felt a little bubble on irritation at the fact that both times Will said he loved her and they got interrupted, Emma was the interruption. Along the very breakable skin of that bubble, was insecurity because of Emma's history with Will. But she pushed it away carefully and answered, "Emma, what's up?"
"Are you with Will right now?" Emma asked quickly. "Kieran and I found something at Ms. Lang's house. Noah and Zoe are meeting us there."
"Where? Ms. Lang's house?" she asked, taking the phone away from her ear and putting it on speaker.
"Sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself," Emma apologized. "Apparently, Piper and Ms. Lang grew up together in the same orphanage – Blessed Sisters. We think Lang may be involved in this somehow, if they were friends. Noah said it was a group foster until ten years ago, but before that it was an insane asylum with a pretty bad reputation, abuse of children, something like that."
"Sounds like a lovely place," Athena droned. "I'm guessing it's abandoned and we're going to check it out."
"That's the plan," Emma answered. "There's one more thing you should know, Athena, about Blessed Sisters. Who else was there."
"Me? Who?" Athena asked.
"Your father – Alonzo Contos – was there too," Emma revealed.
Athena felt her face harden, keeping her tone even, "Text me the address. We're on our way."
"Is this a rave?" Athena asked rhetorically as she and Will pulled up to a raging party in the abandoned Blessed Sisters.
"Well, come on," Will tried to appease her as they got out of the car. "We both knew that they weren't going to make this easy."
"But I expected more of another creepy liar," she theorized. "Not an ill-advised party."
"Let's just go meet the others," he suggested, taking her hand. They walked until they caught sight of Emma, Kieran, Noah and Zoe hovering at the entrance.
Emma waved them over, "Can you believe this? Everyone here is wearing a Brandon James mask."
"Looks like a harmless act of teenage rebellion to me," Noah shrugged.
"Noah, when was the last time you heard of a party being held at Blessed Sisters Children's Home?" Zoe asked him.
He frowned, "Yeah, the timing is super weird."
Emma looked around the crowd, eventually flagging down a girl walking by, "Excuse me."
The girl was holding a red cup and saying slightly, obviously buzzed, and smiled widely, "Hey!"
"Do you know who's throwing this party?" Emma asked quickly.
The girl answered with excitement and slurring words, "Yeah, totally. It's such a cool idea. The "screw you" of it all. Face the fear. Take back the night. I never would've thought you guys would have it in you."
Emma frowned, "Me? You think that I'm throwing this party?"
The girl gestured with her cup between Emma and Athena, "Well, yeah, both of you. And Audrey Jensen."
"And you believe that we would do something like this?" Athena asked, stepping up next to Emma.
The girl grimaced, pulling out her phone and showing them the invite with all three of their names at the top.
Athena glared at the offending poster and took the cup out of the girl's hand, gulping down the two sips left of bitter alcohol. She handed the empty cup back to her and patted the girl's shoulder, "Have fun tonight."
The girl looked bewildered but she still took the hint and walked off. Athena turned around to face the others, grinning when she saw the other's shocked faces, "You guys aren't the only ones who know how to party. I need something to get me through all this madness."
"Okay," Emma easily accepted. "But all of this had to be the killer. He's trying to set us and Audrey up for something. That's why he sent that invite."
"And lo and behold, it worked," Athena said, gesturing to the mass crowd around them. Their bodies were jumping and thumping together to the techno beats and bass drops. "Speaks volumes for the common sense of teens in Lakewood."
Will walked over and put an arm lightly around her waist, "Let's just figure out what the killer is trying to do. We need to shut this thing down."
"I can call Sheriff Acosta," Kieran volunteered. "I'll tell him there's underage drinking." He gave Emma a kiss and walked off with his cell phone out.
"It's not really a party without the music, or the lights," Zoe commented.
Noah gave her a huge grin, "Zoe Vaughan, you are brilliant. We'll shut down the electricity."
"We just need to find the source," Zoe said.
Emma nodded along, urging them forward, "That's a great idea. Go. Figure it out."
The new couple ran off and Emma turned to Athena, about to say something, when her eyes caught something behind her. "Oh my god, it's Haley."
Athena turned around to see the dark haired girl by the DJ table. She glowered, pulling on Will's hand to lead him and Emma towards the girl. Emma greeted her coolly, "Hey."
Haley smiled, with a bit of smugness, "Emma! Wow, I'm surprised you showed. I figured Athena might come make a stink or something – but not you."
"Are you a part of this thing?" Emma demanded.
The smug smile stayed where it was, "You should know. It's your party."
Athena scoffed, "We both know that this has your trampy ass all over it and these idiots were just dumb enough to believe that Audrey would throw a party with us after today. Now, spill before I actually do beat your ass."
Haley frowned, put off, "Whatever. Calm down. It's just a joke."
"You play a lot of jokes," Athena growled. "Who's your buddy in all this? It's not just you, I know that."
This time she smirked, "A friend. A very special friend, who prefers to remain anonymous. And I protect my friends. Surely, you can respect that."
Emma gaped at her, "Haley, do you realize you might be protecting a killer right now?" The girl only laughed. "Who is your friend?"
"Stop being so paranoid! It's someone I'm seeing," with that, she walked off.
Emma immediately ran after her, calling her name. But Athena caught sight of someone who had been behind Haley and froze. Their hood was over their head, but she could see their face, plain as day. She felt Will lightly shake her arm and ask her, "Hey, Athena, what's wrong?"
"My mother," she told him, not taking her eyes of Gretchen. "The fuck is she doing here?"
Will followed her eyes and caught sight of the dark haired woman, "I don't know, do you think she had something to do with-"
"No," she responded automatically, knowing in her gut that her mother wasn't off killing people. She still didn't take her eyes off of Gretchen, who had locked eyes with her, as she spoke to Will, "Can you go after Emma? I need to get Gretchen out of here."
Will didn't want to by any means but he knew when her mind was set on something. He kissed her temple and ran after Emma who was still chasing after Haley.
Athena marched through the crowd, not bothering to utter out pitiful apologies when she bumped into people unceremoniously. She kept staring, right at her mother, until they were in front of her, "What the Hell are you doing here? Did you follow me?"
Gretchen sagged, "I had to. I have to keep you safe. Especially with this mad man running around."
"I don't need you to protect me," she hissed, casting glances around to make sure they weren't attracting unwanted attention. "I think I've managed just fine on my own so far. You were no where to be found when my friends were dying three months ago."
"I had to lay low," Gretchen insisted. "The police were after me, they still are."
"And yet you're here," Athena replied. "Kieran is calling the police on this party right now. If you don't want to get caught, you better go."
"You do care," her mother breathed, reaching up to cup her face, moist eyes. "No matter what, you and I will always be mother and daughter."
She hissed back, "I may not be close to Diana – and that's your fault – but she is my mother, not you."
Gretchen flinched, recoiling as if burned. Her face morphed with anguish, "I am your mother. She never wanted you."
"I don't care," Athena shrugged, so emotionally exhausted. "You're not my mother either."
"Yes, I am," Gretchen's voice hardened. "I risked everything coming to this town to protect you. I was told that you would need me now more than ever and I knew I just had to risk it."
Athena's eyes whipped up to her face, narrowed, "What? What do you mean, you were told? Told by who?"
Gretchen looked innocently befuddled, "Your friend from Portland, Dido. She knew you were having a tough time after the murders started. She knew my old email address. I checked it once is Spokane and was flooded with her messages, she's so worried about you. She loves you so much."
Athena shook her head, "That's impossible. Dido wouldn't do that. She knows how I feel about you."
"It had her name on it," Gretchen insisted.
"The killer has used other names before to hide," Athena said. "You know what? I don't care. You were lured here under false pretenses – I don't want you here. The police are coming. You need to go."
Just then, the lights and music all cut off, plunging the large room into darkness. Everyone screamed in fright and surprise around them. She felt Gretchen's arms wrap around her protectively and roughly yanked herself away, "Get the Hell out of here, Gretchen. I need to go find my friends and boyfriend."
She didn't give Gretchen a chance to respond or grab for her before she wandered off into the crowd to search for Will and Emma. She pulled out her phone to use the flashlight and saw that she had a pending text message. She clicked it open from 'Unknown' and balked when she saw it.
'MISSING LOVER BOY? YOU SHOULD HAVE KEPT A BETTER EYE ON HIM.'
The air left her lungs with a burning sensation left behind, the large text blurring in her eyes. She immediately starting rushing to the last area she'd left Will, calling out his name, "Will!? Will!"
She heard Kieran yelling, "Emma! Emma!"
She followed his voice and roughly bumped into him, both their phones out with the flashlights on, as were most other phones in the room. "Kieran! I can't find Will."
"I can't find Emma either," he said quickly.
"Will went with her to chase after Haley and I got this text from the killer," she flashed her phone's screen at him and watched his eyes go wide. "I think he did something to Will."
"Okay, okay, don't panic," he rushed to assure her. "I'm sure he's fine. We'll find him and Emma. I already called the Sheriff so they'll be here soon."
As if he'd said some kind of 'open sesame' command, real flashlights flooded in with the Sheriff and his cops demanding that everyone clear the area and go peacefully. Kieran and Athena rushed up to Sheriff Acosta, her speaking first, "Sheriff, something is really wrong. The killer is here – or was here – I don't know, but he did something to Will. I think Will is here hidden and—and hurt somewhere."
"Okay, okay, just breathe, tell me what you mean. What makes you think the killer is here and hurt Will – this is Will Belmont?" Sheriff Acosta lowered his gun and flashlight and looked at her just as the lights were turned back on.
She lifted her phone to show him the text, "I got this when the power was cut. I need to find him, now!"
"Okay, this is what I want you to do," he went deep int Sheriff mode, even though this was his hysterical secret daughter in front of him, "I want you and Kieran to go outside with my deputy and tell him anything we need to know. I will take a few of my men and personally search for Will, okay?"
Tears threatened to spill out of her eyes but Kieran's insistent hand on her back goaded her not to argue, to do as said. As she went to take her first step outside, nodding her agreement, hysterical screams ruptured through the crowd. At the mention of Haley's name, Athena and Kieran turned around to see what everyone was screaming about. Athena gasped, holding in her shriek when she saw that under the 'Face the Mask' banner, Haley, bloody and mangled, was hanging by her wrists. "Oh my god, it's Haley."
"Okay, okay, let's get you out of here," the Sheriff insisted, gesturing with his head for Kieran to lead her outside as he and the rest of the cops corralled the teen masses outside too.
Athena was nearly numb, waiting outside in the cold with Kieran before he was pulled away to answer some questions. She looked up when she heard Emma call her name and ran over to her and Audrey, "Emma. Audrey? Wait, where's Will?"
"Isn't he with you?" Emma asked, confused. "He left to find you a while ago."
This time, tears did escape from Athena's eyes. She rocked on her heels, lifted her hands above her head to interweave behind her skull, "Oh my god. No, he isn't with me. Last I saw him was when I sent him after you."
"Yeah, why did you do that?" Audrey asked.
"Because Gretchen showed up and I had to get rid of her," Athena quickly explained.
Emma gaped, "She was here? This night couldn't get more complicated. Audrey and I found Piper's dead body posed in a chair inside."
"Someone dug that psycho up?" Athena balked. "Oh my god."
"We need to talk to Haley," Emma insisted. "We need to find out who her special friend is."
Athena frowned deeply, "Emma... Haley is dead. Her body was strung up during the blackout. She was stabbed to death."
Emma gasped, her hands flying to her mouth, "Oh my god."
"The killer sent me this when Noah and Zoe cut the power," Athena swiped her phone's screen and showed them the text. "I need to find Will. I can't think about anything else until I see that he's okay."
Emma looked just as worried as she was about Will's well being at the moment, both turning to peer into the building, studying every body walking out to see if he was with them. Athena had a waking nightmare that one of the cops were going to wheel Will's dead body out in a stretcher, just as mutilated as Haley.
It hit her like a freight train, her true feelings for Will. She knew she couldn't lose him. She knew she cared about him – deeply. And now, waiting to see if she would lose him forever, she knew she loved him and she knew she had to tell him, the second she saw him. He had already told her twice, and she never had a chance to really think about her response.
When Sheriff Acosta walked out, she searched all around him to see if Will was with him. She saw nothing. She was ready to start screaming in grief when a couple deputies walked out, supporting a limping Will between them. She and Emma both gasped out, "Will!" but with her speed, Athena reached him first.
"Oh my god, Will! Will?" she stood in front of him and took one of the officer's places under his arm to lead him to the back on an ambulance Acosta had called in. An EMT took over and had him sit on the open back, checking his twisted ankle and head wound. "Are you okay?" Athena and Emma kept asking.
"I'm fine," he insisted, using one of his hands to grasp Athena's. "I promise. I was just knocked out."
"I thought you were dead," she whimpered.
The EMT instructed Will to look into his small flashlight, cutting off whatever he could have answered her. After bandaging the wound at the border of his hairline on his forehead, the EMT deemed him safe, "He's okay. He may have a small concussion so don't go to sleep for at least four hours. I'd suggest going to the hospital."
Will shook his head, "I'll be fine. I don't feel nauseous or disoriented or anything."
"I'll take care of him," Athena insisted, sitting herself by his side.
"I'm going to brief Sheriff Acosta on your condition, he may want to ask you a few questions," the EMT told them before walking off.
Athena sagged, checking Will's bandage with her fingers, "Are you sure you're feeling okay? I was – beyond terrified when the killer texted me. I thought he-"
"I'm fine," he told her again, pulling her hand away from his forehead. He kissed her cheek, "I promise."
"Um, we should leave you two alone," Audrey awkwardly shuffled her feet, tugging on Emma's arm.
Emma stood fast, "Are you sure you're okay, Will? I mean, if something happened to you-"
"I don't know how many times I have to say it," he snapped. "I'm fine. And no, I didn't see who attacked me. It was dark, they were covered up."
Emma recoiled a little, finally letting Audrey pull her away.
Athena said nothing, trying to unclench Will's fist with her finger, "Do you want me to call your parents for you? I'll drive you out there."
He stared at the ground, "I thought you were hurt too, when I woke up. I thought that was the reason he knocked me out. So, he could get to you while you were alone."
"He didn't," she assured him. "I'm fine. You are too. God, I was so scared."
"Me too," he whispered, letting his forehead fall on hers.
She couldn't hold it in any longer, whispering with ferocity, "I love you."
He opened his eyes, startled, but otherwise remained in the same position and simply answered, "I love you, too."