Chapter 8
Callie was in the bathroom.
Everything that happened stressed her a lot, and, just like everyone else, she had trouble sleeping.
She looked in the mirror. She needed some sleep. She had a headache.
She opened the medicine cabinet and grabbed some Tylenol. Then she closed it.
She jumped. But nobody was behind her. She let out a deep sigh, trying to calm herself down.
Damn. What's up with everybody tonight?
She popped them and sipped some water.
She went to her bedroom...
...WHERE SHE FOUND A FIGURE STANDING IN THE DARK!
Callie GASPED.
From the shadow emerged Brandon. Callie sighed in relief.
"Brandon... you scared me."
"I'm sorry. I just wanted to say good night."
Brandon headed to the door, but Callie stopped him:
"Wait, that's all?"
Brandon gulped.
"No..."
"Then, what is it?"
Brandon closed the door and turned to Callie.
"I just wanted to know if you think that I am a..."
Brandon reconsidered and left the idea.
"A what?"
As if Callie didn't know.
"A killer." he responded.
Callie scoffed. Went closer to him.
"Brandon, of course not! I trust you. I believe you."
Brandon smiled.
"If you are talking about what happened between you and Jude at the police station, just leave it, okay?" said Callie. "Jude isn't even a fully teenager yet. He is scared, just like us. Don't take it personally. What he said to you was something that he didn't even mean to say."
Brandon nodded, agreeing with her.
"However..."
"What?" asked Brandon.
"I'm just wondering... why do you spend so much time at your dad's house lately?"
Brandon rolled his eyes and answered a little bit irritated:
"Because that's the place where I can feel safe. One of our siblings died in this house. What would you do in my place?!"
Callie looked down and didn't answer anything.
"I'm sorry..." she said.
"It's okay."
Callie looked at him and smiled. An intense moment. They gazed at each other for a few seconds.
"Maybe you should go get some sleep." suggested Callie.
Brandon nodded.
"Yeah..."
"Good night!" Callie said to him.
Brandon waved and left the room.
Callie closed all the lights from her room and fell asleep.
Mariana was in her room with Emma, both sitting beside each other.
"Thank you very much for coming over, Emma. I really needed some company."
Emma nodded and yawned.
"No problem, but it's kinda late, don't you think?"
"I just needed someone to talk to. It's urgent. I can't get any rest unless I do this."
Emma looked at Mariana with curiosity. She raised her eyebrows.
"Ok, I'm intrigued."
"What if we can catch the killer working together?" Mariana suggested.
Emma listened to her with excitement.
"Jesus was murdered in cold blood. We need to do something about it! I won't ever forgive myself if someone else dear to me gets hurt. So, what do ya say? Are you in?"
After a few seconds, Emma answered:
"Yes, I'm in."
They smiled at each other.
"Good."
"Do we have any suspects?" asked Emma.
"Yes. Yes, in fact, we do."
"Who?"
"Wyatt."
Emma made a look.
"What?!"
"You heard me."
"Why Wyatt?"
"Well, just think about it. After Taylor got stabbed, he suspiciously appeared out of nowhere. He said he wanted to 'help Taylor'. That's what any killer might do, so he won't be suspected by others. Plus, he seems to put the blame on other people: Timothy, Brandon... If the killer is not only following the killing methods of the Scream movies but also the plot of the first movie..."
"He is the Billy Loomis of Callie's Sidney." continued Emma.
"Exactly."
"But why would Wyatt harass Jude? He barely knows him. Doesn't make any sense, does it? What does he have against him?"
"Maybe he does it for some other purposes..."
"Like?"
"Like plotting a killing spree to make Callie get closer to him. I don't think that's going to work, tho. Callie is smarter than that."
Emma seemed interested. Hmmm.
"That's sick... but a plausible theory."
"This guy has been like obsessed of getting Callie back lately. He even enters the house via Callie's bedroom window. He gives Billy Loomis vibes to me. Doesn't he give them to you, too?"
"He does! Wow. You are a clever person, Mariana."
Mariana smiled with pride.
"Oh, thank you, that's very sweet of you!"
They both laughed.
"So, team?" asked Mariana.
"Team."
They bumped their fists and hugged.
The next day, in the noon, Jesus' funeral arrived.
The whole family was there, including Wyatt, Emma, Connor, and even Hayley. Mike was absent.
Everyone was dressed in black, formally, paying their respects.
A picture of Jesus' smiley face sat next to his open casket. The picture had been taken last Christmas. Surrounding the casket, there were several stuffed animals, small gifts and letters, most likely placed by his friends. Jesus wasn't perfect, but he was a good person.
Ana Gutierrez and Gabriel Duncroft were there, too. They were sitting in the front row of the funeral home. Ana was covering her nose and mouth with a napkin, her face red from crying, while Gabriel stood there, watching, tears in eyes.
Jude, Callie, Stef, Lena, Brandon and Mariana were sitting in the second row, while Wyatt, Emma, Connor and Hayley were sitting in the fourth row.
Surprisingly, tears were streaming down Hayley's face.
Mariana still couldn't believe that her twin brother was gone; and he was gone for good. She wanted the killer to be caught and killed by herself, with her own bare hands, and she wanted to be damn sure that that's going to happen.
Holding out the tears, Jude looked around and behind him, waiting for Taylor to show up. There was an empty chair in the fourth row, supposedly the chair that Taylor must've been sitting on.
Confusion washed over Jude's face. Did Taylor forget about it? It didn't seem like her character. Taylor was always a caring person, and she cared about Jude very much.
Just the thought of Taylor almost dying last night because of him made Jude burst out in tears right there, right then.
Just then...
Jude received a text message from Taylor. "Hi. Sorry for not showing up at the funeral. But you'll see me soon. ;)"
Looking at the phone screen, Jude frowned. What?!
Stef patted his shoulder. He looked at her.
"Put your phone back, Jude." she whispered.
Jude bit his lip and nodded. He did like he was told to.
Something was fishy with Taylor. Jude could feel it. Why didn't she show up at Jesus' funeral? Did something happen to her? Then he realised: Taylor was in the hospital! Of course! She was resting from her wounds! That's why she didn't come! Silly of him.
He sighed in relief.
"Jude, are you okay?" Callie whispered to him.
He nodded.
"Yeah, I'm fine." he mumbled.
Later, Mariana was doing her speech. She was telling a goofy and funny story about her and Jesus in the childhood. Tears covered her eyes while she was speaking into the microphone. During the speech, everyone listened carefully with puffy eyes. They chuckled at some points.
When she finished, she went back to her seat.
It was time for Jude's speech.
"I met Jesus when I moved in my "forever home". That's how I like to call it. At first, I didn't know him at all. I was such a confused and little boy back then. But still, I was thankful; thankful that finally, after the first time in forever, I was able to..."
Suddenly, Jude stopped.
In the back, hiding after a large bamboo, Jude saw what looked like a BLACK HOOD.
Jude GASPED.
Everyone looked at him with confusion. What was going on with him?!
"I was able to..." he said, before stopping once again, still staring at the plant. "Uh... I'm sorry."
Jude narrowed his eyes carefully.
The black hooded person slowly emerged...
...REVEALING GHOSTFACE!
Jude gasped again, this time much louder. He started breathing heavily and fastly. He closed his eyes for a few seconds.
When he opened them, Ghostface was gone. He let out a deep sigh.
Stef went and took him back to his seat.
People started mumbling and whispering to each other. What was happening to him?!
Jude sat up along with Stef.
"Jude, honey, what is it?" Stef whispered to him.
The family looked at him, concerned.
"Nothing." he lied. "I was just nervous."
Stef smiled a bit. She held his shaky hand.
"It's okay, baby. You are not forced to do your speech if you don't feel like doing it."
Jude nodded and looked down, embarassed. It was all in his mind, all in his mind...
When it was time for Hayley to do her speech, she suddenly stopped. She couldn't focus anymore. She just ran away, tears in her eyes.
Everyone watched her go.
Hayley was now outside, running with the speed of the light, without looking back. She was crying.
She finally gave up and dropped to her knees, her hands propped on the grass.
She couldn't hold it anymore. As much as she wanted to hide it from everyone and herself, too, it was impossible.
When she heard that Jesus is dead, Hayley felt her life going upside down. Despite her break-up with him and the fact that he had another girlfriend, Emma, Hayley still had feelings for him.
It was at that time when she realised how much she missed him. She hated herself for being such a bitchy and selfish person. She hated the way she acted with Mariana the day after his death at the school locker. She hated herself with burning passion.
Someone approached to her. Emma.
She immediately realised: Hayley was having a breakdown.
She went to her.
"Hey, Hayley!"
Hayley wiped her tears and looked up at her.
"What?!" she asked with teary eyes and trembling voice.
"Are you okay?" Emma asked, a little bit worried of her.
They weren't close at all, but Emma felt mercy and empathy for her.
"Yes. No. No, I'm not okay..."
She covered her eyes with her palms.
"Hey..."
Emma kneeled down to her and hugged her tightly. Hayley appreciated the gesture, a little bit surprised by it.
After they stopped, Hayley said, still not stopping from crying:
"I just want to pinch myself and wake up from this nightmare... It's horrible... I am a horrible person..." she mumbled, tears running down her cheeks.
"No, you are not!" Emma assured her.
As much as Emma didn't like Hayley, at that moment, it didn't matter. She just wanted to console her somehow.
Hayley looked at her.
"Why do you care so much about me, Emma? I am just a spoiled and clingy slut."
If they weren't in that situation, Emma would've probably agreed with that, but she didn't. In that moment, she saw another side of Hayley, a side that Emma didn't see too often.
"Hayley... don't be so hard on yourself. You are a great person!"
Hayley smiled and blushed a little, flattered.
"Thank you. Thank you for being here for me."
"Don't mention it."
They both smiled and hugged each other.
"I just want Jesus to be back..." whispered Hayley.
Emma nodded. She was close to crying, too.
"I know... I miss him too..."
Emma started crying.
Mariana approached to them.
"Girls, what's going on?!"
After the funeral ended, Stef was with Mike in the office. He called her to get there as soon as possible.
"Mike, why didn't you come at the funeral?" Stef asked, irritated.
Mike let out a deep sigh and ran a hand through his hair.
"I'm sorry..." he said.
"You are sorry?! Sorry?! That's all you have to say?!"
"Look... the thing is..."
Stef looked at him with curiosity, raising an eyebrow.
"What?"
"Taylor went missing."
Stef's eyes widened in shock.
"What?!"
"When her parents came to see her last night, she wasn't in her hospital bed. There were no signs of forced entry, so for now there is no proof that someone came and kidnapped her."
Stef put a palm on her mouth.
"Oh my god..." she mumbled, shocked.
"That's why I couldn't come. I tried finding her, but I failed. I wanted to contact you, but I just wanted to keep you out of it. I'm sorry. I know how important this funeral was for you and the family, so..."
"It's ok, Mike. Really."
Mike smiled a bit. A bit. He became serious again.
"What should we do now?" he asked.
"Mike, if we look back in the past, Daria also "went missing", but she turned out to be dead. Her autopsy showed that she was killed the same night she "dissapeared" so that might mean that..."
"Taylor was murdered, too." Mike continued.
Stef approved by nodding.
"Jesus..." he mumbled. "Would you tell Jude about it?"
"No. Not yet. Not until we find out what exactly happened to her. It's better this way. He has been through a lot already. I don't want to stress him even more."
Mike nodded, agreeing with her decision.
"I'll keep my lips sealed, Stef. I promise you that."
"Thank you, Mike."
They hugged.
Mariana was in the living room, sitting on the sofa along with Emma and Hayley.
Hayley was still crying. Mariana offered her a glass of water. Hayley took it and drank from it. She placed it on the coffee table.
"Thank you." she said to Mariana.
"You are welcome."
A few moments of silence before Hayley started:
"Mariana, I'm so sorry for how I acted with you lately, it's just that... it hurts so much to me that Jesus died and I just wanted to be strong..."
"Don't be sorry, Hayley! We understand you, really!"
Hayley looked at Mariana and smiled at her.
The three girls hugged each other warmly. It was both comforting and consoling at the same time for all of them.
When they stopped:
"I just want all of this to be over, and this crazy psychopath to be caught..." mumbled Hayley.
"We do, too. But don't worry. I think that moment will come soon."
It seemed like Hayley finally stopped crying. She gave Mariana a look.
"What do you mean?!"
"Just hear me out, okay? Because me and Emma have a lead."
Hayley raised an eyebrow.
"Really? Who?"
"Let this be our little secret." Mariana whispered to her.
Hayley nodded.
"It's Wyatt." whispered Emma.
Hayley frowned.
"What?! Wyatt?!"
Mariana and Emma nodded.
"We have some proof and a theory that may indicate that Wyatt is the masked killer." said Emma, secretive.
Hayley looked intrigued and excited.
"I'm all ears." she said.
They told her everything. When they ended, Hayley was at a loss of words.
"Wow... That's... that's just..."
"Awesome? Unbelievable? Convincing? All three at the same time?" asked Mariana with a wicked smile.
"Yes, that's a great theory you have!"
Mariana and Emma smiled at each other.
"So, do you wanna join us? Do you wanna join the "Justice for Jesus" team?" asked Mariana. "I'll make T-shirts."
Hayley nodded with a big smile.
"Yes! Count me in!"
They smiled at each other and hugged again.
Meanwhile, from outside the house, Ghostface was watching them. He stared at the window for a few seconds, and then he dissapeared from view.
A/N: That was chapter 8. At first I had some other plans for the character of Hayley, but I decided to make her role in the story a little bit bigger and to make her bond with the girls. What did you think of that? Theories about the killer? Reviews appreciated, as always. Stay tuned for the next chapter. ;)
