Chapter 12
"Connor, are you mad at me?"
This was the tenth message that Jude sent to Connor. He didn't answer any of his phone calls and texts, and Jude didn't like that.
Maybe his dad punished him and he has forbidden Connor to talk to him once again.
But something just didn't feel right. If that was the case, Connor would've told him by now.
Sitting on his bed, Jude sighed and placed his phone beside him. The sun was shining through the window.
A knock on the door.
"Come in." he sadly said.
It was Callie.
"Jude, aren't you coming for breakfast?"
She noticed Jude's look on his face.
"Jude, what happened?"
She closed the door and sat on the bed.
"Tell me."
She wrapped an arm around him, and Jude leaned his head on her shoulder.
"Connor doesn't talk to me anymore."
Callie frowned.
"What?!"
"I called and messaged him one hundred times. He didn't answer." he mumbled, almost crying.
"Maybe he is busy."
"So busy that he can't reply to a text?! What if his father..."
"You are overreacting. Maybe he didn't wake up yet."
"He always wakes up early in the morning, it's something very unusual for him."
'Maybe he is stressed, just like us. Don't make such a big deal of it. Do I have to remember you that he witnessed Hayley dying right in front of his eyes? He must've been very shocked and terrified. Didn't you think of that?"
Jude gulped.
"I don't know what to say. I just have a very bad feeling about this."
"Just wait a few hours, and he will message you back, I assure you."
"If you say so... And speaking of people dying right in front of my eyes... I don't know about the others, but I kinda got used to it. Every place I set foot, someone dies. This is only my fault."
"Jude! It isn't your fault that a psycho who wears a mask kills people to make you feel responsible for their deaths!"
"It is my fault. I am the reason why he started killing people in the first place."
"Psychopaths don't need reasons to make them kill others."
"Callie..."
"Hm?"
"How do you cope with this? With everything that happened so far."
Callie bit her lip and answered:
"Well... I keep telling myself that it can't get worse than that, even if it gets. It sucks on so many levels, but running away gets me nowhere. I've learned to embrace it."
"And it helped?"
"Yes, indeed, it helped. It helped me remember that still, I have some dear people around me. I focus on them, and then I realise how lucky I really am."
Jude smiled at her in adoration. Callie was obviously also referring to Jude.
She snuggled him tightly. Jude loved when she did that. It always made him feel better, and in times like this, he really needed it.
"Hang in there, ok?" Callie supportively said to him, patting his shoulder.
Jude nodded.
Callie stood up.
"Come on. Let's go downstairs."
They did so and went to the kitchen to eat.
One hour later, Emma was walking on the streets. She was on the phone.
"Yes, Mariana, in about five minutes I'll be at your house. I'll see you there, okay?"
She hung up and put her phone in the pocket.
Just then...
She heard some sounds coming from the bushes. Something was there.
Emma stopped and turned around.
"Hello?"
No answer.
"Who's there?"
Emma shrugged and continued walking. Must've been a squirrel or something.
Suddenly, out of nowhere...
...GHOSTFACE LEAPED OUT FROM THE BUSHES!
HE TACKLED EMMA TO THE GROUND!
EMMA SCREAMED!
Emma removed the mask, revealing Mariana underneath.
"MARIANA?! WHAT THE FUCK?!"
Mariana stood up and removed the cape.
"I expected more from you." she replied. "I thought I taught you some things."
Mariana helped her get up from the ground.
"If you hear a noise or some foot steps behind you, you turn around and don't ask who's there. He races to you and you give him a taste of his own medicine, remember?"
Emma rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, right. Well, now I definitely feel much more prepared." she said in annoyment.
Mariana sighed, regretting that she scared her friend like that.
"I'm sorry. I just wanted to make sure that we are ready for tonight."
"It's okay."
"Come on, let's go to my house."
They left.
In the living room, Jude was dialing Connor. Again. As expected, the voicemail answered.
Lena entered the room.
Jude sighed in frustration.
"Jude, what is it?" she asked him.
"Connor's not answering my phone calls. I don't know what happened."
"Try calling him later. Maybe he is busy."
"So he is busy since I woke up until now?!"
"Jude, don't make a big problem of it. You have nothing to worry about."
"He should've answered by now. I just don't get it."
The front door opened. Emma and Mariana entered the house.
Lena went to them.
"Good morning, Emma!" she greeted.
"Morning, Mrs. Adams Foster. How are you today?"
"Great, thanks for asking! How are you doing?"
Emma gave Mariana a look and then looked back at Lena.
"Never been better." she said with a forced smile.
"Now, excuse us, but we have a really serious school project to do, so I hope you won't mind if we..." said Mariana.
"No, of course not. Don't let me stop you."
"Ok. Let's go, Emma."
They went upstairs, to Mariana's room.
Meanwhile, Wyatt was sitting at the diner. He was waiting for someone.
He saw Callie entering it.
"Callie, hey!"
He raised his hand.
Callie looked at him and smiled.
He stood up and went to kiss her on the lips.
"How are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm okay."
They sat down, facing each other.
"So, I was thinking..." he nervously said, playing with his fingers on the table.
Callie raised an eyebrow with a smile on her face.
"...are we like... a couple now?"
Callie held his hands.
"Of course we are."
Wyatt smiled happily.
"That's just great, Callie!"
Just then, Brandon entered the diner. He noticed Callie and Wyatt holding hands.
Brandon left, an angry look on his face.
Callie saw him. She stood up from the booth.
"Just give me a second, Wyatt."
She raced outside.
"Brandon, wait!" she shouted, running to him.
This didn't stop Brandon from walking.
"Brandon, stop! Please!"
He stopped, took a deep breath and turned around to her.
"What is it?" she asked, worried. "What's the problem?"
"You two are the problem, Callie." he bitterly said.
"What?"
"I said it."
"Why this?"
"I don't know how much I can hold it, Callie."
"What are you talking about?!"
"I still love you, Callie."
Callie's heart stopped beating for a second. She stared at him. She didn't expect that.
"I still have feelings for you, and I don't know what I can do about it."
Callie teared and opened her mouth, choosing her words.
"B-Brandon.. I..."
Wyatt exited the diner and went to them.
"What's going on?!' he asked.
"Stay away from it, this has nothing to do with you!" Brandon angrily exclaimed to him.
"I wasn't talking to you, dumbass!"
"Guys, cool it!" Callie shouted at them.
They ignored her.
"No... you didn't just call me a dumbass..." Brandon mumbled, clenching his fists in anger, preparing to fight him.
"Yes, I did. Dumbass."
Brandon punched Wyatt straight in the face!
He grunted and fell to the ground.
Callie screamed!
"BRANDON, WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
She kneeled down to Wyatt. His nose was bleeding. Again. It ended just like the last time.
"WYATT!" she cried. "OH MY GOD, ARE YOU OKAY?!"
"Y-yeah, I'm fine..." he mumbled.
Callie looked up at Brandon, tears in eyes.
Brandon left, quick on his feet.
"Oh my god... Wyatt..." she sobbed, holding his hand.
She helped him stand up.
"I'm sorry for saying it, but your brother is crazy as fuck."
"I don't know what's going on with him lately. He is acting exactly like a..."
"Psychopath?"
"Yes! Exactly!"
"He definitely needs some therapy."
Callie sighed, looking down.
"Maybe he does... Let's go back inside, you need some help."
Wyatt nodded.
Meanwhile, in Mariana's room, she and Emma were rehearsing.
"Ok, so if he tackles me to the ground, I'll choke him and show to him that he messed with the wrong person." said Emma.
"Yes, that's right. And what if he is right in front of you and he races to you?"
"Then I'll bump right into him and I will fight him."
"Correct. I'm very proud of you, Emma!"
Mariana smiled at her with pride. Emma smiled, too.
Suddenly, Mariana's smile turned into a frown.
"What is it?" asked Emma.
"Someone's crying."
That was the moment when Emma heard it, too.
Confusion washed over their faces.
They left the room.
Jude was in his room, sitting on the bed, looking down and crying.
Mariana and Emma went there.
"Judicorn, what's the matter?!" asked Mariana.
She closed the door and they sat beside him.
Jude's face was red from crying. He was staring at his phone while sobbing uncontrollably.
"What is it?"
"L-L-Look..." he mumbled, giving Mariana his cell phone.
She looked at the phone screen. Emma went to see, too.
"Connor finally texted back." he said.
Their eyes widened in shock and disbelief.
"Oh my god..." whispered Mariana.
"We need to break-up. I don't wanna see you ever again."
This was the text message that Jude received from him.
Jude covered his eyes with his palms.
"Oh, no..." mumbled Emma, feeling mercy for him.
They both snuggled him.
Five minutes later. Jude was sitting in the living room along with Mariana, Emma, Stef and Lena. He had dark circles under his eyes.
Jude told them what happened.
Lena rubbed Jude's shoulder.
"Oh, sweetheart... I am so sorry..."
Stef didn't know what to say. She felt his pain.
"I can't believe that's all he had to say. I don't even know what determined him to say that. What have I done so bad?!"
A thought crossed Mariana's mind almost instantly.
"Jude..." she said. "What if the reason of the break-up isn't you?"
Everyone looked at her.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"What if the reason of that is..."
"The killer!" he exclaimed, almost jumping from the sofa.
"Exactly! Maybe he is feeling targeted and in danger because he is your boyfriend- ex-boyfriend, and he doesn't want any trouble."
"But he could've told me that!"
"Maybe he thought that the killer is stalking him and watching his every move. I bet that after this nightmare ends, he will go back to you."
Jude sighed, a little bit relieved.
"Maybe you are right."
He sported a small smile.
They all hugged him.
Callie was at the diner. Wyatt wasn't there now.
She dialed Brandon. The voicemail.
"Brandon, call me as soon as you can. We need to talk."
She put her phone in the pocket and sighed.
Something was definitely wrong with Brandon, Callie could feel it. Now Callie was understanding why Jude had some suspicions regarding him. Ever since Jesus died, Brandon would go off about nothing.
His mood swings were... let's just say, unnatural.
He'd spend lots of time in his room or mostly at his dad's house, isolating himself from everyone else.
Maybe he is depressed. Maybe he'd lock himself in the room to cry.
Many thoughts were running around Callie's mind in that moment. She knew Brandon very well, and something was obviously wrong with him, and she was worried about him.
She snapped out of it when she saw Jude entering the diner. He didn't look too happy.
"Hey, Jude. What's wrong? You seem sad."
"Can we sit?"
"Yeah, sure."
They sat down in a booth.
He told her about the break-up.
Callie frowned.
"Wait. That's all he had to say to you?"
Jude sadly nodded.
"Yeah..."
"That's... that's harsh..."
"I know..."
"Jeez. What's up with everyone today?!"
"What do you mean, Callie?"
"Oh, nothing, nothing."
Callie didn't want to worry Jude. He had his own reasons to worry, after all, and Callie didn't want to make things worse for him. He didn't need that.
"Tell me."
Callie sighed.
"Ok, ok. I'll tell you. But please... don't tell anyone about it."
"Okay."
"So, the thing is... I met up with Wyatt in here. Everything went okay, until Brandon saw us holding hands."
"What did he do?"
"He ran off. I went after him to stop him, and he said... some things to me. And then Wyatt went to us and they got into a fight that ended with Wyatt's nose broken. Again."
"What's wrong with him?!"
"I don't know! I was wondering that, too. I really need to talk to him about it, but he won't answer my phone calls."
"But I don't get it, why does he spend so much time at Mike's house?"
"He told me that that's the place where he feels safe. He probably goes there to play the piano or something."
"Or maybe he's lying."
Callie didn't say anything for a few seconds. But then:
"Yeah. Yeah, maybe..."
"Don't you find the fact that the killer never touched a hair from his head a little bit suspicious?"
Hearing Jude's words, a look of dread washed over Callie's face. She didn't know what to think anymore.
"Yes, I do... oh my god... I'm afraid to say this, but... is he...?"
"He can be."
"Oh, what am I saying?! This is our brother that we are talking about! He is no enemy to us!"
But her own words didn't seem to convince Callie. Nor Jude.
"Or is he?" Jude asked.
"No, he is not. I don't even know what I'm saying anymore. I have to go." Callie said, leaving the diner.
Callie was walking on the streets in a hurry. She had to find Brandon ASAP. She knew where she could find him. At Mike's house. Of course.
When she arrived there, she knocked on the door, expecting Mike to open it.
To her surprise, it was Brandon himself who did it.
"Callie?!" he asked.
He didn't expect her going there.
"Brandon! Thank God I found you! I was worried. Can I come in?"
"Yeah, sure."
He let her inside and closed the door.
They sat in the living room beside each other.
"I just have so many questions that I didn't find the answer yet." said Callie.
Brandon listened to her curiously.
"And I think it's time to make some things clear to me."
Brandon nodded, a little bit uncomfortable.
Callie took a deep breath.
"Okay... My first question is... when you first got into a fight with Wyatt... was that because of me? With honesty, please."
After a few moments, he answered:
"Yes."
"The second question. Is that why you hate him so much? Because you still have feelings for me?"
"Yes."
"Everytime you go straight to your room and lock yourself in until dinner... is that because of him?"
"No. It has nothing to do with him. Or you."
"Then?"
"I'm afraid, Callie! Okay? As I told you before, I don't feel safe in that house. Locking myself in my room makes me feel more comfortable with the whole situation."
Callie gasped.
"What?"
"Brandon... I just remembered something... I talked to your father a week ago."
"So?"
"I asked him what made you go to his house the night when Daria was murdered, and he said that you didn't visit him."
Brandon stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widening. He noticed Callie's eyes filling with tears.
"Now, answer my final question... Were where you when Daria got killed?" she said, her voice trembling.
"I wasn't in here." Brandon admitted.
"Then where were you?!"
"I went outside for a walk to get some fresh air. I was feeling upset, alone and angry. I had to clear my mind somehow."
"But why did you lie about that?"
"Because of the reason why I went for a walk in the middle of the night in the first place!"
"What are you talking a..."
"We kissed, Callie! Remember?!"
Callie remembered almost instantly.
"Yes... I do remember..."
Flashback
Callie and Brandon were in the living room.
"We shouldn't be doing this..." Brandon mumbled, as Callie leaned closer to kiss him.
"I know... I don't care... I just wanna be with you."
She kissed him on the lips, and he responded to it.
The kiss soon turned into a passionate and love filled make out session.
Jude stepped in the living room and stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widening in shock and disgust.
"CALLIE?! BRANDON?! WHAT THE FUCK?!"
They both jumped and looked at Jude, worried looks on their faces.
"WHAT'S GOING ON IN HERE?! ARE YOU TWO TOGETHER AGAIN?!"
"Jude, this is not what it looks like!" Callie said, desperate to find a reasonable motive for their kiss.
"If you do that again, I swear to God I will tell everyone about it!" Jude angrily exclaimed, storming out of the room.
End of flashback
"That's why I lied, Callie. As much as I want to hide it, I can't. Not anymore. I love you, Callie, and..."
"Brandon... I love you, too. And I will always love you. But we are a family. If you are trying to restart something that never should've started in the first place, then stop it. Let's face it, we both need a family more than a relationship, and, after all, I am with Wyatt now. I'm sorry, Brandon, but that's just how the things are."
Brandon sighed angrily. He looked like he was about to explode in any minute.
"You are right." he mumbled. "Could you please go? I wanna be alone right now."
Callie nodded and stood up from the sofa.
"Yeah. Sure. I'll see you later, okay?"
Brandon didn't say anything. He didn't even look at her anymore.
"Okay, bye..." Callie said, leaving.
Later, Callie was walking on the streets, crying her lungs out. She was going home.
Hiding after a tree, Ghostface was watching her go. He left in the other direction.
21:00.
Mariana pulled the car to a stop right in front of the abandoned amusement park.
She got out from the car along with Emma.
They were wearing their "Justice for Jesus" T-shirts.
"Come on, Emma, let's do this. We have to be strong and fearless." she said to her, although she wasn't as brave as she thought she would be.
Emma nervously nodded. She was shaking in fear.
The abandoned amusement park was, well... abandoned.
Nobody was around. Just Mariana and Emma.
They walked around the park, looking for clues or evidence regarding the killer's identity.
They found a wood trunk in a corner.
"There!" exclaimed Mariana, pointing with the finger.
They ran there.
Mariana opened the trunk. It was empty.
Mariana made a look. WTF?!
"It's nothing in here..." she mumbled, disappointed.
"Yes, it is!" exclaimed Emma.
"Huh?"
"Look, I can see a paper."
Mariana's eyes widened in curiosity. She took the paper. What they saw written on it shocked them.
"Daria - X
Monte
Jesus - X
Taylor - X
Connor - X
Hayley - X
Emma
Mariana
Mike
Stef and Lena
Wyatt
JUDE
CALLIE"
"Oh my god..." whispered Emma, palm on her mouth. "Is that...?"
"His list of victims." Mariana said, staring at the paper, her eyes still wide.
Just then, Mariana gasped.
"What is it?!" asked Emma.
"Why isn't Brandon on the list?!"
They shared shocked looks with each other.
A/N: That was chapter 12. As always I hope you enjoyed it and yeah see you next time lolz.
