chapter 10 is out! hope you guys like it! leave comments, i would really appreciate some feedback

I couldn't sleep that night. I hated her, everyone did, but who hated her enough to kill her? Shaking, I turned the volume up on the TV. A shiny haired blond woman came into the screen.

"Hypodermic Sally, an eighteen-year-old Senior at Cortez High, was discovered by a friend earlier this evening (Hypodermic Sally had friends? I found this hard to believe. Her dealer, probably). Autopsy reports released by the police show high levels of Cyanide and Heroin in her body. We go to Officer John Lowe for more."

The camera panned to my father's alcoholic face.

"We have reason to believe this is foul play, and that the Cyanide was mixed with the Heroin that Ms. Hypodermic Sally injected."

"Although the modus operandi is different," My father continued, "Me and my team believe that Ms. Hypodermic Sally's killer could very well be the same man as Mr. Drake, the Cortez High Calculus teacher that was murdered brutally just a few weeks ago."

It didn't make sense… the two modes of killing were completely different. I mean, Mr. Drake was stabbed to death, numerous times, and Sally was poisoned or overdosed, I don't know.

But when I thought about it…

The letters I had been receiving were ominous.

But how could my father be connecting these two kills to the same killer? I'd never told him about the letters before, which means he has information on the case.

I sighed, turned the TV off, and went to bed.

The next morning, I took a shower, swiped on some ruby red lipstick, mascara, fluffed up my hair and tossed on a pair of black skinny jeans and a pink and black neon shirt.

"AINSLEE TIME TO GO!" speak of the devil. I roll my eyes and respond by saying, "coming!"

The drive to the school was painful as usual. The stench of his cologne (or was it alcohol? knowing him, I knew it would most likely be the latter) permeated my nostrils so strongly, I had to cover my nose the entire ride.

"Drinking and driving? That's a new low for you," I muttered sarcastically. He threw me a deathly glare, "I'm not drinking, and god Ainslee, what is your problem with me?"

I huffed, turned away from him and proceeded to increase the volume on the radio, drowning him out, drowning out my thoughts. He lowered the volume then, pulled over. I glared at him, "Dad! What are you doing?!"

Dad sighed, "We need to talk. This attitude of yours… you're obviously angry at me."

I shook my head, "There's nothing wrong dad, just keep driving" I told him venemously. He looked at me, bewildered, but seeing as we both would be late, he knew he had no choice but to keep driving.

When we arrived at the front of the school, I was glad and tried to make my escape but he grabbed my arm. "I love you," he says.

"Shh, not so loud!" I tell him, my cheeks went red. It was bad enough that everyone knew he was my dad.

He put his arms up as if to say okay, then he drove off. Good riddance, I thought.

I get to my first period class, Violet was there but both Seth and Tate were missing. Strange.

I walked over to her anxiously, "Where are they?"

She shrugged, "I texted Seth this morning, he said they had a doctor's appointment."

"A doctor's appointment, sounds suspicious," I mumbled.

Violet, bless her poor soul, looked surprised (she was too naive and maybe just a bit slow to catch these things), "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean a doctor's appointment for one of them I can buy, but both of them? The same day?" I shook my head. She still looked confused.

I glanced over my shoulder, making sure no one was listening. Once I had established that no one would hear what we were talking about, I scooted over closer to her, dug around my back for the envelope of messages and threw them on her desk.

"Read them," I whispered.

She looked at me, confused still, but opened the envelope and took the pieces of paper out. She read them, still looking confused, but her face had gone pale.

"W-what does this mean? Omigod, I don't know what to think, Ainslee… is someone… stalking you?"

I nodded, gravely.

"Yes, I have reason to believe so. And I think it's coming from Tate."

Her eyes flew open, "OMIGOD!"

I threw a hand over her mouth, "Shhh! we can't let anyone hear us," I glanced behind my shoulder again. So far, it was just the regular bunch of tech nerds busy playing their games or whatever they did.

"But why? Why would he do that? He's our friend…" Violet began, once she'd calmed herself down enough.

I sighed, "I thought so too, Violet… I thought so too."

I took the envelopes back from her and stuffed them in my bag. "After what Sally… after what she told me, well, it kind of makes sense."

"What do you mean?"

"She said she and Tate used to sneak into my house," I shuddered as I uttered those words, "And then… I felt someone watching me during class, and I looked out the window it was Tate!"

"WHAT?!"

"SHHH!"

"And then," I said once we'd both calmed down, "he told you he skipped class because he "had to tie up some loose ends?" " Violet nods her hair slowly.

"Well, I tried calling him once I got home, and… he didn't answer. And then Hypodermic Sally dies. Poisoned." I finish ominously.

She was silent for a while, shaking and pale.

She shook her head, "No, but Tate… he wouldn't do that." I looked at her, and sighed. I curled my fingers around my desk. What I had to say next would destroy her, but I had to. I had to let her know that Tate could be a murderer.

"After class, he said something about murdering someone. He said he'd kill Sally or Miss. Laveau, the drama teacher." I sighed.

"You think he killed Sally?" She whispered.

I nodded.

"I don't think he just killed Sally, I think he killed Mr. Drake, too."

Violet brought a hand to her mouth and gasped. "But why?"

I had no answer to that, yet. "I don't know, but I will find out."

"Find out what? That Tate and Seth are total homos and how you should never have been seen with the likes of them?" I don't even have to turn around to know who was talking to me.

My eyes close and I pinch my nose. Suddenly my head hurt. "Suck a toe."

"Yours?"

"Get out of here!" I jump out of my seat, disgusted by the perverted grin on his face.

"Whatever. Just saying, you have an open spot on my lap if you're done talking to people like," He looks over at Violet, a look of disgust on his face. "them."

Just then, Mr. Donovan appeared and told everyone to get to there seats. It was like God had intervened. I had the sudden urge to do the sign of the cross when I sat down.

"As you all know, a fellow Cortez High student was found…dead. As an act of respect, would anyone like to say some kind words for the deceased Hypodermic Sally?" Mr. Donovan looked to the class.

When no one said anything, he shrugged his shoulders. "Didn't think so. Well, we have a lot to catch up on if we're ever going to finish the topics in this curriculum. So open your books to page 319!"

Violet and I sat at our usual spot at the cafeteria, the envelope displayed in front of us. Violet had one of the messages in her hands. "What does he mean by, 'The countdown begins'?"

I had an idea, although it might sound farfetched until I had more evidence. "I think he's talking about killing the people around me until I'm the only one left standing."

Violet gasps. "Am I in danger?"

It wasn't until she asked me this that I actually started to think about whether or not I was putting my friends in danger. I felt like throwing up. We were all supposed to be friends, why would Tate want to kill Violet? Or even Kit, his own blood.

"Honestly, I have no idea. But I don't want you to be in danger," I tell her. "You shouldn't hang around me. At all. It's for your own good. I don't know what would happen to me if you get killed because of some personal vendetta Tate may or may not have against me." It was hard, but it was probably for the best.

Minutes passed and Violet didn't say anything. Then she looks up at me, and clears her throat. "No. I don't want you to be alone with all this. I'll help you get Tate, or whatever it is that you want to do. I'm with you no matter what!"

My heart warmed. I was glad to have Violet as a friend. "Now what do you think about Kit? Does he know anything about this?"

"Kit's really a nice guy. But Tate did say that he and Kit had some loose ends to tie up. We can't leave him out of the picture."

"I'll talk to him," I say nonchalantly.

"Have you gone mad!?" Violet practically loud. "If he's the psycho, or one of the psycho's killing everyone, you really think it's a good idea to talk face to face with him?"

I cross my arms over my chest and nod my head. "I have a feeling that he's innocent. Even though we can't rule him out, I believe in my heart that he knows nothing about what sick things Tate has done. But he must know something,"

Violet shivers. "I'm getting creepy vibes from this, but if that's what you want then I'll go with you."