Nerdwithagun: Thank you to those of you who reviewed! I appreciate it greatly. I'll try to make the rest of the chapters a little longer, since the first one was sort of short. And here is the new chapter!
Autopsy
It was like heaven. The sky lit up with sparkling explosions of color and light, blossoming like flowers in the night. All six were there among the picnickers: Ulrich and Yumi, cuddling one patch of grass, Jeremy and Aelita were there, lying on the picnic cloth with their hands locked, and Odd was there, lying in the arms of TJ. Cheers came from people watching the fireworks. It was a moment they would always remember.
"This is it, isn't it guys?" Yumi remarked. "This is the last summer before college. It's the parting moment we'll always remember."
Everyone agreed, and they all hugged, reassuring that they would miss each other, and try to stay in contact.
After the fireworks, the three couples went their separate ways. Yumi's parents were out for July 4th, so Ulrich returned to here house with Yumi, where they made love in her bedroom, love they would always remember. Aelita and Jeremy returned to Jeremy's room, where they cuddled and watched a movie for that night. And Odd and TJ returned to Odd's room, a time Odd would forever remember.
They simply lay their on his bed, lost in a world of their own. TJ had been strangely distant lately returning to his own dorm earlier than he usually did and he would more frequently become zoned out and lost in his own thoughts. "Why are you like this, TJ? What's been bothering you?" Odd asked TJ quietly.
TJ wrapped his arms around Odd. "Some secrets are best to be left untouched, Odd," he responded. The blonde boy felt tears welling up in his eyes.
"Please," he said. "I don't expect you tell me what has been going on. Just don't lie to me."
"It's a promise," TJ breathed.
"I love you," Odd breathed.
"I love you too," TJ whispered to him. They fell into a dark, dreamless sleep…
Odd sighed, the memory still haunting him. Now it was six months later, his friends were dead, and he was in the hospital.
The doctors had almost healed him. One more operation, with another week in the hospital, and he would be free to go.
He didn't understand why, of all the people in the world, this had to happen to him. He had never done anyone any harm. He was a good citizen. He always tried to do the right thing. He was the nicest person he knew. So how could this happen? Had he been in from the start? Did the universe just have it in for him?
He couldn't help but wonder if there was a deeper meaning behind all this. He couldn't help but feel like….he didn't know what he felt like, all of this had happened too fast.
The nurse, whose name he had found out was Betsy, walked into the room, making Odd look up at her. "How are you feeling today?" she asked.
"I'm okay. Everything just feels very sore." She walked over to check his blood pressure. When she was done, she walked away, filling out some of the forms on her clipboard. She turned to him before she left.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot to tell you. The police want to talk to you once you are released. They think you could help them figure out who was behind all of this."
Odd laughed. "Me? Help the police? How the hell do they think I can help them? And how do they know a person was behind all of this?"
Betsy shrugged. "Don't ask me, I'm just a nurse. The police are probably going to give you a better answer."
Odd leaned back in his bed. Damn it, why do bad things always happen to good people? He thought before going back to sleep.
Two weeks later, Odd was well and out of the hospital. The surgery hadn't been too painful; the important thing was that they had saved him. Once he was out, he was escorted to the police station, where he was interrogated.
He sat in a dim room with a lamp overhead. He clicked his fingers nervously against table he was sitting at, wishing that he had some paper and pencils with him to draw. That always helped calm him down when he was nervous.
Two police officers walked in, carrying several files with them. One was a short, bald, middle-aged man with a gut. The other one was taller, leaner, and Odd guessed he was about twenty five years old.
"So," said the first police officer. "You're Odd Della Robia." Odd nodded nervously. He always felt uncomfortable around the police.
"Is it true that you are related to Jeremy Belpois, Aelita Stones, Ulrich Stern, Yumi Ishiyama, and TJ Johnson?"
Odd swallowed the saliva in his mouth. "They were my best friends."
The officer read over one of the files. "Well, we believe that you can be of some assistance to us in tracking down whatever sicko did this."
"How do you know it was a person who did this?" the young boy asked nervously.
The second officer finally spoke up. "Don't you find it a bit suspicious that six teens, all of which are close to each other, are found on the same night with the same injuries, five of which are did, and one of which is going to die unless we take him to the hospital immediately?"
Odd's heart skipped. "What do you mean, 'same injuries?'"
"We mean same injuries, kid. Your five friends, their internal organs were completely destroyed. You're pretty damn lucky that you're alive."
Odd didn't say anything. It was just too much for him. He felt like he was going to cry.
The first officer spoke again. "Anyways, we already have several people on our team trying to get a lead. We just think that you can help us since you were so close to them."
"Okay," he replied. "I'll do whatever I can to bring the person who did this to justice."
"Good," said the officer. "You can sleep in the police station tonight. Tomorrow, be up at 7 AM for breakfast. That's around the time when our detectives will get their reports back to us, so you'll be most helpful then."
They took Odd to the place where he would be sleeping. In the dark, the memory of that last night with his friends still floated around in his head. Some secrets are best to be left untouched, Odd…
Nerdwithagun: Okay, I know that wasn't much longer than before, but I did my best. I hope you all liked it, I'll try to make the next chapter longer.