Chapter 5: HATRED KILLS

I thought that paradoxes and oxymorons were AP terms taught only in English I at Easton Academy, but obviously they applied to real life. Take Kiran for example. Loyal friend. Our love hate relationship. Definitely not parallels that's for sure. I just could not believe that she of all people would do this. Kiran Hayes, the beautiful-no drop dead gorgeous- Louis Vitton cover model, turning her perfectly, tanning-booth tanned back on me.

I looked down and stared at the screen of my iPhone blankly, eyes wide and dry. I felt something shaking my shoulders violently and glanced up and sighed. It was just Ariana Osgood. The friend who had actually been there for me through it all. Every last smile. Every last tear.

"Noelle, I don't give a shit about what Kiran said, but she's going to regret ever sending you that. Now let's go before she humiliates herself." I heard the supercilious tone in her voice. I tried to smile, but just couldn't. I just walked out of the main administrative building towards the senior parking lot with Ariana in silence.

We walked through the quad and saw Dash, my dreamy boyfriend, sitting on one of the benches under a lamppost. I looked at him and met his gaze and I half smiled.

"Noelle babe, where you two going?" Dash said sweetly as he got up and jaunted over to my side linking his arm in mine.

"We're going to my place. There's drama with the girls AGAIN!"

"Oh, well I'm leaving early tomorrow morning for Yale, you know that right?" I heard the sullen timbre in his voice.

"Uhm no, I didn't know that you were leaving that soon?"

"Yeah, well this is the only time they can fly me up hun."

"Alright Dash god I'll miss you so much."

"I love you Noelle!"

"I love you too so I'll hurry back tonight."

"Really? You will Noelle?"

"Yes. I will, I promise."

He leaned over and pulled me into him planting a sweet warm kiss on my lips. I pulled back slightly; knowing where my lips had just been, but relaxed as I let the moment and thought pass. Ariana coughed at us in a "get a room" type of way which brought us back into reality. I pulled away and looked up into Dash's deep eyes.

"I'll see you later Dash kay?"

"Alright babe. Come by Ketlar when you guys get back, if you're still awake to party with us," Dash says as he winks at me. Translation: Come back to Ketlar so we can make out AT the party! I laughed as Gage and Trey meet up with Dash with bags of food from the local Fresh and Easy.

Ariana jolted me as I stood there looking after the three-some, "Move your ass Lange. We gotta go. NOW!"

"Jeeze, coming Osgood," I retorted and rolled my eyes at her. I turned and walked with her toward the lot.

"Do not roll your eyes at me Noelle. I'm the last person you'd want to do that too."

"Is that a threat Ariana?" I asked questioningly one eyebrow raised at her.

"Take it how you want to Noelle," Ariana says ominously as I look over at her and see her eyes narrowed, but playfully this time. God I loved Ariana to death. She has, is and always will be there for me whenever. Hilarious when times called for it. Helpful and sweet at other times. And completely reliable. What would I ever do without her here all the time? Obviously, I'd be where Reed was.

I grabbed my keys and tossed them to Ariana and got in my car. I sat there thinking about where we were going and how the hell I was going to deal with Kiran. The anger started to boil up again inside and this time it was boiling faster than water on high heat. How could she have gotten that picture? Unless someone else on campus took it and is on her side. Josh maybe? Amberly?

"Keep left for five and three quarter miles," the GPS Tom-Tom system barked at Ariana as she drove my sleek black Mercedes Benz down the 125 freeway to my estate.

I tried to clear my head and focus on the task at hand here, but it was, as the British would say, bloody difficult. I was seriously pissed off. The text was chilling yes, but I couldn't let it get to me.

"Take the next exit and continue straight for two miles," the monotone person on the GPS said.

"Oh my fucking God Ariana shut that damn thing off! I know how to get to my own fucking house."

"Noelle Lange, cool it, or I will for you," Ariana said a little too calmly. I glanced up and saw Ariana's eyes go from their lovely ice blue to piercing pitch black in about two seconds flat. There was nothing I could do to hold back a gulp.

"Fine, just step on it and get there ASAP."

"I always do Noelle."

I sighed as we pulled off the freeway and merged into the traffic of downtown. We just had to get through some of this and then we would be at my estate. I saw the big 30 story office buildings and our favorite places to shop. I started to think about Josh, the Boy Scout, during that time (don't ask me why I was) as Ariana navigated us through the sinuous street of downtown Hartford.

I mean I could see Josh or as having a solid motive to side with Kiran. I mean Josh alone hated my guts from day one I set foot at Easton. It was probably due to the fact that his sister Jen Hollis committed suicide a couple years back and he thinks I had something to do with it. I knew Jen pretty well and liked the girl. She was tall, gorgeous, and sophisticated. Everything I loved in a friend. I was going to expel Lorna Gross or Missy Thurber myself, just so I could get Jen into Billings. Why would I force her to kill herself? Obviously, Josh did and the whole us needing Reed for Billings stuff pushed him over the edge, which I hate to admit, was relatively steep even before all of this even started.

"Noelle, what's the house number?"

"4046," I said robotically and shook my head.

I felt Ariana pull into my driveway and turn off the ignition and unlock the doors. I looked up and saw my place. Five stories and so chic, it put Hollywood mansions to shame. I got out, grabbed my Kelly bag, and caught the keys as they soared through the air at me. I eyed Ariana and saw the murderous glint in her eye as we made our way to my front door.

"Not yet. Keep your cool Ari!"

Ariana nodded as we continued to walk up the cobblestone driveway to the big front doors. They were the type of front doors that only Scarlett Johansson or Angelina Jolie would have. I looked in the window and saw the light was on and knew Kiran was here, seeing her handbag on the foray table. I unlocked the door from the outside and stepped in with Ariana close by. We were immediately surrounded by the warmth of the state of the art heater system my mom, Claire Lange, just put in. I dropped my stuff off next to Kiran's and I saw Ariana do the same.

"What the hell are you doing here Noelle?" Kiran blurted as I turned and saw she and my dad sitting on the kitchen bar stools together. My dad shot me a tense look that could kill. I could sense that Kiran already told him everything, just by looking at him.

"Uhm, I was about to ask you the same exact thing Hayes. Care to enlighten an OLD friend?"

"Fuck no Lange. I'm just here telling Wallace what you and Ariana really did to Reed the other night."

"First of all Kiran, it's Mr. Lange to you, and second that would be what precisely?"

I walked over to her as she stood up and squared herself up with me. I remained composed as she continued to rant angrily.

"Do I really have to reenact the murder scene I heard on the roof of Billings?"

"No you don't because you have no fucking idea what went on up there between us."

"Actually Noelle I heard everything you said, so don't deny it."

"I'm not denying anything hun. We did not kill Reed alright? No matter what you say. She's alive out there and Ariana and I are just as worried as the rest of you guys."

"Bullshit Noelle you killed her and you just don't want to admit to daddy, head of the police department, that you committed first degree murder."

I just stood there not giving her the satisfaction of tearing me down. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw Ariana flash me a look that could kill too.

"You're wasted Kiran. You have no clue what you are talking about. And I suggest you shut it before you get yourself in trouble for wrongly accusing someone of something they didn't do."

It was then that my dad decided to break us up. He pulled me away from her and sat me down on another stool away from Kiran.

"Alright, Noelle I've heard both sides of the story now so I'm only going to ask you once and I expect the truth. Did you kill Reed?" my dad asked calmly but sternly.

I looked at him dead in the eye and replied, "No I did not. No matter what she tells you."

"Kay Kiran. Ariana. Take Noelle and go back to school. I don't want another word of this from any of you."

There was then a knock at the door and some man's voice call out, "Wallace you better come now. We've got another case for you."

I looked at Ariana and nodded to her with a "let's get out of here" look. I walked over to the foray table and grabbed my bag as I heard my dad and the other officer talking.

"Murder. Are you sure? And have you DNA-ed her to find out who she is?"

"Yes we did. There was a deep plunge in her heart. Probably from a knife and thrash marks along her throat. And as for the name it's Brennan. Reed Brennan. From Easton Academy. Age 16."

I visibly paled when I heard that. Ariana grabbed my stuff and out her hand in mine and dragged us out of my house and toward my car. I looked back and saw Kiran still sitting down, her eyes bloodshot from all of her crying. I rolled my eyes and got to my car door and began to open it when I heard my dad yelling in our direction.

"Noelle Lange get your ass back here right this second. You have some explaining to do."

I turned around and saw Kiran and my dad standing next to each other as an officer grabbed my shoulders-hard- and dragged me back to the front steps.

"What dad? I have to go or I'll get suspended for not getting back to school on time?'

"You'll be more than suspended for this Noelle. Tell me the truth right now."

I gulped as he grabbed my forearm and shook me as he continued to rage on. It was then that Ariana finally opened her mouth.

"Mr. Lange, Noelle had nothing to do with Reed's death. Yes she and I threatened to expel her, but that is all we did. She was the one who ran off after that."

"And I'm supposed to believe that? After Kiran tells me my daughter killed Reed and then Reed's body is found dating to the exact day Noelle "supposedly" killed her."

Ariana took two steps up and faced my dad and I stood back against the wall by the doorbell.

"Yes you are Mr. Lange. Kiran is obviously shaken up by this whole thing as the rest of us are and she wanted someone to blame. So she blamed your daughter because they've had drama together and Kiran wanted some sort of revenge on her"

"Ariana back out of this alright? Yes I hate Noelle. I just want justice brought to her for killing my best friend."

I glanced over and saw her start to cry. Oh my god. Was she serious? It was all I could do not to lash out and slap her across her pretty Lancôme made up face. I finally spoke up after that.

My dad looked over at me and lifted my head up: "Noelle I am going to ask you one more time. Did you or did you not kill Reed?"

I looked at Ariana who gave me a "lie your ass off look," then to Kiran who gave me a "you're going down tonight," look and then back to my dad who just started at me.

The officer who my dad had been talking to said, "Wallace I know this isn't a good time, but there were fingerprints and Reed's skin near the wound that match to your daughter."

I closed my eyes and remembered back to that night. I did touch that area just to get Reed to shut up. I had to unless I wanted to get arrested right then and there. I looked over to Ariana who had a glassy look in her eyes. I needed her to help me out here, but all I saw was blankness. I knew she felt trepidation all over. Even though it was she that killed her, the evidence pointed all to me, because Ariana knew how not to leave a trace on anything.

"Noelle?" I heard my dad say softly. "Why did you do this?"

I gulped. I was going to have to take one for a friend here. Ariana still stood there motionless.

"I did it because I hated Reed. Even though I pressed for her to get into Billings, she annoyed the crap out of me. She was always threatening Ariana and me whenever we did something even the faintest thing wrong or out of line. And she was having a thing with Dash, my boyfriend, that I wasn't about to let continue on."

I sighed as Kiran and Ariana just looked at me in disbelief.

'I killed her dad alright, but I had my reasons to."

"Noelle...I…I…I can't believe you're making me do this."

"Do what?" I said as tears filled and brimmed in my eyes and streamed down my face. I looked up at my dad as he pulled out his handcuffs. I gasped silently and started to shake. I wiped away the tears from my right eye, my MAC mascara coming with it.

"Noelle, you…you…are under arrest for the murder of Reed Brennan," he finally spat out between sobs.

'Dad you don't have to do this, you know that"

I felt the cold metal of the handcuffs wrap around my wrists and lock into place.

"Well what am I supposed to do? My daughter committed first degree murder. I just can't let any person out of that even if it is my own family."

I looked at Ariana who finally gave me a look of "I'll get you out of this one." My dad then yanked down and pulled me to the police car that the other officer (Hauer, I think his name was) drove here.

"I am really shocked at you Noelle. I thought I had taught you better than that. You know what happens here in the law and the agency. And yet you still do whatever the hell you want to do."

I swallowed hard, my throat closing up and making it harder to breathe, and was forced into the car that I was familiar with since I was little. I never imagined that I would actually be arrested and sitting in the back seat on my way to prison. I gulped and leaned my now aching head back on the headrest. I glanced over and saw a smug look on Kiran's face as though she won the lottery. Except she didn't even have to pay for a ticket this time around.

She mouthed to me right before the car speed off towards the town jail: "I told you and you didn't listen."

I narrowed my eyes at her so much, and with such anger, that I could hardly see out of them. I lifted my hand and flipped Kiran off. I saw her gasp and her face whiten. I glanced over at Ariana who was now cracking up at all of this. My insides warmed and I somehow knew that things were going to work out. Like in World Literature, a year back at Easton, in Sophocles' work Oedipus Rex: "The day of your birth will be the day of your destruction." If Kiran was going for that paradox, she failed. Epically. I just never knew or wanted to know how much hatred could kill. Literally!

Hey Everyone,

I'm so sorry, I had major writers block and couldn't put this up sooner. Anyway REVEW and tell me what you think. I'd like more than just one or two reviews. I need opinions and ideas (if you have any) to continue. Josh and all of them will be in later chapters again so don't worry. Just got to get Noelle out of prison first. REVIEW please and ill update soon I promise!

Love, Jenny Lange