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Sidney had driven Randy home to Woodsboro in about an hour and a half. Their college wasn't far from their hometown, so it didn't take long to drive from one location to the next, although she could tell Randy wished the distance was longer. It was obvious to her that he was dreading meeting up with his family. She understood this feeling, and could respect why he felt that way. However, though she had dealt with deaths more than anyone she knew, she also knew she couldn't claim to understand what Randy was going through, because she never had a younger sister, and so couldn't possibly understand how he felt. The death of her mother and of her friends was a different situation all together. One wasn't worse than the other, but they definitely weren't interchangeable.
Along the way, there was much time they spent in silence. Fortunately for both of them, they were good enough friends that the silence wasn't an uncomfortable one. Randy had told her that he suspected the murder of his sister may have something to do with the two year anniversary of the slew of murders committed by Billy and Stu. While she sincerely hoped this wasn't the case, she couldn't help but suspect the same as Randy, that his sister's death was no coincidence. It wasn't some random murder that just so happened to occur exactly two years after Billy's and Stu's murders, and just so happened to be the sister of one of the only survivours of those attacks.
Randy seemed extremely nervous when they arrived back in Woodsboro, so Sidney had gone inside his house with him to support him. Woodsboro was a small town; everyone knew everyone else, so Randy's parents immediately recognized her and thanked her for driving their son home. She gave her condolences to his parents and then went on her way. She didn't feel she really belonged with Randy's immediate family at the moment, and in no way wanted to impose. She'd attend the funeral, of course, and always be there for Randy to talk to in the future, but she figured the family probably didn't want everyone over just yet, but instead only each other, so she kept her condolence short and went off to explore her childhood town.
Parking her car in a nearly empty parking lot, Sidney stepped out and looked around the town. It was so eerily quiet. People were probably on edge due to Martha's murder. Everyone in the town knew everyone else's business. Sometimes your neighbour would know something that happened in your family before you even did yourself, so by now, everyone was surely well aware of what had happened, and were sort of reluctant to leave the safety of their houses. Woodsboro hardly ever made the news. Nothing ever happened there, so when something did (especially something as big as a murder) everyone knew about it, and everyone was worried, understandably.
Sidney hadn't any plans, and didn't want to go back to college just yet, as she knew she needed to stay for Martha's funeral, and to be supportive of her friend, so she decided to have a walk around town. As she walked down a seemingly deserted street, she looked at the houses and shops that were all so familiar. Woodsboro hadn't changed at all since she went away.
She walked down the same sidewalk she often had walked down with Tatum, her best friend from high school. Her friend who was murdered two years ago. Without realizing it, she noticed she was walking toward Tatum's house, out of habit most likely. Except Tatum wouldn't be there...
"Sidney!" she heard someone calling her name. The voice sounded familiar, and not in a comforting way. In fact, it made her feel a bit dreadful.
She turned toward the voice. The moment she saw who had called her name, she wanted to run and hide, or to pretend she hadn't seen or heard him. But she had looked directly at him, so it was a little late for any of that now.
He walked toward her, smiling, for some reason. Sidney did not return the gesture. She could have walked toward him as well, so he wouldn't have to walk as far to reach her. Instead, she just stayed put, dreading what conversation lay ahead of her. She even considered turning and leaving, but she didn't want to be rude.
"Sidney!" he exclaimed as he walked right up to her.
He was a bit tall compared to her, and it made her slightly nervous, especially considering they were the only two people on the street at the moment. She wondered if he might be responsible for murdering Martha. She looked around nervously, hoping to see other people walking about, just in case. If Cotton wanted to try something, now would be a good time for him, because no one would even be there to witness his actions...
"Cotton..." she responded, taking a step back, "What... Um... What are you doing here?"
"I live here, silly," he grinned, stepping forward to close the gap Sidney had just created between them, "Woodsboro is oddly forgiving... Not that I ever did anything to warrant anger in the first place... I mean..." he was looking a bit nervous now, as though he was digging his own grave but didn't know how to stop digging it even deeper, "Well, they thought... They forgave me for something I never did in the first place... Some people would still hold a grudge, right? Just because of how they felt about me before, even after they were proven wrong... But not Woodsboro. Most people welcomed me back with open arms. Forgiveness, of a sort... It's complicated..."
Sidney frowned, "Listen... I've got to go..." she turned to walk around him.
"Wait! What's the rush?" Cotton stepped in her way so she couldn't get around him without stepping out into the road.
No cars were coming, so she stepped into the road anyway, "I just have somewhere I need to be," she lied, "I... uh... said I'd visit Dewey... at the police station." She hoped the mention of the police would scare him off.
"Well, can't we talk for a minute?" he asked, "I haven't really talked to you ever since... Well... you know..."
Sidney shook her head, "what's there to talk about?" She kept walking, as he followed her down the sidewalk.
"Just wait a minute," he continued, "I just want to know that we're okay. I want to know that you're not holding an unfair grudge... and I think you owe me an apology... I'm not angry with you or anything... You had reasons to accuse me... You didn't have any crazy plot against me... it was an honest mistake on your part. Could have happened to anybody, but you need to admit you were wrong."
"Yeah. I was wrong, Cotton," she said as she quickened her pace, completely avoiding eye-contact, "I'm sorry. I told you that already. What more can I do? I can't turn back time. I can't undo anything that happened. If I could, I would; trust me. You're just going to have to move on. I could apologize a hundred times, and it won't undo what you went through. What more do you want from me?"
"You're still mad at me, Sid," he told her, "I can tell. But you've got no reason to hate me. I can see you are holding onto resentment that you had for me before, that I never deserved in the first place!"
She sighed and kept walking. Maybe she did still sort of resent him, but he wasn't making it any better by following her when she clearly told him to back off. He was right behind her, and was not backing down. Finally, he gently grabbed her arm and spun her around. The gesture wasn't violent, but the fact that he had touched her at all kind of made her defensive, "Don't touch me!" she growled at him, slapping his hand away from her arm.
With that, he stopped dead in his tracks, as Sidney stared at him for a moment. He looked shocked, as though she had just slapped him for no reason. He didn't move toward her again. Apparently he now recognized that she wasn't going to stand for it. At least he was taking her seriously.
"I'm sorry Cotton," she said again, very calmly, "that's all I can do. And if I still hold anger toward you, I'll try to let it go. You have to understand that for a long time, I thought you had raped and murdered my mother... Hatred that strong doesn't just vanish, even when I did realize I was wrong. I know you didn't do it now, but I can't help but still have that bit of a feeling... I'm working on it; I really am... and in time, perhaps we'll be able to talk..."
"Oh," Cotton looked hurt, "It's too soon then..." he said.
Sidney nodded, "I'm really sorry... I just can't..."
He nodded, "I completely understand... I guess I'm just glad you're in the process of forgiving me... for something I didn't even do..."
Sidney sighed and rolled her eyes as she turned to leave. She police station was in view now, so she wouldn't have much longer to walk now.
"See ya, Sid," Cotton said from behind her, his voice carrying a mocking tone. She could hear in the volume of his voice that he was no longer following her. She could tell he had remained at the spot where they had stopped while she walked onward.
Ignoring him, she thought to herself. She hadn't really planned on visiting Dewey, but since she was here, and had nothing else to do (and wanted to get out of Cotton Weary's line of vision) she thought she might as well drop in, just to see if he was even there...
xxxxxx
Gale walked next to Dewey. He seemed a bit angry with her, but that was nothing new. After the incident in Woodsboro two years earlier, the incident that had almost cost them both their lives, they had dated for a while. She was really taken with him. He was handsome, and had an adorable way about him where he acted like a confused child sometimes. She couldn't say he was immature or stupid really, just a bit boy-ish, perhaps.
She knew he was in love with her too, which was probably why he was so hurt when she didn't want to stay in Woodsboro with him. She just couldn't stand how slow paced the town was. She had even offered to let him move in with her in the city, but he didn't want to leave the town he called 'home.' She didn't think she was being any more selfish than he was... Why should she move here to boring Woodsboro when he wouldn't move to the city with her? Someone would have to make the sacrifice of moving to where they didn't want to live... why would it have to be her?
They hadn't really talked in a while, but the recent murder coupled with the two year anniversary of the Woodsboro murders had brought her back to the small town. While she was here for business, she also had a desire to reconnect with Dewey. She knew she couldn't bear to never talk to him again.
"Admit it," Dewey said, frowning down at her, "the only reason you're here is because you want your news story."
Gale looked at him as though he was an idiot, without even meaning to, "well... yeah... I'm a reporter, Dewey. I'm doing my job. Just like you're doing yours... But you'd be stupid to pretend that you and I have nothing between us. The news may have brought me to Woodsboro, but I had no obligation to seek you out. That has nothing to do with the news... I sought you out because I wanted to, not because I had to for my job... I genuinely wanted to see you." That part was very true. She really had missed him, and really wanted their relationship to work. They were both attached to a certain life style though, and these life styles happened to clash.
Dewey looked at her thoughtfully, "You promise you're not just using me to get information?" he looked so sad.
"I'm not using you, Dewey," she promised, "I haven't even asked you anything, right?"
He nodded, "I suppose that's true."
"Though I might be helpful to your investigation... considering I studied the original murders, reported on them, and almost became one of the victims," She added, "If the cops need any insight, I may be able to help out."
"Original murders?" Dewey asked, frowning again, "What makes you think Martha's murder is related to the others?"
"This is Woodsboro, Dewey," she said plainly, "not Chicago... People don't just randomly get murdered here."
Dewey narrowed his eyes, "maybe the sheriff really could use you in the investigation..." he suggested, "but if he okays it... you'll have to promise to keep it to yourself... Anything he says is for police use only... not for the world to know."
Gale nodded, "of course," she told him. She desperately wanted information in order to make her news story better than any of the others, but she also didn't want to betray Dewey. She'd have to think of some way around it...
Dewey walked up the steps of the police station, limping slightly. Gale frowned and followed him. She was so glad he hadn't died when he was stabbed. She had felt certain he was dead that night, but hadn't any time to cry over it at the time. When she learned he had lived, she had felt like the luckiest woman in the world. Though they were both lucky to be alive, Gale still felt sadness when she saw Dewey limping as he walked, all because some stupid high school kid wanted revenge. Dewey shouldn't have even been involved in the idiotic high school revenge scheme. He was barely even a real cop yet. The other police really shouldn't have even put him on the case.
She shook her head slightly, ridding these thoughts from her mind. There was no use being upset over what was already done.
Dewey, ever the gentlemen, opened the door and waited for Gale to go inside first. She thanked him and walked into the lobby.
"Gale?" she heard her before she saw her, but her voice was unmistakable.
"Sidney!" Gale replied, laying eyes on the young woman who was sitting in a sort of waiting area.
"Sid!" Dewey rushed passed Gale and gave Sidney a huge hug, "It's so nice to see you again!"
"Yeah," Sidney agreed, "I wish the circumstances of my return could be anything else than what they are though," she frowned.
Gale nodded to herself, piecing this together in her head. Sidney, of course, had returned because the murdered girl was the sister of her friend, Randy. She wondered how she could fit this all into her news story. She wondered if Randy's family would be willing to be interviewed if she waited a few days. Would Sidney ever agree to it? Probably not. So many gems lay right in front of her. Her news report had the potential to be gold, except her gems were very reluctant to participate...
Sidney and Dewey continued talking, while Gale felt a bit like a third wheel. She wasn't sure if Sidney still hated her or not.
"Gale," she heard Sidney saying her name.
Gale looked up and smiled, "Hey, Sidney," she said timidly. Sidney had no new reason to be angry with her, so she hoped they were going to be on good terms for the moment, but she still wasn't 100% sure Sidney would feel the same way.
To Gale's surprised, Sidney walked up to her and embraced her lightly. Gale moved her arms up and hugged her back, very unsure of what what going on.
"It's really nice to see you again too, Gale," Sidney said to her, seemingly genuinely.
Gale nodded slowly. Was Sidney being sarcastic? "You too..." she agreed.
"I mean it Gale," Sidney continued, "I really appreciate what you did a couple years ago... You know, when you came back to the house. I would have surely been killed if you hadn't... You didn't have to come back, but you did. You may think you haven't got empathy for others... Others may think that about you too, but I know you do."
Dewey smiled at her, a kind of cocky 'I-told-you-so' sort of smile. It kind of made her sick. She did care about people, of course... but it wasn't her trademark or anything... What she cared about most was getting a juicier story than anyone else. She wouldn't risk people's lives to get it, of course, but she certainly wasn't afraid to step on people's feelings. She knew she wasn't always the nicest person, and she knew people hated her for it... but that's just who she was. Dewey and Sidney could pretend she was a kind hero, but she knew for a fact she wasn't either of those things.
"I didn't even know how to use the gun," she commented, "I had the safety on... So I didn't really save anyone..."
"Gale," Dewey shook his head, "you know very well you distracted them just long enough for Sid to get away. You didn't execute your plan perfectly, but you saved Sid, and you know it."
Gale sighed and shrugged. She didn't like getting more credit than she deserved. Not for acts of kindness anyway. She loved getting credit for having the best reporting skills, getting tons of fame for her work, but since she never felt like a compassionate person, when people accused her of being a hero, it made her feel guilty.
The three of them looked at one of the office doors as it opened, revealing the town's Sheriff, Sheriff Jones, a man in his early forties, "Dwight," the sheriff began, "Let's go over what we've got on the Meeks case."
Sidney looked up at Dewey, "I guess I should go," she told him.
"You could probably stay... you might be able to help..." Dewey suggested.
"Dwight," the sheriff's voice sounded stern, "there's no reason she would need to be questioned... This case doesn't involve her... If we find we need to ask her anything later for any reason, we'll do so then... She's a civilian, so shouldn't be present when we discuss these details."
Dewey nodded, "right," he said, sounding a bit embarrassed. He looked at Sidney, "Sorry, Sid."
"No problem, Dewey," she smiled slightly, "He's right. There's no reason I need to be here." Sidney looked at Dewey and then at Gale, "It was nice seeing you both again," she said, "I'll see you around." With that, she turned and exited the station.
Gale remained silent. She was certain the sheriff would kick her out too, but maybe if she didn't say anything, just acted as though she belonged, he wouldn't object to her being there.
"You too, Miss Weathers," the sheriff sighed.
"But I-" Gale began, but was interrupted.
"You and I both know you don't have a good reputation for keeping things off-record," the sheriff complained, "and besides, this case has nothing to do with you. You aren't a cop. We don't need you here, and you don't need to be here. Find your story elsewhere."
Dewey looked at her apologetically and followed the sheriff into his office. The door closed behind them.
Gale sighed and frowned to herself. No one else was in the lobby. She wondered if a receptionist or someone should be there. Woodsboro sometimes seemed way too relaxed. She was just about to leave when she heard someone talking... She looked around the quiet lobby. No one other than she was there. Because the voice wasn't coming from the lobby... It was coming from inside the office where Dewey and the sheriff were talking.
Gale grinned. She walked over to the door and listened closely. As it turned out, walls in Woodsboro were quite thin... Perhaps she'd get her news story after all. And this time, she wouldn't have to feel guilty about betraying anyone's secrets, because they had refused to tell her anyway... They wouldn't let her in on their case, then she'd get in on it on her own, and do whatever she wanted with the information she obtained...
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Review, please. ^_^