After their fort gathering Danny walks Jo home. "Do you want to come inside? My parents aren't home …" Jo asks.
"I don't think that's sucha good idea …" Danny replies kind of sorry. Jo nods her head. "Okay then I'll talk to you tomorrow" she says with her body halfway inside her home.
"That didn't look like a car door hit, did it?" Danny blurts out from his system.
Jo turns around "What?" even though she knew what he was talking about but still asked.
"Lacey's bruise" Danny answers in a instant.
Jo looks down to her floor. "I don't understand how she would hit herself with her car door that … that bad to be honest."
Jo sees Danny's face look sad. "Look maybe it was, I mean sometimes … you get clumsy … and things happen, so.." she pauses. "Just don't ask her about it Danny. Leave it how it is."
Danny shakes his head no "You have to ask her"
Jo frowns and hesitates "What?"
"Ask her what happened to her" Danny continues.
"I did, I asked and she responded, there's so much I can do" Jo replies. "Aren't you … you guys like friends or whatever, ask her ….. Ugh. Just don't ask her. Danny just leave it how it is seriously."
"Have a good night Jo" Danny says turning around. "Likewise" she responds back. When she's about to close the door she sees a car parked far away, she could tell someone was inside and was staring right her, she immediately closed her door.
Jo grabs a bowl of cereal, also grabs her phone and texts "Hey, I know you were going to study for your test, but you should come over my house, I'm pretty good at chemistry lol" . She waited about 6 min and she got a text back "Sure."
Jo jumped from her kitchen counter and went to grab all her chemistry notes and flashcards. As she waited in her room she heard a ruckus by her backyard she looked outside of the window, didn't really see anything ,it must've been some cats. She hears the door bell ring, Jo makes her way downstairs to open the door, they knock again, weird, she slightly opens, "Hey!".
Lacey quickly goes inside the house. Jo giggles "Are you alright?".
"Yeah, there's just this weird car parked outside by your neighbors, as I was getting out the car they flashed their headlights at me … " Lacey shakes her head "I'm here now let's study!" .
Jo smiles. "So where do you wanna study down here or in my room?"
Lacey feels awkward, "Uh …" She attempts to shake it off "The cookie jar is down here" she hints and smiles.
Jo grabs the chocolate chip cookie jar, the ones they would eat all the time when they were younger and makes two glasses of milk "Here I'll take our snacks, and you can take these… *Jo gives Lacey the chemistry notes and book* Lets go upstairs!"
"But umm …. I know your mom is really strict with the whole not eating upstairs situation" Lacey sort of asks.
"Lacey we are older now, we aren't going to make a mess" Jo makes her way up stairs and Lacey follows.
"Wow your room looks different" Lacey observes.
*The girls study for about 20 minutes*
They started really awkwardly but got more comfortable with each other. Jo glances at Lacey and sees her dipping the cookie inside the milk cup and eating it.
Jo scratches her head. "Would you tell me the truth if I asked you something?"
Lacey looks up her, she was enjoying her cookie, now not so much. God, she really didn't want to talk about Danny, The awkwardness was leaving and she didn't need it to stay. Lacey finishes munching on her cookie , almost finishing her milk. "Okay"
"Don't lie to me, I am sick of that crap" Jo says seriously.
Lacey rolls her eyes and takes a deep breath "What's the question?"
"What exactly happened to your arm?" Jo asks looking straight at Lacey.
"It's just a small bruise" Lacey answers honestly, it was a small bruise in size but it actually hurts her.
Jo does a fake and sarcastic laugh as she knew Lacey wouldn't tell her the truth.
"Me and Archie got into an argument, and he grabbed me by the arm strongly, and I guess it bruised me, that's all" Lacey explains.
Jo frown her eyebrows "Archie? He's not even suppose to be in school grounds Lacey, how can he hurt you like that? What did he even want?!"
"He was mad, he didn't notice how aggressively he grabbed me, It was the heat of the moment, because I hadn't even noticed the bruise" Lacey seems to believe that.
"He's sucha coward" Jo shakes her head.
*BANG*
Lacey jumps and by mistake spills the little left over of milk she still had on herself "What was THAT!" she whispers.
Jo pops her eyes out. "That was weird" she says in monotone.
"Are your parents back home?" Lacey asks worried. "My mom just texted me they wouldn't be back until another hour" Jo replies.
*BANG BANG BANG*
"What the?" Jo is speechless.
Lacey frowns her eye brows scared "Shhhhh …. That noise is coming from down stairs" whispering.
They hear things falling and breaking.
"Oh my gosh, Jo! Where you going?!" Lacey asks as she sees Jo Getting up and slightly opening the door of her room.
Jo's phone starts vibrating, Lacey immediately grabs it and answers it "DANNY!" trying to speak lowly but she's panicking.
She see's Jo look at her and completely leave the room.
"What – Jo? " Danny on the other side of the line sounding confused because it doesn't sound like Jo's voice.
"It's Lacey, Listen to me Danny" Lacey starts.
"Lace hey, wait are you doing with Jo's phone?" Danny is confused " Are you with Jo right now?"
"Listen Danny, we are at Jo's house and there are all these noises coming from down stairs like if they are breaking things, I don't know what's happening, Jo is Trying to look downstairs, I just I think someone is robbing the house" Lacey is freaking out.
"Wait ? What? Hold on calm down Lacey, are Jo's parents back home?" he asks.
"No no their not back yet, Danny I don't know what's happening… Hello? Danny?" Lacey looks at the phone, the cell phone is dead.
*BANG BANG CRASH BANG Bang**
Lacey starts breathing fast. Looks at the door, and starts looking for her purse, she needs her phone. God no no no, she left it downstairs, since she was bring all the chemistry books with her upstairs.
*BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG*
The lights go off. Lacey shivers. She starts looking around Jo's room for the charger.
*BANG BANG BANG BANG*
Lacey looks to the door, everything is pitch black, Jo hasn't come back. She starts moving slightly through the door as she tries to open the door a body pushes her inside, and she lands on the floor.
"JO!" she finally gets out.
"I went to my parents room, my dad has this bat from his baseball days, and I found his taser , which one do you wanna hold?" Jo asks rapidly.
Lacey shakes her head, She's getting herself in the state of shock.
"Jo what we need to is call the police!" Lacey whispers.
*BANG BANG BANG*
"Get my phone!"
"Where's your charger?" Lacey asks panicking.
Jo points at her computer. The usb chord was connected to her computer. Lacey immediately grabs it and connects it to the plug of the house. The phone is not turning on. Lacey looks at Jo.
"Of course… they cut off all energy sources …" Jo says lowly trying to think.
Lacey mouth slowly opens shaking "… They?"
"Where's your phone?" Jo asks.
"I left it down stairs with my bag" Lacey shakes her head in disbelief.
"Did you tell Danny? What did he say" Jo asks.
"The phone went dead Jo, I don't know if he underst-"
**BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG **
"Oh my god Oh my god" Lacey feels like she can't breathe.
Jo's heart is beating so fast, she looks around her room. "We need to get down stairs, here my taught me you just have to press this and the taser starts working, I'll have the bat".
"What?! No we can't go down stairs!" Lacey says in doubt.
"Lacey that's are only chance, we can go right through the door, I mean I don't know what else to do .." Jo starts shaking and her eyes get teary.
Lacey nods her head and takes a deep breath.
*BANG BANG BANG BANG*
Lacey and Jo look at each other, a look that reminded them of the day they saw the murdered body of Danny's aunt in his house.
Everything goes silent.
Lacey and Jo both frown their eyebrows and don't say a word. It stays completely silent no footsteps or anything. Silence.
Everything was pitch black.
Jo and Lacey start moving closely towards the door, and slight walk outside. Everything was so silent. So Dark.
Jo holds on the baseball bat tightly and hands Lacey the tayzer. As Jo is about to make first step downstairs, they both hear ""NO NO NO STOP!""
Jo immediately takes foot off the first step. ""WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!""
Lacey goes blank and starts walking backwards, her body is hyperventilating.
"PLEASE PLEASE I BEG YOU"
Jo looks at Lacey. Jo's body is about to fall down to the floor and Lacey's is against the wall, her eyes as if she's watching a horror movie.
""NO NO NOOO"" *Cries loud*
Everything goes silent again. Subsequently they hear footsteps and a loud BANG coming from the front entrance. The silence resumes. They stay still for a while.
All they can hear now is their breathing.
They hear the front entrance open, rapid footsteps coming inside "Jo? Lacey?! "
"Danny?" Jo whispers.
"JO LACEY!" he screams.
Jo's body starts moving "DANNY! DANNY!" Jo races down stairs.
Danny quickly runs and hugs her "Where's where's Lacey?" asking quickly and worried.
Jo looks back "LACEY! IT'S DANNNY!"
"I called your dad, they're on their way!". He says trying to comfort Jo.
Lacey starts going down the stairs slowly.
Danny walks really fast and helps her come down the stairs, her body looked like she couldn't take another step, he hugs her. "Are you alright?"
Lacey is speechless, even though her mouth is completely open and he eye lids looked like they weren't blinking. "Lacey my dad is on his way" Jo tells her.
"Oh my god they vandalized … my house" Jo looks around.
Everything in the house looked like it had been flipped over.
Danny, Jo, and Lacey looked around. One of the walls said "STAY AWAY" marked in red. Another wall said "Chief Masterson"
"I saw two people run inside a car" Danny says shocked at the amount of damaged done to Jo's house, to know that the two girls he loved so much were part of if it, killed him. "It was too dark outside, I think they were masked"
Danny grabs something from the kitchen counter "Is this? …. A recorder?"
"Jo" Lacey finally says.
Danny and Jo quickly look at her.
A slow tear comes down Lacey's face "That ….. that was Regina's voice".
Jo looks at her former best friend and takes the biggest gulp of her life.
Danny was not sure what Lacey was talking about, until he looks at her, the fear in her eyes staring at the recorder he was holding in his hands.
He slowly looks at his friend Jo, Jo looks at Lacey then at the recorder. She steps closer to Lacey.
Danny presses play ….. "PLEASE STOP I BEG YOU PLEASE, STOP PLEASE PLEASE (loud cries)"
Chief Masterson quickly runs inside his home, Tess Right behind him "JO! JO! JO" . Danny stops the tape. Tess and Kyle with no hesitation hug their daughter first.
Lacey shivering from shock didn't notice the warmth she was actually getting, she looks at her right hand, and sees Danny's hand tightly held on to hers. Her world felt calm again, at least for that second.