Alice was sitting on the roof with Tate, something they had gotten into a habit of doing during the nights where there was little happening or they just felt the need to get away from everyone. She never came out there on her own, of course, her fear of heights following her into death as she found out the first night they had decided to explore the roof. The petite blonde was sitting, staring at the stars that glittered in the night sky as Tate was lying down beside her, his arms behind his head and his eyes closed. There something peaceful about being away from everyone else in the house, even just for the moment. After fifteen years, it felt difficult to hold on to any sanity being trapped in the house. Halloween was really the only day they had where they could act like normal people, able to come and go from the house as they liked. She dreaded the day when someone else found their little getaway. She hadn't told anyone where she disappeared to, letting even her friend Caroline believe it was to the attic.

"Alice…" The sudden break in the silence startled Alice as she turned to look at the boy who was now sitting up and looking at her with a blank expression. She blinked, biting her lower lip.
"W-what?" She managed to ask, suddenly nervous around her best friend when she had been so comfortable just moments before. "Have… Have I done something wrong?"
Tate shifted, realizing just how much he hated seeing the blonde so upset. He bit the inside of his cheek nervously, knowing he needed to do this. Fifteen years of not knowing had been long enough and not that he was aware of what he had done, he couldn't let her go on so oblivious. "You haven't done anything wrong, Alice, that's the problem." The words didn't seem to want to come to him, but he had to do this. He couldn't back down now. "I… There's something you need to know. I fucked up. I did something really fucking bad and you're going to hate me."
Her stomach knotted from anxiety, of fear, she really wasn't sure. The minute Tate had started speaking though; Alice knew that whatever it was she probably didn't want to know. She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly aware that she had started shaking slightly and watched the boy who looked like he was battling with himself over something important.
"I'm the one who killed you, Alice." Her eyes widened at the words, stunned by the short sentence that had come from her best friend. Tate had tilted his head down, closing his eyes, probably to avoid having to see the pain he knew he would cause. "I was the one who pushed you down the stairs. I thought I would have to spend eternity alone and… and I couldn't fucking bear that. It was a fucking selfish thing to do and I don't blame you if you never forgive me. I don't deserve your forgiveness or your friendship." He opened his eyes again, looking at the tiny girl sitting in front of him, "You're so amazing. You could have done something amazing with your life and I took that away. You don't know how fucking sorry I am."

I'm the one who killed you. It felt like she couldn't breathe, as if she had been punched in the stomach and had gotten the air knocked out of her. The words repeated in her head, but that couldn't be true. Tate was her best friend; he had protected her for years against everything that tried to hurt her. This couldn't be right, he couldn't have been the one who killed her all those years ago, who stopped her from doing it herself, could he? She could tell that she was shaking more than before, and she bit her lip hard to try and keep herself from crying. She should hate him, if it were true, she knew that, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She loved him, even now, and that was the most terrifying part of the situation.
"I was going to kill myself." The blonde's voice shook as she spoke, looking down at her hands as she tugged her sleeves over her hands nervously. She hadn't been able to say the words to anyone for fifteen years, but she was scared to tell Tate, out of anyone. He had tried so hard to protect her when they were alive that he would hate to know it all disappeared when he died. "W-when I came back here that day, I wasn't going to leave. I couldn't do it without you, Tate; I couldn't wake up every morning knowing I was alone. I was determined to die, I suppose you just… you just saved me the t-trouble."

Although she was looking down, Alice could feel the boy's dark eyes focused on her and she could tell that he was angry. She looked at Tate through her hair as she shook his head vigorously, clearly refusing to believe what she said. "Don't say that. I fucking killed you, Alice. You can't forgive me for that." She heard him breathe in and exhaled, realizing she had been holding her breath. "You're a fucking idiot if you forgive me for what I did. I'm a monster. I deserve to be miserable and hated for as long as I fucking exist. You need to hate me."
Alice blinked, shocked at his sudden anger towards her. She didn't think he would be mad at her about it, but that was what it seemed like. "Tate-"
"No, I deserve to be alone and that's what I'm going to fucking get."
Just like that, Tate was standing and walking away from her, but Alice couldn't move from where she was sitting to stop him. She hugged her legs to her chest tightly, her cheek resting against her knee. This couldn't be it. After so many years of being there for each other, this couldn't be the end of it all. He would come back, apologize or something. He had to, but part of her knew that he wouldn't this time. She had seen the look in his eyes, how determined he was to be hated, even by her. She felt ill as she thought about how the entire situation was her fault. Tate wouldn't be in the house at all, trapped and miserable, if she was a better friend while they were alive. She shouldn't have gone upstairs and wasted time when she came back that day. She closed her eyes, letting out a silent sob. Tate blamed himself for all of it, but she was to blame. If she had tried harder, they might have been able to live normal lives. None of that mattered now, though. Her best friend was gone, probably for good. The one person she trusted no matter what, the one person she loved more than anyone else. It was worse than knowing he was dead. Now he had purposely left her alone. He was trapped in the same Hell as she was, and he was probably going to simply avoid her for as long as they existed. At least before she had death to try and escape. Now she had nothing. That was the worst part about being trapped in the house, she was beginning to realize, no happiness was possible and there was no way to escape the misery that surrounded you...