moon
Elite Writer
Posts : 5597
Join date : 2011-02-16
Age : 26
Location : lost in the woods
 |  Subject: written in red --- uncompleted but a start.  Wed May 21, 2014 8:18 pm | |
| Written in Red;
Prologue
She swore they didn’t intend for this, but they wouldn’t ever believe it. The teenager could tell, it was kind of written all over the investigator's face, like ink. The room smelled like cleaners, as if the spoken sins in the air could be wiped out by a variety of chemicals.
“What was your connection to the victim?” the man asked, his stern eyes seeming to bore into her soul as he spoke. He was speaking down to her, like several teachers had before. The look made Holland feel sick.
“He was my friend’s boyfriend, they dated for a while,” She responded slowly, raising her thin eyebrows, as if to challenge his thought process.
“Did you know him well?”
“No.” She smiled, a confident smile, fit for a victorious queen. Holland was confident in her inability to get caught; the blood would never be stuck on her hands.
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The knot in his stomach kept twisting tighter as he waited for the detective to enter, like he knew he would. It was only a matter of time before everyone knew, and everyone would be to blame. His foot tapped against the concrete flooring, making a dull sound, but at least it was noise.
Sawyer jumped at the sudden sound of a door creaking open, his breath hitching at the noise of new feet hitting the concrete.
“Sawyer Bennett, correct?” the man asked, keeping his head low as he sat down in the vacant chair across from the teenager.
“Yeah.”
“Kellan Amyr was on the school’s football team, as were you. Was he ever violent in a practice or game setting?”
The average person would answer immediately, but he didn’t. Honesty was hard when you had helped commit a serious crime.
“Sort of, he would get angry and throw the footballs sometimes, once he punched a kid.”
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Rhys inhaled, shaking his head, only to run a hand through his hair to correct it again.
“No, we just didn’t like him, not many people did -”
“Did you ever say anything offensive to him?” the investigator asked, his voice stern.
“Maybe - ” He exhaled, trying to find the right words. This was just another thing the police could pin against him. “ - But it wasn’t our fault that he was a jerk! Everyone thought it.”
“Everyone?”
“Except for her, yeah.”
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“Violet was always helped me if she could,” she responded with a shrug. Friends didn’t last forever, especially not in high school. Perry wasn’t surprised, why would she be? This wasn’t her loss.
“Was she aware of Kellan’s violent tendencies?”
“I think she avoided it, she’d always shut down when we talked about it.”
Her tone was calm, like a sea before the storm. No cop could scare her as much as her father could’ve, this she was sure of.
“But she knew?”
“I hope she did.” Perry laughed softly, shaking her head.
“Was it possible that she might’ve ignored those tendencies?”
“Vi just liked having a boyfriend most of the time, like, all the time.”
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Finley averted her gaze from the tall man across from her, finding her palms suddenly sweaty and slick with her nervousness.
“Was Kellan Aymr ever a threat to you?”
She cleared her throat, rubbing her hands together. All the jealousy she had pent up inside of her was now gone, of course, but the memory of it remained. The hours she had spent questioning why her best friend had picked an abusive liar over a constant friend was still fresh in her mind.
“Kind of, he kind of kept Violet from me. She’s my friend, so it was annoying. I gave up on it after a while.”
“Just an annoyance?”
“Fine, a threat, I guess. He was a threat.”
“Was he enough of a threat to be murdered?”
Finley inhaled sharply, shooting a glare at the questioner.
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Chapter One
Not a lot happened in South Dakota, especially Clanton South Dakota. The winters were harsh, and sent blinding winds across the flat prairie, often causing temperatures to plummet. None the less, people still gathered in small towns, only about a fifteen minute drive from each other. In the center of one of these towns, you would find the Clanton Cougars, of Clanton High.
More specifically, you’d find a ground of friends, heading face first into their Junior year of school.
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Finley’s alarm sounded at six forty; precisely. Heaven help them if she arrived late to her first day of school. A soft sunlight shone in from her window, half - covered in pale green curtains. In another bed, not more than seven feet away, was April, who was terribly excited to begin eighth grade.
“Finley, wake up!” the thirteen year old called, her voice reminding Finley of a bird. Annoying and high pitched. “You’re going to drive me, right? I mean, you can, if the car starts,” April continued, shoving a leg into a pair of jeans. “Oh, I wonder if Ms. Marks is as cool as kids say - you had her right? I mean, waaaay back when.”
With a grunt, the girl opened her eyes, rubbing the sleep out of her hazel orbs. “Yes, no, and excuse me?” she muttered, prying the warm covers off of her now freezing body. Finley sat up, her small frame only an inch taller than that of her growing sister. “Ms. Marks is fun, but you don’t actually learn anything,” she explained, running a hand through her tangled brown hair.
“I’m okay with that!” April chirped back, laughing as she headed out to the bathroom first.
She didn’t bother watching the fleeing form of her sister, she had better things to worry about; getting dressed. A pair of comfortable jeans had already been laid out on the end of her bed, partially covered by a red v-neck, a white tank top, and her mismatching socks. Now all Finley needed was the motivation to change out of her fuzzy pajamas.
Around 7:17, Finley emerged from the bathroom, her hair tied back into a ponytail, a white bandana serving as a makeshift headband. Though no one cared to notice, the teenager had a bare bit of makeup on, only to make her eyes bigger and her face… well, better. She wasn’t ashamed of the way she looked, but a little improvement never hurt anyone.
“Fin, did you make sure that the impala has gas?” her father called, pouring himself a glass of orange juice over their cluttered kitchen table.
After tying her black converse on her feet, the girl replied, “Yeah, I actually want to get to school, remember?” A playful smile emerged onto her lips as she laughed, reaching for a banana on the counter.
“Just making sure, say, where’s April?”
“Probably in Newton,” Finley replied as she browsed the fridge for her water bottle.
“Newton?” her father replied skeptically.
“The impala, Newton,” she responded, as if it was obvious.
“Right.”
“Mhm,” she mumbled with a nod, slinging her worn backpack over her slim shoulders, almost making the pale water bottle fall out and splatter across the wood flooring.
“Be careful, go the speed limit.”
“I know dad,” Finley responded with a smile, as she gave her dad a hug. “Well, we’re off then, be back around six, after practice.”
“Okay, love you Finny.”
Managing a weak smile at the sound of her childhood nickname, the girl waved. “Love you too.”
Sure enough, inside the passenger door of Newton the car, sat April, who was currently adjusting the radio inside. As Finley opened the door, she was greeted with the ever - bothersome sound of Justin Beiber’s voice. Or, as the junior preferred, Justine Beaver.
“Turn that off before my ears bleed!” she complained, tossing her backpack into the back seats. Somehow, the water bottle remained in place. “Okay, no, let me plug in my phone,” Finley corrected, grabbing her droid out of her bag and connecting it to the sound system. As ‘Breakeven’ by the Script began to play, the girl exhaled, “See? Decent music.”
The drive from the Locke house was only seven minutes from the school, but it was enough to bother Finley. She wasn’t exactly the type of teenager who was oh-so-excited to drive. It made her stiff and on edge. “Oh - crap,” she muttered, breaking quickly to get inside of the school’s speed limit.
“You could’ve got pulled over!” April burst, her blue eyes widening as she looked at her sister.
Thinking not so nice thoughts, the girl chose to ignore the comment as she parked in the lot, barely squeezing in between a jeep and someone’s prius. Finley had made sure to center herself, not trusting the minds of her fellow peers, as they tended to suck at driving almost as much as she did.
Only when she was on the outside of her vehicle did she notice who the jeep belonged too. The rusty bumper, rotten red paint job, along with the several empty Mountain Dew cans could only mean one thing. Sawyer and Holland had beaten her to school, as always. She couldn’t spot Perry’s car, but she did see Rhys’ Ford a row down.
The idea of seeing her friends gave her a rush of excitement as she briskly walked into the school, not speeding up for the impatient trucks that were entering the lot.
After setting away her books and preparing for her first hour class, she headed over to the lunch table, her group’s lunch table, where she spotted the faces she had missed the most all summer. If only they could’ve accompanied her on her family vacation to Iowa, for a freaking month. “Guys!” Finley exclaimed, wrapping her arms around the nearest body she could find.
“My hair Fin - watch the hair,” Holland moaned, lightly patting away the affectionate arms of her friend. She took her seat accordingly, beside Sawyer. “How was Iowa?” she asked, a smirk painting her lip glossed lips.
“Boring after about, five days, or was it five seconds? Honestly I don’t remember, but it kind of sucked,” Finley explained, sighing as she looked over to see Perry and Landon. “What about you guys though?” she asked, scanning the faces of all her compadres.
“You should’ve come to our bonfires, they were so much fun,” Perry gloated, smiling over at Holland. “At least, when those two weren’t being touchy, ‘course,” she added, raising two knowing eyebrows at the now blushing couple.
“Not like you two were any better!” protested Sawyer, whose face had turned crimson at the mention of public contact. Ever since the beginning of their relationship, Holland and Sawyer hadn’t been very touchy. Now, however, they seemed to be developing more of a comfort in each other. “Right, Landon?” he challenged, knowing that surely he wouldn’t be able to lie.
“Shut up,” Landon muttered, his voice slipping into a higher octave as he did so. Even for being one of the best free-throw shooters Clanton High had to offer; the guy was kind of a pushover.
“Kay, but - wait, where’s Vi?” Finley questioned, her expression turning sour. Summer had shipped the teenager off to a land of working, expectations, family bonding, and the all dreaded responsibility. She hadn’t had much time to stay in contact with her friends. Violet and Finley had been going on friendship for three years now, and she was ready to resume it.
“Probably with her new boyfriend,” Perry replied with a look of disgust. The annoyance in her voice was obvious, but Finley couldn’t place why. Sure, Violet tended to be extremely forgiving, and more of a pushover than Landon, but she could tell right from wrong. At least, the Violet she remembered could.
“Does he have a name?” she inquired, resting her head on her crossed elbows. Guessing by the quizzical looks that her friends exchanged, the boy was not a decent person.
“Kellan Amyr, you know that name?” Sawyer asked, raising a thick eyebrow at her. The name sent acid to her stomach at the sound of it.
“Kellan Amyr?” she repeated, letting the name echo in her mind. The disbelief was evident in her face, at least it must have been, guessing by the slow nods she received from the group. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“I wish we were,” Perry replied, running a hand through her blonde curls before the bell rang, followed by the sound of shuffling feet. “But - I guess you can see for yourself, got Chemistry first hour?”
Finley merely nodded, collecting her backpack and notebook in silence. Thoughts were running through her head, spreading like wildfire, and leaving her questioning how much she actually knew about her friend.
“Then we’ll find out, you, me and Sawyer,” she mumbled.
Walking into the door of Mr. Gunn’s class, the three shuffled into seats, choosing decks closest to each other. They would be split into a seating arrangement later, but until then, the trio wanted to stick together.
A buzz of conversation filled the room until the bell rang, which was followed by the entrance of Violet Cass and Kellan Amyr. The sight of a small, stil baby-faced girl next to a large framed, darker skinned boy seemed a shock.
“Mr. Amyr, did you lose you way to class this morning?” Mr. Gunn asked, raising a bushy eyebrow at the pair. “Or, were you a bit… distracted?” he added, a knowing look passing through the two. Laughter filled the brick walled classroom, creating a soft echo before the announcements started, Holland’s voice ringing throughout all of the school.
“Holland’s TAing for the office this semester?” Finley asked, leaning backwards into the region of Sawyer’s desk.
“Yeah, I guess.”
After hearing the dreaded lunch menu, all attention was focused on the couple in the front, as well as the balding, yet firm form of Mr. Jerald Gunn. “So, what was it? I’m sure we’re all on the edges of our seat.”
Violet’s attention was directed at the floor, her eyes unmoving, appearing like a puppy who had just gotten scolded. “The line at McDonald’s was long,” Kellan explained, his voice steady, but none the less unappealing.
“Well, next time you should make a bigger margin for error, because you two are off to a rotten start.” There was a pause, and unbreakable tension in the air, as eyes passed from student to teacher and back again. “Sit down, class is starting.” | |
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