“So, how’d you sleep in the end?” he asked as he started the engine.

I smiled tiredly. I hadn’t slept well again last night, as he well knew because I’d called him up at midnight and asked him to talk to me a little until I fell asleep. Of course he’d offered to come over and keep me company, but I’d been strong and refused. Instead, I’d listened to him reading Jules Verne down the phone to me for an hour before my eyelids had started getting heavy.

“Fine,” I lied. I couldn’t tell him the truth that my dreams last night had been filled with faceless people chasing me with a bloodied knife while I ran and ran but never seemed to get anywhere. “Thank you for last night.”

He reached out, tugging on the end of my ponytail playfully. “Anytime.”

By the time we got to school, Charlotte and Beth were waiting for me in the parking lot and skipped over to the car, wrenching open the car door before Luke even got the parking brake on. “Are you okay?” Beth asked worriedly.

I nodded in confirmation. I’d spoken to them both over the weekend and explained everything. Charlotte already knew that something had happened because my brother had called her Friday night and told her that I wasn’t going to make it to hers. “Yeah, I’m fine,” I answered, swinging my legs out of the car and gripping the door frame, awkwardly pulling myself up to standing.

Charlotte gripped my elbow, steadying me as I wobbled a little. “What did the police say about it? Did they do anything? Arrest anyone? Was there CCTV on the street? You said the guy said he could see you, well if he could then maybe he was caught on CCTV or something,” she suggested, raising one eyebrow hopefully.

I shrugged. “They were going to look into it. To be honest, Char, they don’t tell me much about it. I hate not knowing, I just wish they had some idea of who’s doing it.”

I looked around the parking lot as I closed the car door. Last time I came here in the morning, the parking lot was full of grieving students, now the place was just as normal. You wouldn’t think that anything untoward had happened at all judging by the people standing around chatting about their weekends and exchanging stories. It was like Sandy hadn’t even existed. The cheerleaders were all sitting around, giggling and flirting with the football team, applying make-up and fluffing their hair. As I stood there I had a strong feeling of being out of place because nothing was normal in my life at the moment, and I wasn’t sure it ever would be again.

Charlotte looped her arm through mine, waving her hand dismissively at Luke who stepped to my side to help me. “I’ve got her now,” she stated smugly. It was very apparent that Charlotte still hadn’t forgiven Luke for his indiscretion. Luke frowned but nodded, falling into step behind us. I smiled at him apologetically and got a beautiful smile in return which made my heart pick up double time.

“What about the phone that you keep getting the calls and texts from, can’t they trace that?” Charlotte asked, her voice showing her frustration.

I shook my head, wincing as we started to make our way slowly up the steps at the front of the school. “Don’t think so. DI Neeson said that the phone isn’t on contract and is always turned off. Don’t think they can do much with it,” I admitted. She pursed her lips as her eyes flashed with something that made me a little nervous. She only ever got that glint when she was up to no good, or planning to be up to no good at least. “What are you looking like that for? What are you scheming?” I asked, cringing.

She raised one eyebrow, faking innocence. “Me? Absolutely nothing. I definitely wasn’t thinking that I could hack into your phone company and find the number of the person that’s been calling you,” she said, shaking her head but grinning at the same time.

I groaned. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I protested weakly.

She pulled me to a stop, looking at me intently as she leant in conspiratorially. “I could get the number, and you could have Alex or Luke send it a butt load of angry messages and stuff telling them to leave you alone or else,” she countered.

I shook my head forcefully. “Just let the police handle it. Don’t get involved. You could end up causing more trouble or something,” I warned. “If this is the same person that killed Sandy then I don’t want Alex or Luke getting themselves involved with anything. It could make matters worse. Just let the police do their jobs,” I said the words firmly, looking her right in the eyes so she knew I was serious.

She sighed dejectedly, letting her shoulders slump. “Fine. I’ll stay out of it,” she grumbled.

I smiled gratefully, giving her arm a little squeeze. “Thank you for the offer though.”

Her face brightened, some of the defeated expression disappeared. “I’m always available if you change your mind.”

When the bell sounded overhead they both disappeared off to their respective classes, leaving me with Luke who walked me to my first period and kissed my forehead gently at the door. “I’ll see you at lunch?” he questioned. I nodded in agreement. “Call me if you need me.”

“I will. Thanks.” That statement was true. Luke always seemed to be the first one I called on for help and the first one that sprang to mind when I needed a shoulder to lean on. As he jogged off up the hallway, I turned and limped to my desk, plopping down and pulling out my books that I’d need.

A chair scraped beside me so I looked up to see a girl from my class sitting herself down next to me. She smiled at me happily as she dropped her bag onto the desk. I tried not to react to the fact that this girl had never once sat next to me or attempted to talk to me before today. She was one of the mid-popular girls from our year, but she was well known for being the gossip queen. She even wrote a gossip type column in our school paper.

“Hi. How are you?” she chirped, turning in her seat and beaming at me.

My mouth popped open, but nothing came out. I flicked my eyes to the front of the classroom, seeing that the teacher hadn’t arrived yet. “Um… I’m fine thanks,” I muttered awkwardly, picking up my notebook and thumbing through the pages just for a distraction. The way she was looking at me so intently made me shift in my seat self-consciously.

She propped her chin on her hand and leant in closer to me, smiling as if we’d been best friends all our lives and were swapping intimate secrets. “So, what was Zach Anderson arrested for on Thursday? Neither of you were in on Friday. Everyone was going crazy. Was he arrested for Sandy’s murder? Did he get charged? Is he in jail right now?” she asked, looking at me with wide, excited eyes.

I narrowed my eyes angrily. So that’s what she’s sitting there for? Gossip! “Look, just go away. Zach didn’t do anything wrong so just stop all this gossipy talk,” I scolded.

She seemed a little taken aback by my outburst as she pushed her glasses up her nose. “Well everyone was only wondering because of what happened with him and Sandy on Wednesday when you were fighting. That would explain his reason for killing her. To, you know, keep her quiet,” she muttered, nodding along with herself as she spoke.

I frowned, confused. “What do you mean by that?”

She sighed, rolling her eyes as if I was asking something stupid. “Sandy said she knew stuff about him from his other school, stuff that he wouldn’t want common knowledge. He killed her to keep his secrets safe.” Her voice was so matter-of-fact, so preachy, that I stared at her in disbelief.

How can one person be so deluded? What is wrong with society today? “Seriously? Zach didn’t kill Sandy! Jeez, you lot that stand there gossiping are pathetic. Let the police do their jobs and leave innocent people alone. Last Thursday morning people were looking at me like I’d done it because of what I said to her. Just get your facts straight before you go around accusing innocent people, you can ruin lives that way you know,” I snapped. “And you can quote me on that if you want,” I added acidly. I shouldered my bag, deliberately swinging it so that it bumped her as I stood up. I grabbed the couple of books that I’d already gotten out and moved to a spare desk that was off to the side. I kept my head held high, refusing to look in her direction as I sat down and slammed my bag onto the table noisily.

I’m sick of this place and the rumour mill of immature, bored people. I can’t wait to leave and go to college. Just three weeks and then school is done. That thought made me feel a little better as I sat there, waiting for the teacher to arrive, staring at the blackboard, ignoring people that were obviously trying to catch my attention and ask me if I knew what was going on.

I willed the end of the day to come quickly. If my day was already this bad, I dreaded to think what Zach’s would be like. People would be staring and gossiping about him all day no doubt. I silently wished I hadn’t skipped school on Friday. If I had come to school then I could have quashed the rumours and told people that Zach was innocent. That news would have sunken in over the weekend and then he wouldn’t be facing this kind of thing today. I made a mental note to find him at lunchtime and show my support.

By the time lunch came around I was in the worst mood I had ever been in. Everything made me angry, even the smallest thing like breaking the lead on my pencil made me growl in frustration. It was all because everyone was asking me about Zach. It seemed that everyone was eager to tear strips off of him and assume things about him. It was so unfair that even my jaw was hurting because I’d been grinding my teeth trying to keep calm.

I hadn’t seen Zach at all, so I didn’t know how he was coping. I’d tried to call him during the break between classes, but he had rejected my call. Luke met me outside my last morning class. His face fell as he looked at me; obviously I wasn’t hiding my angry expression very well. “You okay? Has something happened?” he asked, reaching for my hand.

I shook my head, blowing out a big breath, willing myself to calm down. “I’m fine. Have you seen Zach?” I asked, looking down the hallway in the hopes that I’d catch a glimpse of him.

Luke made a distasteful scoffing noise in the back of his throat and shook his head. “I don’t have any classes with him,” he muttered, somewhat angrily.

I squeezed his hand reassuringly. I didn’t want him feeling jealous of Zach all the time. There was nothing between us other than friendship; there was no need for him to worry about that. I still loved Luke dearly, everyday I was starting to realise that more and more. “I know I said I’d eat with you but I really need to find him and make sure he’s okay.” I willed him with my eyes to understand and not somehow think that I was choosing Zach over him. It wasn’t like that at all.

He clicked his tongue and nodded. “Figured you’d say that. Everyone’s been talking about him all morning. I guessed you’d be worried about how he’s coping,” he muttered. “You’re too nice for your own good sometimes,” he added.

I smiled, stepping closer to him and letting my side brush against his. “Do you think you could give me a ride home tonight? Alex is training, he was going to drive me home first, but I’d rather you do it,” I asked, knowing that would put him in a better mood. I wasn’t just playing him; I was genuinely planning on asking him for a ride before I cancelled our lunch plans.

He grinned at me then, nodding eagerly. “Sure! Is your dad home or is he back to work?”

“He’s working,” I confirmed.

Luke’s eyes lit up at that. “Maybe I should stay at yours for a little while tonight then, just so you’re not in the house on your own,” he suggested, grinning slyly.

I chuckled and nodded. “I’d like that.” Now I definitely couldn’t wait for the end of the day to get here. Another reason to look forward to the end of the school day!

“I’ll help you find, Zach,” Luke suggested, stepping to the side so I could start walking.

“I know where he’ll be.” At least, I think I do anyway. “I just want to grab a sandwich first,” I added, leading us towards the lunchroom.

After buying a sandwich for both me and Zach, Luke followed me out to the school field. Just as I thought he would be, Zach was running laps. Not just jogging this time though, he seemed to sprint for a hundred yards then jog again. He obviously had a lot of stress and issues to run away today. Maybe his ADHD was playing up because of everything that was going on this morning.

I stepped onto the field and saw Zach’s head turn in my direction. He didn’t stop though, just carried on right past me with his little jogging/sprinting task. I turned back to Luke and smiled sweetly. “Thanks for making sure I got here okay. I’ll be fine now. I’ll meet you at the end of school.”

He frowned, looking up at Zach again for a few seconds before he nodded and walked off. I sat down on the grass, sighing contentedly as I straightened my legs, finally taking the weight off of my ankle. It felt as though it was swollen again because I’d been walking too much on it.

When Zach didn’t stop next to me a second time I cleared my throat dramatically. “Are you ignoring me? Kinda rude don’t you think?” I called to his back as he streaked past. He slowed down, looking at me over his shoulder, his brows furrowed. I smiled and held up the sandwich that I’d bought for him. “You know you want to sit with me really,” I called teasingly.

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he slowed down again before coming to a stop, turning and taking lazy steps towards me, his breathing ragged. A bead of seat ran down the side of his face and he swiped it away quickly as he got to me, looking down at me with confused, inquisitive eyes. I tilted my head up, squinting because the sun was just over his shoulder and was shining in my eyes.