Churchly Murders

𝓕𝓸𝓾𝓻

ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ʙᴇ ᴀɴxɪᴏᴜꜱ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ, ʙᴜᴛ ɪɴ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏ ꜱɪᴛᴜᴀᴛɪᴏɴ, ʙʏ ᴘʀᴀʏᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴘᴇᴛɪᴛɪᴏɴ, ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴀɴᴋꜱɢɪᴠɪɴɢ, ᴘʀᴇꜱᴇɴᴛ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʀᴇQᴜᴇꜱᴛꜱ ᴛᴏ ɢᴏᴅ. ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴇᴀᴄᴇ ᴏꜰ ɢᴏᴅ, ᴡʜɪᴄʜ ᴛʀᴀɴꜱᴄᴇɴᴅꜱ ᴀʟʟ ᴜɴᴅᴇʀꜱᴛᴀɴᴅɪɴɢ, ᴡɪʟʟ ɢᴜᴀʀᴅ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴍɪɴᴅꜱ ɪɴ ᴄʜʀɪꜱᴛ ᴊᴇꜱᴜꜱ.

ᴘꜱᴀʟᴍ 34:4–5, 8

Margo woke up in her bed the next morning. She heard snoring that wasn't hers. She felt like her head was pounding. She sat up and looked around her room. She saw Oliver sleeping on the floor. "Oliver?" she said, looking at him. He woke up suddenly and looked at her. "What're you doin' in here?" she asked, getting up and going to him. She sat next to him. "You fainted," he told her, hugging her. "From the sight of the body?" Margo asked. He nodded. "Why you here though?" she asked, laying on his shoulder. "Because after that me and Cahya carried you, I put you in your bed, but I didn't feel right leavin' you there. Cahya decided to was gonna go to bed, but I stayed here." Oliver explained to her. "Oh, thank you!" Margo said. She hugged him. The only reason she stopped was because of her phone, she got a call from her Mary Benett.

"Ollie, will you leave, Mom is callin' me?" she asked him. He nodded and left. "Yes, Mom?" she asked, answering the phone. She could tell her mom was crying. "Mom, what's wrong?" she asked. "Joshua died," her mother sobbed. "Dad died?!" Margo said, panicking. "Yes. And so did Sabrina!" her mother told her. Sabrina was her beloved great-grandma whom she loved. "Great Grandma?!" Margo had to sit on her chair at her desk to stop herself from falling. "Yes, this is partly my fault though," Mary told her. "What do you mean, Mom?" Margo asked, getting more and more concerned. "Well, I told Sabrina to come visit, and she agreed,"

"Mom, that's not yo-"

"Abbababa! I am explaining! She said she couldn't drive herself, so I told Joshua to pick 'er up. When they were driving back, a drunk driver hit him, they died instantly." Mary explained. Margo felt the tears streaming down her cheeks. She looked up at the clock on her wall. "Mom, I really hate to do this, but I really gotta go, talk to you later?" she said. "Sure thing, sweetie. Take whatever time you need, I love you." Mary told her. Margo hung up and put her phone down. She sat on her rug and cried. She put her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She cried.

"Oh God, why?!" she cried. "God, please help me?" When she called out, she felt sort of calm, relax. She felt like she needed to get up and go to school, so that's what she did. She got up and changed into her school clothes. She put her makeup on, did her hair, and walked out with a smile—albeit, fake.

When she came out of her room, she saw Oliver sitting at the end of the hall. As soon as he saw her, he smiled. "Hey, Marg!" he said, running up to her and hugging her. "Hey, Ollie," she said, trying to sound happy. Oliver could something was wrong. "What's wrong, Marg?" he asked, looking at her. "Nothing," she said, looking down. "Come on, we should get to school." Oliver nodded and started to walk. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. They saw Cahya walking. "Oh, hey, guys!" she said, smiling at them. Margo tried to smile but she couldn't. "Margo, are you OK?" Cahya asked. "Mhm," she said, not looking up from the ground. They started walking again to the class. Margo was trying her best not to cry in front of them. Oliver could tell something was wrong and so could Cahya. Margo was usually a happy-go-lucky child, but not now. And they didn't know why.

When they got there, Margo saw Robbie and Chester sitting next to each other. "Chester, please leave me alone," Robbie told him. He shook his head. "Chester, please leave Robbie alone," Margo told him. Robbie looked stunned that Margo stood up for her. Chester scowled but stopped. "Psst, thank you," Robbie whispered to Margo. "Anytime," Margo told her.