#KILLME2

Chapter 9

#KILLME2

By: theinkslingerr

Chapter 9

   I stared at Finley, frozen like the statue behind him until my congested nose threatened to leak and I had to sniff loudly.

    "You're lying," I said flatly.

    "I'm not. I didn't post any of those videos or screen caps of Grant and your friend." He sounded serious, impatient. Leaning back against the moss-covered angel, his bare arm grazed it, causing his eyes to widen instantly. He jerked forward like he'd been burned and I shuffled away to give him some space.

    Okay...I tilted my head.

    He was rubbing the part of his arm that had touched the moss, and only stopped when he realized I was watching.

    My eyes narrowed. Was it my imagination or were his cheeks a little red?

    "I don't believe you," I said after Finley's quiet freak-out. "You were taunting me seconds before the videos hit IG."

    One dark eyebrow rose above the lenses of his glasses. "Taunting you? Please provide an example."

    "Ross reposted something from your profile about the types of people that didn't survive horror movies! That was obviously about at me!"

    "Let's use our critical thinking skills here. How does that prove I posted the videos of Grant?"

    I sputtered, hoping a good response would spring to mind, but just ended up crossing my arms. I was basing all of my suspicions on what he'd done during Liam's memorial and the fact that I'd tried to blackmail him. My shoulders slumped, the defensiveness easing out of me like air out of a balloon. But my mind kept circling back to Finley. He was the only culprit that made sense.

    I shook my head. "This...this has to be some kind of trick. Exposing people's your MO and I don't have beef with anybody else."

    Finley sighed. "When Cody Denson realized his nudes were out there and confronted me, I didn't deny it. When you ran into me in the hallway during Grant's memorial, I told you why. I don't regret the things I do, Ellis."

    As much as I wanted to dispute every single word, I realized I couldn't.

    It was one thing for him to worry about Principal Liu finding out, but it seemed like Finley had no problem owning up to his actions— especially toward the "wolves" he took it upon himself to punish. When I'd bumped into him in the hallway during Liam's memorial, a lot of people would've denied involvement; said the phone I'd found on the ground running through those horrible slides of my dead boyfriend wasn't theirs. It'd be instinctive.

    So, Finley was right. He did take credit for his work.

    "After I saw the videos, I knew you'd think it was me," he continued. "You haven't been at school, so I figured I'd have to catch you here."

    Taking in a shaky breath, I pressed fingers against my throbbing temples. In the past week, my reality had been shattered. My boyfriend wasn't who I'd thought he was, my best friend never had my back, and my enemy was in a gray area he didn't believe existed. My brain was fried. The only thing I could do was essentially paraphrase Finley's last statement. "You came to a whole funeral just because you wanted to talk to someone in attendance?"

    "Sorry, was I supposed to say I actually secretly liked Liam and came to pay my final respects? You know what I thought of him."

    It was cold, but it was honest. Refreshingly so, considering all the liars I was surrounded by.