killer, m.clifford/a,irwin

20

I took a deep breath, trying to take in this information but it was all so much. I stepped way from the door.

"You should probably come sit down." I motioned towards the couch that Luke and Michael were currently sitting on. By the looks on their face, they had heard everything.

Sydney nodded slowly, before walking over and sitting on the edge next to Michael. She kept shooting Like fleeting looks but he was avidly avoiding them.

"Keep going." I nodded my head, encouraging her to continue.

"Okay," Sydney cleared her throat before continuing. "In the file I read it said Mrs. Green filed for a restraining order but it wasn't granted. The judge said it lacked any real evidence."

"What were the grounds for a restraining order?" Michael asked quietly. I stood there awkwardly, unsure if I wanted to hear any of this.

"He was showing up at the house a lot," Sydney started but I frowned.

"What if they were just friends?" I asked, my voice hopeful.

"Were they?" Sydney asked, a frown gracing my lips. "Because Mrs. Green also reported Ashton yelling 'I'll fucking kill you if you come near my girl again.' That doesn't sound very friendly."

"Wait, you were dating Ashton when you kissed Sam?" Michael asked, his nose scrunched. He probably thought that the 'girl' in this context was me.

I shook my head. "I dated Ashton in ninth grade. The girlfriend he would've been talking about is Tricia."

"Yeah, but the point is," Sydney drew the attention back to herself, "Ashton was threatening Sam about a girl. We both know he had a crush on you even when he was with Tricia. Don't you think that's a bit too coincidental considering you kissed Sam the day before?"

"This is all circumstantial." I cleared my throat. "Besides, Ashton said he was a part of a police investigation."

"Oh yeah?" Sydney raised her eyebrow. "Did he tell you he was helping the police? Or is he hiding from the police? It would explain why he had to fake his death."

"That does make sense." Luke chimed in, looking at me sadly. "It would also explain why he told you not to talk to Sydney – if he thought she knew something about him."

"Wait, he told you not to talk to me?" Sydney jerked back. "You spoke to him?"

"Yeah." I mumbled sheepishly. "I talked to him the other night at the park. He texted me after I saw you kissing him."

"You saw that?" Sydney groaned. "No wonder you two were being dicks to me!" She exclaimed, shaking her head.

"Being dicks to you?" Luke laughed roughly. "You're the bitch who kissed her dead boyfriend."

"I can explain." Sydney said blankly, before glaring at Luke. "Can you just let me, please?"

"I'll give you ten minutes." I muttered, leaning back against the couch. "And if I don't believe you then you need to stay away from us."

"I never thought Ashton actually killed Sam, which is why I never mentioned any of this to you before. I didn't want to make you worry over something stupid and petty. I thought Mrs. Green was just looking for someone to blame." Sydney frowned. "The cops would've looked pretty unreliable if they couldn't catch Sam's murderer so once again I thought they were all just trying to pin the blame on Ashton."

"What changed your mind?" Luke asked curiously. "You clearly think Ashton's the murderer now, so what changed your mind?

"His fake death." She whispered, looking up at me. "I found it really odd that no one had to confirm his body. No one saw a body."

"Yeah, but the police are the ones who confirmed it was a drug overdose. Why would they cover up his death if they thought he was a suspect?" Michael asked, and although he had a good point, I already knew the answer.

"Ashton's parents are wickedly rich, like, millionaire status. They went through private channels, and I'm almost positive they could've paid a police officer to make that statement. Ashton's 'body' never went to the morgue. They held a funeral the next day. All a bit rushed, yeah?" Sydney shook her head. "That's when I first got suspicious, so then I began to look into it."

"And what did you find?" I asked nervously. Her story was beginning to make sense, and that scared the shit out of me.

"Do you know how Sam died?" Sydney asked and I shook my head slowly.

"I never wanted to know the details. My parents didn't think it'd help me move on." I admitted, biting my lip slowly as I looked down at her.

"I read in his file that he was beaten to death with a baseball bat." Sydney said quietly, and I shut my eyes painfully.

I couldn't imagine the agony Sam went through and I didn't want to try. My heart jerked heartbreakingly as I remembered Sam. He didn't deserve to die.  

"Didn't you say that Ashton played baseball?" Michael asked, linking the two together. I nodded absently, too overwhelmed.

"The night Sam died, before we even knew he was dead, I ran into Ashton at the park. I saw him throw something into the lake. I asked what he was doing and he said he was just getting rid of some bad memories." Sydney swallowed loudly. "The next day, when we went swimming in the lake, I saw Ashton's baseball bat on the river bank. No one knew how Sam died and there wasn't any blood on it so I didn't even think twice. I just thought he was done with baseball – and that was partially true considering he never played again."

"You're just now telling me all these things?" I choked out, running my hands through my hair. This made too much sense.

"I didn't even link it up until two days ago, when I found out how Sam died." Sydney's lower lip quivered. "Besides, despite my suspicions, I thought Ashton was dead until a week ago. He showed up on my doorstep. I was terrified and excited, because he was alive." She admitted. "He told me the same bullshit story about being in a police investigation. He kissed me. I was in shock, I didn't know what to do but then he was leaving and warning me not to tell you about him or the investigation would be ruined." She rambled.

I thought maybe he was trying to tell me that the investigation was about you. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to hurt you, because I know you think you killed those boys but you didn't." Tears were streaming down Sydney's cheeks now. "I'm so sorry. I should've told you sooner."

"Sydney," I choked out, rushing forward and grabbing my best friend into a hug. "I'm so sorry." I whispered in her ear, my eyes shut tightly as I tried not to think about how my Ashton was a murderer.

 

 

 

well, would you look at that bloody plot twist