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Coralia had her eyes glued to the alleyway the police had sealed off with yellow tape, the same alleyway her best friend's body lay covered by a body bag. A part of her was hoping the bag would just move and Anika would give a sign of life. But it's been hours, and slowly but surely, she's lost her faith.
She doesn't like the quiet that's engulfing them as they all find comfort in the safety of one ambulance. A blanket provided to her by paramedics clings to her shoulders, and though her body feels warm, she can't muster the strength to raise her arms and take it off. A piece of white gauze has been stuck to her face taking up half of her cheek and around her leg. Blood stains her neck, half is her and the other half belongs to Anika. Chad tried to help clean her up but she pushed his hands away. This blood is the last thing I have of her that isn't material, she wanted to tell him.
There's only one person who seems to reciprocate the same amount of pain she has. Mindy's head rests lightly on Coralia's shoulder, their hands gripping one another. Chad turns to them every once in a while and he's almost positive that the pair has lost the ability to blink. Four eyes stare at the puddle of blood, at the body bag, and the single strand of hair that has escaped the bag.
When Coralia is silent, her thoughts begin to bounce off one another and there's one persistent thought that she can't seem to shake off. She was to claw at her brain, rip it off and toss it into the trash.
She doesn't want to think that Ethan could be to blame for all this. He's the only one who hadn't come over last night. Besides around twenty minutes after their attack, after Anika and Quinn's death, Ethan called her. She's sure she has over ten calls from his number, including messages. He's called Chad too, but all their phones have been put on silent, tossed inside the ambulance.
Her eyes pick up from the body bag laying several feet away from her at the sound of a voice she recognizes. Ethan pushes past the yellow tape surrounding the street, his eyes scan around everywhere until they land on Coralia's.
He speeds up his pace, heading for her. "Cora--" Before he can reach her, Chad makes fists out of the collar of his shirt and slams him against a van.
Mindy's head picks up from Coralia's shoulder as her brother begins loudly questioning Ethan's whereabouts. "Where were you?!"
"What? When?" Ethan's eyebrows are furrowed as his eyes glance from Coralia's to his best friend's whose eyes are red.
Chad slams him back into the van, tightening his grip on the boy's collar. "Last night!"
"What?" Ethan's eyes are back on her. "I had Econ. You know this, and so does Cora." Her eyes fall back on the floor until she no longer feels his on her.
"Bullshit, man! You disappear, and my sister and Cora almost get killed!" Chad shouts, not loosening his grip on Ethan.
"Dude, I was in a study hall with a hundred other people. You can ask any of them." Ethan said, raising his hands in defense.
