Lie is Just a Word

𝓣𝓮𝓷

Song of the Chapter: dorothea- Taylor Swift

ELEVEN MONTHS AFTER THE MURDER...

The old Motter Ski Lodge was fading into view as the car rounded another sharp turn. The inn had the appearance of a very large log cabin with several other cabin-like buildings in the surrounding land. The foggy October air added a layer of mystery to the inn. The inn itself was already a bit of a mystery. How it still, after nearly 45 years of service, was still the heart and soul of the town was unknown. Especially after all of the hardships the Motters had faced over the years.

Pop music blared from the radio, filling the silence. No one dared to speak a word. Not after what had happened earlier that morning. Instead, Morgan and Sage sat in silence as they journeyed to the mountainside lodge, where they had made plans with Carly Brager.

It wasn't abnormal for the three teens to plan get-togethers at the lodge, but what was unusual was the fact that this was something they hadn't done since the night of the murder. Since Carly changed. She was once a very outgoing and upbeat girl. Once. Ever since Scarlett Addair had been murdered, Carly was less than half of the person she used to be, especially to Morgan and Sage, her best friends, and the people she trusted most.

None of that mattered now, though. It appeared that Carly was starting to return to her usual self. She was making plans, starting to go out a little bit more often. And not only was she less isolated, but she seemed to be so much more colourful and overall, less depressed. Sage knew that assumptions could always be wrong, but she hoped for the sake of her friend that these changes were genuine and that Carly was starting to heal. She hated the idea of one of the people she cared about most being in such a state.

As they pulled into the parking lot, Morgan reached over and shut off the radio. Sage parked the car in a space not far from the front doors. She quickly brushed a loose eyelash from underneath her eye and opened the car door, exposing herself to a cool rush of air. The wind wasn't terrible. In fact it was a nice change from the stuffy air in the car. She always kept the temperature a bit higher than she preferred knowing that both Carly and Morgan were not ones for the cold. Sage on the other hand never minded the cold. She had even adopted the nickname "Elsa" shortly after the first movie came out.

Her eyes darted over to Morgan, who was, as expected, shivering dramatically. As their eyes met, he winked at her, to which she responded with an eye roll. She slammed the car door and they began making their way to the entrance of the lodge. Sage wasn't quite sure what to expect when she entered the inn, seeing as Carly was definitely different from the girl she once knew, but she hoped it would be alright.

When the pair walked in, they were immediately greeted by a warm hello from the inn's bartender, Sammi. Sammi was a stocky woman, with shoulder length bleached hair and a smile that could light up a room. She was kind and motherly and brought a familial presence to the ski lodge.

Morgan replied with a friendly smile and a wave, while Sage responded with a pleasant "Hi, Sammi." Sage took Morgan's hand and the two walked over to the bar where they exchanged pleasantries with the nice woman while they waited for Carly, who hadn't arrived yet.

A few minutes of conversation passed when the front doors opened and Carly, followed by a boy that Sage recognised as Zander Seibert, walked in. Carly had a strange look in her eyes, but tried to cover it with a small smile. It was clear that something was up.

Sage tried to dismiss the strange feeling tugging at her by waving Carly over. Zander looked as though he felt out of place. Still, he followed Carly over to the bar counter where she introduced her friends to him. Even though they were already familiar with him-everyone in Harborough was-they still talked as if it was their first time meeting. Despite what Zander had expected, it wasn't terribly awkward. That was until Carly mentioned that there was an important reason why she asked Sage and Morgan to join her and Zander at the Motter Ski Lodge.

"We need to talk," She muttered anxiously...Sage shot her an interesting look, as if to say "what?" Carly's eyes motioned over to a table about 30 feet away from the bar. "It's about Scarlett," she mouthed. Sage was taken aback. Carly had never mentioned Scarlett before, at least not often and especially not after that fateful night at the Motter residence.

The four teens headed over to the table. Carly, who was sitting across from Morgan and next to Sage, and Zander, who was across from Carly and next to Morgan, explained Pierce and Winter's secret love affair and the possibility of it being connected. Sage was sure that at any moment Carly would pull out a bulletin board complete with red pins, pictures of locations and people, and red string connecting it all. Much to her disappointment, she didn't. Instead, she calmly described what she believed happened.She told Morgan and Sage all about that day in the courtyard where she overheard and saw Pierce and Winter talking about their secret and how it would be hard on the two of them if it came to light. Zander chimed in about how he always hated Pierce, even before the murder and was sure he was at least involved, even if he wasn't the one to actually commit the crime. After about twenty minutes, the pair finally ended their rave when Carly simply said "So what do you two think?"

Morgan stared at her blankly. Sage tossed a few of her braids over her shoulder dramatically and then remarked "So let me get this straight: you two went off playing detectives and didn't once mention this to me? I've read all of the Nancy Drew books and seen every episode of Unsolved Mysteries, including the Netflix one!!" Morgan giggled and Zander smiled.

"We're not exactly trying to solve the murder, but it seems like it might be something worth checking into, y'know," replied Carly. Zander nodded.

Sage seemed interested enough, but Morgan wasn't quite so sure. The morality of it all seemed a little questionable and quite frankly the whole thing seemed unrealistic. Would Scarlett want them to do this? Was it even the right thing to do in this situation? How far could they really get by trying to investigate a murder all by themselves? They were only teenagers. But as Carly had said, it wasn't like they were trying to solve the crime and if things went awry, the police were sure to get involved.

"Have you told the police your theory yet?" asked Morgan. Zander shook his head. "Well, if we want this case to actually be solved, shouldn't we send in a tip or something? Maybe even go to the station ourselves? I mean, what are we doing sitting around?"

Morgan was right. It's not like the law would look at them and say "case closed" if they continued their own investigation and just showed up at the station claiming to have solved the murder. And it seemed to be the best move to make, considering the circumstances.

"Alright, let's go to the station," replied Zander.

~~~~~~