invisible string - simon elroy

two

— — —

Evangeline made her way into the gym for Maddie Nears's vigil. Standing somewhere near the back as her friend, Inez, walked up to her.

"You okay?" Inez questioned as Evangeline nodded. "Did something happen with Xavier."

"I'll tell you later.." The girl said as she noticed Xavier being stopped as he tried to walk in.

"Thank you all for coming." Principal Hartman started on with his speech about the disappearance of Maddie.

Evangeline looked outside to gym to see her dad standing outside questioning her brother. She quickly walked out to them.

"Dad?" The girl stood in front of the two.

"Vange." Her dad walked closer to her. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. What's going on?" She asked as she looked at her twin brother.

"Nothing." Xavier said quickly.

"Something. Tell me." Her dad and brother glanced at each other.

"I was cheating on Maddie." Xavier said and Evangeline rolled her eyes. "That's why I took her phone. I was protecting her because I sent a message meant for Claire to her."

"So you didn't hurt Maddie?" She asked.

"I would never hurt Maddie." Xavier said as his sister walked up to him and hugged him.

"I'm so sorry for ever doubting you Xav."

"It's okay. I understand how it looked." He said as he patted her on the back and he started to tear up. "I didn't know she wasn't coming back."

"Come on, Xavier." Their dad said as he wrapped his arm around him. "Vange, you staying for the vigil?"

"Yeah. I'll see you guys later." The girl watched them leave as people started exiting the gym and grabbing candles.

She grabbed one herself and stood watching for a moment. She noticed Nicole and Simon and walked up to them.

"Hey guys." She greeted as they both acknowledged her. The three took off down the hall.

"Hey I'll meet you guys out there. Just give me a sec." Simon said as he stopped causing the two girls to turn to him.

"What?" Nicole looked at him confused.

"I just need a minute, okay?" The two girls nodded and continued outside as Simon walked into a classroom.

"How are you holding up Nicole?" Evangeline asked as they stood outside with everyone.

"Me? Oh, yeah i'm fine." Nicole said quickly.

"Are you sure? Maddie was your best friend too." Evangeline tilted her head. "I'm here for you if you need just someone to vent to."

"Thank you, Evangeline. That really means a lot." Nicole smiled and Evangeline returned the favor.

Evangeline noticed people recording as her brother got driven away by her dad and sort of flinched.

"Hey, i'm gonna go check on Simon." Nicole said as she handed the girl a flashlight. "Come with?"

"Yeah." The two girls made their way back into the school.

They walked the halls before stopping outside the classroom Simon was in. He was talking to someone, but when they entered he was alone.

"Simon?" Nicole made their presence known and he turned to them. "The vigils over. People are splitting up to search the woods. I traded our candles for flashlights cause my phones on 2 percent."

"Who were you talking to?" Evangeline stepped forward to be next to Nicole.

"Myself." Simon kinda shrugged as he said this.

"Ok.. Are you sure you're up for this?" Nicole looked at him with a worried expression.

Simon suddenly looked next to him then he turned back to the girls.

"Ok.. Ok." Simon said and he suddenly made his way over to them. "Ok. Ok. Ok! Let's go. You both ready?"

The two nodded as Nicole handed him a flashlight and they exited the classroom. The three exited the school and joined in with the new search party.

— — —

Evangeline scrolled instagram on her phone seeing a bunch of posts mocking her brother. She could hear her dad talking to her brother in the other room and walked out to listen.

"She was more than a friend." She heard Xavier say as she stood in the hallway spotting her dad standing in his doorway.

"Well, whatever she is, whatever she was," Evangeline flinched at his words. "That was her blood on the wall."

The girls head snapped up. She stared at her dad. The first thing coming to her mind was Simon. How he'd react to knowing that.

"You don't know that, not for sure." Xavier's voice had a slight shake to it.

"Yeah we do. The lab results came back." Her dad crossed his arms as he leaned against the door frame. "That's definitely her blood."

Xavier let out a shaky breath and Evangeline stared at the ground.

"You need to stay away from the school, until I tell you it's time to go back."

No one said anything and Evangeline quickly went back into her room as she saw her dad turn to walk down the hall. She sat on her bed as her dad came to her room now.

"Vange?" He knocked on the door then pushed it open. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah." She responded as she stared at her wall.

"How you holding up?" He made his way over to her bed and sat on the edge.

"I'm fine." She said as her dad raised his eyebrow while looking at her. "Me and Maddie aren't friends anymore, Dad. You know this."

"You aren't friends now, but you used to be." He put his hand on her knee. "You guys were best friends in elementary school."

"Yeah, but now we aren't." She looked at her dad.

"That doesn't mean this can't bother you." He said with a sorry look. "How about you stay home tomorrow?"

"No. I'm not staying home." Evangeline made herself very clear.

"You sure?" He asked and she just nodded and looked away. "Okay. Get some rest, I'll see you in the morning."

He patted her knee then stood up and left her room. The girl finally let a few tears slip from her eyes, but quickly wiped them away.