Snow White and Seven Devils (rewrite) ✅

(27) Marley Carson

This chapter is a bit longer.

27.

We stared at Aiden as if he had grown wings. Given the words that escaped his mouth, he might as well had. I had imagined Derrick would start going crazy at Aiden again and we would happen to witness another cat-like fight, followed by a trip to hospital. Instead, Derrick had removed the scowl off his face and looked blank.

''You did what?'' Dale snapped at Aiden, I guessed from his tone that he didn't expected Aiden to achieve that.

Aiden who looked like he had just run a marathon ignored the shock he had landed at the cafe and faced me, ''I'm close, very close.''

''I'm all ears.'' It felt as if my voice had shook everyone away from la la land.

''Can we trust him?'' Derrick was asking me and I was glad that he was trying to keep his cool and seeking my opinion in this, instead of tackling him,

''I can trust Aiden, he won't lie about this.'' I nodded towards Aiden as I affirmed this. I knew just how much he wanted to find Anonymous D as well, just how much he had been struggling as well.

Aiden didn't hesitate and came forward, standing just a few inches away from Derrick. Trevor and Lillian had abandoned their previous activity of looking through Addy's stuff and joined us, even Dale stopped brooding against the wall and we all were there in a circle, with me and Derrick still seated.

''Ally, I'm sure you think AD is the one who caused your accident right?'' Aiden began,

''We're sure its that asshole.'' Trevor said on my behalf,

''If I look at all the events,'' He threw a hesitant look at Derrick's direction, ''with Marley and with you - I came to a conclusion that AD is someone who is insecure. Someone who panics a lot, someone who is a-''

''Psycho'' I added,

He clicked his fingers, ''Exactly! A psycho. After you were admitted to the hospital, news went around the school fast. Everyone started sympathizing with you, saying that maybe everything was a rumor.''

''Yeah,'' Lillian took out her phone and opened it to show me the messages on the group chats and on web, ''see here...now they are all doubting and being uncertain.''

''The news that a detective was hired to investigate also came through and just like that the posts about you started coming as well.'' Aiden was saying,

''What? I never looked at that website again!'' Lillian cried and he showed her his own cellphone, waving it around all of us,

''AD has been posting crazy stuff since than, as if to make sure people don't pity you or start doubting him or her.''

''Will you get to the point already?'' Derrick growled, ''you said you found that asshole.''

Aiden didn't answer and started typing and scrolling on his phone, I bent forward to see whatever he was doing. He was trying to find something on AD's web page.

''See here, now he/she is trying to make a love triangle out of you, Dale and Lillian.'' I looked at the post more carefully while Dale and Lillian looked at each other with distaste,

''That's disgusting!'' They cried together, I turned red, recalling how I had assumed they were more than friends.

''See this picture Ally,'' I followed his finger to a picture taken from our club meet, with me, Lillian and Dale sitting on the same side and I immediately recognized it as the first meeting we held, ''this picture that AD posted on their post...it was taken from my phone. In fact I was the one who took that picture.''