Tainted Love | scream series ¹ ✓

[3]

I awoke to the alarm on my radio blasting from the night table loud enough to wake the dead. I bolted up, still half asleep but definitely more awake than I was before.

I could hear the sound of the radio newsreader talking but didn't pay attention until he said a few daunting words.

"..found brutally murdered..."

I hit my hand on the radio before any more words could come from it, last year was like a living hell, and it's not something that I want to put myself through again.

Hearing a slam outside, I pulled myself from my bed and sat on my window seat, looking down at my dad packing the rest of his stuff in the car before seeing me in the window.

He gave me a wave as he climbed into his car and pulling out of the driveway; I just stared at the car before it disappeared from my view. 

I shook my head, disappointed he was obviously running away, so he didn't have to deal with the anniversary of mom's death.

So yet again, I would have to take the strain and look out for Sid, making sure she was okay and that our mother's death didn't get to her like it did last year.

Turning to my closet, I picked out my outfit of the day. I pulled out a plaid mini skirt, a white t-shirt with a ribbon to tie like a bow, black tights, and my black booties.

I walked out of my door and down the hallway to take a shower. By the time I had taken my shower, Sidney was up. I walked to her door and leaned on it, smirking at her.

She looked up at me with a raised eyebrow, "What?" 

I put a hand on my hip, making sure my dark purple towel didn't fall down, and smiled, "So you and billy?" I insinuated, adding a wink for good measure.

Sid made a noise of disgust and shook her head, walking to me. "Not that it's any of your business, Little bird; we didn't do anything." 

I glared at her for using the nickname mom gave me. I was little bird because I was the younger, smaller twin.

I walked past her bumping her shoulder in the process, and turned just as Sidney was walking away to shower too. "Never call me that again!" I snarled, slamming my door shut.

Just as I got done getting ready, I heard Sidney shouting that the bus was here. I looked in the mirror, feeling satisfied, before grabbing my black school bag and ran downstairs.

Sidney met me at the bottom of the stairs with an apologetic look. "Kat, I'm so sorry for what I called you. I just didn't think and with what tomorrow is..." I just nodded and walked past her as she rambled.

I heard her sigh behind me and felt a little guilty; turning to her, I held out my hand as she looked at me with a shocked look on her face but grabbed it all the same as we ran to the school bus together.

School was hectic, and it hadn't even started yet. I could see police cars everywhere; it was carnage. "Wow, who died," I laughed as Sidney gave me a small glare at my morbid joke.

We walked towards class and saw camera crews all over the place, then the face I never wanted to see again appeared, Gale Weathers; even saying her name gave me a dirty taste in my mouth. 

If she was here, something juicy was happening.

"The small town of Woodsboro, North Carolina, was devastated last night when two young teenagers were found brutally butchered. Authorities have yet to issue a statement, but our sources tell us that no arrest has been made, and the murderer could strike again..."

Two teenagers from here were murdered?

Trying to listen in the best I could, I groaned as I felt Syd grab my hand again. I turned to see Tatum, Sidney's best friend; I don't care for her very much.

"Do you believe this shit?" Tatum laughed in disbelief, still looking around at the media circus; she looked way too excited about this.

"What happened?" Sidney shouted over all the other students' noise, so I tugged her hand so we could head to school and be able to hear each other.

"Oh, God! You don't know? Casey and Steve were killed last night" I stopped dead in my tracks and looked at her. I could feel myself fill with dread.

"What?!" Syd looked at me sympathetically, and Tatum nodded and said, "And not just killed. We're talking splatter movie killed-split open end to end".

I stopped and shook my head. I felt like I was stuck in a bad dream, "Casey, as in Casey Becker. My best friend", Tatum nodded at me, slowly realizing we really didn't know.

"No, no, I would know if it was," I said in denial as I looked out into the crowd of people all buzzing around. 

"Her parents found her hanging from a tree. Her insides on the outside" I faintly heard Tatum say making me shiver I was supposed to be with Casey last night, not Steve.

"Who did it?" I asked her, my throat constricting as tears pooled in the corners of my eyes; she shook her head.

"Fucking clueless-they're interrogating the entire school. Teachers, students, staff, janitors..." I was shocked, thinking that someone I might have known killed my best friend.

"They think it's school-related?" I could hear the shock in Sidney's voice, and I knew I wasn't the only one this has shaken. 

"They don't know. Dewey said this is the worst crime they've ever seen. Even worse than..." Tatum stopped herself short and looked at us. "Well, it's bad," she said, walking off as Sidney stood by my side.

"She's not gone; she can't be," I whispered as my sister patted my shoulder.

"Come on, Kat," Sid mumbled, grabbing my arm, but I pulled it away from her, turning the opposite direction.

"No," I growled, stalking off. I knew she didn't like Casey, and neither did Tatum.

I frowned at all the faces looking at me in pity. "What?" I snarled angrily until I stopped seeing the cheer squad surrounding a set of lockers, two that belonged to Casey and Me.

Walking up to the girls, I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Oh Kat, it's horrible," one of the girls called, moving out of the way for me to see the lit candles on the floor. "Oh, god."

Looking closer at the shrine, I gasped, seeing Casey and Steve's pictures looking back at me. "She's really gone," I muttered to myself, feeling the familiar pain of loss again.