Paranoia

Chapter thirty

Dade’s point of view

            A few weeks had passed since everything with Bellie. I hadn’t shown anyone her suicide note; how could I? If I did show them, either one of them, I knew it would blow up in my face. Violet and Maddi already don’t trust me, and if they read the note they’d definitely think I was the murderer. I couldn’t let them think that.

            None of us had spoken to each other since that night. If we saw one another, we’d just silently stare. Or maybe we’d just silently, and very awkwardly, just stand there. It was weird not to talk to your best friends. It’s weird that a game separated a group of really close friends. It’s just weird.

            I was really shocked to wake up at eight in the morning from my cell phone blaring out some shitty pop song. The only reason I even had it as my ringtone was because Rylie set it. I guess I never changed it back.

“Hello?” My voice came out hoarse.

“Hey.” I heard Maddi speak back.

“Oh, hey, Maddi.” I was surprised to hear her voice.

Why is she calling me?

“So…Violet and I want to hang out. Like…all of us.” She spoke softly.

All three of us. It used to be six.

“Uh, when?”

“Today around twelve?”

“Come over at three.” I said and hung up without waiting for a reply back.

            I threw my phone down, not even caring where it landed, and crashed back down to my bed. I closed my eyes and fell asleep almost instantly. I dreamt of all of us. Rylie, Violet, Maddi, Bellie, Ashlinn, and me. Back when we started the game. It was right before everything went downhill.

            A cold gust of air made its way through the small cracks in the old wooden walls. A chill ran up my spine, but I took my sweatshirt off and handed it to Rylie who was shivering. She gave me a small smile and quickly put it on.

“Wow, this place is creepy.” Maddi commented.

“Abandoned houses tend to be creepy, idiot.” Violet rolled her eyes.

“Guys, guys!” Rylie spoke up excitedly. “Shh!” She hushed everyone down, although it was just a silent fight between Maddi and Violet. “Okay, I have a game we should all play.”

            Another chill ran up my spine. It wasn’t a cold chill; it was a chill telling me something bad was going to happen. A knot formed in my stomach, and I knew I had to stop the game. I didn’t know what it was, but I knew I had to stop it.

“No, let’s just all sit here and talk.” I suggested.

“Games are for little kids anyway.” Violet sighed.

“Come on. Let’s just play it. It’s not a little kid’s game. It’s called Paranoia and-“

“No! I don’t…I don’t think we should.” I spoke hastily.

“I wanna try it.” Bellie pouted.

“Paranoia? Sounds interesting.” Maddi shrugged. “Let’s just give it a try.”

“You guys can, but I’m not going to.” I stood up.

“Where are you going, baby?” Rylie looked up at me.