What Happens In Mayrose: The Story Of Stacy Green

Chapter Seventeen

- Thursday, November 6 -

For most teenagers, staying up late meant talking to that special someone, or getting tomorrow's homework finished. But for Blake, it was five-thirty in the morning, and he was sitting upright under his covers, running on only four hours of sleep.

It had been getting harder and harder to sleep each night for Blake. Because every time he closed his eyes, the same portion of the security footage he and Lena had found last night replayed in his brain. Just envisioning Stacy's petrified eyes roll back as Detective Grayson's hands tightened around her neck. It all made Blake want to throw up in horror.

So now here he was. Sitting in the darkness of his room, the atmosphere around him silent but his mind loud with unnerving thoughts. He needed a distraction. Then a thought came to him.

He leaned over the side of his bed, and pulled out a box from under it. But it wasn't just any box. It was the box Shawn had given him. The box full of Stacy's photos.

He turned the flashlight of his phone on, opened up the box, and inside he saw dozens of pictures. They were all beautiful. But Blake's favorites were selfies of Stacy. Just seeing her face so joyful. So pure. So... alive.

A wave of remorse washed over Blake. It pained him to realize that he was never apart of Stacy's little life. He had wanted to be there for her, and when she really needed someone, he'd been too late. He'd have to live with that guilt for the rest of his life. Like all the guilt he'd built from his mother.

As Blake stifled a few tears, his whole body feeling cold, he could hear his bedroom door creak open. He quickly tucked the box under his duvet, and turned the flashlight off on his phone.

Just then, Mr.Meyers walked into his room, letting the light from the hallway seep into Blake's pitch black room. "Blake?," he called out, his face confused and surprised. "Where have you been? You werent here when the Italian food showed up."

Blake scratched the side of his head, his eyes still squinting from the light. "Sorry, I-uh... was at Spencer's place and I lost track of time." Ever since this whole investigation started, Blake was growing accustomed to lying to his dad. Hopefully, he'd grow out of the habit once this whole thing was over.

Mr.Meyers looked at him doubtfully, but then shrugged. "Oh, okay. Well, since you're home, I wanted to talk to you about something." He sat down at the foot of Blake's bed, and traced his finger along the sheets. "So, uh, this whole Stacy Green case is pretty crazy, huh?"

Uh oh. Blake could already sense where this was going. "Uh, yeah," he replied with a basic nod. "It's some pretty heavy stuff."

"There's been a lot of stuff on the news lately, too. I-I just wanna let you know, that-" Mr.Meyers placed his hand on Blake's leg, looking into his eye's intently. "If there's anything you wanna tell me, son, I think now would be the best time. I just want you be to safe. I promise, you can tell me anything."

That had really hit Blake, like violent waves crashing against rocks. Because despite all the lying, he really did want to tell him everything. But he just couldn't. Not yet.

Blake moved his eyes in every other direction away from the gaze of his concerned father. "Um...no. Everything's cool, dad. I swear. The police won't find anything on me, anyway." You know, aside from stolen confidential information, sketchy search histories, and a plethora of security tapes with him breaking into places that were prohibited. But it was probably best that Blake kept that to himself.

Mr.Meyers looked into Blake's eyes, as if longing for answers. But once he saw that his son wasn't going to give in, he gave up and sighed. "Alright. I just wanna make sure you're okay. But, I'll give you some space." He gave a comforting squeeze on Blake's leg, then meandered to the door and closed it behind him. Leaving Blake once again in total darkness.