Bleak Hill

CH VIII "The best way out is through"

"We gotta do something! We cannot let Gregory think you're a murderer! That's insane!"

"Luke," I said as calmly as I could manage, "They do not suspect me as a murderer. They just wonder what are the chances of my blood being in such close proximity to Elle's."

"It's from the scratch on your chin, isn't it?" Lily traced the scratch with her thumb. I saw Rafael stiffen a little. I jerked my head away from her hand.

"Yeah. Look guys, we need to think clearly for a second. Now focus. What does it mean if they found the blood?"

"It means they thoroughly searched the place." Rafael answered in a heartbeat.

"Exactly. And what I got from our little talk with Gregory, the only thing they found is blood. Nothing else. I mean what did we expect to find if we went there anyway?"

"I do not understand. There must be an explanation to where they went, right? They couldn't just vanish! And we have the upper hand, because we knew someone was there, we saw all three of them!" Tom's thick eyebrows were almost fused together.

"Still, I think that even without this knowledge, if there was anything out there, any sort of clue, they would have found it." Said Lily, now clearly keeping her distance from me.

"They could think of it as unimportant, it could be nothing to them. I think it would be best to go and search up the place."

"I'm all up for investigating, Rafael, but I am pretty sure Gregory will keep an eye on me 24/7."

"I think we can deal with Gregory. We can trick him, we've done it before." Said Tommy.

"I'm not sure guys, I don't feel that good about it." Luke was trembling. What happened to him? He used to be the bravest one. I stared at Luke for a solid minute. We had to act. Not only for Elle, but for us too. Giving us a cause would temporarily fix this situation. I was sure of it.

"Well let's put it for a vote. Rafael?" I looked at Rafael who was thinking intensely.

"I think we should find something to distract Gregory with and then go to the field. Worst case scenario, we find nothing and return home."

"Tommy?"

"I know I can distract him. I've done it before."

"Lily?"

"I want to do it. But nobody can guarantee our safety... I don't know, guys. I mean being stuck in the house and not dealing with it, doesn't sound appealing either."

"How about you Luke? Don't you think it would be good for us?"

"I guess..."

"Look guys, they didn't see us, is that correct?"

"Probably not."

"Well then, we just go, look around for anything- anything that could lead us to the right direction, to who were they, and if we do find anything, we'll think what to do next. Okay?"

"I'll go on one condition."

"What's that Lils?"

"If we do find something, we have to get help."

"No." I said firmly.

"What do you mean no?"

"Who would believe us, Lily? We're not the most trustworthy people walking around this town. And then, if we do confess on what we saw, we withheld information for weeks, how do you think they'll react to that?"

"I understand you're upset. But what we're looking into, might be a murder, you have to understand that. How could we deal with a murder, Daniel? I know you like to be independent. But it could be a murder. We have no experience with that, not even close. No resources. Nothing. You know Elle would tell you how dumb you are, if you got yourself in grave trouble, right?"

"You have no right to talk for her. You didn't even know her that well." My anger was piling up. I closed my eyes.

I remember that Lily used to occasionally talk with Elle. She used to come over to help me study Chemistry. I used to try and talk her into all kinds of trouble and in return she used to hit me with her books. One time, I found her drinking coffee on my porch with Elle. They both smiled at me warmly when I arrived. 

"Now what are you two doing, girls?"

"I don't think that's any of your business" said Elle and smirked.

"Oh, let's be honest with him. Elle. We're planning you future. I'm talking complete take-over."

"Okay, you got us, Lily is deciding on your future college, and I'm looking into potential partners."

"Yes, we had an argument over what age you should reproduce, Elle said 32, I think it should be earlier, it will probably snap you out of your immatureness."

"For God's sake, you could just say girl stuff, and I would butt out, no need to terrorize me" I grinned.

I felt nostalgia. I felt it burning deeply inside me. I tried to ignore the nausea I started feeling and tried to avoid any kind of memories. And in that moment, Rafael, who never failed providing me with what I need, spoke.

"Let's not concentrate on the if's. Let's take it slow. Concentrate on tasks. First thing we deal with is Gregory. Then we go search the place up. We will probably find nothing, and all this arguing will be just a waste of time. Is everyone on the same page?"
I saw everyone nod.

"I think we need to hang out with Beth tomorrow." Said Luke.

"Well then, Rafael you'll stay with Tommy, and deal with Gregory. The rest of us will hang out with Beth."

"Why do I have to come up with a plan?" said Rafael with an accusatory tone.

"You're by far the smartest one." 

"I don't know about that, Daniel. Complimenting me like that, in order to secure me doing the dirty work seems pretty smart to me." Rafael smirked and I genuinely smiled. I really, really loved Rafael. He was the brother I never had.

I knew that our investigation would probably lead to nowhere. But it felt good. Having a plan. 

Anything felt better than thinking about Elle.