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Chapter 1

"(Y/N)... are you alright after what happened? We've checked up on your brother here, but is everything okay for you?"

My heart started thumping, and the hole in my chest grew once again. I drew in a shaky breath, trying not to burst into tears. "I saw them... after the killer ran off, I saw all four of them, lying on the living room floor."

My eyes began to well up, and I knew I could stop myself, as tears began to stream down my face. "There was blood everywhere..."

All four of my friends stared at me in shock, and Olivia reached out and put her hand on mine. "You don't have to say anymore.." Her voice was gentle, and I smiled at her, but she knew it wasn't genuine.

"I called the police, but I didn't want to be there, so I took off. It wasn't long before they contacted me and told me my brother, (B/N) [Brother's Name] was alive, he was just knocked into a coma."

Arlo asked the questions next. "Why didn't you come here when he was transferred? You waited a year, until you were told you had to pay his medical bills."

I shook my head, looking down at my lap. At that moment, my whole body was numb, the grief hit me hard. I kept it bottled up so well because nobody mentioned the incident to me, so I didn't need to feel anything, up until now.

Fuck feelings.

I struggled to force my words out, but I managed to reply in a raspy, quivering voice. "I didn't want to see (B/N). I didn't want to face him. It's my fault they're all dead."

Jake shook his head in disagreement. "How is this your fault? Even if you hadn't snuck out, the killer still would have come, and more importantly, you would have died too."

I should have been dead, too.

But I didn't say it. Only nodded my head. Olivia stroked my hand with her thumb, which I found comfort in the gesture. "Well, your parents and your sister would have wanted you to live, (Y/N)." She said soothingly.

After a long moment of silence, I interrupted the stillness by whispering, "I'm going to go and see him today."

"Do you need us to come with you?" Arlo offered.

"No." I objected. "I need to see him alone. I need to tell him why I haven't been there."

Olivia nodded. "We understand." She said softly.

Riley made a strange face, and then tapped my arm to get my attention.

"You should be careful, because there was a weird man who followed me last night."

I looked at her, surprised. "Really?"

The other nodded, and Riley continued the story, looking petty as hell.

"Yep, I thought it was a coincidence at first, but then he made the same specific turns that I did, and I knew he was trying something funny." Riley stood up and started doing those big hand gestures she does whenever she is into a rant or a story.

"That fucking bastard, I had to make a detour and lose track of him before knocking on a stranger's door so that I could get away from him."

"Riley, please watch your mouth." Olivia scolded.

Riley huffed and plopped back down in her chair. I was still curious though.

"What did the man look like?" I asked.

"Eh, he was about six foot, quite lanky, and he was wearing a white suit."

I took in the details carefully, taking a mental note. "Maybe a doctor?"

Riley scoffed and crossed her arms. "I don't think so, the hospital here has the most trustworthy doctors out there, maybe he was a fake?"

Everyone else murmured in agreement, but I stayed silent. I wiped the tears from my eyes, making sure there were no traces of evidence that I'd been blubbering like a baby.

"He was kinda hot tho." Riley said as an afterthought, and the gang gave her a look of disbelief.

"Looks don't matter if the person is a psycho!" Jake yelled, earning some irritated looks from other people.

I was still looking down at my unfinished food, deep in thought. "Maybe he's the man who killed my family."

"I'm sure that man has killed more than just one family." Arlo replied.

"It could be possible.." Riley agreed.

Before anyone else could say anything, my alarm went off. I raised my phone to look at it and swiped the screen. The gang looked up at me as I rose from my seat.

"Sorry guys, but it's time for me to pay my brother the visit he deserved a long time ago."

Everyone gave me a nod, and Olivia spoke up. "I guess we will see you tomorrow, (Y/N)."

We said our goodbyes and I finally hurried out the door and toward my car. Once I started up the engine, I looked up to see a figure looking in my direction. Hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and the paranoia began to seep through my chest. But before I could get a closer look...

The man had taken off.

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A/N : First official chapter has been done heheheheheh. I think that the slow paced story might bore some people out, so let me know if you want me to cut some story stuff out and make it more fast paced, or savor the slow burn stuff that I'm good at. I'd like to know your feedback :)