Losing Alyssa

CHAPTER TWELVE

"W-what do you mean?" the girl remained silent, refusing to look up. "Ruby, what do you mean?" he asked again, stern this time.

"I didn't mean to get so angry," her eyes welled up and her voice shook, "She always abandoned me to hang out with her other friends, which would be totally fine if she wasn't with them all of the time. When she came back from London, she promised to meet up with me in the park. She never showed, so I decided to head home. Only I saw her walking with you, so I followed. I waited until you two were ready to leave, and when she and I were alone we started to argue. It's just been years of her always getting what she wanted, always ignoring me." She paused to sniffle, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

"I just wanted our friendship to mean something to her, and she kept ignoring me. That's all I wanted." Bradley's eyes were now as wet as Ruby's.

"No!" Bradley jumped off the bed, staring at the girl who betrayed his trust dead in the eyes. "You did this. You did this, you do not get to be the victim here!" Ruby's lip wobbled.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Bradley... I really am –" Bradley raked a hand through his hair, fighting the exhaustion threatening to take over.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" Ruby's eyes widened in fright,

"O – of course I know, Bradley! I've had plenty of time to think it over –"

"And in that time, you could have come clean! You could have told the truth! You –" Bradley's heart was beating faster than he thought humanly possible, either from fear or anger, or possibly both. He needed to leave.

"Wait – Bradley, don't go, please –" he pushed the door open, turning to the sound of her footsteps echoing behind him in the dark hallway. "Bradley you have to understand... I swear to God, if you tell anyone –" he continued to ignore her as she followed him to the end of the driveway, until her pleas faded into the distance, and ran, tears in his eyes, for the second time that night.

His mind was racing: what would happen now? He knew, logically, he should tell someone, go to the police. The events of that night didn't feel real, like this was all a horrible dream he would wake up from in the morning. Ruby's confession left him feeling shocked and horrified, yet it made perfect sense. Images of that night in the forest came to him, the rustling in the bushes was her! Her panic attack at seeing the clothes Alyssa died in, the refusal to talk about the arguments they had, her willingness to give Bradley the photos so she wasn't constantly reminded of her actions. It all fit together.

So why was he still running, and in the direction of the forest? Why hadn't he turned around yet, gone home or called the police? He stopped at the taped-off pathway, the one he now knew Ruby had used to drag Alyssa's body to the perfect hiding place, which wouldn't have been discovered if that tourist had obeyed the rules. He was panting, the chilly night air searing his throat and exposed skin. He took out his phone, a shaking finger pressing the home button. 10:53 pm. He was currently running on 2%, so he'd have to use his remaining power sparingly.

Shoving his phone back in his pocket, Bradley made his way to the blocked-off trail. His hands and feet felt numb, as though he was walking on autopilot. His breathing slowed, but his panic never subsided. He wasn't sure what drove him, only that he would have to make the right decision, and seeing some solid evidence of what really happened could help; there was no chance in hell he was letting Alyssa's killer get away with this. He ducked under the police tape, ignoring the signs telling him to go back. The path wasn't as overgrown as he had expected, though the darkness made it harder to avoid stray branches and winding tree roots. The path was steep, making Bradley wonder how Ruby had managed to get Alyssa up here. He remembered reading somewhere that adrenaline could make someone stronger for a short period of time, so he supposed it made sense.

Five minutes later he tripped, landing on his palms, hissing as the cold air made his scrapes sting. Bradley looked around, spotting a rock the size of a small melon lying in the weeds. Using his phone's flashlight he caught a glimpse of a dark rust coloured stain with strands of long blonde hair stuck to the underside. His heart stopped in his chest, realising that he'd just found the murder weapon.

Bradley clutched his stomach, feeling bile rise in his throat, a burning sensation in his chest. It took everything he had in him not to vomit or worse, faint. He took a deep breath, just as those self-help articles had suggested.

After months of feeling lonelier than ever, after weeks of Ruby making him think that everything would be okay and tricking him into trusting her, everything slowed at that moment. Bradley's breathing became normal again and his nausea subsided. He didn't feel calm, or any of the other emotions he knew he should be feeling, like betrayal or bitter anger. Instead he felt numb, his thoughts were pushed to the back of his mind and the choice he had to make became clear. Alyssa was gone, and that little rat was going to pay.

But first, he needed to get home.