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song of the chapter: no tears left to cry
"ain't got no tears left to cry"
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We showed up at the party right on time. It wasn't completely boring, but it hadn't gotten good yet.
"Hey, I am not a sorority pusher, I just think that despite its trivialities, it is a life-affirming, mentally stable healthy environment for you. I mean, look at this place," Hallie admired.
"I think you're taking your psych major a little too seriously, Hallie. I'm fine," Sidney insisted.
"Yeah? That's beginning to become your theme song," Hallie rolled her eyes.
"Bronzie's worse than me," Sidney defended.
"What? I am not," I felt slightly offended.
"I'm not the one sobbing in my sleep every night," Sidney reminded me.
"I'm just trying to forget about it," I said truthfully.
"Sidney, you made it," one of the sorority girls squealed.
"Hi! No, I really mean that. Hi," the other smiled.
I went outside so I wouldn't lose it in front of them. I stepped over to Mickey and Randy who were sitting on the porch.
"Hey," Randy greeted.
"Those girls are ridiculous. 'Hi, no I really mean that. Hi'," I mocked.
Mickey started cracking up as he sipped his beer. I wasn't someone who hated other girls. But I was intimidated by them, so I admired from a distance.
"Where'd you get that?" I asked him.
"Over there," he pointed towards to cooler.
"I'll get you one," Randy offered, getting up.
"Empire Strikes Back. Better story, improved effects," he explained.
"That's not a sequel, it's part of a trilogy," I responded just as we saw Sid and Hallie coming outside.
"Are you kidding?" he groaned. He turned to Hallie. "You wanna dance, babe?"
"I'd love to. With that, tall, wide-shouldered fraternity boy. Think you can arrange that?" Hallie joked.
"That hurts," Mickey sighed. Randy approached me with a beer. "Thanks." I sighed, leaning my head on Randy's shoulder.
"What'd you and Mickey talk about?" Randy asked.
"He tried to convince me that The Empire Strikes Back is a sequel that's better than the original," I laughed.
"That's not a sequel," Randy shook his head, the knowledge common in his head.
"That's what she told me," Mickey chortled, rolling his eyes.
"I like those small furry things," Hallie smiled. I nodded, agreeing with her
"They're Ewoks. They blow," Mickey grimaced.
"Ewoks are adorable," I disagreed, crinkling my nose. "They have one flaw, and it's not something they can control."
"Guys! Something is up at Omega Beta Zeta. Police are everywhere! Hurry!" the sorority girls laughed. People began slowly panicking. They were running around desperately, trying to get to Omega Beta Zeta.
"Oh no," I groaned, following everyone.
We all ran to Omega Beta Zeta. There were a few ambulances, a firetruck, and several cop cars. I noticed Gale and Dewey and sighed with relief. I ran up to the fighting couple.
"What's happening?" I demanded, immediately getting their attention.
"A sorority girl was murdered," Dewey sighed.
"What? Who was it?" I questioned, eyes going wide.
"Her name was Cici Cooper," Gale recalled.
"What? No, not Cici. She couldn't be dead. She's too smart for that," I stammered, disbelief falling over my features.
"I'm sorry, Bronzie," Gale sighed as she walked away with the cameraman.
I got closer to get a look. I saw a body bag with someone in it. I had flashbacks to my brother being zipped up after that night. I closed my eyes, hoping to get rid of the visions.
"Can I go in?" I asked Dewey.
"I don't think that's such a good idea," he told me.
I sighed and started pacing back to the house where the party was so I could get my stuff.
"Sid! Sid!" Derek was screaming while banging on the door. Panic rose in my chest. I ran to where he was standing.
"Derek!" I heard her scream from inside.
"Derek, what happened?" I yelled.
"I don't know," he screamed, panic overriding every feature on his face.
"Derek, try the back!" I instructed, my voice raised.
He bolted towards the back while I tried to get the front door open. I hit it, kicked it, tried everything I could, but it wouldn't budge.
I finally gave up and ran back with Derek. I got there just as she got outside.
"It's me. It's me," he comforted, clutching her shoulders. "Are you okay?"
I didn't waste any time. I rushed inside the house. I saw the killer in the kitchen. Just as I realized how stupid my decision was, Derek followed in after me.
I ran at the killer, trying to figure out what to do. Just as Derek ran at him from the back, I saw the killer raise his arm.
All at once I could feel the blade break through my skin and scrape the bone of my shoulder. He pulled the knife out quickly, as though he didn't want to waste too much time.
I screamed with pain but was able to throw a good punch at the head before I fell to the ground. Derek pulled him back and slammed him into the wall, but not before the killer cut him across the arm.
Derek fell hard, but instead of finishing us off, the killer ran. I had almost passed out due to the pain in my shoulder.
I was covered in blood, as was Derek. I could feel the wound beating as if it were my heart. Someone came bursting in the door. We both gasped in surprise.
"Are you okay?" Dewey asked.
"He went that way," Derek stammered.
"Bronwyn, oh my God!" he yelled when he saw me.
"He stabbed her in the shoulder. I don't know how deep!" Derek cried.
"Sidney, call the police!" Dewey yelled. He wrapped Derek's arm, then came over to me.
"Okay, Bronzie. I need to apply pressure," Dewey explained.
"No," I groaned, knowing how bad it would hurt.
"I'm just gonna wrap this around your shoulder," he warned, wrapping a cloth around my shoulder.
"Now we need to pull it tighter," he prepared me softly. I prepared myself as he pulled on the cloth. I screamed as the pain intensified.
"Okay, the police are on their way," he explained.
Next thing I knew Derek and I were being loaded into an ambulance. Sidney and Dewey came with us. I hadn't spoken a word, nor did I intend to.
The doctors said that there was little damage done to my subclavian artery and that I was very lucky. I didn't feel that way.
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"You totally struck out with every girl there," I teased my brother as we got home from the party.
"Oh, yeah? Tell that to Millie McGrath," he scoffed. My eyes widened.
"Ew, she's a total bitch," I groused, wrinkling my nose. "Anyway, I thought you were still in love with Stu or something."
"Shut up," he chuckled, shoving my shoulder. My eyes widened when I saw our parents car in the drive way.
"They're not supposed to be home yet," I realized.
"They must've come home early," he sighed. He snuck up to the window. "They're in the living room. There's no way we can sneak in." I suddenly got an idea.
"I left my window open," I realized.
"'Wyn, your room is on the second floor," he reminded me.
"I know," I nodded. "I'll get on your shoulders and sneak in. Then I'll unlock the back door so you can get in." He chuckled.
"Let's get this over with."
"Are you okay?" I heard. I woke up to see Randy.
"No," I groaned, deciding not to lie to him.
"The killer did you a lot of damage, huh?" he sighed, sitting on the edge of my hospital bed.
"All of them have," I scoffed, holding tears back.
"Do you want to talk?" Randy asked, holding my hand. I squeezed his hand.
"No," I said honestly.
"Come on. You still haven't talked to anyone about it," he insisted, pity in his eyes.
"I'm trying to forget," I explained for what felt like the millionth time.
"You can't forget something like that," he shook her head.
"I can try," I mumbled.
"No, you can't. He was your brother, you know?" Randy reminded me, brushing the hair out of my face.
"Believe me. I know," I whispered leaning my head on his shoulder.
"When do you get out of here?" he asked me.
"Tomorrow morning," I responded, rolling my eyes.
"Good," he sighed. I hesitated for only a second.
"It's just . . . well, I thought I knew my brother better than anyone. He was my best friend, and he had this whole other side of him that I didn't even know about for 18 years," I ranted.
"You did know him. You just didn't know his dark side."
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The next morning they let me out with several warnings and some pain medication. My arm was in a sling so I didn't damage my shoulder.
I was excused from my classes so that I could rest. I met up with everyone for lunch, despite the doctors telling me to take it easy.
"Derek, do you think Sid would let me interview her for my documentary?" Mickey asked, sitting down next to me. I chuckled knowing Sid would never accept.
"Oh yeah. You know she turned down Primetime Live, 20/20, and Dateline. But for you, yeah," Hallie deadpanned.
"Could I interview you, Bronny?" he asked me. I laughed partly because of shock, and partly because of how ridiculous the thought seemed. "No, I'm being serious!"
"Maybe," I answered, hoping he would forget about it.
"I've been thinking about this whole murder thing. Have they checked out Randy?" he asked.
"Oh my God. That's ridiculous," I sighed, shaking my head.
"That's what you said when Randy accused your brother," he reminded me. I regret telling him about that.
"Why do you have to bring Billy into all our arguments?" I snapped.
"Anyway, Randy? The guy's harmless," Hallie scoffed. I nodded in agreement.
"That's what they said about Dahmer," Mickey recalled leaning back in his chair.
"Dahmer spent his childhood collecting animal corpses," I reminded him, my eyebrows knitting together.
"Guys, keep it down," Derek cautioned.
I looked behind me to see Sidney walking towards us. By the look on Derek's face, she had actually broken up with him.
"Hey," I greeted her.
"Where are the secret service guys?" Derek asked.
"Uh, over there," She responded.
"And which one is Kevin Costner?" Hallie asked.
"The one on the right is Officer Richards. Capricorn. Divorced. Father of two. And the one on the left is Officer Andrews. He is a Gemini. He's single, but I think he's gay," she explained.
"Really?" Hallie asked, clearly disappointed.
"Mm-hmm," Sid responded.
"Derek? Penny for your thoughts?" Mickey asked. I turned to see a very off looking Derek. Of course, I knew why.
"This morning, I woke up with this feeling, I didn't know how to deal with," he started. I nodded. "And so I just decided to myself, I'd hide it to myself," he started singing.
"What is he doing?" Hallie asked.
"I don't know, but I think Sid should take him back," I smiled.
"Uh, Tom Cruise. Top Gun, 1986," Mickey recalled.
I rolled my eyes at him. Why did he need to clarify the year? There was no remake. We'd all seen the movie.
"Derek, don't," Sid pleaded.
"When you walked into the room. I think I love you, I think I love you, isn't that what life is made of?" He crawled onto the table. "And though it worries me to say, I've never felt this way. Hey!"
He stood upon the table. Mickey was looking very amused, as was Sidney. I laughed a little as he continues to belt as loud as possible.
"I think I love you, so what am I so afraid of? I'm afraid that I'm not sure of a love there is no cure for," he was jumping from table to table, and everyone was clapping. Mickey was standing up leading everyone on.
He continued to sing as he jumped across the tables to get to Sid. We continued to laugh and clap until he was done.
Everyone cheered wildly, as Mickey screamed: "Let's show a little love, huh?" Everyone went silent as he lead her over to him.
"Don't worry, Sid. I know things are a little crazy," He began as he handed her a necklace with his Greek letters.
"Isn't that a big frat faux pas?" Mickey asked. I chuckled.
"Oh yeah, that is a big no-no. See, you're not supposed to give your Greek letters to your girl, no shape, way, or form. The brothers are gonna kick his ass, but it's tradition," Hallie said.
"It's tradition," Mickey mocked.
"God, this isn't Final Exam," I groaned.
"It might as well be," Mickey shrugged.
"Where's Randy?" I noticed for the first time that he wasn't there.
"He went to that new smoothie place with Dewey," Mickey recalled.
'I'm gonna meet up with them," I decided.
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"I don't get it. They get Tori Spelling to play Sid, Jennifer Aniston to play Bronny, and Joe Blow Nobody to play me. At least you get David Schwimmer," Randy was complaining to Dewey.
"Hey, guys," I greeted.
"Hey, Bronzie. How are you feeling?" Dewey asked me.
"Fine. Derek just broke out into song in front of the whole cafeteria to confess his love to Sid," I told them.
"What'd he sing?" Randy asked, grabbing my hand.
"I Think I Love You," I laughed.
We sat down and saw a scene from Stab playing on the TV. Tori was walking down the hallway looking scared until she ran into Luke Wilson, who was playing Billy.
"Billy, you scared me. What are you doing here?" Tori asked.
"They let me go. I didn't do it. I'm innocent," Luke explained.
"I know."
I looked away from the screen and tried to ignore it. I had worked on set of the movie. I was supposed to give the actors tips on how to play each part. I remember the writers getting really pissed off because of how many nicknames I had.
"I'll wait for it to come to video. Anyway, the way I see it, someone's out to make a sequel. You know, cash in on all the murder movie hoopla. So it's our job to observe the rules of the sequel," Randy explained.
"Number one: The body count is always bigger," I began.
"Number two: The death scenes are always more elaborate . . . more blood, more gore," Randy continued.
"Carnage candy. Your core audience just expects it," I shrugged.
"And number three: If you want your sequel to become a franchise, never ever-" he went on.
"How do I find the killer that's what I want to know," Dewey interrupted.
"Well, let's look at the suspects. There's Derek, the obvious boyfriend. Hello, Billy Loomis. The guys premed and his pity-me surface wound conveniently missed every major vein and artery," Randy scoffed.
"He and Billy are polar opposites," I rolled my eyes.
"So you think it's Derek?" Dewey asked.
"Not so fast. Let's assume the killer or killers has half a brain. He's not a Nick At Nite rerun type of guy. He wants to break some new ground, right? So forget the boyfriend. Who else?" I asked.
"There's--" Dewey started.
"Mickey, the freaky Tarantino film student. But if he's a suspect so I am, so let's move on," Randy decided.
"No, let's not move on. Maybe you are a suspect," Dewey raised his eyebrows.
"Well, if I'm a suspect, so are you two," Randy pointed out.
"You have a point," Dewey sighed.
"And let's be honest, people think it's Bronny," Randy realized.
"What?" I asked, my eyebrows shooting up.
"Come on, Bronny. You were his sister. People think you're finishing what he started," Randy reminded me.
"I am his sister. Just because he's dead doesn't mean I'm not his sister anymore," I sneered.
"What about Hallie?" Randy asked.
"My roommate?" I clarified, rolling my eyes.
"Mm-hmm," Randy intoned.
"Serial killers are typically white males," Dewey recalled.
"That's why it's perfect. It's sort of against the rules, but not really," Randy pointed out.
"Mrs. Voorhees was a terrific serial killer. And there's always room for Candyman's daughter," I brought up.
"Come on, guys. These kids are your friends," Dewey reminded us.
"Yeah, well we knew Billy and Stu our whole lives, and look what happened there," I recalled.
"What about Gale Weathers?" Randy asked. I laughed at the thought.
"Gale, a killer?" Dewey asked.
"Why not?" Randy questioned.
"Well, she is vicious enough," Dewey recalled.
"She's an opportunist," Randy pointed out.
"It's not Gale," I shut them down.
"Okay, whatever you say. But if she's not a killer, she's a target," Randy sighed. We left without any more information than we already had.