Carson's phone was blowing up all throughout the night, but the one that caught her eye was a message from the police station. Carson rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked at what he had said to her. Carson was sick to her stomach when she saw that Jamie Lynn was the most recent victim. She saw that Detective Lynn was informed and mourning the loss of his only child.
Carson stared at the message and thought about the Lilac Killer, once she found out who they were, she vowed to make them pay for ruining families lives. She couldn't believe that someone here would kill this tight-knit community.
"Poor Jamie," Carson saw Emmalee fake pouting with Gunner. "She didn't deserve that. Wanna run to the music room?"
"Screw off, Emmalee. I lost my best friend. And even if I wasn't grieving I wouldn't want to do anything with you." Gunner pushed her away and stormed off to Atticus, but he saw Carson and veered her way. "So..."
"So..." Carson rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet. "I'm sorry for your loss, Gunner."
"She was your friend too," He pointed out. "Can you let Ryen know I'm sorry for acting the way I did and doing what I did. I only did it because I'm like her. I'm a nerd, I didn't want Jamie to find out and hate me forever. I just feel so bad."
"Tell her yourself," Carson said, pointing to Ryen and Lila. "I'm sure it'll seem more genuine that way."
Gunner walked towards them and Carson watched Ryen and Lila's faces. Ryen seemed upset as he was coming over, but slowly the more he talked the more her face softened and she let her old friend back into her life. It was beautiful and Carson was glad she was a part of that. Until Emmalee came over that is.
"I'm going to sleep with Dalton because you're cheating on him with Gunner anyways!" Carson heard Emmalee say. She didn't think before she ran towards her and tackled her to the ground.
"Don't talk to her like that!" Carson screamed. "You don't have any right!"
Emmalee pushed Carson to the ground and faced the crowded cafeteria.
"I didn't rape Carson Zaine. We had consensual sex in an abandoned classroom. She enjoyed it and was screaming for me to do it again. But she saw her stupid girlfriend or whatever and decided to make me the bad guy. She doesn't take responsibility for her actions. Everyone needs to hate her, not me."
Lila's face flashed a look of hurt for a second, but it was gone as quickly as they saw it, in its place was raw anger.
"I- Lila, I can explain." Carson stammered.
"Shut up." She said coldly, as she stormed out of the cafeteria and into the bathroom.
Ryen followed her, leaving Carson completely alone.
"I can not believe you would lie about that," She heard Gunner say. "You got mad that Em cheated, and you went and cheated with her. Ryen and Lila don't deserve you."
Carson allowed herself to cry as she felt everyone judge her, she felt a thousand eyes burning into her skin and she slowly composed herself.
She walked into her last class and was shocked to see Detective Lynn there.
"Miss Zaine," He said. "We need to talk."
Carson kept her head down and followed him into the empty classroom, that just the other day she cheated on Lila in.
"I think we have a lead on who the Lilac Killer is," She could see the salty tears still on his face. "They left another note and I think it's a clue."
Too little too late. How does it feel to lose the one thing you loved? Now you all know how I feel. I can't believe they could do something like this, so I went and did something worse. Good luck trying to catch me. I'm all alone, but not who you would expect.
"So who is the primary suspect?" Carson asked and handed the note back to him.
"That's where you come in Zaine. You need to give me a list of all the loners, even the ones who seem to have friends." He walked out and she watched his shoulders slump inwards.
Carson couldn't stop thinking about the note. Both Levi and Tara's had said something about their past and how they did something bad. So, what if Jamie's was saying that too? But, at the same time giving a clue about the Killer? She looked at how they all started with "too little, too late." Carson slammed her head into the table and screamed like she was getting killed.
Too little, too late. Too little, too late. Too little, too-
"Carson," Thomas said, pulling her out of her daydream. "Lila is waiting for you."
"Okay, you have some paint on your pants." She gestured to the red smear and the red paint bucket next to his fence.
"Shit, thanks!"
Carson walked into his house and saw Lila sitting in his shirt, her hair wet and soaking her shoulders. She looked beautiful. She couldn't help but picture her and Thomas together, him getting to wake up and see her naturally everyday. He would know how to treat her, Thomas would never cheat. Carson mentally punched herself.
"Hi," Lila said after Carson was staring at her for what felt like an hour. "I wanted to say that we are still together, I want to give you a second chance, however if you do this again then I will probably hurt you and make you regret everything. I'll ruin you."
Carson sobbed and ran over to Lila. She couldn't believe that she was forgiven, but she wasn't mad at it. She was so thankful.
"Why'd you shower at Thomas' house?" Carson asked, slightly suspicious.
"I was helping him paint and got paint all over me and my clothes." She laughed.
Carson nodded and wrapped her arms around Lila. She breathed a sigh of relief and didn't let go of her.
While Carson was watching movies with Thomas and Lila she got a call from Detective Lynn.
"Hey," She answered, walking away from the movie. "Everything okay?"
"No, you need to get down by Brayson's Creek." She heard rustling. "Now."
He hung up and Carson ran out to her truck.
"Wait," Lila ran after her, "Can we come too?"
The three of them got into her truck as she sped down to the creek. She didn't want to ask why they decided to join but she was happy she didn't have to see the scene in front of her alone for the first time since she joined the case.
Once they stepped out of the car and Carson told the officers who her friends were they looked at what used to be Atticus Muller.
Carson looked at the lilacs coming out of his mouth and the gap in his throat as if they were growing from his blood. She saw the rashes on his wrists from where the rope had rubbed his skin raw. She took in fewer stab wounds than Jamie Lynn's murder, however there was still more than necessary. Carson noticed the note and picked it up with her gloved hands.
Too little too late. My dirty little secret got aired and I paid the price for it. How does it feel to have everything and to lose it all for something that means nothing. Learn from me, stop while you ca-
"His dirty little secret?" Lila asked, "What's that?"
"Probably cheating on Ryen, but that just came out today." Carson said.
"Oh, I know a cheater." Thomas said, throwing a look at Carson, a look that the police made sure to capture and remember.
The walkie talkie on Detective Lynn's shoulder went off. Carson heard it mention a second murder at CandyLand.
"I can just meet you guys there." Carson said as her and her friends piled into her truck.
"It was probably just an overdose," Thomas said from the backseat. "The killer would be stupid to murder in a public space. Especially CandyLand, people are always there."
"That's true," Carson agreed. "But if it's connected to the Lilac Killer I might go crazy trying to figure out who it is."
Pulling into the CandyLand parking lot was surreal for Carson, for once the parking lot was completely empty and not a single person was there.
"The witnesses were taken to the station already." Lynn told Carson once she walked up to the entrance.
Carson, Thomas, and Lila walked into the club and saw Gunner laying on his back, nothing appeared to be wrong with him except a small bit of blood pooling at his head and the fact that he wasn't breathing.
Carson saw a note slipped into his pocket, grabbed a pair of gloves and pulled it out.
Too little too late. A false confession doesn't help anyone. I feel bad for that but I don't feel bad that I got what I deserve. One murder left, who will it be? Will it be C-
"C?" Lila asked. "As in Carson? You can't let that crazy person kill my girlfriend."
"I'm going to be fine Lila, I promise." But she wasn't so sure that she was.