25. To Believe or Not To Believe
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Jory's words stuck with me and I knew without a doubt that he'd made a good point.
There was a killer out there.
Someone who was still walking around as if they'd gotten off scotch free and didn't have to pay for their crime. Someone who'd killed the guy in Kevin's grave.
I was too focused on making my friends take responsibility for the part they did play, that I hadn't properly taken a moment to digest that fact.
Be that as it may, I wasn't gonna let Jory think this changed anything. He still helped hurt Kevin. That was a fact.
"You're right," I said to Jory. "There is a murderer on the loose."
"I know," Jory said, as if he'd won the argument.
"But that doesn't change much," I said, to which Jory frowned. "You can't change what you did. You can't change the lie that almost killed my brother. You can't change any of that."
"Ricardo—"
"Fuck you, Jory."
Jory scoffed and shook his head. "You're really this blind?"
"Trust me," I said. "I've seen all I need to."
I began walking away from him. Sayora was still standing where we'd left her, a look of confusion etched on her face. I began approaching her as she began to speak.
"Okay," she started. "If you don't tell me what's going on right now, I'm—"
I didn't let her finish her sentence, interrupting her by crushing my lips against hers.
Her surprise lasted only for a moment before she synced her lips with mine, welcoming a kiss that was long overdue. I held her by the waist and she wrapped her arms around my neck. I'd longed for such an embrace, and I could've stayed like this forever.
I forced myself to pull away though, taking deep breaths and willing my now erratically beating heart to slow down.
"What was that for?" She asked me, staring deeply into my eyes.
I smiled at her and sighed. "For not being an awful person."
She gave me a peculiar look. "What does that mean?"
I fully broke the embrace, gently pulling her arms from around me. "There's so much I need to tell you."
"Like what?"
"Everything," I said. "I'll tell you everything. But you need to promise me that you won't tell anyone else."
I needed to tell her. Everything was practically out in the open now anyway. I wasn't going to allow her to be the only person in this mess who didn't actually know what the mess was. I owed her anyway. Telling her couldn't make things any worse.
She nodded. "I promise."
"I'm serious, Say," I said. "What I plan on telling you is serious stuff. I need to know that you have my back."
"Ricky, you're scaring me."
"You wanted to know the truth, right? Why I've been acting so strange?"
"Yes, but—"
"So promise me," I pressed.
She looked at me with reluctance and for a few moments I thought she'd reject the idea. She sighed finally, deciding to agree with my term.
"Okay. I promise."
___
"I don't believe you," Sayora said.
We were standing under a tall tree in the school courtyard for shade.
"Seriously?!" I said. "I know it's hard to believe, but after everything, you know it makes sense!"
"Calm down, idiot," Sayora said. "I didn't mean it like that. It's just that if what you're saying is true, then you've been living a real life thriller with only a handful of people knowing."
"Well, I had to keep it a secret."
"No kidding. I'm sorry," she lamented. "I acted like such a bitch to you and you were dealing with that and trying to keep people safe."
"Don't worry about it." I said. "I'm just glad I can talk to someone about it."
"I believe you in the literal sense. But at the same time, I can't believe they'd do that," she said, obviously referring to the others. "I mean, Danielle's my best friend and to think that she lied about something so heinous. I almost can't imagine it."
"You think you know people," I muttered.
"So Kevin's alive," she said. "Like, for real."
"Yes," I reaffirmed. "But he disappeared on me Saturday night like I said, so now I don't know where he is or what to do."
"You need to get a new phone."
"I don't have money for a new phone," I said. "And no way my parents are getting me one. Plus, Kevin contacted me through an unknown number, so even if I got a new phone it'd be useless until he contacts me."
"It'd still be useful for calling the police if we ever get in a bad situation."
"You're right."
"We should see what Luke knows."
I frowned at her. "First of all; I'm not speaking to Luke ever again. Secondly; what do you mean by all this 'we' talk? You're not getting involved in this. Not any further."
"You're out of your mind if you think you're doing this alone," she said, standing her ground.
"I don't even know what this is!" I said. "Remember the maniac with the scary mask that's been after me? That's still a thing. Like I just said, I don't know what to do."
"You don't have a single plan?" She inquired.
I thought this over for a moment before remembering what I planned to do in a couple of days.
"I have one," I said. "But it's likely to fail, so no need to—"
"I wanna help."
"Absolutely not!"
Sayora's face showed concern as she spoke. "Ricky, you've been fighting this battle solo for weeks according to you. But now you don't have to anymore. I'm here and we're in this together, and I'm not taking 'no' for an answer."
I shook my head. "I don't know about this."
"Neither do I," Sayora shrugged. "But you need someone. You're not alone."
A smile crept on my face. The sincerity in her voice and the calmness of her tone almost made me melt. I was like putty in her hands. She had me so far gone and I didn't mind at all. She was the one good thing I had left going on in my life.
I loved that she wanted to help me, and I loved that she wanted to be with me.
I loved her. I truly did.
The "I love you" slipped out before I could even fully process what I was saying.
It caught both of us by surprise. Throughout the entire history of our on-and-off relationship, the only one of us to have said those words to the other had been me, and the first time I'd actually said it was just two days ago at the party in the heat of the moment.
Now, I'd just said it again and what I feared would be awkward was anything but.
Sayora cupped my cheeks and kissed me, holding it for at least a good three seconds before releasing me, hand caressing my cheek. "I love you, too."
I grinned. "Good. I don't need anymore embarrassment."
We both laughed and I was ready to suggest we get into the school when I heard someone call my name.
Turning in the direction I'd heard the voice, I saw Travis walking over to us.
"Hey, man," I greeted.
"Hi," he said. "It's been a while."
"That it has," I agreed.
"Yeah, life's been pretty boring for me. What have you been up to?" He asked.
"A lot," I said.
"Well what's been going on with—" He stopped short when he shot Sayora a glance, remembering that she was present. "You-know-who?"
I chuckled at his discreetness, or rather lack thereof. "Travis, this is Sayora. Don't worry, she knows everything."
He arched an eyebrow. "Oh? I thought—"
"Things changed," I said. "I've been up to a lot, remember?"
"Yeah," Sayora said. "Nice to formally meet you, Travis. Ricky told me about what went down at your place. That had to be terrifying."
"Well, at least we're alive," Travis said, trying to be optimistic.
"True," Sayora said. "And I didn't buy for a second that the two of you were relatives by the way."
"Is that what you told them?" Travis chuckled.
I shrugged. "Had to tell them something."
"So all of them know?"
"They know more than what I thought," I admitted. "Sorry I didn't believe you about Luke and the others going through my phone."
"Found out the truth, huh?" Travis said.
"More than you know. But it's still not enough."
"Exciting," Travis said. "Fill me in."
"No," I said sternly. "No, you've managed to stay safe for this long, you don't need—"
"But you're letting me help," Sayora argued.
Travis looked offended. "She can help, but not me?"
"I never actually said she could—"
"Ricky, I'm helping," Sayora said matter-of-factly.
I sighed. "Sayora—"
"Um, hello," Travis chimed in, "we narrowly escaped death together, I deserve to be in on this."
"Yeah, I agree," Sayora said.
"Guys—"
"We just wanna help," Sayora said.
"Yeah," Travis said. "Just let us help."
"Guys—"
"We're not taking 'no' for an answer," Sayora continued.
"Right," said Travis. "The more the merrier!"
"Fine!" I gave in. "Fine, we can figure this all out together. But it's dangerous and we need to be careful."
Sayora grinned. "Yes! The dream team!"
Travis smiled. "Great. I won't be bored around here anymore."
I would've taken boredom over this any day. They were behaving in a triumphant manner, as if they'd won a trophy.
And I couldn't help but think that they were essentially excited to be rushing into their potential deaths.
___
Later that night, I was in my room, deeply thinking as I usually did nowadays.
Danielle was still missing. The news had made its rounds around Hillbury quickly. People were assuming she'd run away, so there wasn't a bunch of chaos. But then again, the situation was similar when Kevin went missing. Look how that turned out.
To top it off, I'd just roped Sayora and Travis into this for good by saying they could help me. I was taking them with me on my trip to SPI. I hadn't disclosed that information to them, but they knew we were going on a trip soon.
Maybe I should've kept my mouth shut. I didn't have to tell Sayora anything. I could've just carried things on the way they had been, right?
But at the same time, it felt good. It felt good finally talking about it. It felt good having someone in my corner who wanted to help me. It felt good telling Sayora everything... Mostly everything.
I'd left out a few details, which mostly included the inconsistencies in Kevin's story that I'd put together.
I didn't want to make him out to be a bad guy. I didn't want her to think he wasn't to be trusted. Kevin had his reasons.
He had to have a good reason.
Mom and Dad were out and so was Raymond. I wished Raymond would move out for good already. I was tired of seeing his face. Honestly, he and my mother disgusted me more and more by the day.
What was I supposed to do? Should I just confront the situation? What about my dad? What about "X"? How could I prove there was a kid if I didn't know where he was?
Kevin disappearing again messed everything up. If he were here, I could tell Dad the truth about Mom and Raymond. Kevin would back me up and I could let the three of them handle that business.
I didn't like knowing this information and keeping it a secret.
The doorbell downstairs rang, chiming throughout the house, startling me out of my own head.
I frowned. I had no idea who could possibly be here this late.
Hopping out of bed, I quickly went down the stairs and to the front door.
"Who is it?" I asked.
No reply came.
"I said 'who is it?'" I repeated.
Still there was no reply.
My mind then went into defense mode and I was about ready to go into the kitchen and grab a knife before a response finally came.
"It's me," said the voice on the other side.
I gritted my teeth, immediately recognizing who it was.
"Are you fucking dumb?!" I spat. "You really showed up to my house?"
"Just open the door, so we can talk."
"I don't wanna talk to you."
"Please."
Reluctantly, I obliged, opening the door and I saw Luke standing there, looking nervous and hesitant.
"You must have a death wish," I said.
"I need you to listen," Luke plead. "I need you to listen, for real this time... And I need you to believe me."
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