Present
"YOU KNOW MORE than you're letting on. You were so adamant about the fact that Tobias murdered Maria and Kayla. You couldn't have had that passion unless you knew for a fact he did it. You of all people wouldn't base their deaths solely on the fact that you overheard them being given death dares. You said yourself that you thought it was a joke and that something like that could never happen in real life. It's one thing to threaten someone's family, and it's not surprising because the dark web is filled with dangerous people who know how to work the system.
But do you really think Tobias would actually murder two girls for a stupid game? What do you think could have possibly given him that motivation? It's not possible that Tobias killed them both the same night they refused the death dares. You can't murder two people on a whim. These girls were found raped, battered to death and dismembered. That takes time, that takes premeditation. You're telling me Tobias did all this in one night? Murdered them, dumped their bodies and that's that?"
It did sound ridiculous to him, but anything is possible. Theo never put anything past anyone, especially a guy like Tobias Aspen. He didn't want to elaborate further, knowing of Ariel's dedication to Tobias. They could have been working together, this could be a trap, she could really be crazy...his mind hounded all these thoughts into his head one after the other. He was tired of keeping this secret bottled up. He was tired of living in fear, "Tobias left with them."
"What?" Ariel mumbled. If it were possible, her heart stopped beating for just a few seconds as she drank in his words. Theo's head hung low, he fumbled with his fingers nervously, forcing to divert his gaze from Ariel, "ten minutes after he gave them their death dares, he left with them. You're right it doesn't make sense that he could have pulled all this off in one night, but I know what I saw, Ariel. He left with both Maria and Kayla that night. I never saw him or them come back."
Ariel couldn't believe her ears. If Theo had seen Tobias leave with them that night then surely others had too. If that's the case. . .witnesses may testify against him. Ariel shook her head vigorously, "no, that's ridiculous. These girls did not die because of a stupid game, Theo. Tobias hates the thought of hurting women, I should know. I don't care what you saw, he didn't do it."
Theo scoffed, "are you really that dense? Or are you just playing dumb? I find myself jumping back and forth between questioning if you really are as brilliant as you seem or if you're a simpleton. You said yourself that the dark web is filled with dangerous people.
Those same people threatened my friends when they backed out of dares, we couldn't even go to the cops because even if they knew the threats were real we would be in trouble too for doing all these illegal shit for money. These dares were crazy, sadistic at times, the person who made this has no conscience. I'm telling you, Tobias is the creator and he killed them or he knows the person who did. However you put it, Tobias will always be the common denominator. This is all connected somehow and if you're smart you'll piece two and two together."
Ariel shot up from the sofa, having heard enough. She hated that he was in the middle of this all when it wasn't his fault. He didn't do it, she wanted to scream at Theo, but it would just slip through one ear and out the other. "Who did you say introduced you all to this game?" Ariel questioned. Theo leaned back in his chair, "Parker, why?"
Ariel who had begun pacing up and down the living room suddenly halted in her footsteps. "Parker? Did he ever play?" Theo's eyes drifted off to the left as he tried to recall any moment where Parker had participated. "Now that I think about it, I don't think so. No, I'm sure he never did. Even at the party when we played he just hung around in the back observing. He never joined the red circle, never showed interest. He didn't need the money and neither did he just want to do it for fun."
Ariel plastered on a tight-lipped smile, "thank you, Theo. You told me everything I want to know." Her voice was eerily monotonous and with that, she spun on her heels and strutted out of the house, leaving a distraught Theo on his couch, wondering what the future held for him. He just did something that was forbidden, he told. He told her everything she wanted to know.
But not everything he knew.
Past
She shoved her hands into her pockets and exhaled deeply as she ascended the stairs to his porch. Though Tobias had kicked her out the last time she came and made it clear to her that he never wanted to see her again she didn't take that as a sign to give up but rather a sign to keep persisting. Neither of them had returned to school as yet and it worked in Ariel's favour seeing as she could roam around his house for as long as she wanted in hopes that he'd give in and come out.
Ariel's fist rapped against the wooden door. It took a minute before she heard small pitter-patters inside nearing towards her. The door then cracked open and Melissa appeared before Ariel, worry immediately cast over her face. "Oh, what are you doing here? Are you okay? Is something wrong?" Melissa couldn't bring herself to meet Ariel's gaze despite her worry as her body racked with guilt. She still felt responsible for not monitoring Tobias when she should have and watching Ariel get hurt, helplessly.
"Ariel–" she stepped out of the house and closed the door behind her, "you shouldn't be here. Tobias' medication hasn't fully kicked in as yet so it isn't 100% safe to be around him. He–he also told me you guys broke up. I don't want to impose on your life but I think that's for the best. Tobias has always struggled with mental problems but I've never seen him this distraught about something he's done before. I'm sorry to have to say this, sweetie but I think it's best if you leave him alone."
"Do you think that's for the best?" Ariel questioned. Melissa nodded her head in response. "Well I don't, I don't think it's best. Showing him that I'm staying away will only make his guilt worse. I want to lessen that burden because what happened wasn't his fault. I know what it's like to feel like you have no control over yourself, to feel like your mind controls you or you can't take control of your own car and steer it in the direction you want. Because I know that, I also know I want to be here for Tobias.
He once told me that being around me was the only time where he felt like he was in complete control. I don't want to think that's a lie. So you both can continue to try convincing me to leave but I won't. I'll keep coming back here every day and show him that I'm not going anywhere until he gets it through his head. Until that day comes there's nothing you can say to me that'll change my mind. I promised to be here for him and I don't ever break my promises, Mrs. Aspen. So please tell him I stopped by and tell him that I'm coming back. Have a good day."
As Ariel pivoted on her heels, she once again questioned why she had this burning urge to stay by Tobias' side. She'd never felt that way in her life. Not for anyone. It wasn't possible. She simply couldn't find an answer. And over time, that questioned seemed to forever go unanswered.
Present
"Please, just tell her Ariel Campbell is here to see her." The receptionist peered up from the desktop and sighed, "miss, I'm sorry but Doctor Aspen is running on a tight schedule. If you don't have an appointment you can't meet her." Before Ariel could begin to plead once again, the white door leading into Melissa Aspen's office swung open. "Please, take my card and if you want to speak some more I'll be here, okay?" The man nodded his head and Melissa waved him off with a small smile.
"Mrs. Aspen!"
Melissa snapped her head towards Ariel. Her eyes widened in astonishment and before either of the two women would say a word, Melissa crossed to the other end of the main lobby and engulfed Ariel in a hug. "How are you, dear? A–are you okay? Do you want to come in? I'm going on my lunch break right now so come." She waved the receptionist off and ushered Ariel into her office.
Once inside the office, Melissa motioned towards the brown leather couch sitting a few feet away from her oak wood desk. Ariel sat down, not bothering to admire the interior of the space. "Why did you come visit here? It must be urgent." Ariel set her bag down beside her feet and leaned back against the sofa, "is it about Tobias? I don't know if Beckett told you but they won't grant him bail anymore." Ariel nodded her head, "yes Mrs. Aspen I know. I didn't come here for Tobias. Well technically I did but it's you I want to know something about if it's okay."
Melissa sat upright, "m-me? What about me?" Ariel knew that this conversation would push Melissa into a tight spot she might not necessarily want to enter. But it was for the sake of her own son. She knew if Tobias were the common denominator, despite Melissa's discomfort she would still open up if it meant Ariel could use that information to help Tobias. Theo's words resonated in her head. He was right, she did need to connect the dots. Jack also made a point when he insinuated that Tobias may be connected to this in ways none of them could comprehend.
Maybe with the right information, she could find a culprit. She could find the person who has the motive to kill two girls then frame Tobias. She just needed to find out who, connect the dots and make sense of the situation or else all her efforts would be lost and Tobias would remain behind bars, suffering for something he did not do.
"When last have you heard from Barry Roosevelt?" Ariel asked and almost immediately, silence had enveloped every nook and cranny of the huge office. Melissa's lips parted then clamped shut. The colour from her face began to drain and she stammered over her words; Ariel was beginning to think that this was a bad idea. "Uh, A-Ariel–" her hands disappeared in her silky hair, "how do you know a-about Barry Roosevelt?"
"Mrs. Aspen this might sound crazy but for the past month, my friends and I have been trying to prove that Tobias was framed. We know this is no job for a bunch of teenagers but the FBI isn't looking deeper into this theory. Hell, they didn't even interview me to find out if I knew anything about the night Maria and Kayla died. They're doing a sloppy job. So my friends and I took it upon ourselves to find out who could have done this.
Someone framed Tobias and we need to know who and why. That's how I found out about Barry Roosevelt. He murdered three women the exact same way Maria and Kayla were killed down to a detailed cross carved into their thighs. I thought okay, maybe Barry was released from prison and he started killing again and somehow Tobias ended up in the crossfire because he did attend the party Maria and Kayla were last seen at or there's a copycat killer who drew inspiration from Barry and framed Tobias in the process.
Whichever one it is, I figured you would know something about Barry that I don't. Any connection between him and Tobias? I-I mean this guy told us that you were his girlfriend in College. So maybe you know something. ..anything, really. For Tobias." Melissa was tongue-tied. To put it lightly: words were incapable of spilling from her mouth. She just sat frozen in her seat, her face was the embodiment of fear, confusion and a hint of anger. Finally, she snapped out of her unresponsive stupor, but the flashes of emotions remained on her discoloured face.
"Barry is a psychopath. That man didn't know the first thing about love. All he had was an immense flood of obsession for anything and anyone in his life. I wish I saw the signs at the beginning of our relationship but I didn't. I was infatuated by his handsomeness, his charms, his loving word salads–" she chuckled in disbelief, "I should have known that was his ploy from the very beginning.
He became paranoid halfway through the relationship. He'd accuse me of cheating on him and he'd say things like I was sleeping with our professor for higher grades or his friends for drugs and to spite him. But that wasn't true. I-I never did any of that but he wasn't hearing that. One night I went over to his place and he just. . .snapped. He punched me, slapped me, choked me, kicked me, bit me. He did every and anything he could. He wanted me to die a slow and painful death, that's what he said. That's the only reason why he didn't just stab me to death or put a bullet in my head.
At the time I didn't know what a psychopath was. I thought Barry was just a paranoid and troubled kid but he wasn't. After that incident, I began obsessing over why he would hurt me if he loved me. For a moment I blamed myself but eventually, I came to realize it wasn't my fault. I started studying psychology because I wanted to know what could make him snap. Was it nature? Nurture? What was it? Barry is the reason why I became a Psychologist and he's also the reason why I found happiness in my life."
Ariel frowned, "excuse me?" Melissa sighed as she leaned back against the office chair. She wove her fingers through one another and set it down onto the table, the worrisome gaze in her eyes dispersing. "You wanted to know if there's a connection between Barry and Tobias? Well, there is. Tobias and Beckett aren't my biological children. . .I adopted them 11 years ago." Ariel shifted to the edge of her seat, her eyes growing wide as they penetrated through Melissa's striking grey eyes. Finally, the uncanny resemblance—or lack thereof—between Melissa and Tobias became magnified.
Ariel always wondered why he looked so drastically different from both his mother and father. Now she finally had her answer.
"Barry and Diane Rosevelt are Tobias and Beckett's biological parents."
~~~