A month passed by since Frances and Alfred broke up and she barely saw him at school anymore; which she wasn't complaining, but that made her feel uneasy and worried every day more. She also hadn't seen Stephan often but didn't even notice it.
Frances and Susan grew closer and supported each other over everything they went through. They confided in one another so much to the point Frances finally decided to spill everything out to her friend that afternoon when Susan came over to her house.
When the girl arrived, Stephan froze at her sight and she softly smiled and waved "Hi Ste-" He passed through her quickly and headed to his room, locking the door right after. Susan sighed sadly as she let her hand fall by her side and Frances took her shoulders as she led them to her room "I don't know what I did wrong, Fran... I mean, I do! But I apologized..."
"Hey, it's alright" Frances said once they placed Susan's stuff away before plopping to her bed "He's just like that, soon he will get back to be head over heels for you"
Susan chuckled and put a curl of her hair back in her ear as she sat down in Frances' bed "I really hope so but... It's been almost two months since he yelled at me and- I honestly don't think the old Stephan will ever come back" She said the last part quieter as she nervously fidgets with her hair.
Frances asked raising an eyebrow "What do you mean?"
"I mean... I don't know; just pretend I didn't say anything"
"Hey" Frances called her attention as she sat up straight "Don't forget I'm not Theodosia or Mary, you can speak your mind"
Susan sighed and turned around to face Frances, crossing her legs "It's just that I have this feeling... That says he changed? I can't quite explain but... I worry about him... I know we all changed after- Everything. And we are damaged as hell but all I want is that things get fixed, with nobody getting hurt and we all living happily ever after..." Susan bit her lip to contain her tears but as she started speaking again they fell "I know happily ever after doesn't exist but, God, nothing even close to that can happen? With so many deaths, even they deserved a better ending than that!" Her sobs grew louder and Frances ran to grab some tissues.
Once Susan recovered from her crying session, Frances sighed and started to cogitate if she could actually tell Susan the truth "Susan" She said quickly before she could regret her decision "I have something to say that won't be easy for you to hear..."
...
While Frances spoke during the next 40 minutes, Susan didn't say a word; she was so absorbed by the facts that couldn't react properly even if she tried. Once the report was over, Frances sighed deeply closing her eyes and avoided Susan's stare for an entire minute as they stood in complete silence.
Frances expected Susan to do anything; yell at her, burst out crying, storm away and slam the door, never wanting to look at her face again, report everything to the police, laugh at her as people already did, thinking she was lying; but she gasped when felt warm arms hugging her. Frances hesitated but ended up hugging Susan back.
"Oh my God, Fran..."
"I know..." Frances' voice cracked "I didn't think I would provoke all that... I am so deeply sorry" She cried out the last part, letting tears fall as well while Susan caressed her back "Will you report me...?"
"No" Susan replies quietly "I don't think you should get through more punishment than the guilty you are feeling... Besides you were coerced without even noticing it... But it will be ok"
"Thanks"
...
Pep rally day came by and Susan didn't want to go. She felt devastated only by thinking in the cheerleading team doing her choreographies without her in it. Frances wasn't feeling like going either so the girls would meet at Susan's place to spend the night.
Frances walked back home from school just to grab a few things before heading to Susan's place, but a bad feeling was biting her insides all the way. When she stood in front of her yard she saw the door opening and Stephan walked out carrying a bag with him. She raised an eyebrow as walked in his direction and once they crossed paths, she sighted a glance in his eyes that made her freeze in her tracks.
She turned around and watched as her twin brother kept walking away normally.
Ok, that was... Weird?
"May I say something?" Mary asked and Frances rolled her eyes.
"Whoa, she actually asked this time"
"That cold glare. I've only seen that once, and it was whenever killer Al was thinking into another fake suicide"
Frances felt a shiver rise from her spine when she realized it was true. It could not be... No, it is impossible. Not Stephan, nah. It's just Mary being Mary. She shook her head and walked in. The atmosphere inside wasn't any better though. Her parents were at the dinner table but weren't eating; instead, there were a few papers and a book in front of them as they looked worried and nervous and her mother at the verge of tears.
"Uhm... Dad? Mom? Is everything ok?"
Her father sighed before calling her to come closer. Frances obligated and stood beside the table, taking a good look at the papers. Those were pamphlets of some Cleveland's hospital?
"Stephan and your friend Alfred told us everything" Her father spoke and Frances felt her blood cold down.
"Everything?" Frances' voice was filled by fear.
"Your depression. Your thoughts of suicide. Both of them even said that saw you talking to yourself like there are other people in the room more than once" He completed and Frances looked confused at him but right after she realized what was going on.
"This can't be happening" She breathed, feeling her heart speed-up in horror as she couldn't stop thinking "I'm next. Oh my God, I'm next, no, no, no, he's doing it again"
"Alfred even showed us your copy of The Bell Jar" Her mother spoke and handed her the book. Frances snapped it from her hands with wide eyes. The Bell Jar. Not the fricking Bell Jar.
"Oh, look! Seems like Frances is tasting her own medicine" Mary laughed and Frances had a knot in her throat. The book had nonsense sentences marked and things like "I can relate to this sm", "OMG this is so me" or "Once it happened but no one cared" written here and there. It would be meaningless if the mean character didn't have bipolar disorder or depression and the author didn't commit suicide after publishing it.
"This is not my handwriting" Frances said through clenched teeth.
"Who's it, then?" Her father replied.
She knew that handwriting. She knew who it belonged to perfectly well. But she didn't want to believe in that. So she stood quiet. And her parents took that as consent.
"I've been on the phone all morning, Fran" Her mother spoke again quietly and sniffed "There's a doctor in Cleveland and we would really like you to talk with him"
Frances glanced at the papers in the table again as she asked suspiciously and closed the book in her hands "What kind of doctor?" It was now her parents turn to be quiet until she found what she was looking for in one of the papers. She snapped it before her mother would hide it, and read it again to be sure she wasn't imagining things "Y-You're sending me to a f*cking shrink?!"
"There's no shame in getting some help, Fran" Her mom replied calmly with sorrow in her eyes, almost begging her to agree with that.
Frances slammed the paper back in the table and stared deeply into each one of her parents' eyes before stating firmly "I am not the problem"
"Frances-" Her father would try to persuade her but the girl stormed away to her room and slammed the door, leaning her forehead against it as she breathed heavily.
She wasn't able to organize her thoughts. So many questions, doubts, and fears were running around that she only snapped out of it when heard someone says "Knock! Knock!" Frances straightens her posture in fear but didn't dare to turn around "Sorry to come in through the window. Dreadful etiquette, I know!" He said the last part dramatically and laughed as walked closer to the girl at the other side of the room.
In a reflex, Frances threw the book she still had in her hands at the boy as strongly as she could, hitting his eye, and ran to her closet while she shouted "Get away from me! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!"
Alfred grunted as he held his eye with a hand but went after Frances either way, hitting the closet's door as she closes it in his face and locks it "Hiding in the closet? How cute, Fran-"
"Get the hell away! I will call the police!" She shouted from the other side of the door.
"And what?! You will confess that did all those murders with me, love? You have no proof" He replied and Frances was sitting behind the door almost freaking out, with her hands almost pulling her hair out, not knowing what to do. She heard him chuckle slightly "Look at us, losing time when we should be heading to the pep rally! You don't want to miss tonight's big show"
"W-What do you mean?" She asked back confused.
"You're my date tonight, let's go!"
"NO!"
He punched the door and Frances flinched terrified "Don't you see, Frances?! Those assholes are the reason we are apart! They manipulated you and made you blind by putting these ideas in your head just to keep you away from me!" He shouted but then started to speak softly, making Frances realized even more how unstable he was "I can set you free, love... I promise. I am also sorry I had to say that to your folks, but it was the only way. You can either go to that shrink or ran away with me after tonight..."
"This can't be f*cking serious" She mouthed to herself in anger inside the closet.
"After you broke up with me I fell apart, Fran. You changed me when we met, made me see how beautiful this world can be when we are together and were the only one who saw my true self... And I cannot let them take you away!" He punched the door again but then softens again "I worship you so much... That's why I took my father's materials and built a bomb"
Frances gasped and covered her mouth in terror. She knew she had to do something. That's when an idea popped "There's only one way to finish this..." She thinks when grabbed her phone and started to text fastly.
"Stephan must be placing the thermals in the gymnasium by now and-"
"You dragged my brother into your shit too?" She said boiling with anger. Frances stopped to write for a second when heard her brother's name, but then finished the text even faster and pressed "send" before running to grab a box of sheets, pulling them out.
"I didn't drag anyone into anything. He was so broken by that high school that when I told him my point of view he was the one to give me the idea of tonight's plan"
"No" Frances shook her head "No, it was you. Stephan wouldn't-"
"Frances, I don't blame you for not noticing buT NOW IT'S TOO LATE FOR THAT!" He finished his statement screaming at her as she keeps on doing knots at the sheets "Let's finish what we've begun! You are meant to be MINE AND KNOW THAT! I AM ALL THAT YOU NEED! I CAN PROTECT YOU!" He shouted and she snorted as threw the rope she did over the rafter near the ceiling "YOU CAN'T JUST CARVE OPEN MY HEART AND LEAVE ME TO BLEED! OPEN THIS DAMN DOOR!"
Frances grabbed a chair and positioned it right under the sheets, then standing in it.
"I'm sorry for screaming, I-I didn't mean to... Let's not fight anymore, ok?" He waited for a response but none came "Frances, I just love you so much. Please open the door" Still no response "I'm serious open the door, we are gonna be late" She still didn't respond "OPEN UP!" He punches it again but no sound came from inside the closet. Alfred had enough of it and started to throw his weight against the door until it forced open and he almost fell to the ground.
When he looked up his expression turned into terror when saw Frances hanging in a rope, immobile. He gasped and tried to formulate any sentence but the tears and sobs wouldn't allow him to.
No. No, no, no, not my Frances, no...
"Y-You were all I could trust... I-I can't take this without you, I can't..." He sobbed again and looked up at her one last time "I'm sorry" He whispered before hearing someone in the hallway coming closer.
"Frances?" Her mother knocked on the door "Fran, I brought you a snack... If you're hungry"
Alfred ran out of the closet and hopped out the window. Peggy opened the door and looked around. She saw the closet's door open but once she looked inside she released a loud and long scream at the sight of her daughter hanging from the ceiling by a sheet around the neck.
Frances snapped her head up with widened eyes at her mom's scream and started to shake her hands to get her attention "I'M OK! I'M OK, MOM! MOM! AAAAAAAAAA!" They screamed together and Frances opened the coat she had pulled over and started to untie the knocks of the sheets from around her chest, which was what was holding up her weight while the sheet around her neck was not even tied at all.
"I AM SO SORRY! I AM SORRY! IT WAS JUST A JOKE! I- F*CK" She cursed before falling loudly at the floor when untied the last knot.
Her father ran in "WHAT HAPPENED?!"
"THAT'S NOT FUNNY, FRANCES!" Peggy screamed and Frances stood up, taking all the sheets off from around her.
"Mom, dad, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry..." She said sincerely placing her hand on her father's shoulders and took a long look at each of them.
"Sorry for what, Fran?" John asked worriedly, placing his hand over Frances'.
"For being a horrible person" She states with sorrow in her voice. She bites her lip before walking away from the room.
"What? Wait, where are you going?" Peggy asked going after her as Frances was already down the stairs.
"Going to make things right"
"When will you be back?" Her father asked and she froze holding the door open.
"That's actually a good question" She says before running away.