Life has a way of testing a person's will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having everything happen all at once. - Unknown
Walking down the halls of Willow Creek Institute, it felt as though all eyes were on Jon and I.
Probably because they were.
Everyone was huddled together in their little groups, whispering and glancing back at me.
"What's that about?" Jon whispered.
The further we walked inside, the more eyes I felt.
"I have no idea. Maybe they found out about me going to the station again. They probably think they questioned me about Miranda's murder again."
It's the only reason I could think of for all the looks. The first time I was called in, somehow everyone found out by the next day.
Ignoring the whispers and stares, Jon and I headed to our lockers, only to find Kirsty and her posse blocking them, talking amongst themselves.
What were they even doing here? Their lockers were nowhere near here.
I huffed. "Excuse me. You're blocking my locker."
They continued talking, completely ignoring me.
"I said, excuse me."
Oh God. Now I'm starting to sound like Vickie Guerrero.
"Breathe," Jon told me, placing a hand on my shoulder.
I could see one of her minions trying to hide a smile, so I know they heard me. Now they're just trying to piss me off.
I rolled my eyes before body checking her.
"Ugh. Excuse you." Kirsty's annoying shrill voice sounded.
"No. Excuse you. I was being polite about it, but you're pushing it. What are you doing here anyway? None of your lockers are in this hallway."
"Oh. You didn't hear?"
"Obviously not, if I'm asking." I rolled my eyes again.
She smirked. "Heard you were called down to the station again yesterday."
"And so?"
"So, a little birdie overheard that Mr. Killian's death was a suicide. And that he confessed to Miranda's murder."
"Okay."
I'm not entirely sure who found out, but judging by the smirk on one of Kirsty's cronies face, it could have been her.
"That's not all. Apparently, somewhere in the letter, he admitted that he did it for you. He killed Miranda because of you. You're the reason she's dead."
The more she spoke, the more I was brought back to yesterday, when these exact words were running through my head.
But, that's it, it's out there and now everyone knows.
I looked around, seeing all eyes on us.
Next I looked at Jon, eyes wide.
"I can't be here. I-I can't..."
Without waiting for an answer, I walked in the same direction, heading for the exit.
"Harley! Harley!" I could hear my name being called, but all I could focus on was getting out of here.
Keeping my head down, I pushed my way through the hoard of students, breaking into a sprint.
Slamming my body against the door, it opened, and finally I could breathe again. At least better than before.
I didn't stick around to see if anyone else was around. I kept my head towards the ground, walking the path I knew by heart.
I could hear footsteps behind me.
They grew nearer and stopped beside me.
"Harley?! Oh God. Where are you going?"
I looked up at him, tears streaming
down my face. "I can't be in there Jon. Everybody knows. I don't know how they know but they do. If they know, everybody must know. Oh my God. Her parents must hate me. I'm the reason their daughters dead."
He placed both hands on my shoulders. "Look. Remember what Detective Lambert said. It's not your fault. It was nothing you did. Apparently Mr. Killian was sick and must have been for a while. Finally he decided to act on his delusion. Unfortunately, you were a part of it. But that in no way makes it your fault."
He placed his arm around me and guided me as we began walking again.
"Hey. Why don't we go to your mom's store and get something to eat, okay? Maybe you'll feel better."
I nodded, sniffling. "Yeah. I need to see my mom."
So that's what we did. We walked in silence, with the occasional sniffle from me.
We reached my mom's bakery within fifteen minutes.
The bell rang as we entered. No one looked up, which I was grateful for.
We headed to the counter where a smiling Elisa stood.
"Hey!" She greeted before frowning. "Oh Harley, what happened?"
As she said my name, the whispers began again.
Just as I could in school, I could feel eyes on me as everything went quiet.
"I need to talk to my mom. Is she back there?"
"Why don't you wait in her office while I get her?"
I nodded before walking to my mom's office in the back, followed by Jon.
In no time, my mom rushed inside.
"Oh honey," she said, upon seeing my face that still held the remnants of the tears I'd shed.
She immediately pulled me into a hug.
"I just heard. I can't believe it. He seemed like such a nice man."
"We all thought the same Mrs. Masterson. I mean Avril."
"I'm so sorry you've had to deal with this sweetheart. Why don't I take the rest of the day off? The girls will be alright without me today. I'll call into your school and you can have the day off. Does that sound good?"
I nodded. "What about Jon?"
She wasn't his guardian. I'm not sure they'll allow her to call in for him.
"I'm his emergency contact. He can spend the day with us. Okay?"
Again I nodded. "Okay."
"Alright. I'm just going to let the girls know I'm taking the day off. I'll be right back."
She released me, heading out, and the embrace was quickly replaced by Jon, who sat us down on the loveseat.
No words were spoken as we waited for my mom to return.
Which she did withing five minutes.
"Alright. You kids ready?"
"I think we should go out the back."
"Wh- Oh. Yeah, we can go out the back. It's closer to the car anyway."
Jon helped me stand and we quietly made our way to the back exit.
It was an emergency exit, but a few of the girls used it for smoke breaks.
Mom's car was parked on the side, which allowed us to get in without anyone noticing.
We all piled inside, mom in the front while Jon and I sat in the back.
None of us spoke the entire time home. I simply stared out he window at the blunt of trees as they swayed freely, the exact opposite of how I felt.
In a matter of moments, I became an even bigger pariah than I've ever been.
The most amount of eyes that have ever looked at me, all judging me.
I didn't move, even as we pulled into the driveway.
I couldn't bring myself to move. Instead I felt myself being lifted as Jon opened the door and carried me to the front steps.
I held onto his neck, burying my face in his chest as we waited for my mom to unlock the door.
The second she did, I was hurried inside and brought into the living room.
The TV was still playing whatever had been left on that morning.
I felt Jon try to sit me on the couch, but I refused to release my hold on his neck.
"Okay. We'll sit together."
"Alright kids I grabbed a few things from the shop. Why don't you two help yourself while I call the school and have them put together packages of all your assignments for both of you."
We nodded and she headed into her home office to speak with the principal.
"What would you like?"
I briefly lifted my head before pointing at a double chocolate cake doughnut.
He picked it up before handing it to me.
I took a few nibbles, still curled up to Jon.
He grabbed a cookie, seemingly unaffected by the fact that I was still attached to him like a koala.
The TV was the only sound that could be heard as we both consumed our treats.
Usually my mom's treats made me feel better.
While I did feel a bit better, I couldn't help but think about Mr. Killian and the notes I'd been receiving.
While they have all stopped since his death, I still have questions.
How did he know I was looking into the disappearances?
I never told him.
Now, I know generally stalking victims may be unaware they're being stalked.
They may have the feeling of being watched, as I did, or receive notes and/or gifts, again as I did.
However, it just doesn't add up with Mr. Killian being my stalker.
I don't know who it could be but I don't think it was Mr. Killian.
I lifted my head up after I finished my doughnut.
"Jon?" He hummed. "Do you think the person who attacked you could have been Mr. Killian?"
He shook his head, looking down into my eyes. "Honestly, no. This person was too short."
Mr. Killian himself was quite tall at 6'5.
Few males in town were taller than him, which only broadened the amount of potential suspects.
Many of which could likely be eliminated because of various factors. I haven't had any contact with them, age, mobility, etc.
I thought back to the article I'd read while visiting Jon in the hospital.
Erotomanic stalkers, which is what this guy seems to be, don't always know their victim, which in and of itself is very unsettling.
To know that someone can form an obsession with you despite never having actually met you.
I sighed. "I was reading an article while I was with you at the hospital. This, guy, whoever he is, Mr. Killian or somebody else, sounds like what they describe as an erotomanic stalker."
"Erotomanic stalker?" I nodded. "What the hell is that?"
"Basically they have the delusion that another person is in love with them."
"That sounds about right."
"I agree. Now I'm clearly not a psychologist, but I think this is what were dealing with. This man, whoever he may be, believes that I'm in love with him. We just need to find out if I even know this person.
Then maybe we can narrow it down, or see if it truly was Mr.
Killian, which I do not entirely believe it was. But I don't know. I have to be sure, so we can finally find some normalcy. Or as close to normalcy as we can. This town will never be the same again."
"Well you are kind of famous around town. It wouldn't surprise me if this person read about how you helped the Sheriff on a number of cases."
"Yeah. 'Helped'." We both descended into laughter.
I smiled at him when I finally managed to control myself.
"What?"
"Nothing. You just always know how to make me smile and feel better overall. Thank you."
He smiled in return. "You're my best friend. I love you."
"I love you too."
Suddenly I heard something crash outside.
"What was that?" I jumped, whipping around.
"I don't know. Sounds like it came from outside the kitchen."
We both stood up, holding onto one another as we inches our way towards the kitchen.
"It was probably just a racoon or some animal looking for something to eat." I said.
"Maybe. But we still don't know who was in the backyard yesterday."
"You really think they'd come back."
"If they're desperate enough. But they probably saw us inside and got spooked off again." He looked at the front door. "Now let's see if Mr. Haggerty comes knocking."
"Are you still on that?" I huffed. He needs to let that go. "He was in the vicinity and wanted to make sure everything was okay. Besides he's at work."
He shrugged before walking to the window in the living room that overlooked the street.
You could get a basic view of most of the houses, Mr. Haggerty's included.
"Oh yeah. Then why is his car in his driveway?"
"What?" I raced to the window. Sure enough, Mr. Haggerty's black Nissan Maxima was sitting in his driveway. "Maybe he stopped home for something. He does have a spare, like every other teacher, you know."
"Okay." We both returned to the large sofa.
"There's nothing on TV." I said, groaning.
"Well, let's see." He began channel surfing.
"Hold on, go back. More, more, okay stop!"
It was the news and it looked as though they were holding some sort of press conference outside the station.
Looking at the caption, it read, "Hutchins Murder Update."
"Turn it up, turn it up," I exclaimed, slapping his arm that held the remote.
"Okay, okay. Good God."
He turned up the volume as we listened to the Sheriff.
"First I would like to thank you all for joining us this morning. We have been asked to provide an update on the status of the Miranda Hutchins case, which is exactly what we intend to do."
All of a sudden he was peppered with questions, many of them indistinct as all of the reporters were shouting over one another.
"Please hold your questions. First I will speak briefly about the investigation and then I will open the floor to questions."
Everyone quieted down almost instantly.
"Alright. Now, I'm sure by now many of you by now have heard rumours that Miranda's killer has been found. We are investigating the validity of this possibility and will comment further at a later date. Everything is pure speculation at this point. We want to collect solid proof before announcing our findings to the public. When we discover more, we will gladly share as much as we can with you all. For now that is all. If there are any questions..."
He didn't even finish before hands shot up.
He called on a young woman.
"Is it true that you found a teacher from the local high school dead of an apparent suicide?"
"A teacher from our school was found dead in the early morning hours on Sunday. How he died is still under investigation."
The woman sat down before a young man stood up.
"Can you comment on whether or not it is true your officers found a note confessing to the murder?"
"We cannot comment on that this time. This is an ongoing investigation into both deaths. Next question."
An older brunette woman stood next. "What about the rumour that says he killed this young girl for one of his students because he was obsessed with her?"
Oh my God. It's everywhere. Now they're talking about it on the news.
Sheriff Reyes sighed. "Again, I cannot comment on that at this time. That's enough questions for now. My staff and I must get back to work now. Thank you again for coming. We hope to provide more information shortly."
With that he stepped away from the podium, followed shortly thereafter by a few of his fellow officers.
I turned to Jon. "It's on the news now. See, everybody has heard about it. Everybody knows. Oh God. This will never go away."
I stood up and began pacing back and forth, as my breath quickened.
"Harley? Harley?! Look at me!"
A body stood in front of me forcing me to stop. Next I felt hands on my shoulders.
"Look, we'll figure this out, okay? It won't be like this forever. I promise."
"But how can you promise something like that? You don't know how everyone will react when they find out it's me, if they don't already. You saw how everyone looked at me. In school and in the bakery."
"Since when did you start to care about what others think when they see you?"
"I don't, but this is different. Now everyone believes I'm the reason this girl is dead. They already tease me about Haggerty. I can only imagine what they'll say now with what happened to Mr. Killian."
"It doesn't matter what they think, okay? Let's just focus on finding out what happened with Mr. Killian. If I've learned anything from you, your instincts are hardly ever wrong. If you think there's something fishy about Mr. Killian's death, then let's dig deeper. Okay?"
I nodded before hearing footsteps nearing.
"Alright you two. I just got off the phone with your principal. Harley, he thinks it's best you take a few days off. He's instructed all of your teachers to prepare packets of all your assignments and homework. I'll swing by each day after work and pick them up. How's that sound?"
"Okay, I guess, but what about Jon?"
"It took me a little while, but I was able to convince him to do the same for Jon."
"Thank you mom," I said, hugging her.
"It's the least I can do. I had no idea all of this stuff you were dealing with. I'm so sorry honey. I should've payed more attention. I should've seen there was something bothering you."
"No," I told her, pulling back and looking into her watery eyes. "You did nothing wrong. I should have told you what was going on. I just didn't want to upset you. You love the bakery, it's what's kept you sane... since dad..." I trailed off, sniffling. "I didn't want to take that from you. I see how much those ladies support you there. You guys are a family, all looking out for one another. I'm glad you have people looking out for you when I'm not around."
"Yeah. Me too." I watched as she looked at Jon. "Well, what are you waiting for? Come over here."
He did and she pulled him into a bear hug.
"Thank you for looking after my baby girl," she smiled through tears.
"I made a promise to you and Mr. Masterson, didn't I?" He said, smiling back.
"Yes, you did. I'm glad to see you honouring it."
I smiled at the pair of them.
His whole life my mom has been more of a mom to him than his own biological mom.
We all spent time together and it felt like we were a family. It's always felt that way.
Which means, hypothetically, if I was to have a crush on Jon, would that be like dating my brother?
I shuddered before looking at the two people in front of me.
Two people I know will always have my back, right or wrong, through the ups and downs, they will be there. I know they will.