Nina
The moment my alarm went off the next morning I swore, throwing it off the nightstand before I remembered I had company through my groggy haze. I rolled over and watched Jeff bolt upright while he wielded his knife and Thomas sat up groggily in the corner, scouring the room with a squinted gaze.
"What the fuck was that?" Thomas asked as he looked up at me.
"It's Tuesday, right?" Jeff asked and I nodded in response, "she's still got school."
"Thank God I don't."
He rolled back over and pulled the blanket around himself while I laughed, throwing mine up and getting to my feet while I stretched. Jeff popped his back and hoisted himself into a sitting position against the wall while I dug through my closet, pulling down a plain shirt and my ripped jeans before I stuffed my books back into my bag.
"Mom will be gone right after I leave," I started, "she usually gets home right before me too. Just keep it down until she's gone and the house is all yours."
"I'll probably leave jackass over there to keep watch, I'd rather get a layout of where I am," he explained as he got to his feet, "how far is your school from here?"
"I'm right in town, Tempe's a bit bigger than Silver Cove though so you're not going to cover much ground in daylight."
"You'd be surprised what I can get done," Jeff laughed, pulling a flannel on over his shirt, "what time's lunch?"
"Eleven." I narrowed my eyes. "Why?"
"Maybe I'll swing by, give you something to look forward to."
The thought of getting to see him actually made me feel a bit better about leaving and I nodded, grabbing for my clothes before I walked across the hall to the bathroom and changed. Normally I'd be a little more hesitant to share my space but these were two people I trusted more than anything and if it meant they were out of trouble for the time being they could stay as long as they wanted. I waved to my mom as I grabbed a granola bar from the pantry and ran back upstairs, Thomas greeting me now that Jeff had kicked him awake and he looked rather grumpy about it.
"Why do I have to stay here?"
"In case anyone else happens to be following our tracks," Jeff said as I grabbed my bag, "you remember what happened in Georgia?"
"What happened in Georgia?" I asked.
"Some guy with a fuckin' twitch and a couple of axes tried to take us out," Thomas explained while he rubbed at his empty socket, "we lost him but ever since we've tried to cover our asses."
"Spooky, I wonder if there's some underground bounty on your heads."
"At this point I wouldn't be surprised," Jeff snorted, "headin' out?"
"Chris is already outside so yeah," I hugged him tightly before I left, getting an equally crushing grip back before I ran out of the room. I waved to Mom again before I barreled out the door and met up with Chris, his smile teasing as we saw the bus round the corner.
"I heard you last night you know," he said quietly and my heart stopped in its tracks, "who did you sneak in? I didn't know you had a boyfriend."
"I, uh," I stammered, "it's not a boyfriend thing..."
"Really? Then who—?"
"Look I'll explain on the way home, okay?" I started as we stepped onto the bus. Is this what Kitty felt like every time she snuck his dumbass in?
"Okay, whatever floats your boat," he chuckled as we took our seats, taking off toward the school while I pulled out my phone.
I played the video out of habit, infinitely more comforted to have it back on my phone after yesterday's panic. Once we got to school I took a look around, half expecting to see Jeff's pale face hiding in the crowd but knowing there's no way he made it here before the bus. A residual skip remained in my step as I walked down the hall to my locker, swapping some things around before it suddenly slammed shut in front of me. I snapped to the side and scowled when I saw Claudia glaring at me.
"You must think you're hot shit now that you've landed a hit on me, huh?" She snarled and I just rolled my eyes, "I've seen your cocky ass smile ever since and frankly I'm sick of it."
"Well maybe you shouldn't have messed with someone who was shown how to hit by a serial killer?" I suggested flatly, "you saw the video yourself, Kitty doesn't fuck around and neither do I."
"You're just as fucking crazy as her, aren't you?"
Call me crazy one more fucking time.
"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not," my voice dripped with seething venom while I narrowed my eyes at her, "maybe it runs in the fucking genes. All I know is that you're getting up in my face and I'm not afraid to knock you flat on your ass again." Claudia paused in her gawking as I zipped my bag up. "I wasn't lying either about Kitty being a phone call away, and she's not the only one. I'd watch myself if I were you."
"Are you threatening me?"
"Only because you threatened me first," I corrected her with a cheeky smile.
"Listen here you bitch, I've got something up my sleeve to get some payback and you're going to wish you never met me."
"I already fucking do, you whore."
The bell rang above us and I flipped her off with a nasty look before heading to my class. I did grow uneasy though as I took my seat, wondering what on earth she could possibly be planning. All I knew is that it wasn't good.
My first three periods of the day dragged on like nothing else and I was itching to leave by the time the bell for lunch rang. The moment I heard the tone I bolted out of my seat, the first to step foot into the hall before I navigated the flood of students out to the side exit. I technically didn't have an off-campus pass but no one was going to stop me as I walked down to the parking lot, scanning the tree line excitedly before I finally spotted the smallest hint of a hoodie poking out from behind a trunk. I was quick as I dodged around the cars and hopped the fence, Jeff flinching as I landed and laughing when I launched myself at him.
"Easy, easy," he chuckled as he set me back down, "man, I didn't even fucking see you, you're quick."
"I'm good at making an escape," I laughed as I ran a hand over my hair, "so how's your scouting going?"
"Well the town is nice, I despise this heat though." Jeff shivered in disgust while I giggled. "Your school is a lot bigger than Snow's. I was afraid I might get caught snooping around here."
"Nah, security only makes their rounds at the end of lunch," I dismissed his worry as I glanced back toward the parking lot, scowling when I a familiar laugh grates against my ears, "fucking bitch..."
Jeff peeked around the tree as Claudia and her goons walked down the aisle to her car, shifting further back into the shadows myself while I watched. By the time they left I finally eased and he turned back to me with an arched eyebrow and an unamused expression.
"Is that the chick that's been bothering you?" He asked and I nodded begrudgingly.
"I talk big to keep her at bay but the first time I ever fought back was when I got suspended," I sighed as I took a seat in the grass, "she's hit me and Chris both before and we couldn't do shit about it. I'm tired of it but at least she's graduating this year so I won't have to deal with her."
"You know, I'm not one much for blowing my cover—" he crouched next to me and got my attention, "but if you know where she lives I'd be happy to scare the shit out of her for you."
"Really?!" I perked up, "I-I do, actually."
"We'll buzz over tonight then and give her a good run for her money. It's the least I can do for my favorite mini-monster."
He wrapped an arm around me and I leaned into it, immensely comforted by his presence and finding myself wishing he didn't have to go. It's always been odd how backwards this all felt, my instincts were supposed to tell me to run around a mass murderer but instead I'd rather be around them than anyone else. It made me wonder if there was something broken inside my head after all but then again, everyone 'normal' I ever met thought I was fucking crazy, so I guess it only made sense.
Jeff helped me back to my feet and we talked for a little while longer before the bell rang, slapping his hand and fist-bumping him before I leapt back over the fence and made a break for it. By the time I made it to my next class I'd just barely made the second bell and Chris looked back at me from the front of the room while I gave him a wink, knowing that tonight was going to be absolute hell for a demon of a girl.
Jeff
"We're going to do what now?"
"Give that little bitch a good scare to keep her off of Nina's back," I hummed as I reclined on her bed, "don't worry, in and out, ten minutes max."
"We're not here to have fun you know," Thomas reminded me, "just because we managed to find Nina doesn't mean we forget about Kitty."
"Are you fucking serious right now? We take two days out of the trip to make sure her little cousin is taken care of and you think I'm forgetting about the fucking girl I'm in love with?" I scoffed and he averted his gaze. "She wanted us here for a reason, Tom. Nina...hasn't been doing good."
He turned back to me as I mentioned it, sitting up taking a deep breath. There was a pattern here I was worried about and didn't want to admit to Nina but I wondered if he could see it from an outside perspective like I was.
"It's just like Snow," I mumbled as I looked out the window, "nasty girls with nothing better to do than pick fights, slowly escalating the situation until the victim breaks. Hell, I went through it too but I just went a little extra hard when I finally snapped."
"Is it really that bad?"
"She already got into a fight with one of them. It sounds like they're ready to push back for round two and...I don't want to see her go down the same road," I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, "she's got no support system right now. Snow was her idol for Christ's sake, she looked up to her more than anyone else. Her being gone left Nina with nothing."
"I...sort of heard," he admitted as he rubbed at his eye socket, "I heard her crying and her little speech about Kitty. I always knew they were pretty close but I didn't realize her being gone was going to hit her this bad."
"I don't think Snow wants her going down the same path either. If we do this we might be able to deter her for good, get the bullies to leave her alone."
Thomas grimaced suddenly and I raised an eyebrow, curious as to what he could be guilty about this time until he finally cracked.
"I...might've fucked that up," he sighed in defeat, "remember how she said she blackmailed me? She had me in a fucking corner. I was hungry and desperate and trying to keep everything from Kitty so I...I let her watch me kill someone."
"You what?!"
"It's worse." He winced as my eyes boggled from my damn skull. "I made the first incision but...she took the scalpel and made the second one. There was this look in her eyes and I was so, so delirious and focused I didn't even realize what I was doing until it was over. I fucking encouraged her and I hope to God it doesn't bite me in the ass..."
"She's already an accomplice in a murder," I scoffed at him, "you fucking moron. You absolute fucking baboon."
"This happened the night at the river, when I took her for a bathroom break. We kicked the body into the water and then I came out and went all batshit on you guys." He paused before looking back at me. "Where the hell did you go after jumping in the water?"
"I hid beneath the rock and heard the whole thing. Sorry for Snow uh, discrediting you in front of everyone."
"Dude I was losing my shit, I deserved to get the crap kicked out of me," he laughed to himself as I cracked a grin, "she hits fucking hard too. Has she ever hit you?"
"She's the first person to ever land a real hit on me," I cackled as I tapped my temple, revealing the deep scar in my hair, "I think it was love at first sight 'cause damn, she's a beast. Leapt at me full swing, knocked the side of my head. The next night I broke into her house she woke straight up out of a dead, drunken sleep and threw a right hook. I'm lucky she didn't break my nose."
"I saw the holes in the wall, were those from you or her?"
"Both of us probably, she whipped a mug at my head and it shattered on impact. Pissed me off in an instant and she thought the whole thing was funny while I was legitimately trying to kill her."
"She really is fuckin' insane," Thomas snorted and I paused when I saw a car pull into the driveway, just before a bus pulled around the corner.
"Heads up, looks like everyone's home."
We quieted for a few minutes and eventually the door opened, Nina slipping in and closing it behind her before giving me a panicked look. I raised an eyebrow and she just winced slightly.
"We're a little busted," she admitted and I went into defense mode, "guys, I'd like you to meet my brother..."