Act 2 | Chapter 11

Red paint dripped from my hands and into the sink. With the sink in our art room being broken, we all had to go to the bathrooms to clean off whatever paint or other material that got on us. I was the last one in here, as I had waited for everyone to leave and get back to the bathroom wasn't as crowded. The door opened and someone else started walking into the bathroom, but I didn't pay much mind to it. I had my earbuds in and hummed along to the tune of 'A little piece of Heaven', as I got the last of the paint off. Riley had introduced me to the band who played it, and I hadn't been able to stop listening to them ever since.

Just as I turned the water off and shook my hands a bit, I turned around only to receive a hard slap across the face. I went up to hold my hand against it and looked to who it was. Hannah.

"Tell me where she is!" She yelled at me. I frowned and let out another long sigh, before responding.

"I told you, I didn't do anything. I don't know where she is!"

"I know you know! You've been acting so... different lately. Something is off about you! You kidnapped her or killed her, I know you did!" Hannah quickly said, sounding as though she was trying to make up an excuse. It didn't make any sense but I kept my mouth shut about it.

"W- What? No! Why the hell would I kill anyone!"

"You did! You fucking did, I know it!" Hannah yelled as she grabbed my shoulders and pushed me up against the bathroom stall. "Give her back dammit!" She yelled with tears in her eyes. "What the hell is wrong with her?" I thought, "Is she even thinking straight?"

"Hey!" I heard a familiar voice call out from behind. Riley had stepped into the bathroom. She quickly came to my side, and grabbed Maria's shoulders, and pulled her off me, before slamming her against the wall, similar to how she did to me. Hannah let out a yell of frustration and slapped Riley across the face as well, before kicking her away and backing out towards the exit. She looked as though she was about to break out crying. Her eyes were red, and tears flowed down over her cheeks.

"Get the fuck out!" Riley yelled, stepping between me and Hannah.

"I- I know you did something to her!" Hannah pointed to me and said in a hoarse voice. "I'll prove it. You two will both pay!" She whipped the tears from her eyes as she backed out of the bathroom.

"I didn't do anything!" I repeated myself, yelling out to Hannah as she left. "I didn't do anything."

Riley made sure she was gone before walking back over to me.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked, looking at the slap mark across my cheek.

"I- I'll be fine. It's not bad, is it? If my mom sees it..."

"It looks fine, Zoe." Riley took a deep breath and sighed, leaning up against the wall.

"What was that all about?"

"She thinks I did something to Maria. Claims that I 'killed' her, or 'kidnapped' her." I air quoted.

"Bull shit." Riley mumbled, "Why didn't you stand up for yourself?"

"I wasn't expecting her to hit me." We were both silent for a moment. "What do you think she meant by 'You'll both pay for this'?"

"She's probably just bluffing." Riley frowned.

"I think she's just mad and trying to blame me for it."

"Probably."

Hannah was becoming more of a problem. "I can't let her keep spreading those words around. No one can suspect me. No one. But she does, and she could get me arrested if the police start to believe her and look into me. I need a backup plan. In case things end up going south, and I actually need to get rid of Hannah." I tried changing the subject as I rubbed the stinging feeling from my cheek. As we both stood there, I saw this as an opportunity to change the mood. "You know what would make me feel better?"

"What?" Riley said in an irritated voice. She was probably just feeling pissed off at Hannah, and I wouldn't blame her.

"Something soft. Maybe a bit plushy." I replied, speaking in a slightly teasing voice.

"Like a bunny?" Riley tilted her head.

"No, I was thinking of maybe a sheep?"

"A sheep?"

"Yeah. Maybe a stuffed animal sheep."

Riley looked at me with a face of complete confusion. She didn't know yet that I knew about the other Dovasheep she had in her closet.

"You know, maybe something like that sheep you have on your bed? What was its name again?" I couldn't help but smirk a small bit.

"I- I don't know what you're talking about? You mean Dovasheep?" She replied, stammering her words a bit.

"Are you sure you don't have another Dovasheep?"

"N- No! Not at all! Only one!" Riley replied, denying the fact that she had another sheep.

"Are you ssssuuurrreee?" I gently bumped her shoulder with my own.

"Uhhh... n- no..."

"I think you do~" I teased her. Riley looked down a bit, as her face turned a slight shade of red.

"Alright, fine. I do." She said in a voice of defeat. I giggled a bit and smirked.

"And why do you have two Dovasheep?"

"I'm sure my mum would have told you that." Riley rolled her eyes, "There's no other way you would know about it."

I laughed a bit and replied: "Yup. We had a nice talk while you were resting the other day. She had some interesting stories to tell~"

"Goddamnit mum," Riley muttered, letting out a small sigh.

"You want to know one of my favorites~?"

"No." She shook her head. I smirked and pulled my phone out. The video was saved in one of my private photo albums. I turned the volume down enough and glanced over to the door to see if anyone else was coming in, before hitting play and turning the phone around to show Riley. Once she saw what it was, her eyes widened and she quickly reached for my phone, only for me to pull it away from her.

"How did you get that!?" She said quickly, trying again to grab my phone.

"I found it," I said giggling.

Riley stopped for a moment as it hit her. "She did not."

"She did~"

"Goddamnit!" Riley's face turned redder, "Damn it Zoe!"

"What's wrong?" I asked in a teasing voice, "I think you look pretty good~"

"No, this is not the time or place. Not in public." Riley quickly said, once again trying to grab my phone from me.

"Alright fine." I put the phone away. "We can talk about it later."

Riley groaned and leaned back up against the wall, her face a bright red now.

"Anyways." I continued, "I was wondering if you wanted to hang out again this weekend?"

Riley stared at me for a good couple seconds in silence, giving me that look that said 'you're so dead' before finally responding with: "Sure... why not."