Act 2 | Chapter 13

Almost a whole month went by without Hannah doing anything stupid. Occasionally she would corner me in the bathroom and continue to try interrogating me, but every time she would always end up breaking down into tears and leaving. She became less and less of a threat. There was no luck in finding out where Maria had disappeared off to. I was smart enough to cover my tracks. They won't find her, not unless they start looking into me. Hannah had even started blaming more people aside from me.

"Now get ready Zoey." My mother hissed at me. I flinched and zoned back in. I was standing in my basement with my bathrobe wrapped around me. "Zoey" She repeated herself, "Take that off, and go sit on the stool." I shuttered a bit and did as she said, looking down at myself. The cold air made goosebumps crawl up my skin. I sat down at the stool, and my mother walked up to me. She didn't have her brush in hand yet, but rather, she chose to examine me.

I wasn't in the best of moods the next day. I could see Hannah sitting at her usual spot at the lunch table. She was frowning while looking down at the school lunch. In a way, I almost felt bad for her. She must really miss Maria to keep going around and blaming others for it.

"Hey," Riley said, walking up behind me.

"W- What?" I turned to look at her, "Oh, hey."Almost immediately, she was able to tell what kind of mood I was in. Riley asked me her usual questions like 'Did she hurt you, did she lock you in the closet again?' And I gave her the same answers every time.

"Bullshit is what I say."

"Mhm... it's hard to stand up to her."

"If I were in your shoes, Zoey, I'd just say no and leave the house."

"And where could I go?" I asked, looking at her with a frown. Riley let out a light cough and waited for me to realize.

"Oh. Well, I guess I could. But all my stuff is at my place..." I stopped and thought about it for a moment, "I'm... technically legally allowed to live on my own now."

"Well, we could always buy new stuff for you?" Riley suggested.

"True. Or move my old stuff out when my mother is gone."

"When she's gone?"

"Like at work," I explained.

"Oh, I could help with the packing if you ever do plan on it."

"It's... a good idea Riley, but I don't know if I'm ready to move or leave home."

"Why not? It seems like a great idea."

I sat there and thought more about it. Riley's suggestions played on a loop in my head. The more I listened to them the more convinced I became. Maybe Riley was right. What is there for me at home anyways. A mother who doesn't give a shit about me, a dad who doesn't acknowledge me, and a piece of a shit brother who's hardly there. I didn't have any pets or responsibilities there. I couldn't help but smile a small bit.

"You know what. That doesn't sound like a bad idea. But what about your mother? There isn't anywhere for me to sleep and put all my stuff?"

"We could always use my guest room. I'd have to empty it out first and move all our junk to the apartment basement, but yeah, you could sleep in my room until we get it all out."

I sat there and nodded. It did sound like a good idea. Getting away from it all. I could live with Riley and her mother. The only two people who ever actually cared about me.

"I wouldn't mind sleeping with you," I smirked and lightly bumped her shoulder with my own. Riley let out a nervous chuckle and nodded.

"Y- Yeah, me neither."

"So we're really doing it then?"

"Nervous?"

"Well, yeah, of course, I'm nervous." It was a scary thought. To leave home after spending so many years there. I knew that it would happen one day, but I never expected it to happen so soon. Riley wrapped her arms around me and whispered into my ear.

"How about we do it today. Go right after school and get your things?"

I have Riley a nod and hugged her back. The thought of leaving home distracted me for the rest of the school day. It was a weird feeling of excitement, and being nervous. The final bell soon rang, and I met up with Riley in our school's cafeteria. She was talking to someone on the phone and judging by the conversation, it was probably her mother. She explained to her the plan and giving me a nod once she saw me approaching.

"Alright, bye mum." Riley hung up the phone and smiled at me, "She's alright with it."

"She is?" There was a hint of surprise in my voice, and I'm not too sure why exactly it was there. Miss Blackmar was the kind of person to always say yes to something like that.

"Of course she is." Riley chuckled, "You should have seen it coming."

"Guess I should have." The two of us walked out of the school and into the parking lot. We both stopped however when we saw a couple of kids looking at the side of Riley's car. They took a picture with there phones and put them away when they saw us approaching. When we got closer, we were able to see just what they were taking pictures of. On the side of Riley's car was a message. It was scratched aggressively into the paint job, most likely with a pair of keys. The message read 'Bring her back.'

"Wh- What?" Riley got down onto her knees quickly dropping her school bag to the side and running her finger across the scratches.

"What the hell?" I tilted my head. Riley looked down and took a few deep breaths. I knew the look she was giving. Riley was angry, she was pissed off. This was technically her grandfathers, that he had trusted her with a few years back.

"Who... the fuck... did this." Riley said, sounding like she was trying to hold back tears. Riley may not have known who did this, but I sure as hell did. There was only one person.

"I know who did this," I said quietly. Riley slowly looked up at me. I was right in assuming she was mad because right now her face was bright red, and her eyes looked like they were on the verge of tears. I don't blame her, I know how important the car meant to her.

"Who." She said in a low growl. There was a brief moment of hesitation before I finally gave her the answer.

"H- Hanah."

Riley looked back down and shook her head, before standing up and putting both hands on the hood of the car. She leaned against it and took a few deep breaths before mumbling quietly: "I'm going to fucking kill her." Riley turned and started marching over to the gym, which is where the cheerleading team would practice every day after school.

"Riley, don't!" I tried grabbing her arm and holding her back, but she pushed it away and kept going. "Riley, please don't! I don't want to see you in trouble again." She stopped a few feet from the gym doors. It wasn't that far from the parking lot, as it was literally right next to it. We both could hear the sounds of cheering and routine practice going on inside. Riley looked as though she was ready to bust through the door and punch Hannah as hard as she possibly could, though as she put her hand on the door, Riley backed up and leaned up against the wall, slumping down and hugging her knees.

"Riley, I'm sorry." I tried hugging her, wrapping my arms around her torso and embracing her tightly. "I'm sorry."

"M- My grandpa gave me that car." Riley whimpered, "I- It was his last gift to me."

"I know." I tried patting her back, "But we can always get it fixed. It's just a scratch, not the end of the world."

Riley gave me a nod and sniffled.

"Thank you."

"No problem." I whispered back, rubbing the top of her head a bit, and helping Riley to her feet, "Come on, let's go." I helped Riley to the car and gave her a moment alone. She sat down in the driver's seat and started calling her mother to explain to her what happened, I, on the other hand, said I had forgotten something and ran back into the school. "That's it. Hannah's fucking dead." I could finally put my plan into place. First, I needed to lead Hannah to the meat packing plant, and I knew just how to. Stepping into the girl's locker room, I quickly passed by a few other people changing into sportswear or out of them. I didn't pay much mind to them though, and instead walked over to Hannahs gym bag, and took out a folded slip of paper I had prepared in advance. I stuffed it in, and quickly left, making sure no one had seen me. The letter read "I May know where Maria is. I know you want to find her, and need some help doing so, come find me here." And I left the location of the meat packing plant.