Accepting it

Cal went home with his dad, they hitched a ride with James. Aliyah and Neil stayed to watch Leon. Leon's team won 56-77. He got scouted and was asked to join a club, he never felt more proud. But he also felt guilty for not being there when it all went down.

Aliyah, Neil, and Leon were still at the school. They all sat down in an empty classroom.

"Heard there was stuff that happened. Sorry, I wasn't there." Leon apologized

"It's okay Leon." Neil said

"What exactly happen?" Leon ask

"Cal nearly... Jumped." Neil replied

"Jesus..." Leon shocked

"Cal and his dad went back to their house. Should we go and catch up to them?" Leon ask

"Maybe not. We should give them time." Aliyah suggests

"Any idea of what might've happened that day? A reason why Cal would do that?" Neil ask

"Whatever it is, it's bad. Must be bad." Leon replied

"I've an idea." Aliyah said

"What?" Leon and Neil asks

"Let's visit Terrance's mom." She said

"Why?" They ask

"I don't know, maybe we might get a better picture of what happened." She thought

"Are you sure?"

"I guess I am."

They all went to Terrance's house. They went on his terrace and Aliyah knocked on the door three times. Muffled footsteps came rushing from inside. The door was unlocked from the inside, and it opened. Ms. Harrol opened it.

"Hi, Ms. Harrol. Can we come in?" Aliyah asks politely

"Sure, sure."

They went inside and sat down on a long maroon couch in her living room.

"How are you doing?" Aliyah asks

"..."

"Sorry, that was a stupid question." She thought

"No, no, no. It's fine, I'm doing.. I'm doing okay. It's tough at times, but I'm fine." Ms. Harrol pardoned and answered

"Can I ask you something?" Aliyah asks

"Yeah, sure."

"What exactly was Cal to Terrance?" She ask

Ms. Harrol fell silent. She paused for a long time. She looked like she was confused or having a dilemma. 'Was it the wrong question to ask?' Aliyah wondered. Aliyah looked at Ms. Harrol. Ms. Harrol was avoiding eye contact, she became uneasy and jumpy.

"If you can't answer it's okay." Leon budges in

"Oh, yeah. I'm not forcing you to answer." Aliyah stated

Ms. Harrol then got up and stood up straight. She looked up and took a deep breath. Then she exhaled and looked at Aliyah, then at Neil, then at Leon.

"Follow me." She said

The three stood up and followed her. Ms. Harrol took them to Terrance's room. She stood in front of the white door. She had her hand on the door know, she trembled. She built up the courage to open the door. She pushes the door open gently. The room was dark, but you could see that the walls are painted olive green. From opening the door, you could see a white desk and a wooden chair.

"The three of you go, I can't." She said, holding back tears

So they did went in. They walked slowly inside, they formed a row of three. Staring at the three walls. Their jaws dropped and they gasped. What they saw ran a chill down their spine, they couldn't believe what they saw. A scene of something incredibly creepy. Especially for Aliyah.

On the walls, polaroid pictures spread out. Pictures of Cal, Aliyah, Neil, and Leon. Pictures of Aliyah were mostly crossed out with black and red markers, slashed with scissors or knives, or torn in half. Around her pictures spelt out word 'KILL HER', 'SHE'S AN OBSTACLE', 'BURN IN HELL' written in red.

For Neil and Leon were also slashed, the eyes crossed out with black markers, and spelt around them the word 'DIE' written in black.

For Cal, he had the most pictures on the wall, in fact a wall dedicated to him. His pictures weren't vandalized, just slashed. But after a closer look, they were mostly stabbed. A piece of paper was stuck to this wall. Neil quickly grabbed it and read it.

"What... The... Hell... Is this?" Neil ask in absolute terror

"What does it say?" Leon ask

"Our names and dates." He answered

"Holy shit."

"Cal's name is on it too, and the date is..."

"The day he died." Ms. Harrol finished Neil's sentence

"Ms. Harrol, what is all this?" Aliyah asked, she's trembling

"He was a residual schizophrenic, but it gotten worse to paranoid schizophrenic. He stopped taking his pills and I guess he kept on following what the voices told him to do. At least, that's what I think. The cops took a good look at this room, they had no say. My son was insane."

"Did you know?" Leon ask

"Not until recently. He always had his door locked, never wanted to eat with me, speak with me, or even look at me." She said

Ms. Harrol pulled her left sleeve and showed the three a stich wound.

"I put my hand on him one time and he sliced me with a knife. I didn't know what to do, I was lost, heart broken."

"..."

Aliyah then walked to her and hugs her. Ms. Harrol cried on Aliyah's shoulder.

Cal sat on his bed, in his room, alone. He stared at the wall, said nothing. He close his eyes for a brief moment. He took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. He opened his eyes, and there Terrance was. Terrance was standing in front of Cal, holding a knife covered in blood, it was dripping. Terrance was slouched over, his eyes were hollow black, blood flowing slowly out of his eyes, his clothes and hands were covered in blood.

Cal closed his eyes, he trembled in fear. Closing his eyes was of no use, he could somehow still see Terrance clearly.

"You can't keep me out, Cal."

"You can't hide from it."

"They all will see the truth."

"They all will hate you for what you did."

"OPEN YOUR EYES."

Cal slowly opened his eyes. A blurry vision became clear.

"I... I know what I did." He said

"I did what I had to do." He believes

"I killed you, that's... That's the.."

"The truth... The truth I've been running away from."

"I realize that's impossible. And I'll just have to live with it."

"Even if they hate me... Even if they leave me... I'll accept it." He said wholeheartedly

"There's absolutely nothing I can do to change the fact that I.. k- k- killed you."

Cal stood up from his bed. He took a step closer to Terrance. He walked closer and closer to Terrance.

Cal stood directly in front of him, he gazed into Terrance's eyes with his eyes, filled with uncertainty, fear, regret, and hope.

Cal wraps his arms around Terrance and gave him a tight hug, he squeezes Terrance really hard.

"But just so you know, I really did care about you. I really did want to be your friend." He cried

"Goodbye, T."

The image of Terrance that Cal had created faded into dust and to nothing. Cal was left alone in his bedroom, his thoughts finally cleared and he was no longer anxious. However, he was still afraid. He knows what he has to do.