Alex’s mind was racing, she couldn’t sleep. Max had passed by her room at least five times to check if she was OK.
“Alex, please. I know you’re in there, just open the door.” Max said Alex had had enough, and walked up to her door for the first time in hours. Her steps were wobbly and unsteady. She opened the door, the dim glow of the hallway blinding her vision. She had been inside her room for so long she had forgotten how bright it was outside.
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“What do you want?” She said, not even looking at Max. Max groaned and pushed her into the room again, closing the door behind them. Alex flinched as she hit her desk.
“What is wrong with you?” She asked, placing a hand where she hit herself.
“Everything is wrong. You’re acting weird. You aren’t the happy carefree Alex I know. Where did you put my sister?” He asked scanning Alex skeptically.
“I put her nowhere. I’m fine, OK. I’m fine.” She wasn’t fine, and she never will. Not until she figures things out. Max shook his head, grabbing her face in his hands and stepping closer.
“Alexandra Harper Thomas. You aren’t acting like my sister. The sister I love dearly. The sister I want to protect. The funny, and carefree sister. The sister I would kill for, and the one I would die for.” He said, looking into Alex’s eyes, trying to read her emotions.
“But..” She said, “no buts Alex. There are no buts anymore.” Max said.
“Please just go back to being normal. I beg.” And with that he planted a kiss on her forehead.
“Now sleep OK. You have school tomorrow.” He said. But before he could walk out, Alex pulled him into a hug. It wouldn’t hurt, even though she knew hugging wasn’t going to help but it was a nice way to express that she appreciated her brother’s concern.
Max walked out, closing the door, and once Alex was sure Max had gone to his room she grabbed her laptop and started writing.
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9/23/10
11:23 PM
Project entry #4
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I can’t believe what I just witnessed. Katie isn’t the same, nothing is the same. Westmore is falling apart. I just need to figure out things, I need to figure out who killed Alice, and Elijah. But I won’t be able to if things like this keep happening; I’m still far away from the truth.
Maybe the note was right, I don’t want to know the truth. But I need to even if it means losing myself, even if I end up dead. At this point I don’t even know if right or wrong exist. But I need my sleep, I need peace. I’m barely starting this case, and I already uncovered too many things to handle too many to process. If someone really did kill both of them, I’m going to find them, throw them in jail. Whatever it takes to prove Elijah innocent.
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Alex closed her laptop lid, and got in bed, she needed sleep even if it was a few hours. She closed her eyes, and all she saw was Lucas, Katie and her vulnerable state, David and his lies, the weed, the smell. Everything was like a movie in her mind, she opened her eyes, stared at the ceiling, it started to rain outside, the trees looked like monsters haunting her thoughts. Soon she heard a tap on her window. She froze for a second, and then stood up. She looked out the window. Nothing.
“That’s weird.” Alex said, looking out the window. She saw something on the floor. A note. She thought.
“Another one?” She asked herself.
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‘I told you to stay out of it Alexandra, but of course you can’t listen. You don’t want to know the truth, I'm warning you.’
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She read it over, and over again. This wasn’t right, she was supposed to be safe, to have peace. She needed to live quietly like a normal teenager, but now how was she going to get out of this? She had put herself in this position long before, she needed to do this stupid project. And now she’s being threatened by someone who she doesn’t even know. But whoever wrote it is right, she can’t listen no matter how much she tries. But she wants to know the truth. She needs to know the truth, if she doesn’t find out the truth then this project goes to waste, Westmore will remember Elijah as a killer. She can’t let that happen.
“Whoever and wherever you are, anonymous, you can’t stop me. Time is running out for you, and for me.” Alex said, crumbling the paper in her palm and throwing it on her desk.
The rain hit her window harder, but she didn’t care. She walked to her bed again, feeling the cover over her skin, how it wrapped her like a hug, felt way better than those stupid threats. It was two already, who knew if whoever was sending her the threats had more in their grasp, more to give her, and more to make Alex more determined. At this point she was regretting ever choosing her project about this, but she couldn’t give up now. Her only goal was to prove him innocent, to prove he didn’t kill Alice. And that Alice’s death was something else, alternative to what actually happened. And since she couldn’t sleep she decided to do another entry. Something explaining what the news said that night. Maybe now she was going to be able to see it better.
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9/23/10
2:56 AM
Project Entry #5
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Ok. So I just received another threat note, they know my name, they know what I’m doing. But I don’t care about that right now. I need to focus on what happened that night. What I know is that Elijah was over at my house for dinner with his family. And then he received a text, he left at around 9:21 PM. I guess towards Alice’s house. Which is about eleven minutes from here. After that, he supposedly walked to the plaza which is a ten minute walk from her house. After that he saw her and they intercepted. And then minutes later is when they found her body in the river dead, stabbed. And they found him lying by a cabin also dead, most likely stabbing or suffocating himself with whatever was lying around… I’ll have to make a map for this.. I already did. I just need to upload the picture onto here.
My conclusion is that whatever happened that night happened between the plaza, and the forest/woods.
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Alex was determined, something else happened that night. She texted Andrew, even though it was late. But surprisingly he texted back in no time.
‘Meet me by the park..’ The text said. She nodded to herself and sent back an OK. She opened her door slowly. Looking to see if the coast was clear. It was. She walked slowly to the stairs, as she jogged down the stairs, she winced as she almost stepped on the fifth step. She opened the door, putting on her sneakers, and closing it behind her. The night was cold, but she didn’t care. All she cared about now was meeting Andrew, and discussing this. She arrived at the park searching for Andrew. Then she saw him. He was sitting at a bench looking at his phone.
“Andrew…” She said, Andrew whipped his head around. A tired smile appeared on his face.
“Alex. I thought you would ditch me.” He chuckled, Alex walked to the bench, and sat down next to him. The coldness of the bench hitting her thighs like ice. She knew she shouldn’t have stayed in her shorts, but hey she was comfortable.
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“So, what’s up now?” Andrew said, scooting closer. Alex already had her laptop out.
“OK, so I made a map about that night. And based on what happened, and what the news report had said. Here.” She handed Andrew the map. As he looked over it, she went to her docs. She opened the last one she did.
“I recorded it down.. And not just for the project but for myself too of course. So my theory is, that when Elijah left for Alice’s house, it took him eleven minutes to get there. But when he got there she wasn’t there. According to her parents, she went to the plaza. Which is a ten minute walk. They intersect, and then minutes later they find her dead in the river, and they find him dead by the cabin. But the off thing about this is.” She paused to catch her breath.”The thing about this is that the police were there minutes before. So how did he have time to do what he did, isn’t that off?” She asked, Andrew nodded.
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“You’re right. That is weird. So, what exactly happened that night is still an actual mystery.” He said they were both right. Something is off, and a mystery yet to uncover. But what was the mystery? Deep down Alex knew there was something missing, something that she needed to know right now. Not later. Now. This wasn’t a joke.
“Puzzle.” She said before she could even hold her own tongue.
“What?” Andrew said.
“It’s like a puzzle. Can’t you see it? There’s pieces missing. Not everything is here. If there was anything else, the only people that can answer it are. Alice’s parents, her friends. And the police. I doubt the police will say anything.” She said, hoping Andrew could see the spark of hope in her eyes.
“Right. Yeah, of course. But I doubt Alice’s parents will want to say anything if I’m there.” He said, Alex scoffed.
“Then I’ll force them to talk. They need to talk. It isn’t a want, it’s a need.” She said, the coldness under her thighs now became a familiar feeling even though it felt like her thighs were going to stick on the bench.
“OK… Now you should get home before you die of hyperthermia. And you should also go to sleep. We have school in a few hours. See you in a bit.” Andrew said, as Alex stood up, she smiled, and headed back home. She went to sleep, her body warming up under her blanket. She felt better now. Andrew truly was a great guy, and a great friend. Just a friend.Anyway, back to the main focus of everything. This whole case is a puzzle, and soon Alice along with Elijah will only be memories for Westmore. And, maybe it was better to remember dead people, especially two dead teenagers. One that was a supposed saint, and the other one a backstabbing killer. But that isn’t true at least for Alex. It wasn’t true. It was now three-thirty in the morning, and she had school in less than three hours. Which was more than enough to close her eyes. So she closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep. It started to drizzle again, the soft tapping of the rain drops against her window was like a song, without any words or actual melody, it was just peaceful. Alex shifted in bed until she finally went to sleep. Her mind was racing, but at the same time it was slowing down, falling asleep along with her.
Her alarm went off, and she opened her eyes. The early light of six in the morning shining a bit through her window.
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“Jeez. No sleep at all. Eh, who cares.” Alex said, as she opened her closet. As she pulled out a pair of flair jeans, and her favorite maroon long sleeve shirt, Max came running in her room.
“Alex, mom- Oh… Oh I’m so sorry…” He said, covering his eyes. He turned to face the door, as he spoke again. God, no privacy around here Alex thought.
“Anyway. Mom is going to stay at work late, and I’m going out with some friends so you’ll be home alone. Don’t do anything stupid got it?” He said, “and are you done getting dressed?” He said Alex just hummed in response as she put on her black converse.
“Well I’m off to school” She said Max grabbed her arm.
“Aren’t you going to eat breakfast?” He asked.
“Nah… Me, and Andrew will probably get something to eat on our way.” She said, she smiled and skipped down the steps, she forgot and a loud squeak filled the house with the fifth step.
As she went out the front door, she grabbed her beanie and scarf. Andrew was already waiting for her at the door.
“Morning, chocolate?” He said, offering her a hot chocolate. She grabbed it in her hands. The warm temperature burned her fingers a bit. Her gloves were inside her pocket so she didn’t need them right now, the chocolate would keep them warm. They headed to the car, Andrew had a smile on his face.
“Why are you so smiley today? Where is the straight faced Andrew I know.” She said, as she placed the cup in the cup holder. Andrew rolled his eyes, in a sarcastic manner.
“Well, first of all. Because you look absolutely pretty today. And my birthday is in two days. And like I said, you look beautiful as always, my dear friend.” He said, as he turned on the car.
“Oh? Is this a confession I’m hearing?” Alex said teasingly, as she buckled her seat belt and held her backpack close to her chest like a teddy bear.
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“Uh no.. Can’t I say that my only girl best friend is pretty? Damn, what do you want me to say? That you’re an ugly swamp monster? Please.” They headed to school, Katie popped into Alex’s mind, where was she? The image of that night at David’s house came back, the way she squirmed and how vulnerable she looked made Alex’s heart tighten up. David Fucking William. Her blood started to boil once again.
“Andrew. Where is Katie?” She said, breaking the silence that had fallen over them. Andrew sighed and it wasn’t a good sign. It was an annoyed mixed with angry sigh.
“She decided that Westmore wasn’t for her, which is stupid since she’s lived here her whole life literally. So since my grandparents were going back to Korea she decided to go with them. She always wanted to go to Korea, and now she’s going to live over there. At least our parents had the decency to teach us Korean. Well, our mom taught us. Dad learned along the way. He always said something funny that he would learn off google translate, and mom would correct him. He started learning French, since he is half french he told us that one day we’re going to visit France, so that’s cool. Anyway so yeah so she’s with our grandparents at the airport. They depart in an hour or so. Which means I’m free of Katie.” He grinned. Alex nodded, yeah they were free of Katie, but it still didn’t give an excuse of what David did to her.
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“Oh… Well I guess my torture is gone.” She said, as they arrived at school. Jeremy stood by the entrance while joking about something with Isabel, she was gagging and glaring at him. As soon as Alex got out of the car, the cold air hit her once again she started to walk towards Jeremy, and Isabel. Isabel’s face changed and she smiled waving at Andrew, and Alex.
“What y’all talking about?” Alex asked. Jeremy snickered as Isabel gave him a nudge.
“Jeremy was talking about how he was going to hook me up with this freshman I don’t even know. And well she’s pretty awkward. So yeah, that’s her over there. Wait no that’s not her. Anyway, good morning.” She said, smiling awkwardly. Alex shook her head as they entered the school. Alex along with Isabel headed to first period, and surprisingly they were the only ones there. As they entered Isabel stopped in her tracks.
“Isabel why did you-” Alex got cut off.
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“What is that?” She said pointing at something by the window. Alex looked in the direction of where she was pointing. A white paper with words, but it had blood dripping from it, a disturbing sight to see indeed.
“What the-” She walked towards it, she read the words.
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‘This is your second to last warning Alexandra… Don’t make me do something you don’t want to happen… I’m warning you.
-A’
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Now that is weird. She’s already received two threats and now a third one? But wait, this time it said from A… Who is A?
She took the paper in her hands, some of the blood raced down her fingertips. Why was there blood on the paper? And whose blood was it?
“Alex. What does it say?” Isabel asked, stepping closer.
“Another threat.” She said, Isabel stepped closer.
“Another threat? What-” Oh shit, Alex had forgotten that she didn’t know about the threats. Only Andrew, and her knew. Alex smiled awkwardly.
“Yeah, threats… About the project. Someone knows what I’m doing, they’re out to get me, but I don’t know who it is.” She said, and she was right. Three threats wasn't a good sign. Nothing that kept insisting on the same thing was a good sign, at all. Nothing that had to do with a threat of any sort was a good sign.. Alex was in trouble, big trouble.
“You mean the project about eight years ago?” Isabel asked, yes the project of eight years ago was correct. It was great, or so Alex thought, up until now it wasn’t great. She didn’t know what would happen next, what could come for her. Would she end up dead like them? Or would she live, and prove him guilty, she didn’t know.
“Yeah, the project. But who cares, if I disappear at least I’ll know you’ll look for me. Or if I die you’ll do anything to bring me back.” Alex said, what in the world was she thinking? Isabel scoffed.
“Are you crazy? Why would you even say that? Of course I would look for you duh, I care about you. But still. I care about you… We care about you. Jeremy, Andrew, Me… Katie can go fuck off, and Lucas is dead.” She said Alex was shocked, she’d never been this angry. Isabel was actually angry, and Alex just stared at her.
“OK, calm down… Jeez.” Alex said, Isabel breathed in and out.
“OK, I’ll calm down. For now.” She said, Alex crumpled the paper in her fist, and stuffed it in her pocket.
“Now I need to wash my hands before people think a crime scene happened here.” Alex said, as she walked to the restroom leaving Isabel alone in the classroom.
She entered the restroom, and looked at herself in the mirror. Something felt wrong, really wrong. Was it the blood on her fingers? Or something else. The lights flickered, and turned off. The power went off, the only thing heard was the slight buzz of remaining electricity.
“Alexandra…” Said a voice, too familiar for her own liking. Alice.. Alice said her name. She turned around, and tried to find the actual source of the voice and not just her imagination.
“Who’s there.. Show yourself.” Alex said, but the voice wasn’t there anymore. Nothing but the buzz of electricity. The lights were back on.. But the voice of Alice was still fresh in her mind. But it didn’t sound like the joyful kind Alice everyone knew, it sounded like a sinister evil Alice.
Alex was in trouble, for good. Because what’s coming for her, is something no one will ever be able to stop.
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