Chapter 2
Chapter Two
T he end is an odd notion to grasp. The ending of anything really, but most of all, the ending of a life. It was cathartic, in a sense. Nothing good ever came out of endings. Willow had taught them that much. She liked to lie to keep things going. It was who she was. Perhaps that is why they become so accustomed to it—lying. All because of Willow. It was rooted deep within them now, festering like a disease, always spreading.
“Can you please stop pacing?” Sebastian grumbled, his forefinger pressed against his temple. “You’re creating a draft.”
Delilah whirled around to sneer at him, “Oh, I’m sorry—am I bothering you? It’s not like we’re in an interview room or anything. God forbid, I’m a bit nervous. Not everyone is devoid of emotions, Sebastian.”
Sebastian snorted, leaning back, thumbing at the button on his suit jacket. “Calm down. Besides, if any of us are getting out of here without a scratch, it’s you, Gus, and Lilia.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Delilah scoffed.
“Nothing Ms. ‘Daddy’s a big shot lawyer.’ Not all of us have cemented alibis. No one is going to come in and do our bidding, I’m afraid.”
“Both of you shut up,” Augustus intervened.
The room fell silent. The cold fluorescent lights above flicker intermittently, casting uneasy shadows that danced across the bland, beige walls. Lilia sat quietly, her eyes fixed on a spot on the floor, lost in thought. Eleanor glanced nervously between her friends, her fingers fidgeting with the edge of her blouse.
The door creaked open, and Detective McCall strode in, his expression unreadable. “Augustus Clark,” he called out.
Augustus stood up, smoothing his shirt, and giving his friends a reassuring nod. “It’ll be fine,” he murmured, mostly to himself. The detective led him out of the room, the door closing with a heavy thud behind them.
As the others waited, the tension in the air grew thicker. Lilia could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Every second that passed felt like an eternity. She glanced at the clock on the wall, its ticking sound echoing ominously in the silent room.
Minutes stretched into what felt like hours before the door opened again. Augustus walked back in, his face pale, his hands shaking slightly. Without a word, he sank back into his seat, his friends immediately crowding around him.
“What happened?” Lilia asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Sebastian stepped forward, his brow furrowed with worry. “Gus, hey. Look at me,” he said, placing a comforting hand on Augustus’ shoulder. “What happened in there, man?”
“They’re trying to break us, get us to point fingers at each other,” Augustus replied, his voice strained. “They asked me a lot of questions about that night, trying to trip me up. But I didn’t say anything. I stuck to our story.”
Sebastian leaned in closer, his expression tense. “What did they ask you?”
Augustus hesitated, his gaze flickering between his friends. “They asked if I knew where Willow went after she left the party. If I saw her arguing with anyone, if she was upset . . . ”
“And what did you say?” Delilah pressed, her tone urgent.
“We should’ve called our parents.” Lilia shook her head.
“I said I didn’t know. I said I last saw her at the party, that’s it. That’s the truth.”
Eleanor chewed her lip, her eyes filled with worry. “Do you think they believe you?”
Augustus shrugged. “I don’t know. But we need to keep our stories straight. No deviating, no giving them more than what they ask or need.”
As Augustus finished speaking, a haunting silence settled over the group. They each seemed to be lost in their thoughts—the heaviness of the potential outcome weighing on their shoulders. Delilah broke the silence first, her voice edged with frustration. “This is ridiculous. We should’ve gone to the police from the start. We shouldn’t have let Willow drag us into this mess.”
Sebastian scoffed, his tone laced with bitterness. “Yeah, well, what’s done is done. Hindsight’s a real bitch, isn’t it?”
Lilia shook her head, her eyes filled with regret. “We were scared. Willow was scared. We thought we were protecting her.”
Lilia’s stomach churned with unease, her mind flashing back to the events of that fateful night. She could still hear the sound of it, the sickening crunch of metal on metal, the anguished cries that echoed in the darkness. Blood was everywhere, staining their hands and souls. The memory was a haunting specter that lingered in the shadows of their minds, a constant reminder of the terrible secret they shared. And now, as they sat in the sterile room, it felt as though the walls were closing in on them suffocating—every breath shuttered, dripped in trepidation and sin—them with the weight of their guilt.
But they had made a promise, a pact sealed in blood and whispered vows. They would protect each other, no matter the cost.
As Augustus sank into his seat, the tension in the room reached its breaking point. Sebastian’s frustration boiled over, his voice laced with anger. “You know what, enough of this protecting Willow bullshit. Who the hell is protecting us? I’m not going down for this. We didn’t have anything to do with it.”
Augustus shot back, his tone defensive. “And what, Sebastian? Do you think blurting out the truth is going to solve anything? It’ll only make us look more suspicious than we already do. We stick to the plan, we stick together.”
“Stick together? That’s what got us into this mess in the first place, Gus.”
“We shouldn’t have gone along with her. We should’ve gone to the police,” Delilah sided with Sebastian.
Lilia shook her head, her eyes pleading. “We couldn’t just abandon her. She needed us.”
“And now look where we are. Stuck in this mess, with no way out. They think we fucking killed her.”
Augustus clenched his jaw, his resolve unwavering. “We made a promise. To stick together, no matter what. We can’t start turning on each other now.”
“Is now seriously the best time for kumbaya and holding hands around the campfire, Gus? We’re murder suspects.” Delilah scowled.
“Persons of interest,” Eleanor corrected quietly.
“Please shut up,” Delilah deadpanned.
Sebastian shook his head, scoffing.
“If you have something to say, just say it, Seb,” Augustus grumbled, rubbing his temples.
“Nothing. I just think it’s time for us to stop protecting Willow. Maybe it’s time for us to tell the truth for once.”
The room fell silent, the weight of Sebastian’s words hanging heavy in the air. Was he right?
Could this be the end of their secrets?
As they sat in the cramped room, the finality of their situation sank in, enveloping them in a suffocating blanket of uncertainty. It was a stark reminder of their existence, how minuscule it truly is—how fragile. It was a reminder of the delicate balance between right and wrong, truth and lies.
Lilia’s phone buzzed in her pocket, disrupting the tense atmosphere of the room. She glanced at the screen, her heart skipping a beat at the sight of the message.
Sebastian noticed her expression. “Everything okay?”
Lilia forced a smile, her fingers trembling slightly as she typed out a response. “Yeah, it’s just my mom, worried about me, I guess.”
Her friends exchanged a skeptical glance, but they didn’t press further. Instead, they returned to the conversation at hand, discussing their next steps. As they talked, the weight of uncertainty settled over Lilia’s. She couldn’t seem to shake the feeling of unease that gripped her since receiving the text.
The door creaked open again. “Ms. Chen. You’re up,” the detective announced, his voice carrying an edge of impatience.
Lilia’s heart skipped a beat as she swallowed thickly, her palms clammy with nervousness. She exchanged a glance with her friends before rising from her seat, smoothing down the wrinkles in her dress, her legs feeling like lead as she followed the detective out of the room.
As they entered the adjacent interrogation room, Lilia took in her surroundings. The room was small and sterile, with white walls devoid of any color. A single table sat in the center, surrounded by four chairs. A two-way mirror occupied one wall, casting a reflection of the room back at itself.
The detective gestured for Lilia to take a seat opposite him, and she complied, her heart hammering in her chest. He adjusted the recording device on the table before fixing her with a penetrating gaze.
“Are you ready to begin, Ms. Chen?” he asked.
Lilia nodded, her throat dry. “Yes, I’m ready.”
With a click of a button, the recording device whirred to life, capturing every word that passed between them. And as the interrogation began, Lilia couldn’t shake the feeling of impending doom that hung over her like a darkening autumn cloud.
Unknown
Dead girl walking.