Chapter 4: Chapter Four
A week after the burial of Helena Aver, the shock that had gripped Bighton Valley was slowly receding.
The excitement was dying of.
But a horrible truth was setting in in its place.
A week had gone past and no one had any real answers as to what had really happened on that unfortunate night.
An animal attack, the most plausible answer had taken root, and with it, came a new kind of fear in the residents.
What kind of animal could've done it? How could it have pulled Helena from the car?
The hunting parties that had started off after her death were slowly losing momentum.
They'd searched the forest for days and it had become quite clear they wouldn't find anything.
They had swept miles of the forest and yet not even a trail had been found and now everyone was afraid of driving through the woods at night.
As Richard walks through the huge gates and into the High School, head held high. He basks in the longing looks he gets from the girls and the angry scowls from some of the male population.
Enrolling here had not been on his plans at first, even Erol had thought it insane and stupid. "Walking too close to the fire" he'd called it. But it was important for them to try and fit in, the size of this town meant everyone knew everyone and two new teenagers walking around the streets without going to school would raise questions. Questions that could not do any good to his plans. They'd come too far to let something so trivial ruin the progress.
He takes his time to study the students lazing around the front of the schools' main building which happened to hold the parking lot. Some noisily and animatedly chatting up in their small groups.
It was almost sad, the cliques and social classes that were so visibly formed and tore up the groups in unmarked lines.
On one corner were a group you couldn't miss, their hair dyed into so many ridiculous colors they were technically walking rainbows.
Not too far from them were another larger group representing the look of reckless abandon. Dressed like wannabe rock stars with red puffy eyes that screamed 'I'm higher than a kite' louder than their unkempt heads and derelict manner in which they held themselves.
But the group that irked him most was one that seemed to own the school, filled with annoying, loud and fake laughter from girls with some short skirts that would rival those you'd find in a backyard strip club. Their faces are caked with so much make up giving them the unnatural look of puffed up dolls. Their hands with the long nails painted colors that would make him barf wrapped around their boyfriends who wore their varsity jackets that were plastered in the back with school mascot with a pride that would make you believe they were the best form of fashion in the world.
One group however catches his eyes.
Two girls walk not too far ahead of him, by the looks of things they were close friends as evidenced by his observation in the almost two weeks he'd been here.
Nina Aver and Sophie Worley.
They walk so close together you'd think they were holding hands.
Nina's shortness in comparison to Worley is perhaps a little bit pronounced by her hunched shoulders and lowered head. It was clear she was still torn from her mother's death.
The taller girl, however, stands tall and were it not for the stiffness in her walk, and the terseness with which her head moved, you'd almost believe she was okay.
For a moment he almost feels sorry. Almost.
He feels some respect for them.
They seemed to have no class to associate with, not so down the school's ridiculous pecking order as to be bullied but not bothered enough to be in the "populars" group even though they were way better looking than the sadly dolled up girls in the group.
Besides the little town and it's occupants' nosiness, one of the other reasons he'd enrolled here was the two girls.
It would be easy to spy on Worley hidden in the masses of the student body.
He'd been told to always know the enemy, and knowing Worley would make it easier to deal with her.
Helena's death had been, to his pure amusement, labelled as an animal attack.
After that he'd been studying them, they clearly had some influence with the authorities.
And in getting ready for his task, he had to know just how much influence they had in this town.
The two were hard to catch, they seemed to hate being outside, or maybe they just couldn't deal with the absurd ways in which the townsfolk showed their support.
The one with a strange scent, however was even harder to find. One would think with her scent she'd be easy to find but no. She seemed to have gone off the face of the earth.
Camila, he'd heard her name from Phoebe. The girl still had him on his toes even now, Beatrice had claimed not to know of there being anything else in Bighton apart from wolves but the girl was there and she definitely wasn't human, nor was she a werewolf.
He'd at first entertained the thought of approaching Worley. Thought he could somehow convince her to join him. Seek out the power he knew was lying in this town.
That he knew now was impossible.
He hadn't imagined a werewolf would be associated with a hunter let alone be friends with one. He'd thought it was a ruse at first, that Sophie was only there to be well informed on the hunters but he'd been wrong. They were friends, something he deemed stupid on Worley's part. You could never put your hand in a hive full of bees and expect to pull it out without getting stung.
The only way he could deal with Sophie now, was to kill her. Soon his plans would kick into motion, they'd definitely get noticed and he couldn't have Worley meddling.
She could either get out of town, cooperate or die.
All of those options were far fetched. Killing her even more so, but for once he'd take a page off of his betas page. 'Don't waste the ground and risk the high tide catching you.'
The Worley's were merciless and Sophie was no different, now that he had the ground, he wouldn't risk getting swept off when the tide came crashing in. Phoebe was taking too long and he'd have to do it himself.
Paying a little more attention to the two girls who'd stopped by the double doors at what was labeled Block A. He could tell they were looking for someone.
The Aver girls' eyes keep sweeping their surroundings. Richard reckons it was Camila, they'd seemed close at the funeral service which he'd been forced to attend by Erol. "The least you could do is pay some respect to the woman." he'd said.
It had unsurprisingly been well attended, the Avers were not only a well off family but also a well liked one it seemed. He listens closely to their conversation which trickles in as soon as he lets himself concentrate.
"Where's Camila?" Nina asks quietly, "It feels like she's been avoiding me since the burial." her eyes once more sweep the area confirming Richard's earlier suspicion.
"I'm not sure where she is, and besides, why would she be avoiding you? She's probably just busy." Even from where he stands beneath a tree that seemed to have been placed at the wrong place, he can tell that Worley was lying. And she was also pretty much careless, the slight raise in her heartbeat is audible even this far off.
If she really wasn't hiding her heartbeat as well as her scent. Then Richard was lucky, it gave him a good feeling knowing what this meant.
It was a clear sign that there weren't any other wolves in Bighton Valley or else she'd be more careful. Why she'd have to lie for Camila to her other friend, however, leaves him thinking. The same question of what she was comes back to him. And did Worley know?
Soon as they'd walked through the school gates, Sophie had noticed how the other girls' eyes had scanned the compound. It was clear she was desperately looking for Camila.
Their other friend had been avoiding them and dodging their calls since they'd laid Helena to rest a week ago.
She hadn't heard from nor seen Camila in that whole week. She wasn't home to be found or any of the spots she'd normally be. Even her mom had been especially worried. Neither of them knew where she was which was worrying to both. None but her knew what was plaguing the girls mind.
She'd caught a whiff of the scent that she'd now grown used to and associated with Mila as soon as they'd walked into the school. But no sight of the girl yet. She knew to give her space to deal with it all but every minute she felt like beating the girl senseless for not seeing what she was doing to Nina.
Looking at Nina however who'd been ignoring the stares and whispered conversation that had erupted the moment her face had been seen, she feels proud of her. Her determination to remain strong and try moving on with life was honestly awe inspiring for Sophie.
It was barely two weeks since her mom was murdered ,even though she didn't know that, but she was already back in school. Despite herself and her dad, and surprisingly Phoebe who had all told her that she didn't need to be in school if she didn't feel like it, she'd answered them in a simple statement that had them quiet immediately. And honestly, it had made Sophie feel a certain warmth at her friend's determination.
"It's what mom would have wanted." she'd said.
And now that they were back here, back to the pitying glances which Sophie was trying to avoid looking at and some stupid apologies that made her wonder what it was people thought would help by saying 'I'm sorry'.
It was also evident that were it not for the not so friendly scowl that Sophie placed any time someone would dare come close, that they would have heard a million if not more fake condolences.
She's pulled out of her thoughts by Nina who slightly slaps her forehead, considerably hard leaving it stinging.
"Ouch why," she asks, her hand rubbing her head slightly.
"I've been talking to you and you were all away into the moon!" Nina says with a slight frown and a concerned look.
"Sorry, lost in my head for a bit I guess," she decides to dodge the question she was sure would come by starting a new line of thought, knowing Nina would be more interested in it. "I was thinking how it's Camila's birthday next Tuesday."
"Wow, I almost forgot about that!"Nina exclaims excitedly.
"You would never forget a birthday Nina," as Sophie says this she knows it's true, Nina had a thing for birthdays, they were her most favored events.
"Yeah, you're probably right," she agrees with a chuckle. "We should throw her a surprise party at your family's warehouse."
"What? I swear you and Camila are treating me like something that'll break. I'm okay, and Mila deserves a party for her seventeenth birthday" Nina adds with an agitated groan at her surprise and concern.
She shoots down the feeling that Nina wasn't quite ready to get out there knowing it was better if she was dealing with things her own way than curling up in her bedroom and crying as she'd been doing for most of the first week.
"Okay, okay." Sophie says, giving in.
"So Mila has spoken to you?" She adds trying not to sound too ecstatic, if Mila had indeed managed to talk to Nina, it meant she was getting better. This was the first good news she'd heard in the last couple of days.
"Yeah, she called once after the burial. But since then she's been avoiding me and dodging my calls." Her attempts at defending Camila are shot down before she could even start. To herself, she wonders why exactly she felt the need to lie for Camila.
"Sophie, I can tell when you're lying to me and yesterday I saw her by the library and she literally ran into her car when she spotted me. I understand you have your reasons why you won't tell me, but I just don't understand why she's avoiding me right now. I can't come up with anything I've done to deserve that." The hurt doesn't miss out to her as Nina looks away, probably trying to look for Camila again. "And if it's not something I did, I don't see why she wouldn't be talking to me."
Sophie couldn't be hurt by the fact that being there for Nina wasn't enough however, she understood what Camila and Nina meant to each other. She was like a best friend while they were sisters.
Nina was closer to Mila than she was to her own blood sister. This she knew because the two had grown up together, they'd been friends since apparently their first day of school and had never ever been apart since. She'd only come into the picture much later in middle school. This was how she understood why Camila would feel so broken, she felt she'd failed the closest thing she had to a sister, being an only child she'd been brought up with Nina being the closest thing to a sibling she had. Sophie could even remember how Nina had explained why she called Camila's mother 'mom'.
'I have a sister and Camila doesn't, so I decided to become her little sister so she could have one too. So her mom will also be my mom too.'
Granted they'd been young, she knew what they meant to each other and now she felt so helpless that she couldn't help either of them without hurting the other.
Mila had specifically made her promise, swear even, that she wouldn't leave Nina's side until she was absolutely sure she was okay. It was actually sad how concerned and convinced Mila was that by staying away, she was protecting her friend. So convinced that she failed to see just how much more pain she was causing by staying away.
She decides she couldn't tell Nina the truth about Mila, in telling her she'd hurt not only Nina who'd feel betrayed by her closest friend but also Mila who'd also made her swear not to say anything about the dream to Nina.
And above all that, she couldn't bring herself to tell Camila's secret when she had one as big herself. Bigger even and she still hadn't brought herself to tell any of them. Especially Mila who was still convinced she was crazy.
She would wake up for the last few days after Helena's murder and drive to crazy places in the hopes of convincing herself that she wasn't crazy, that somehow the world hadn't been that cruel enough to just show her her best friends death.
So she decides on the shaded form of truth.
"To be honest, I don't know why she's avoiding you. But she's not just avoiding you, I haven't heard from her in days. Whatever it is, she'll come around eventually." Sophie says, more out of hope than the belief that Mila would come to them. She was convinced she had somehow let them down and she was a danger. "You know better than anyone how she is, if she needs time, we've got to give her time. She'll come around eventually and come back to us."
"I hope you're right because I miss her and I just wish she'd tell me what's bothering her. That way I'd know how to help her or apologize if it's something I did." Nina says before pushing towards the science wing leaving Sophie standing alone, thinking of both her friends.
She toys with the thought of telling her friends what she was, opening up to them and throwing all caution to the winds. Giving in to whatever fate held but thinking about it, she recalls why she hadn't told them yet. There was no telling how they'd react; not then and not now. There wasn't telling how Nina would take knowing that her friend was not really human. And telling her secret would include telling Nina about Phoebe as well, she couldn't put her through that.
Camila on the other hand was another issue, she might... No, she would feel betrayed, and with good reason. She came to Sophie, trusted her with her secret and Sophie had one just as big but had never bothered to tell. She'd feel like she wasn't trusted enough, that would only work against bringing her closer. She wouldn't trust her at all.
***
For Camila, the past week had been spent dodging her friends' calls and avoiding every single opportunity that presented them a chance to meet. Not only that but she'd been going back to the scene which had now been officially disqualified from a crime scene, the police were convinced Helena had had an accident and was later attacked by an animal, even the coroner was convinced there was no other explanation.
Even though she knew different, there was no one to tell about it, everyone would gladly throw her in an asylum had she spoken out about what she knew.
The one person she wanted so badly to tell was the one person she couldn't, the one person who'd make her feel whole at this time was also the one person who she'd hurt most by speaking out to.
She could not and would not burden Nina further by reminding her of her mom's death if she didn't have an answer to why she was so convinced it wasn't an accident. Phoebe had been all over her for some time, seemingly appearing out of thin air every moment she'd stepped out of the car, wanting to know what she'd meant that there had been someone else at the accident, and why she was at the scene. Of course she'd acted indifferent, even claimed she'd never previously been at the scene.
However, when Phoebe had found her in her car by the road for the fifth time, she'd had to give her a reason.
"To find some closure." She'd said.
And to some extent it was true, at first she'd gone back there in the hopes that she would be able to see something, anything to help her find the killer, knowing it was the only way she'd find peace. She'd even thought desperately how this was the time she should have been having the nightmares, how she'd wished she could just get another that somehow helped her solve this. And of course it had never happened.
Then she'd go there because she was now afraid she was going crazy, maybe the dream had been a one time thing as Sophie had said and now she just couldn't bear the thought of seeing that place again. It only held questions she had no answers to and ones it couldn't provide answers to either.
Today had been no different, being a Monday, it was harder to avoid her two friends with them being in school. She was surprised to see Nina here, it was a brave thing for her to do. But again Nina was the strongest person she knew.
Despite everything, there was no way she'd allow herself to be too broken, she'd try and do what her mom would probably have wanted if she knew she was going to die.
Nina would live.
It was one of the things Camila had always admired about her. She wouldn't let anything pin her down despite its magnitude, she'd find a way to stand again and grieve as she lived.
Now seated here behind the bleachers, she almost chuckles at the absurdity and her lack of originality, she'd received unwelcome glares from some of the kids she'd found here. They were the ones Sophie would call the emo kids, now she guessed she was one of them.
By now they were all gone and she couldn't help but think how her problems were probably too different from theirs, theirs were real. They were ones that made them relate to each other and made her a stranger because her problems were crazy, hers were the whispers.
They were the nagging little whispers that had found their way into her head a few days ago. Like tiny little voices that talked to her from every part of the surrounding, never clear enough for her to grasp a word of what they were saying but always there. And the blurry images that crossed her vision every now and then, every breathing second was filled with them. Humanoid shapes that were all faceless but always there. At first in the back of her mind but now they were all there seemed to be.
And then there were the strange things that were happening to her body, like how even now that she was far off from the school buildings she could hear the janitor in the principal's office whistling an off tune of 'Wild Flowers'.
She could hear the clatter as the pens in Mr. Scrutton's class table fell, and how he cussed at it. She could also hear her friends worried tones as they walked around looking for her, she could hear every class they unlocked with a clarity that was scary.
The intensity of what she was hearing had made her day in school a miserable one as she not only had gotten in trouble with the principal for dodging the classes she had with Nina but had also screamed 'shut up' in the middle of her detention with Mrs. Ward who had been talking to her when the whispers got too loud. To make matters worse, she had to run off and here she was.
The humanoid faces, the whispers and the images of Helena's fateful night as well as her scream all replaying in her mind make her bite down an agitated scream.
She'd sworn to herself not to cry but she can feel the tears burning in the back of her eyes and the huge lump that settled in her throat. She bites down on her bottom lip trying so hard to change the direction her thoughts were taking, the memories they were bringing back. The glowing yellow eyes that had haunted her dreams since that night, the scream that seemed to get even louder every time it so clearly replayed in her mind.
But what's worse is Nina's face during the service and as they'd lowered her mom into the ground.
She'd insisted on staying until her mom was rested in her home, and the pain in her eyes could never have been greater. For that day, Camila knew she had to be there, she had to be present for Nina.
She'd also been grateful that it was a day she wasn't required to be strong, to act strong. It was a day she was allowed to hold her friend and cry with her, mourn with her and she had.
But now as the memories come back, she hates it, she hates it because she knew there was no way she'd be able to hold in the tears. And if she allowed herself to shed a single one, she knows they wouldn't stop. She shuts her eyes so hard she was afraid they'd never open because she knew if the tears came, she wasn't sure they would ever stop.
As soon as she opens her eyes however, she finds herself staring into her best friends which look at her with so many conflicting thoughts it's hard to place any.
She's mostly shocked asking herself how Nina had managed to find her here. But of course Nina knew her better than she knew herself, of course she'd find her.
She looks down shamefully scolding herself at how stupid she'd been, how lost she'd been in her own thoughts that she'd not heard her approach even with her new hearing. But seeing her friend again after so long digs up so many emotions in her that she's unsure what to say.
As she looks up. Each studying the other, silently, content to stay that way for some time because she knew that even Nina was aware that the moment their mouths opened, it would open a door of endless chocking emotions. Emotions neither was willing to feel let alone talk about. But they had to, there was no escaping it now.
Watching Nina, the sadness was visible on her face as well as the slightly slumped shoulders, despite the strength she was showing. Anyone who knew her as much as Camila did could tell she wasn't okay, she was trying and the determination was clear on her face, but she was still hurting. Camila feels the guilt again, knowing she could have stopped this, but also for abandoning her friend, a friend who had been more of a sister to her since they were children.
She had thought of what she'd say to Nina should they meet but all that seems to have been erased from her mind as she opens her mouth to talk. She shuts it again, knowing she probably looked ridiculous but in the face of the moment, she feels the itch to tell her friend everything.
She knew. This was why she'd been avoiding her, she would never bring herself to lie to Nina in the face. And right now she wasn't sure how to even start talking.
A mere hi seemed too small after all the days and anything else seemed to have evaporated, it was as if she'd lost the ability to form words in her brain let alone talk them.
It's Nina who talks first, the silence probably beginning to feel uncomfortable not counting the number of times she'd opened her mouth only to close it.
"Mila..." she calls but the one word holds more emotions than a whole sentence ever could, it spoke lengths to telling her how Nina was feeling.
The pain, the hurt, the betrayal. It was all in that one word and Camila could feel the tears and pain she'd been so desperately holding back all come crashing back like a flood. The control she'd been so unwilling to let go, she can feel her losing her grasp as the first tear runs down her cheek, calling onto the river.
Nina sinks down to her knees, pulling her in for a hug. The familiarity of her warmth and comfort only make her tears fall with much more fierceness. Despite the desperate urge to pull away, all the guilt that she feels for being comforted by her friend who she'd basically abandoned in her most vulnerable time She feels herself melting into her friend's hug, knowing she'd missed her as much as Nina probably had. They stay that way until her tears subside and the choked sobs turn to painful sniffs that equal Nina's who she hadn't even realized was crying too.
"Mila, talk to me," Nina pleads, her voice ever so soft and soothing making Camila feel a thousand times worse for being so selfish.
"I'm so sorry Nina, I'm sorry." she sobs quietly in her voice coming out muffled by friends shoulder. Unsure what it is she's apologizing for. Was it for abandoning her, for not trusting her? For being unable to stop her mom's death? For not telling her that her mom's death was really not an accident?
"Shh, it's okay. It's okay Mila, you have nothing to apologize for." Nina coos, making Camila feel like a child as she squeezes her friend a bit harder before pulling back.
She feels the guilt that her friend had no idea, she did have a lot to apologize for. She did deserve the pain she was feeling, all the craziness. Thinking of the whispers and gore images that had disappeared when Nina had come, how comforting it had been to hug her friend right now, she knows it was better if she stayed away.
She didn't deserve the comfort or warmth as much as Nina didn't need the craziness that her being in her life would bring. Whatever she'd been pulled into wasn't something to drag her best friend into.
The fact that Nina was feeling sorry for her, was feeling the need to comfort her makes her feel angry at herself. She shouldn't let herself be comfortable at all, if anything she should be feeling much worse. She tries finding the best way to tell Nina, make her understand why she wasn't a good friend.
"But I do have a lot to apologize for Nina, I don't deserve the pity you're showing me. I should have been there for you." she says, aware that now she was ranting. "I haven't been a good friend lately let alone a best friend, I should have been there for you, I shouldn't have been this selfish..."
She's cut off from her babbling by Nina's voice which comes out as a forceful but begging tone, shutting her up instantly.
"Mila stop, okay? Stop, you can't beat yourself up for being sad and wanting to be away from me." Even without the slight flinch, Camila could tell that Nina was hurt but was trying to be strong for her. It was not only sad how it was Nina who was the stronger one right now, after what she'd been through, it was also enlightening. She would only pull Nina down from the far she'd gotten in healing if she told her what she knew. If she stayed close to Nina, she'd only be an added burden. She now sees she'd been right all along, she shouldn't be close to Nina, not until she was better herself.
"You don't understand Nina," Mila says, arms flailing around as if willing Nina to understand her. "You don't understand."
"Mila, then make me understand," Nina begs, reaching for her friend who pulls back almost as if she couldn't bear the thought of being close to her. This hurts Nina a bit but she bites down her pain, right now it was about Mila, it wasn't about her.
Come to think of it, Nina had never seen Camila like this. This broken, this… torn and hurt, although she was only three months older than Nina, she'd assumed a role of the older one among them. Like an elder sister, she was always the stronger one and Nina was scared seeing her like this.
She seemed almost hysterical, and Nina wasn't sure how to help. Finding her hadn't been easy as she'd snubbed all the places that Nina couldn't have thought of but at last she'd known. Camila had once said how behind the bleachers seemed like the only place people could really go to avoid company in this school, it was then she'd known. She knew no one would think to look for her here.
"Mila," she doesn't seem to have heard her as keeps saying 'you don't understand'. Repeating it over and over as if in a daze, her face blank of anything else but pain.
"Camila stop!" she calls louder, shaking a little bit at Camila who runs her hand through her hair, out of the reverie
Looking closer at her friend, Nina forgets all about the days she'd gone without seeing her, the hurt she'd felt at what had felt like being abandoned by the closest person she had in this world. All that pales as she studies her friend, behind all the pain and tears was something that she hadn't noticed before, how she hadn't is a mystery even to herself.
Dark rings around Mila's eyes, the redness that had been there in her eyes even before she'd shed a single tear, the hoarseness in her voice. And the generally tired look that was on her friend. A look that she'd tried to hide but was now clear as day, the number of times she'd run her hand through her hair which Nina hadn't noticed was a mess. And this being Mila, it was saying something, the one thing that would make you really end up on Mila's bad side was messing up her hair.
Nina can't help the shocked and choked tone with which her voice comes when she asks the question out loud. "When was the last time you slept Mila?"
Camila looks away almost shamefully before talking so quietly it was nearly impossible to catch but Nina does.
"I don't deserve it, I don't deserve your pity Nina." Mila was saying.
"I deserve more than lack of sleep." She adds more louder this time with a look that not only shocks Nina but she could also feel her heart breaking for her friend.
Now Nina was beginning to understand what it was that Camila was doing. Why she'd pulled back, it wasn't that she had anything against Nina, it wasn't what she'd thought. And now that Nina knew she feels bad having been hurt that Camila pulled away.
"I deserve this," Mila adds before starting to walk away.
"Deserve what Mila?" Nina asks, her voice barely a whisper knowing what she'd realized.
"All of it," she says. "I deserve everything."
As Camila walks away, Nina couldn't bring herself to stop her.
The pain, the anger, the hurt. Mila was feeling guilty, she felt guilty of causing her pain, it was why she'd been staying away. She was feeling a guilt she shouldn't even have, nothing was her fault yet she was. She was pulling away because she felt she didn't deserve being Nina's friend anymore, like somehow she shouldn't be comforted by Nina.
This brings tears in her eyes, Camila had always felt protective of her and now it seemed that since this was something she couldn't control, she was punishing herself by not letting herself get better. She wouldn't let herself close to Nina because they would comfort each other, they were sisters, they were best friends. This makes her realise she should work even harder to bring Mila closer.
On the other hand as Mila walks away the whispers and the reality of her crazy life now once more settling in. The look on Nina once again haunts her, this time it had been of a different pain, a pain she'd caused directly. But what haunts her, hurts her most is that Nina felt guilty, she'd felt guilty for not being there for Camila when it was she who'd abandoned her.
She feels a sad smile crawling up her face, Nina's selflessness was always something of a wonder to her. But this also gives her a lot more motivation, she would find answers if it was the last thing she did, she'd find those murderers, she would if it killed her. For her friend she would.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone