Scream 1 [✓]

Chapter 9

Your entire body felt like it had suddenly become boneless.

With your jaw slack, you couldn't tear your eyes away from the TV. You had just turned on the news and were met with the unpleasant face of Gale Weathers, who stood in front of a house with microphone in hand.

You knew it all too well, it was Ryan's house.

'It was here at the Stewart's residence that seventeen year old Ryan Stewart was killed last night. Authorities have reason to believe that Ryan was another victim of the Woodsboro killer, the same one that killed two other students earlier this month...'

The camera panned to the horrific and bloody scene behind her.

The front porch looked as if it had been painted in red and bloody handprints covered all of the door and the walls. There was so much blood that it had gathered down in the gutter.

It looked like something straight out of some gore horror movie, without exaggeration.

There were bits of... What you can only assume were internal organs and skin scattered across the grass. You could feel burning vomit rising in the pit of your stomach, moving towards your throat.

You'd never seen something so gruesome before in your entire life. But it didn't get better, far from it.

The camera zoomed into the driveway revealing two shapes that were covered under white blankets that had blood soaking through them, leaving very little to imagination.

One shape was longer and the other sitting next to it was round and small.

'... At the top of their driveway lay the beheaded body of their son who had been sent to jail after–'

You paled a ghostly white.

Not even during gym have your legs carried you so fast as they did now. You rushed over to the bathroom to throw yourself over the toilet bowl and vomited forcefully.

The retching continued without pause.

You felt as if you were suffocating. You wanted to breathe again but the violent spasms in your stomach stopped you.

Five minutes later, you were finally able to pull yourself away from the toilet, only to curl up on the tile floor and cry at how hopeless you were feeling.

The tears running down your cheeks were warm, the complete opposite of what you felt.

Ryan was dead.

And probably because of you. He had been innocent all along.

Your pitiful sobbing continued, the image of the disgusting scene flashing before your very eyes.

After what must have been nearly an hour of getting intimately acquainted with the bathroom floor, you relaxed and allowed yourself to get up and bowed over the sink, breathing heavily through your nose. You opened the faucet to rinse your face.

You didn't go to school that day but your parents had all the understanding for it. They informed you that the Major put the town under curfew until whoever had done these crimes was caught.

Yeah. It was that serious. Apperently the worst crime they'd ever seen.

Out of all of your friends, Sidney was the only one you allowed to come over to spend the night at your place.

By evening, the trauma of the event hadn't faded even a little. The images were still fresh and clear in your mind, refusing to disappear. Ryan's mutilated body... You didn't even need to directly see it to be able to imagine it.

Dwelling on those thoughts only brought the nausea back and you shoves the bag of chips away from your lap.

You really appreciated Sidney's company and you took comfort in the feeling of her hand on your back.

Her face was full of sympathy. She had hugged you for the past two hours, telling you you'd be alright, but you weren't so sure of that.

Currently, your parents were upstairs, giving you and Sid the space you need.

"Are you going to school tomorrow?" She asked patiently.

You looked at her concerned face, absentmindedly brushing your fingertips over the rim of an empty water glass. "I don't think I will. I just... Can't."

"That's completely understandable," Sidney reassured. "I'll borrow you my notes. And just so you know. Everyone was worried sick about you."

Your mind was still filled with questions, but you set them aside for now and let your mouth curve into a grateful smile. "Thanks, Sid."

"No problem." She rose from the couch and headed to the kitchen to bring you another glass of water.

You gratefully took the glass and sipped from it. "I feel so bad... I... I sent him behind bars and he found me in school, saying he wasn't the one who killed Casey and Steve."

You bit your lip, muttering some words before you drank at a slow pace. "There's something else I haven't told you or Tatum."

Sidney reached for you, grasping your shoulders softly. "What something else?"

"During the sleepover at her house," you started and squeezed your eyes shut, trying to choke back your emotions. "It wasn't just some random school kid calling like I told you. It was him. He was threatening you guys and..." You sniffled. "He called me teddybear. That's the nickname Ryan gave me so I assumed it was him... I hung up..."

"Hey... That was really brave of you. I understand how you feel. It's not your fault for blaming him when he showed up right after it happened?"

There came the waterworks again. Sidney keeps you in her arms, occasionally stroking your back as tears shimmered in your eyes.

You didn't know how much time passed when you found the strength to pull away.

"Think you can go to sleep?" She waited for you to get. The colour had slightly returned to your face and your body no longer shivered.

"Yeah," you nodded, knowing she still had school tomorrow. You let her follow you into your bedroom where you'd placed a mattress down for her to sleep on.

You'd already changed into pj's beforehand so the only thing you still had to do was brush your teeth. After that you crawled into bed, hugging your warm blanket for comfort.

"G'night, Sid," you croaked.

"Night, (Y/N)."