The Chase

Chapter 13

She had to stay brave for her mother and Lux. Even if the truth hurts the most, knowing that she didn't slaughter just her mother but her sister as well.

That is why she never appeared around my friends and the family. Why did everybody kept that a secret?, Scarlett thought. She took out her cell phone and started taking note.

I met Zander and American at the age of five. After I killed my sister, Lux and mother, Diana, I was sent to an insane asylum of New York.

Going through her facebook, she stumbled across her sister's and mother's picture on her aunt's profile. Her mother was clenching onto Lux for dear life, she was wrapped in the blue blanket. Beautiful. Stunning. Family. Unguilty. Are the words she thought about her sister and mother. She didn't had hatred towards them, she would do anything to get her sister and mother back.  If there was a way.

         The picture was flooded with likes, shares, and comments. The post seemed to went viral, tons of unknowns were commenting, sharing, and liking the status that Scarlett's aunt posted a year ago.

The post went like this:

Next year would mark the ten years that I lost my baby niece and older sister. Every night since then, I pray for my family to be safe and have God with them. My sister was my best friend, favorite person, a person I would go to if I was down, and she would always listen. She was my savior against the monsters under the bed or in the closet. My oldest niece murdered them when she was eight. Please keep your love ones safe, once they're gone, you will miss them like crazy.

"Scarlett?" Jodie shut the door behind her. "Can we talk?" she asked. Jodie walked towards Scarlett and sat at the end of the bed.

Scarlett nodded. "I guess," she shrugged her shoulders and logged off of Facebook.

"Who's all knows about America's death?" Jodie asked, crossing her arms together and gave a emotionless facial look cross her face.

"Just Jake and Zander," Scarlett said. "That's all."

"Alright," Jodie gestured out of the tiny bedroom. Before she could, Scarlett stopped her.

"Why'd you ask?" Scarlett asked.

Jodie stopped in her footsteps and turned her head. "Oh nothing."

___________________

4:06 a.m.

Scarlett crept to the kitchen, yanked open the kitchen drawer, and raked her hand through the snack drawer. Chips, nutty bar, pink frosted chocolate donuts in plastic bags, bag of free gummy worms, gummy bears, sour patch kids, pixy stix, etc. Scarlett grabbed one of the pink frosted chocolate donut and a handful of a mixture of gummy worms and sour patch kids.

She took out her cell phone and skimmed through her unread messages of Zander, her aunt, Jake, her father and America. She opened the donut and threw the wrapper to her side and hover her hand over her aunt message.

12:15 a.m., from her aunt:
Can't wait to see you. See you guys in two days. Love ya ❤
4:10 a.m., her reply to her aunt:
Love ya too. Give hugs to my cousins for me.

1:25 a.m., from her father:
Too gruesome what you did to her. Too morbid to even talk about.

1:56 a.m., from America:
I don't lurk in the shadows. I hide in plain sight.

1:58 a.m., from America:
We think a lot. That's why we're best friend.

4:11 a.m., her reply to America:
Who are you?

2:15 a.m., from Jake:
Wanna hang out tomorrow?

4:13 a.m., her reply to Jake:
Yeah. That be great.

Scarlett leaned forward intently. She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. She was scared out of her mind, from her best friend's death, anonymous person texting from America's number, and found out she killed her sister. She had reasons to be scared out of her mind. She had to be brave for her sister and mother. She promised.

Her phone buzzed. It was a message from Zander.

4:19 a.m., from Zander:
Be honest. Are you texting me on Annabelle's phone. I'm going crazy with the messages and instagram post.

4:22 a.m., her reply to Zander:
No I'm not. What messages and post?

4:23 a.m., from Zander:
Check Instagram. Will show the messages tomorrow, night.

Scarlett pressed the Instagram app and searched up Annaxbear_ and stumbled upon what America was freaking out about. The caption wrote "I'm everywhere. Even in your nightmares."

4:27 a.m., her reply to Zander:
It seems like it was in her bedroom, showing half of her face.

"Does this mean she faked her death?" Scarlett asked herself, trying to be stay brave and not go insane. She can't be alive. I saw her body. Jodie saw her body. The detectives saw her body. Who is messing with us?

"Who faked her death?" Asher asked, slightly rubbing his tired doe-eyes. He walked down the stairs and gestured towards Scarlett.

"America," Scarlett responded. "She could be alive out there."

"She's dead," Asher said in a dismay tone. "I saw her body in the body bag. She's dead. You miss her, I noticed that."

Scarlett nodded. Of course she missed her best friend, why wouldn't she? They did everything together from the age of five to eight; spending their summers at America family's cabin in the woods, running through the woods, built tree forts, told ghost stories, roasted marshmallows, made s'mores, tea parties, and had adventures throughout the woods.

She'd help Annabelle's parents every morning and evening. But the afternoons were their, and they would spent every minutes of it with each other. Annabelle would have mapped the plans out. They would even race and see which one is the fastest than the other.

And that is when it hit her...her parents doesn't even know.