THE AMBULANCE ARRIVED not long after, treating Juliet's dripping wound with a bandage before sending her off with concern. Ethan remained close to her at all times, even after the paramedics had pushed him away to treat her bleeding arm. He hovered behind them, avoiding their urgent paths to keep an eye on her. He just couldn't find it in himself to look away.
"Does it hurt?" Ethan asked as they walked away from the departing emergency van. Juliet twisted her neck to look at him, eyebrows raised. "Oh, sorry. That was a dumb question."
She shook her head with a quiet laugh. "It's fine. As long as it's stopped bleeding, it'll be okay," she shrugged with a smile, eyes flicking from Ethan to the dark path in front of them. The little light from the street lights illuminated the air before them, providing them with the sight they needed to keep moving forward. They hated it, the cold and wicked night breeze. It reminded themselves of the deathly moment not too long ago.
Ethan took a moment to speak, waiting a second in the silent air before finally parting his lips. "I really am sorry," he whispered, his voice carrying away into the morning.
"Ethan, it's okay," she promised with a smile, a genuine smile, as she reached for his hand. She ran her thumb down the edge of it, watching as his cheeks flushed in the darkness of the night. "You were at Econ."
"Yeah, but I shouldn't have been. I thought about staying . . . knowing the killer was around and all, but I just- I don't know. I didn't wanna believe it was actually happening," he explained quietly, his eyes watching the ground before returning to hers. "I mean it when I say I won't leave you again."
Her lips moved up into a heartfelt smile, yet full of such blossoming emotion even he couldn't comprehend what it meant. "Thank you," she softened, eyes blinking away her grateful tears. "Thank you, Dree."
He smiled, squeezing her hand before rubbing his finger down the centre of her palm, looking away to focus on their steps down the city paths. They followed the journey the girl had previously ran, tracking their way back to the apartment complex in seek of their friends.
When Chad, Mindy, Sam, Tara, and Sam's boyfriend had walked back into the lobby carefully, waiting for the authorities, Tara had let out a gasp. She'd almost stood on something, that something being somebody's phone - that somebody's phone being her very own friend who lived in the apartment three floors above her own. That's what made her scared, that's what made everything ten times worse. She didn't know if Juliet Hampton was still alive.
However, she did know hours later when her and the boy that'd been pushed forward on everyone's suspect lists appeared at the edge of the police tape. The sun had risen, brightening the New York City streets just enough to see the civilians crowding around the apartment block. Ethan's hand hovered by the small of her back as they pushed through the immense crowd, the boy shoving the people aside to allow the hurt girl through unscathed.
He lifted up the police tape, watching cautiously as she ducked beneath it before following in her footsteps. However, he only made it a few feet before being pushed up against a police van by his own roommate.
"Where were you?" Chad fumed, hands gripping the curly-haired boy's shirt as he pushed him further up the vehicle. Ethan winced, stuttering out a response as Juliet urgently looked towards the two.
"What? When?" He asked, voice ragged in the dense air. Juliet worriedly stepped closer.
"Last night, where were you?" Chad questioned again in a more urgent tone.
Juliet rolled her eyes before stepping even closer, harshly pushing Chad away. "He had Econ, then he found me."
Chad rolled his eyes as well before walking back towards them, eyes flicking between the two. "How do I know you're not just covering him for somethin'?"
"Chad, are you serious?" She scoffed, voice low, as her eyes betrayed the hurt she felt strike her heart. She imagined him to apologise, hoped for it, but all she got in return was a steady eye and curt nod.
"Leave her alone, man," Ethan interrupted, standing in-between the two to push the boy away. "She almost died, bro, and where were you? I found her, alright? Ghostface was there, too."
Chad looked over the boy's shoulder, watching as Juliet's eyes fell to the ground. "You almost died?" He questioned sadly, brows drawing in with nervous eyes. Ethan turned around to follow his eye, slowly shifting away upon realising the flick of the angry demeanor to the sad one.
"No . . . I just got scratched it all," Juliet shrugged, forcing a smile. However, Chad could see right through it, so after eyeing the bandage coating the right side of her arm, he pulled her into a hug.
"I'm so sorry, Jules. I didn't know," he muttered apologetically, and suddenly, she wished she'd never hoped for one.
"Please don't apologise, I've heard it too much already today," she laughed, pushing away the pain and sadness to uphold the happiness needed in the moment. He pulled away, smiling in the slightest, before looking back at his friends in the van.
"Oh my god. Who?" He asked, causing Chad and Juliet to whip around - one substantially faster.
"Anika and Quinn," Chad sighed. Ethan and Juliet shared a look.
"Anika? Quinn?" Anika, Quinn, and that was the last of their names being fueled by hope, only ever later replaced with despair and grief.
"Mindy, I'm so sorry," Ethan tried, moving to step closer.
"Step the fuck back," she ordered, hand moving up to stop the boy from coming any closer. Juliet stood behind him, eyes trailing the body bags on wheels moving towards the edge of the crowd. She couldn't believe it, two girls, two friends, all dead in the same night by the same person. What struck her most was the thought of her never seeing them again, and she never even got to utter a single goodbye.
Little did she know, or any of them know, was that it was only the beginning.
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