A secret is a secret | ONC 2024

01 | The unexpected turn

Tonight before the four of us return to our regular life early tomorrow morning. It was supposed to be a good farewell by the beach in front of a fire pit with a few drinks. It started as a good farewell until the clock struck midnight and the early morning came, and that's when our farewell took an unexpected turn.

"What did you do?" My voice came out like a whisper I believe. At the sound of my voice quickly my boyfriend and my two best friends Beck and Cryus looked at me.

"Lenora, Alfred, and Cyrus, you need to listen to me." Beck yelled, bringing my attention away from the firepit onto her. "We were never here, okay!"

"Beck, we were here! Our finger on the bottles and the wood in the firepit are the evidence." I heard Cyrus say, there was a slight panic in his voice.

I swallowed hard, feeling my hands shaking at what had happened minutes prior. "What are we going to do?"

"I know that genius." Beck walked towards me, kneeled on the sand, and aligned her face with mine. "I am going to get rid of any evidence that we are here."

"And how exactly are you going to do that?" My boyfriend Alfred asked her as he placed a hand on my shoulder. I didn't notice when he walked to me and stood behind me.

"Alfred, did you forget that I am a forensic science student? I had to learn about this at one of my classes." Beck was looking at me with concern in her facial expressions.

"This is the only time that I am going to say this. At this moment, Beck, I am glad that you are studying forensic science." Alfred didn't move his hand from my shoulder.

"Oh my god, this is so bad. There is a body over there and I have witnessed a crime!" Those words left my mouth as I placed my hands over my head feeling panic setting in.

I tried to look at Beck but my vision suddenly got distorted. It was seen through a fish-eye lens. At the same time, I felt an uncomfortable pain in my chest that I had never felt before today. I need to get away from here, fast.

"Um, Alfred, she is starting to have a panic attack." I think that Beck looked away from me and started looking over my shoulder. I am guessing that she is looking at my boyfriend.

I felt my boyfriend's hand leaving my shoulder. It didn't take long for my boyfriend to kneel on the sand next to our best friend. Now both of them must be looking at me with concern on their faces.

"I need to get out of here." I finally whispered, finding my voice to share my thoughts.

"Yeah, let's get you out of here. Lena, baby, do you want to go to our hotel room?" My boyfriend softly asked me, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear.

"Yes, I want to go anywhere but here." I replied to his question as I started feeling my body getting hot despite the cold wind around us.

"Lena, can you walk? Or do you want me to carry you?" My boyfriend placed both of his hands on each side of me.

"Alf, honestly, I don't feel like walking. Can you please carry me?" I asked him, wanting to feel his body against mine.

"Of course, baby I can." My boyfriend said, moving his hands away from each of my sides. Instead, he placed them on my lower back. "Lena, please can you stand up for me?"

I nodded at him, carefully standing up from my sitting position on the sand. Once my feet were on the sand, my boyfriend tightened his grip around me. Then he softly lifted me off the sand. I wrapped my legs around his waist, laying my head down on one of his shoulders.

"Cyrus, are you staying with Beck? Or are you coming with us?" My boyfriend asked our best friend as he started rubbing circles on my lower back.

"Not right now, I am staying here to help Beck." Cyrus replied to his question. "Is Lenora feeling better? I will check up on her when Beck and I are done here."

"Okay, Cyrus." I felt my boyfriend placing a kiss on the top of my head. "Honestly, I don't think she is feeling better, she is still shaking up about what happened. I'm going to check up on her once we are back in our hotel room."

"Cyrus, you don't have to stay behind with me and help me. You can go with them if you want." Beck joined their conversation.

"Beck is okay, I want to stay here and help you. I don't want you to do this alone." I heard Cyrus telling Beck. I felt my eyes getting heavy so I closed them.

"I appreciate your help Cyrus so thank you." I heard Beck thanking him. A few seconds later, I felt Beck's hand on my right shoulder. "Lenora, I will check up on you later. Alfred, I am going to tell you how it goes over text."

Instead of verbally replaying, I just slowly nodded without lifting my head from my boyfriend's shoulder.

"Beck and Cyrus, I am going to take her to our hotel room. You know where the room is. Good luck and see you soon." My boyfriend informed our best friend about our departure from the beach. He began walking in the direction of the hotel that we were staying in.

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Welcome, to the first chapter of A Secret is a Secret, I am starting to love this book and I can't wait to see where it takes me!

Final chapter word count: 934

Total book word count: 934