The Second To Die

Lady Of The Lake :Chapter 5

BTW, this chapter is set just a little before episode 5. Transcripts are hard to come by and MTV has taken down episodes which is weird cause they didn't do that last season.  I'm happy however because I've been waiting for this episode because a lot more will be revealed about Vex's mental state as well as her family. Enjoy! 

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Once I had been discharged from the hospital, the police noting my sighting of the killer as a "minor hallucination caused by trauma to the head", Brooke had taken me to her school, not even stopping for a moment to tell me all that had happened. 

They had found me a day after I had been hit, unconscious and in critical condition. I was found by someone no one saw coming however, a returning survivor, Mr. Duval. He had been returning to town when he found me, barely alive on top of a window in my truck which, had been turned over and destroyed in the crash. 

"Mr. Duval? Why is he back?" I had asked. Brooke had simply pursed her lips, shrugging.

"I've got no idea, whatever the case may be, he's got Emma freaked out of her mind." She had replied. After that, it had simply been filling me in on everything. We were headed back to the school for the Miss. Lakewood deal which, Brooke had entered. I wasn't super excited but, hey, I'd be there to support a friend, especially while Jake was still M.I.A.

Now, I was sitting in an auditorium chair beside Stavo and  Brooke, ever muscle in my body sore and bruised, my sprained wrist in a cast and my head throbbing dully. The doctor had said I was beyond lucky, that I could have had a lot worse than a sprained wrist and a minor concussion, of course, I had had worse. This was nothing. Of course, he had told me that I should stay in bed for a few more days to recuperate, and, it was most likely I would not listen to that advice. Beside me, my phone chimed though, this wasn't the first time. I knew exactly who was calling I just, I didn't know if I would be able to look him in the eye. He was being persistent however for, when the phone stopped chiming, it was only for a mere second before it began again. Groaning, I reached over, hitting the answer button and watching as Noah's face lit up the screen. From the background, I could tell he was here but, maybe he didn't know I was as well. 

"My god, Vex, are you alright? I visited you in the hospital while you were out and then, when I heard you were out and awake, I knew I needed to talk to you." His words came out rushed as he tried to speak, his eyes searching my face for any kind of distress. The only kind he would find would be the hurt. I hadn't forgotten why I had left the school in a rush. Zoey. Him and Zoey more like it. He was getting over me.

"You and Zoey, huh?" I asked, sitting back, leaning my head against a pillow as he sighed.

"Look Vex-" He began, but I shook my head, taking a deep breath. I would probably regret this later.

"Look, I'm the one who broke it off with you. I'm the one who ended it and, I realize that I had no right to be mad or jealous over you moving on." I paused, taking in another deep breath. I felt, almost numb as I continued. "If she makes you happy, than go for it. I'll support you. We were friends before we dated, we can be friends now as well." Maybe it was the smile that lit his face at my words or, maybe it was the fact that I wanted him to tell me not to worry about her that broke my heart. He didn't even try to stop me, because he liked her. Noah and I were no more for now and, he was moving on. I just didn't think it'd hurt so much.

"If it's okay-" Noah's smile fell. "Than why do you look like you're about to cry?" He asked softly. I gave him a weak smile.

"Because, I'm okay with it. Bye Noah." I wasn't okay with it, not in the least. As I hung up the phone, I felt the hot tears well into my eyes. I didn't want him to see someone else, I wanted him. But, I was okay with it.

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Beside me, with a short breath, someone sat beside me. Looking over, I immediately met a pair of soft blue eyes, those that held a mischievous look to them. 

"Hi." The boy said carefully. "I'm Eli." It was a bit weird though, after all the murders, a lot of people had introduced themselves to me. This was probably no different.

"Um, hey. Vex." I replied. He smiled gently, looking down.

"Yeah, I know. Your friend Emma sent me over here to introduce myself." Looking past his shoulder, I found Emma's wandering eyes, a small smile at the corner of her mouth. Rolling my eyes, I looked back to Eli, chuckling.

"I'm the nicest of the Lakewood seven." I said, causing Brooke to turn over. 

"Excuse you, I'm pretty damn nice." She stated. Even Stavo chuckled at that. 

"Sure you are-" I was cut off mid-sentence.

"Hey Vex." A small voice whispered. Glancing up, I met Hayden's gaze, a book in her arms and a soft smile on her face.

"Hey Hay." Stavo said, chuckling to himself. Rolling my eyes, I smiled at Hayden.

"Hey. You want to sit with us?" I offered. I had only really spoken to her once, but she seemed cool and, who was I to refuse people? Potential friend, am I right? 

"That would actually be awesome." Grinning, she took a seat beside me, looking down at the stage. 

"No offense Brooke but, I don't see the point in this bullshit pageant." She said. Brooke smiled, nodding her head. 

"Trust me honey, I don't either. I really never wanted to-" Suddenly, they were calling for all the pageant girls, Brooke's name coming quickly. With a short, annoyed smile, Brooke stood, leaving us all watching as she made her way to the stage. You could see the annoyance in her eyes, that didn't fade as she made her way up and took her spot between a couple other girls. 

Zoey was up there as well, her smile directed into the crowd. Following her eyes, I found Noah seated near the front, an even wider smile on his lips. Once all five of the girls were up there, the teacher smiled. 

"There you have it, the five finalists of The Lady of The Lake." Just as I began to clap, ignoring what I had seen, I looked to Brooke, watching as something red spilled down on her. For a moment, I thought this was a scene from Carrie as red poured over her, drenching her white dress. Only when the body fell from the ceiling, landing in front of her, did I scream. 

"Jake?" I heard her say, right before her own scream erupted. Standing from my seat, I ran down the isle jumping onto the stage and grabbing Brooke, pulling her in though, not before my eyes connected with Jake's own, lifeless ones. A choked sob spilled from my mouth, he hadn't been M.I.A, he hadn't been ignoring us. He had been dead.