The Trench

Chapter 26 - History

"Where in God's name is the damn gym." I mumble angrily at myself as I wander across the northern campus. I've only ventured to the parts of campus I needed to go, I haven't actually explored the grounds yet. Obviously I should have because I'm now almost late to meet Aimee.

I stop and pull the map back out of my bag and turn it several ways before it's right side up. According to the map it should be right in front of me, I glance up and I see the Theatrical Arts building instead.

I stare at the building and shake my head.

"Campus maps are easy to read, they said. You won't get lost, they said." I say in a mocking tone.

I glance around me and I spot a woman in a black dress sitting on the concrete fountain behind me, her red hair falling over her shoulders. Before thinking I holler out to her.

"Hey! Do you know where the gym is?"

She turns her head around and her face is red, scrunched with anger, I hadn't realized she was on the phone.

"Rude much." Her voice was smooth but incredibly snobbish. "Can't you see I'm in the middle OF A CRISIS SITUATION HERE?" She hollered at me and stood up; yelling in what I think was Russian into the phone and stomping away.

"Fuuuck a bunch of that, I'll find my own way." I raise my hands in front of me in mock defeat and keep walking.

After several more minutes had passed I gave Aimee a defeated call and she instructed me on how to get there. Apparently I had an outdated map and they moved the gym, go figure. I silently curse the student ambassador who gave me my welcome pamphlet as I make my way to Aimee.

We walked across the parking lot to the dorms where Aimee lives, apparently her old roomie just moved out and no one has taken the spot. So for the time being she has the whole dorm to herself, we poured us some soda and made popcorn and we're currently sitting on the couch.

After a large bite of popcorn Aimee sighs. "Alright, I guess we should get to it. But just a forewarning this is a long ass story. I'll try to make it as simple and as short as possible."

I nod and sit sideways on the couch, crossing my legs and facing Aimee and she does the same.

"Okay, back in high school Mae and I were kinda friends..."

"How can you be 'kinda friends' with someone?" I cock my head to the side and Aimee just glares at me.

"Well you know if you'd let me finish my story I was going to explain." She says sarcastically and I grin sheepishly in an apology.

"Anywaysss, we got along okay but we were really only friends because of Emily."

My eyes snapped to Aimee's at the mention of her name, somehow I knew she was going to play a part in this.

"Emily was the popular girl in school. Cheer squad, straight A's, dated the star football player in a type of gross cliché. They were adorable together, his name was Randy, super good looking with fawn brown hair and blue eyes. You'd always see them in the halls together, after school together and at every game together. Hell, they even studied for class together.

"To sum it up they were the schools power couple, everyone wanted to be them or have a relationship like theirs. Emily was good friends with both Mae and I, therefore we all three spent a lot of time together. Hence the 'kinda friends'. We got along fine, but most of the time we only hung out if Emily was also there. Mae was also pretty jealous, so she would constantly text or call Em if she was hanging out with someone else.

"One evening Mae comes to my house, she starts frantically telling me that she thinks Randy is being abusive towards Emily. I tried to calm her down, she didn't have any evidence she just told me she saw them arguing and Randy pushed Em.

"Honestly, I didn't believe her. This went on for months and Mae started becoming obsessed, I spoke with Emily and she denied it all and we agreed to keep this from Randy. She was relentless, constantly coming up with small gestures and instances where she thought she could convince me that Randy was abusive and that Em was just trying to cover it up.

"One night all of us went to a pre-graduation party. We were having fun, drinking, playing games, taking pictures. Emily had wandered over towards the kitchen where Randy was, from our vantage point it looked like they were getting into a pretty heated argument. I looked at Mae and she was watching the whole thing intently. Emily finally came back over to where we were in the living room and Mae immediately demanded to know what happened.

"Em started tearing up, saying she thought Randy was flirting with one of the college girls that had crashed the party and that she had confronted him about it. Hence the argument. Before we knew what was happening Mae stomped over to Randy and slapped him, hard, across the face and started yelling at him and accusing him of being a flirt and abuser. Things escalated pretty quickly and Randy ended up grabbing Em's arm and pulling her to his car, and they left. She texted me that they were going to her house and that she was fine, not to worry."

Aimee pauses her story and I glance up, I could tell she was trying hard not to let her emotions get the best of her. I lean forwards and put my hand on her knee in a comforting gesture and she gives me a weak smile.

"That was the last time I saw her alive." Aimee breaks down in tears and covers her mouth with her hand. After a few moments she brings her hands in her lap and takes a deep breath.

"I should have gone to her house to check on her, but she said she was fine. I knew Randy wasn't aggressive, I knew he was just mad that Mae slapped him, so I didn't think she was in any danger. The mood was pretty much ruined and I couldn't find Mae anywhere, I assumed she went home so I did too.

"The next morning Mae calls me and tells me Emily was dead. She sexplained that the night before after the argument, she didn't feel right about the situation and went to Em's house to make sure she was ok. She says when she got there Randy was leaving in a hurry and almost hit her car as he peeled out of the drive way. She went around to the back; her parents had a large pool house that Em lived in almost like her own little apartment.

"Mae said the door was open and she walked in, she saw Emily on the floor with blood gushing from a gash in her head. I guess she called 911 even though she doesn't remember doing it, because the paramedics said Mae was covered in blood when they got there. She had tried to stop the bleeding but it was too late. Kane was also there, but Mae doesn't remember why.

"Police interviewed Mae, Kane, and Randy; Randy being the prime suspect after Mae told them her suspicions of his abuse and him leaving the scene before she got there. However, his alibi at the gas station at the time of the murder checks out and he was off the hook. Eyes shifted to Kane, who had apparently gone there to confess his love for Emily. A month goes by and the murder weapon was never found and there wasn't enough evidence to convict anyone, so the police closed the case unsolved. Mae was irate, convinced Randy had done it. She kept trying to blackmail him, trick him into telling her, she even tried to seduce him to get answers. After a few weeks of this she snapped and slashed his tires, smashed his windshield, someone spray painted 'murderer' on his parent's garage door. I knew it was her but she denied it.

"Apparently since no one believed her she went crazy and tried to commit suicide. She locked herself in her bathroom and swallowed pills and drank herself into a stupor. Austin and Kane saved her, she was institutionalized for a year afterwards at the mental health facility up north. I tried to visit her a few times, at first she would see me and just try to convince me to help convict Randy. She wouldn't come to terms with the case being closed. After I kept telling her it's not possible she refused to see me, and she shut me out completely. I remind her of the days when Emily was still around. She hates me for it and she still hates me for not believing her, and she still believed Randy is guilty."