Chapter Fourteen

5.8K 439 65
                                    

(I'm a liar this is a short chapter but the next ones are actually longer I promise)

April 16th, 2017

Monday.

The principal had given us the day off to reflect on this "tragedy". He released a statement that he was "deeply saddened" to hear about the loss of one our own, Olivia Parker. I wasn't even sure he knew who Liv was. The rest of the major officials in towns also released statements with condolences. The school was hiring a grief counselor to get us through this tough time. In front of the school, people had started leaving flowers and messages for Olivia, others were bolder and posted online about how much they loved Liv, how close they were. Girls were posting about how they sat next to Liv in chemistry or that one time they were talking at lunch. People would tweet their memories with the hashtag #Live4Liv. People would reach out to reporters, pretending they were close with Liv, with Wesley, with all of us. They would claim they were so close to Wes and Liv. Sleeping with Liv didn't make you close and being lab partners with Wes didn't mean you knew him. People knew the idolized versions of us, not the real ones.  They made it about them, wanting to seem like they too were hurting. Any of us who were actually close to Liv kept quiet. Her parents refused to give a statement to the reporters swarming outside their house, Patrick and I secluding ourselves in our houses. 

It was radio silence on Wesleys end. His parents, refusing to leave their house, calling up every lawyer they knew. No one dared go near his house, talk to his parents. They were shunned. Someone brave enough spray painted the word "Murderer" on the front of their house.

Liv's obituary went online early that morning, leaving out the gruesome details it was almost like Liv died of natural causes. It was fake, all of it. The town was trying to sweep everything under the rug, trying to move on but it was too late. We caught the attention of the nation. Everyone needed to know what happened. I needed to know what happened.

People started to make facebook groups documenting our every move. They would stalk our houses and take photos of them so everyone knew where we lived and what we were doing at all times. People thought we had something to do with it, that we had the answers. They would scream at whoever left Wesley's house. They got so rowdy the Owens needed police surveillance. People posted about us, and suddenly we were a hit. I think if Liv wasn't pretty and we weren't in such a quiet affluent town we wouldn't have been such a big deal. But we were.

JUSTICE FOR OLIVIA PARKER

For the past few days, the nation has been closely following the aftermath of one of the biggest murder mysteries facing our nation in twenty years. Olivia Parker- an eighteen-year-old high school senior was allegedly murdered by her lifelong friend Wesley Owens. 

Parker has been described as a kind, popular girl adored by all. Parker was set to go to Princeton in the fall and wanted to be a social worker in order to help others when she was older. People in Fairweather have been voicing their sympathies and sorrows and ask how something like this could happen to their community. 

On Friday night Olivia Parker was found dead in the town's lake. Standing on the bridge above her was eighteen-year-old Wesley Owens. Owens, also a senior at Fairweather Highschool was taken into custody late Friday night. At this time it is assumed he is guilty in the murder of Parker. 

Now people are asking why? Why did this happen? 

At this time no one is sure about the specific details on what happened Friday night but officials assure everyone that soon we will have the answers.

At the time of the accident, I didn't know. I didn't get it, it wasn't until today that I thought I knew what truly happened. What really happened to Liv. I had my theories before today, of course, ideas constantly swirling through my head for the past 48 hours. Picturing it over and over again. I wasn't even sure that what I knew now had anything to do with what actually had happened.

I took something home with me. I shouldn't have grabbed it when we were on the bridge. I should have left it there, I was planning on returning it to her parents but I took it home with me. I didn't think I'd go through it, I shouldn't have but I did.

Livs phone.

 I wish I never found it, wish I didn't feel the need to go through it.

Adults say everything you need to know about a teenagers life is on their phone. Everything important to them was on there. Secrets, lies, truths everything. Liv wasn't any different. 

The truth was on there.

I couldn't go through it alone, I was scared of what I'd find. Maybe nothing, I wasn't sure. It took me another two days to call Patrick and have him go through it with me. He hadn't wanted to, he said it was because it was an invasion of privacy but now I'm not sure. I finally broke him down and when we looked through I felt sick. I thought I had prepared myself for anything. 

I hadn't. 

 

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.


UM WE'RE AT NUMBER FIVE IN MYSTERY-THRILLER WHAT THANK YOU.

Any theories on what's on the phone?  LMK

Hidden Truths|✓Where stories live. Discover now