The Wicked of Wicker Woods

The Awful Truth

We love a good love interest, don't we? Well, Meet Nolan. Yum!

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"𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚎𝚜𝚌𝚊𝚙𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚎𝚜𝚌𝚊𝚙𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖."

"You've been avoiding me," Nolan whispered against Anna's ear as she walked to class.

Startled, she dropped her books to the floor and stared at them her feet. 

Anna had felt foggy for the last few days, still attempting to navigate her way through the trying times. Her world was clouded with a haze as if she was looking at it through a dirty window. Everything felt different and askew, like a perpetual nightmare that wouldn't pass. 

Fear was apart of her life now. The constant wonder if Molly's murder was random, committed by someone she knew or by a stranger. That and the strange things she was beginning to see that others couldn't

"Shit!" Nolan belted, dropping to his knees to pick up the fallen books, "I didn't mean to scare you," he admitted innocently as his hands worked to stuff loose papers back into their resting places.

Anna watched as he scrambled to pick up the papers, feeling frozen as she watched him.

"Where have you been?" She asked softly, a cry wanting to leave her throat. Not out of sadness, but out of exhaustion for all the questions she had been unanswered.

Slowly standing, "I'm sorry I've been sketchy. I've got a lot going on," handing Anna the remainder of her things, he dusted off his palms, "But I promise to make it up to you. I know we all kind of have a lot going on, things have been weird."

Anna let him explain his case, not bothering to dig for details because for once, she did not care to ask. 

"Listen," he started, pushing a piece of hair behind her ear, a move she was surprised by in the moment, "Reese is having wants have another party, yeah because I wasn't at the last one and it got ruined. Except this time, he's planning on inviting most of the school. My guess is he's trying to show everyone that he's not the cliché high school douche everyone thinks he is."

It said a lot when the best friend of the biggest douche in school, confirmed that he was in fact in the biggest douche in school.

Cracking a much-needed smile, Anna raised an eyebrow, forgetting the seriousness of her life after his touch, "And what is your take on that?"

"He is the cliché high school douche everyone thinks he is. But, he means well and does his best to break away from the shadow of his family. Sometimes it just doesn't always come across that way," Nolan admitted, scratching the back his neck as he looked around the hallway for good measure, "But you didn't hear that from me."

Anna nodded in compliance, "Your secret is safe with me."

"So you'll come?" He asked, working his humorous smile into a persuading frown.

Looking down for a moment, Anna shifted. Reese's lake party didn't turn out so well for her the first time around. Not only did it cause a rift between her and Claire, but one between her and Reese himself.

It also happened to be the place where she discovered that Molly had been found dead.

It wasn't the first place she wanted to be and she was sure others felt the same.