The Best Intentions

Chapter Forty Five

*Kate Harris*

I could tell she was gone before I even opened the door. I paused outside for a moment, disliking the new atmosphere surrounding the house. I think Samantha's absence was fairly obvious thanks to the absence of any rock music playing. I looked for her anyway, but I was right. She was gone.

"Damn," I muttered when I saw my phone on the counter. At least she returned it.

Loneliness was something I used to, obviously. My parents abandoning me was my first taste of it. When my cousins moved out of Carlene's house, I finally got use to it. It wasn't like I was close to any of them beforehand. It was just that the house became too quiet afterward. I hated it. Carlene was never home either, so I never had anybody to talk to. I feel like I raised myself sometimes.

Carlene was tasked with raising us after our parents all disappeared, and she despised us for it.

Maybe I wouldn't be so lonely if I had friends. But I didn't. The closest I had was Samantha, but she wasn't my friend. I'm not an idiot. Still, having her around was entertaining.

I wondered where she went. I knew she wouldn't be back. Maybe she'd confront Dark Skies. Maybe she'd lay low.

I flopped down on the couch, kicking off my shoes as I turned on the TV. It was already on the news. I used it as background noise while I scrolled through posts on Instagram.

"For those of you just tuning in, earlier this evening, a girl named Natalia Mendoza was found dead along with eleven others. At first glance, it seems like what might've been a drug deal gone wrong."

My eyes snapped up to the TV, shock washing over me. I tossed my phone, suddenly tuning into the broadcast.

"Police are still investigating, but an eyewitness is pointing the blame to a former hero known as Blue Blur. Our question remains; What made Blue Blur snap? Weeks prior to this incident, there was a theory that Natalia Mendoza hired Mark Campbell to kill Lilith Flynn. While-"

I muted the TV and frowned. Grabbing my phone, I decided to give Devin a call.

"Kate?"

"Natalia Mendoza is dead."

He tried to make his voice sound shaky. "Y-Yeah, it's-"

"Save it. I know you're pining after that emo Jack Frost guy. Did you have anything to do with her death?"

"Nope."

"I don't believe that for a second."

Devin sighed. "Katherine is at my house. You can come over. Just don't let Carlene know. Or Evan."

Like I talk to Evan.

I hung up and called a taxi.

***

I hopped out of the taxi and slammed the door shut. I gave the driver a little wave before walking inside. I chose to use the stairs instead of the elevator. Devin's apartment was nice and all, but it was hardly bigger than the first floor at Carlene's house. I didn't know why he didn't just buy a house. Then again, he was almost never home. Usually, he was at Dark Skies. I knew Katherine knew he was Dare. I just wondered how Mendoza was too blind to see it.

I didn't even get the chance to knock before someone yanked me inside.

I came face to face with Katherine. My eyes widened, but I found myself grinning. "You look a lot better than you did in Iron Labs."

"Like that bitch could kill me." Katherine flopped down on the sofa. "She would've kept hunting me if Blue Blur didn't kill her."

Devin nodded. "Well, let's forget about all of that. It's over and done with. We're having a board game tournament."

I chuckled. "We're playing Monopoly, aren't we?"

"Our last name is Harris. Our parents were always playing monopoly."

They'd never included me like this before. It felt nice. "Are we going to have a horror movie marathon too?"

"Of course!" Devin exclaimed.

"Let's just make sure it's nothing that involves labs," Katherine suggested. She turned to me. "How did you find out I was at Iron Labs, anyway?"

"It's not hard to get information here," I muttered, referring to Iron Beach. "I always knew Iron Labs was responsible for the chemical spill, I just didn't know they were testing people against their will."

I looked over at Devin, watching him sort through the movies on a rental site.

Devin groaned. "Are you guys going to make me watch something that involves cannibals? I hate that trope. I hate the evil clown trope too."

Katherine and I exchanged a glance. "Those are the best tropes!"

At that moment, I had never felt happier. For a split second, I let myself believe things would start to get better.

When the movie was over, I looked down at my phone. Somebody had texted me during the movie.

My heart skipped a beat.

"I heard Evan is coming back to town," I muttered.

Katherine and Devin both tensed.

Nobody in our family liked Evan. He was worse than Natalia in every way. He didn't have morals. He didn't care about anybody. He just wanted power and for people to fear him. If he ever found out about Iron Labs, we'd all be screwed. Evan would probably have us tested on without a reason if he was in the same position Natalia was in. I don't think he's a sociopath exactly, but he definitely has a lot of the traits.

I could still remember the night I walked into the kitchen only to see him threatening to gut Katherine because she got better grades on her report card than him. We personally never spoke, except for that one time he told me he'd make me regret telling Carlene what I saw in the kitchen. He didn't even hurt me for that. He hurt Devin and made me watch. He was right. I did regret it.

"Where did you hear that?" Devin asked.

I put my phone back in my pocket. "Natalia."

Katherine tilted her head. "Wait...when did you talk to her?"

I sighed. "I had to go to her house after the Iron Labs incident."

"Was that all that happened? She just told you about Evan and let you walk?"

I scoffed and stood. "No. She had one of her security guards try to kill me, so I snapped his neck. I didn't think she was stupid enough to actually try to get rid of me."

"You killed someone in front of a witness?" Katherine asked. "In front of Natalia Mendoza of all people?"

"You killed people in front of her too," I snapped, then turned to glare at Devin. "You helped Blue Blur kill her, didn't you?"

"That's different," Devin replied.

I rolled my eyes. My phone started ringing in my pocket. I sighed in irritation, realizing it was Evan. "What do you want, Evan?"

Speak of the Devil and he shall appear.

"Calm down with the attitude. I was going to invite you out to eat, seeing as you're the only one in our family I can stand. I'll text you the address. I want to talk."

"Sure," I replied. When he hung up, I turned back to Devin and Katherine. "It seems like I've got to go have dinner with Lucifer himself."