Finding Emily

{Chapter 20}

   The next few days Becca and Star spent several hours being interviewed by the FBI, local police, and it was exhausting, but they knew it was necessary and didn't complain. All of the kids at the beach party were brought in too along with Jenna and Brian's family including Tasha. Star and Becca didn't see her. They couldn't help but wonder what she was going through though. Her twin brother was a murderer. 

  The media was in an uproar as it leaked that there were two new suspects, and that they tried to kill the sister and friend of one of the victims. It was also leaked that Emily was the one to shoot Paige. Becca hadn't seen Paige's family, but her Mom said they talked to them, and there was a lot of anger and hurt. They knew it was an accident though.

  "They know it was an accident," Pat soothed Becca. "They're angry but... we just have to deal with it."

  Jenna kept with her story that it was just a fight between her and Emily that got out of control. Jenna said that Brian pressured her into it because he didn't want to go to jail for having sex with an underage girl. She forgot to mention it was her that slit Emily's throat, but Becca didn't forget. She would never forget, and she wanted Brian and Jenna to both face responsibility for what they had done.

  Graduation was quiet and somber. It was put off for a week because of what had happened, but finally they got their diplomas. The class wasn't in the mood for celebrations. They were missing two of their own for a horrible reason. Brian was in jail waiting for his trial, but Jenna made bail as her parents had more than enough money to pay it. She was out and awaiting her trial under home arrest. 

    Becca thought it was incredibly unfair that Jenna got to be free while Emily was dead, and Star and herself still suffering from what happened. A lot of people waited outside the jail and screamed horrible things at Jenna as she left in the arms of her father with his sports coat over her head. Becca watched on the news. Jenna was going to her grandparents house in the country to as it became clear she wouldn't be safe in town. It seemed liked she was getting a lot more of the heat than Brian. Becca knew it wasn't fair, but she couldn't bring herself to care that much.

  On graduation night; Kyle and Becca went to a party at his friend Ryan's house. It was the big party that everyone had been talking about. She ended up having a good time although she had to admit she was still skittish around people after what happened. She was going to therapy on a regular basis by herself, and with her family. She was having issues with sleeping in the dark and being alone. She had similar problems after Emily had died,  but it had been overshadowed with grief.

  Now she was facing her grief and blatant terror. She didn't have to imagine Emily's fear now. She felt it. She saw shadows out of the corner of her eye, and she would break into a cold sweat and start to panic. It was also hard to accept that she'd been a victim, and she almost died. Sometimes she woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't stop crying as she thought of how close she'd come, and how unfair it was that Emily hadn't gotten to survive. Kyle was a huge help. He practically lived at Becca's house these days. She couldn't be without him. She felt safe with him. He was her best friend, and they were doing well together even among the chaos.

  He was reluctant to leave her side, and she knew he blamed himself for not being there for her. He was at the lake when they abducted her and Star, and he sometimes he had bad dreams where he almost saved her, but he couldn't. She didn't want him feeling guilty, and she didn't want him to just be with her because of the guilt. He promised her he wasn't, and he was still madly in love with her. She knew he was telling the truth, but she still occasionally told him to go out with his friends or have dinner with his parents.