Fame's Revenge

Chapter 23: Now

Liz

Shay.

I felt so stupid. She was here in my house. So close and yet I didn't see her or recognize her. What's wrong with me?

Open door.

I stopped walking. Cold water ran down my back from my wet hair. I shivered.

Why was the door open? I had locked it.

I remembered the door sounds. The shirt on the floor.

The thud.

I reached out and pushed it all the way open, trying to not panic, and flicked the light switch. Right away my eyes were drawn to the pile in the middle of the room, right in front of my guitar stand.

Which was empty.

Because Sylvie-

Tears flooded my eyes and I could barely make out the broken body of my smashed guitar as I felt my mind go blank. I shuffled a few steps closer before my legs gave out and I crumbled to the ground in a sobbing heap.

I'm not sure how long I was there, but it didn't feel like more than a moment before someone spoke from the doorway behind me.

"I hoped you'd find it before I left."

My body froze. Her voice was almost chilling and I hadn't heard it in nearly a year, but I would still know that voice anywhere.

Shay.

I slowly lowered my hands and twisted to look at her. "Why?" I croaked, my voice showing all of my pain.

She leaned in the doorway as if nothing was happening. "You know why, traitor. You betrayed me and used me and lied to me and threw me away!" she said, voice rising. Her eyes closed and her face slid back into something almost expressionless. When her eyes opened again, they were full of pain and anger. They held so much emotion that they were a stark contrast to the rest of her face. "Don't tell me you don't know."

"What are you talking about, Shay?" I stood shakily and faced her. I had an idea of what she meant, but I was at fault as much as she was.

Her face twisted enough to match her eyes. When she spoke, I couldn't understand anything she was talking about. It sounded like a jumble of words that almost sounded like code. For the first time in my life, I felt like I should be scared of this girl. Especially when I saw a glint of something behind her back.

She was still ranting about something when she began gesturing almost wildly, a chef's knife in her hand. My body reacted faster than my mind when I realized, moving back quickly, trying to put more space between us. She began to advance and suddenly there was a large figure in the doorway behind her. My heart leaped into my throat as I briefly wondered how many people were in my house that I didn't know of.

There was a loud clang and Shay froze before crumpling to the ground. I stared at her in shock, hoping she didn't land on the knife. "Are you okay?" a man asked.

I looked up, eyes quickly focusing as Gavin was hurrying towards me. He cupped my face and pressed his forehead onto mine, eyes closed. I could feel his rapid breaths on my face. He was in need of some comfort, too. I brought my arms up and hugged him. He released my face and let me press it into his shoulder. We stood there for a long moment before we both heard a groan.

We both looked at Shay. She was beginning to stir, but sirens were also coming closer. 

I looked at Gavin. "You called them?" I asked.

He nodded. "Of course I did."

---

Growing up, Shay and I were always together. We knew everything about each other. Still, I never thought I would ever see her being led out in handcuffs. Her face was serene as she looked at me. She stopped walking and the officer nudged her. "I never did like that guitar," she said. "It made you leave me. I should have believed them when they warned me." The officer pushed her and she kept on walking.