UNDER EDITING
Charlotte Cooper's life had been a simple one up until Louise Bauman went missing. And she was okay with that. The day that the girl had gone missing, everyone immediately became on edge, growing suspicious of each other, trying their...
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It was silent as the five students stood in the hallway together, nobody knowing what to say. They obviously needed to talk about what had just happened, but nobody knew how to start the conversation.
Finally, Tyler decided to be the one to initiate the conversation by looking between everyone and clearing his throat, catching everyone else's attention. "Okay, so clearly there's a shitload to talk about-" He started, before looking down at his phone to look at the time. "And we have three minutes left of lunch break which is near not enough time to talk about anything."
"You're right," Ren said, repeatedly taking glances at Charlie. She'd pushed him away after they stopped when they noticed Trystan in the hallway staring at them, and she distanced herself from everyone else. She just stood on her own, staring at her knuckle that was beginning to turn purple as she fought back tears, bouncing her foot up and down on the tile floor. "We should meet up, talk about everything. All of us." He then glanced up at Trystan, indicating he meant the other boy too.
"Talk about what, exactly?" Charlie asked, finally looking up at the group as she let go of her throbbing hand. "Talk about how all of this has gone to shit? How we're not getting anywhere and we lost almost everyone?" She asked, "Jade was right, this is bullshit, guys and clearly someone wants us to stop - so maybe we should."
"Charlie," Ren softly said, his eyebrows knitting together. "You don't mean that."
"And what if I do?" She quietly asked, looking back at him.
The bell ringing showing that lunch was over and it was time for next class rang, causing doors to open and students to begin flooding the hallway. Tyler glanced at Ren, who looked completely heartbroken, before looking at the others - who even looked genuinely upset that the one person who'd been so determined throughout this entire thing was so close to giving up. He then shook his head slightly, stepping toward Charlie. "We'll all meet somewhere after school. Michael can get Charlie, I'll get Jade. We'll get the entire group, Trystan, come too. We'll get everyone. We'll talk about this, like suggested. Charlie, if you're really serious about quitting, we'll know if you don't show up." He repeatedly stole glances at everyone else, "Hopefully you choose the right choice by showing up."
Instead of replying, Charlie just let out a sigh and looked down at her bruising knuckle, the sight of Nadia's sinister smile replaying in her mind like a memory she didn't want to remember. Tyler looked back at Mikey, motioning to him that it was time for them to leave. Mikey nodded, the two boys leaving the other three on their own.
Trystan stepped up to the two still standing there, taking one glance at Charlie before looking to Renfrow. "Look, man, I-"
"I know," Ren cut Trystan off. "There's a lot to talk about."
"Yeah," Trystan spoke with a deep breath. "There is. I'll just see you later then?" He asked, causing Ren to nod.
"Yeah, see you after school." Ren licked his lips, turning to look over at Charlie, who was beginning to turn and walk away. "I need to go talk to her."
