Hold My Hand

Thirteen

"Did you even sleep?"

Taylor looked up from her crouched position on the chair, hugging her knees to her chest, while Ken briefly glanced at the newcomer from his laptop. Sean took an empty seat across Taylor, silently drumming his fingers on the table as he let himself get lost deep in thought.

Everything is getting too much.

"I –I just never encountered something like this, to be honest," Taylor said, her voice in a whisper.

She never experienced any hardships in life. Until her dad decided to leave them for another woman. Taylor had always looked at the world with rose-colored lenses and was never really exposed to the realities of life. She didn't expect that transferring to a new school would give her a reality check, that, indeed, these things happen. This... it doesn't even directly affect her but it is too much for her mind to fathom.

There is no way these are mere coincidences. There must be something bigger behind all these.

"Well, this is real world, I guess," Sean muttered.

They basked in the serene silence of the early morning and the relentless downpour, along with the fast taps against the keys Ken was causing. Sean was pretty sure that Taylor, Ken and Bailey stayed up before he fell asleep, but it seems like the latter finally fell into emotional exhaustion.

"How is she?" Sean asked.

Ken paused from his typing, slumping on his chair as he removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. He trained his gaze towards the sleeping girl on the corner.

"I'm w-worried to b-be honest," Ken started. "She d-didn't even c-cry. She was j-just silent the whole t-time. Didn't even check h-her phone for anything."

"I think she's still in shock. And the fact that it was suicide made it...I can't even describe it. To think I never talked to Jenna and the news affected me," Taylor sighed.

They fell into silence again, now without the sound of Ken's keys. His worried eyes were just fixed on the athlete, his arms crossed.

"Is it really suicide, though?" Sean asked quietly, making the two look at him. He alternately stared into their gazes, chewing the inside of his cheek. "I mean, it's not impossible."

"Her body was found on s-school g-grounds, n-near the entrance of the m-main building. Josh said i-it was re-reported she jumped from the r-rooftop," Ken said grimly.

"But why?" Sean asked aloud.

Ken sighed, pushing his glasses up to the bridge of his nose. He hesitantly went back to his computer, glancing at them before turning the screen to them. Taylor gasped.

On the screen was a social media post by Tati McQuay late last night, a picture of her, Jenna and Bailey with a big red X marked on Bailey's face. The caption read:

Jenna, me and other boys received notes containing threats in our lockers this morning. JENNA WAS DRIVEN TO TAKE HER LIFE. Manny was also taken into custody. And who suddenly went missing? That's right, Bailey The Bitch Sok. She went missing along with the pests in this school like Rice and I wouldn't be surprised if they drugged and kidnapped Josh and Sean for money. She probably connived with her boyfriend Kenneth San Jose to hack into the school's servers to make it seem like she's a victim, too, when clearly SHE IS NOT. Bailey is fake and always be fake. And now she's a criminal, too. Catch the bitch. #baileysokiscancelled #baileysokisoverparty #catchthebitch #justiceforjenna

There were over a thousand comments under the post.

@thepriceisright: take this post down. now. bailey is a victim, too. take your insecurities somewhere else, bitch