Death and Destruction (Jeff the Killer Fanfic)

1. Solace

Nina

My alarm went off for school and I grumbled to myself as I reached for my phone, rubbing at my eyes while I sat up and took a good look around. The last wisps of the dream finally faded and I remembered I was at home in Arizona, no blood or weapons around— save for the knife I'd gotten from Kitty, that is. It was always tucked under my pillow for safe keeping, never leaving my side as I grabbed for it and slipped it into my backpack like usual.

It had been over a year since she disappeared. Her face had stopped plaguing the news as much but there were still bodies showing up here and there. It'd always die down for a few weeks before one showed up a few towns over, sometimes a few states. I scrolled through my phone to look for any new stories while I walked downstairs to greet my family for breakfast, tuning them out for the most part before I took a seat next to Chris and poured a bowl of cereal. He seemed interested as he peered over but no new reports had come out recently.

"Hey Nina don't forget you have that report due Thursday," Mom said as she turned away from the sink, her hands wrist-deep in soapy water.

"I'm not a toddler anymore Mom, I can handle my due dates," I chirped absently, slowly making my way through my cereal as she turned back to the sink.

Chris snickered to himself and I elbowed him, shaking my head to dispel the groggy haze weighing on my mind. He finished his breakfast first and I collected the bowls to deposit in the sink before heading back upstairs, ducking into my room and closing the door before I let my shoulders slump. Plain white walls surrounded me, something I complained about for years before Mom finally caved and let me decorate. Of course, I couldn't put anything up she didn't like so it ended up looking like a toddler's room but I couldn't bring myself to complain much anymore.

I changed from pajamas into my favorite skirt and the striped sweater my cousin had given me ages ago, matching socks hugging my thighs as I stepped into them and slipped on a pair of sneakers. Mom shouted that the bus was here and I grabbed my backpack, bailing before she could protest about my outfit and spilling out onto the sidewalk while Chris waited for me at the end of the driveway. Kids chattered and heckled each other while I worked my way back, sitting with him as I plugged my earbuds in to tune out all the racket. We were still a while out from the school and a pang struck my chest as I scrolled through some of my apps, hovering over the only voicemail I'd ever saved before I pressed play.

"Hey Nina-Bean, it's Kitty," my body always eased when I listened to that opening line, "I'm feeling a lot better today, all the fuzziness is gone. Turns out Tom is the one who went for me and they're hopefully about to get his ass. It's about time someone got arrested around here." Her laugh put a soft smile on my cheeks. "Anyway, I just wanted to call you and let you know that everything's finally looking like sunshine over here, call me back when you can. I love you, Bleach Boy and I miss you. I hope you're having a good day."

It feels like I haven't had a good day since I last saw you. My smile fell instantly as someone leaned over the back of the seat in front of me, her dirty blonde hair pulled back into a bun as she loudly chewed on gum and gave me a sinister grin. I wasn't in the mood today to hear her shit but she didn't seem to think she'd done anything wrong.

"Hey psycho bitch, how's the fam treating you today?" She snickered, "oh that's right, like an outcast, as per usual."

"Don't you have someone's cock to be sucking to be passing your classes?" I retorted with a sweet smile while she recoiled. Claudia was a peach of a perfect girl to the rest of the school, could do no wrong, but she always had it out for me.

"At least I don't have to pretend my cousin isn't a certified killer to get through the day."

Pretend? I'm damn proud of her. Over a year on the run and her body count was still climbing.