Apathy by L.K. Reid

Skylar

“Why are you all dressed up?” Dylan asked as soon as I came down for breakfast.

It was weird seeing him at the table after so many months, but it felt good having him here. Even if his nagging was going to drive me crazy if he continued like this.

“Um, I’m going to school?” It sounded more like a question than an answer, and the narrowing of his eyes told me everything I needed to know.

“No, you’re not.”

“Excuse me?” I came closer to the table, vexed with his entire demeanor. “You can’t tell me what to do, Dy.”

Seated at the head of the table, he kept looking at me, all the while holding a croissant in his hand. I loved my brother, adored him, but he could irritate me like no other person could. When we were kids, he would fuss if I fell, hovering over me like a mother hen. If he noticed I was sad, he wouldn’t let it go until I told him what bothered me. When Zane died, he wanted to stop his studies, so that he could stay at home and take care of me.

As if he needed to take care of me.

The moment Ash left, and after overthinking the entire thing, my body still tingling from his touches, I knew that Dylan was going to pull something like this. It wasn’t in his nature to let things go, and the mere possibility of me being in danger was going to turn him into an overbearing and overprotective brother. That was the side of him I didn’t love all too much.

As soon as I started dating Zane, he started hating him. If he called, Dylan would get annoyed. If he came over, Dylan would rather choose not to be around, than stay and watch a movie with us. The number of times I had to beg him to behave was exorbitant, and I never wanted to deal with that version of him again.

If I didn’t know any better, I would go as far as to say that he was jealous.

“Sky.” He took a deep breath, as if preparing himself to talk to a small child. “You went through a lot yesterday.”

“And yet, I am fine!” I thundered. “You can’t expect me to stay here the whole day. Life goes on. What I saw and what happened yesterday… Well, I can’t do anything about it.”

“Somebody carved your name into that girl’s chest!” he bellowed, slamming his fist on the table.

“H-how,” I stammered. “How do you know about that?”

He fisted his hand, glaring at the table, refusing to look at me. I hoped that he wouldn’t find out about that. It was bad enough that the entire police force of Winworth knew, but I wanted to spare him the details. Or maybe I just didn’t want to think about that. And maybe, just maybe, I wanted to pretend that the name on Megan’s body wasn’t the same as mine.

“That officer from yesterday called. He wants you to come down to the station to give your statement.”

“But I don’t know anything,” I argued. “If I hadn’t slipped, I wouldn’t have found her and—”

“No, Sky.” He finally looked at me. “If you hadn’t gone into the fucking forest, and I told you a million times that you guys shouldn’t be wandering through there, you wouldn’t be in this situation.”

I sat there, gawking at him as his words registered in my head.

“Well, I am extremely sorry that you didn’t get a sister that would sit at home and do nothing but go to school,” I sneered. “But you’re stuck with me. I refuse to play the part of the perfect little daughter and the perfect little sister, while you guys do whatever the fuck you want to. I’m not a child—”

“Then stop acting like one!” he roared, catching me by surprise.

Dylan never yelled at me. Hell, he never ever raised his voice around me. This side of him was something I hadn’t seen before. After yesterday and Ash this morning, the last thing I wanted was to have to deal with whatever crawled up his ass.

Stupefied, I studied him and the sharp intakes of breath he was taking, but I couldn’t say a word. I didn’t ask for special treatment because we found a body in the forest. I never asked for anything. Yet he loved pretending that I was still a little girl who didn’t know how the world worked. If only he knew… If only he knew about the things that were hiding inside my head.

If only he knew that I wasn’t a little girl anymore, because I wasn’t allowed to be. I refused to sit here while he unleashed all his fury at me.

“Where are you going?” he asked as I stood up and started heading toward the exit from the kitchen. We usually had breakfast here, rather than in the dining room, but the idiot managed to make me lose my appetite in a matter of minutes. “Skylar?” he bellowed when I continued walking without answering.

“Goddammit,” sounded behind me, but he could go and fuck himself if this was how he imagined this day to go. His footsteps echoed around the hallway, and as I rounded the corner heading toward the large staircase, leading to the first floor, his hand wrapped around my arm, turning me to him.

Only lit by the wall lamp, his face looked more dangerous than ever before, but I was too tired of men throwing me to this and that side and expecting me to do only what they wanted me to do. My father wanted me to attend the university in Seattle, Ash… Well, I still wasn’t sure what exactly he wanted from me, but I was sure that he wanted something, and now Dylan was trying to control what I did and where I went.

I didn’t like it.

He was supposed to be the one person in my life that would ask me what I wanted to do before making any decisions. And yes, I was a child. I was a goddamn teenager who had to deal with things that no other teenager could even comprehend.

“Where are you going?” he asked again, pulling me closer to him.

His body heat enveloped around me, and in the tiny hallway, he seemed to be everywhere. I always wanted to know how he managed to be both scary and caring at the same time. Even though he held me to him, he wasn’t hurting me.

But men never hurt us intentionally, at least not at first.

It always starts small, with punishing touches, poisonous words and restrictions that only make sense to them. And if Dylan was going to be that kind of a man, I didn’t want to be with him today.

“Where do you think I’m going?” I reverted back, pulling my arm free from him, but he didn’t budge. “Let go of me, Dylan.”

“Sky,” he whispered, placing his other hand around my neck. “Don’t be mad at me. I can’t stand it when you’re mad at me.”

“Dylan—”

“Look at me,” he requested, but I kept staring at his neck instead of his eyes. “Please.” His lips pressed against my forehead as his thumb played against the pulse on my neck. “Gimme those pretty eyes, Little One.”

“I’m really pissed off at you,” I mumbled, refusing to look at him. “Like, really, really pissed.”

“I know, I know.” He hugged me to him, cradling my head against his chest. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.”

He started making circles on my back with one of his hands, while still holding me to him. I was pissed at him, but I was also glad he was here. I could torment myself and him, and hold a grudge, but I had no idea how long he was going to stay, and who knew when I would be seeing him next.

“Forgive me?” he asked, taking a step back, holding my cheeks in his hands. “I’m just worried about you. There’s a maniac out there, and we don’t know if he or she is targeting you or if the name was randomly placed, but I don’t want to see you hurt.”

“I won’t be hurt.” I placed my hands on his wrists, squeezing him, trying to reassure him. “But if you lock me inside, I will go crazy. I need to feel normal. I need to put this behind me and continue living.”

A moment of silence, a moment too long, and when his eyes softened, when the Dylan I always knew came back to me, I knew I had him.

“All right,” he said. “Get your things. I’ll drive you to school.”

“Really?” I smiled. “You’re not gonna go all caveman on me and demand I stay at home, get married, and have ten million kids.”

He pinched my side, finally smiling. “Smartass. Who said I would ever let you get married? No one would ever be good enough for you.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I have a couple of candidates,” I joked, taking a step back, slowly exiting the hallway.

“Is that right?”

“I mean, you’ll have to let me go one day.”

Something passed over his face, something foreign, just like last night, but before I could even think about it, it vanished, replaced by an easy-going smile.

“I will never be able to let you go, Sky. You’re the best thing that life has ever given me.”

My throat closed, emotions flooding through my body. He always knew what to say and when to say it, to make me feel better about myself.

“And you are the best thing life has given me as well, Dylan. You’ll always be my favorite.” I sniffed as I started heading toward the stairs. “Oh hey,” I stopped, remembering the voices, knowing that Ash talked to him. “I thought I heard you talking with somebody before and doors closing. Who was it?”

With his hands on his hips, he stood there, watching me. “Just some guy trying to sell something. I told them we weren’t interested.”

“Huh.” Really? Why didn’t he want to tell me about Ash?

“Hurry up,” his voice boomed around the foyer. “I need to finish something in town after I drop you off.”

He started walking toward the living room, and all the while I kept thinking—why did he lie to me?

* * *

The parking in front of the school was completely empty of people when we pulled in. When I looked at the clock, I figured that second period had already started and most of the students were already inside. Since you could see the parking area from the teachers’ lounge, most of us avoided hanging out here if we were skipping classes. There were a few blind spots in the building, like that area beneath the stairs in the East Wing, or we simply left the school grounds completely.

Winworth High always seemed spooky to me, but without the students milling around, the darkening sky above felt almost sinister, and I suddenly wished that I had stayed at home. But if I started avoiding school because of what happened yesterday, knowing me, I wouldn’t be back for the next three months. I was pretty sure that most of the student body already knew what happened. I just didn’t know if they found out all the gritty details.

“Text me once you’re done,” Dylan spoke, breaking the silence in the car. “I’ll pick you up.”

I turned to the side, meeting his eyes. “I can catch a ride with one of the guys.” I smiled. “But, if I decide to leave earlier, I’ll let you know. We might go and hang out somewhere after school, so—”

“Skylar,” he groaned.

“What? Oh, don’t give me that look,” I chastised.

“It’s not safe.”

“It never is safe in Winworth. Look around you, dear brother. This is the freakiest place in the northern part of the United States. Finding a dead body here is like buying street food in Thailand.”

“I don’t like this,” he argued. “I don’t want you hanging out at those creepy places.”

“How do you know about our creepy places?” I lifted an eyebrow. “Those are supposed to be secret.”

“Come on.” He started laughing. “The crypt, the old amusement park? I was your age once, and we didn’t exactly hang out at the coffee shop down the street.”

He did have a point. There were only so many places in Winworth where a bunch of teenagers could hide. We preferred the old amusement park on the clearing that was overlooking the East Side, but it was too far away from the school, and the crypt was easier to go to when school was on.

“Well,” I opened the door, “I’ll be careful. I’ll see you later, okay?”

“All right.” He huffed, obviously unhappy with me, but I didn’t want to live my life in fear. I was scared, of course I was, but whoever killed Megan most probably already left town.

“I love you, Dylan,” I yelled as I exited the car.

“I love you, too,” he answered. “Be careful!”

“Always, Dy. Always.” I smiled and closed the door, turning to the school.

God, I fucking hated this period between the summer and the winter. Winworth had only two seasons—extremely warm summer, and freezing winter. We loved taking trips to Emercroft Lake during the summer, escaping for a day or two, and it wasn’t too far away. But winters here… Don’t get me fucking started.

If it wasn’t raining during October and November, it would be freezing cold. And December was just one big nope for me, with its foggy days and excessive amounts of snow. I had a friend in California who always moaned about wanting to live in a place with a proper winter, but he didn’t know that those pretty commercials for Christmas were nothing like reality. Snow looked pretty at first, but then it usually became mixed with mud and water, and the next thing you knew, it was just shitty.

With hurried steps, I crossed over the parking lot, hearing the rumble of Dylan’s car fade, leaving me all alone. Fucking crows were visible in the sky, flying low above the school. No wonder they chose them to be the official mascot of the school and the entire town. I had a feeling that they were always here, always croaking, always bringing this sinister feeling with them.

I pulled my phone out, checking the time, only to see an unopened message from an unknown number.

Huh?

The sliding door opened in front of me while I unlocked the phone, seeing the number on the screen for the first time in my life. I clicked the icon for my messages, going directly for the newest one.

Unknown: Did you like my little gift?

I passed by the lockers, heading directly toward mine at the other end of the hallway.

Me: Who is this?

I wrote as I stopped in front of my locker, near the biology classroom. I dropped my bag on the floor and turned to the locker, entering the combination on the lock. My phone vibrated again.

Unknown: Your beginning.

What the fuck?

Unknown: And your end.

Me: No, seriously. Who is this? If this is some weird prank, just stop wasting my time.

I placed my phone back into my pocket.

The lock opened with a click, and I picked my bag up, taking the notebook I would need for trigonometry. The bell started ringing, indicating the end of the period, as my phone started vibrating in my pocket again. I pulled it out, not expecting more messages from the unknown number.

Unknown: You still didn’t tell me if you liked my gift.

The message was followed by a picture. A picture I never wanted to see again. A picture of a face that kept haunting me over and over again since yesterday.

Megan’s tear-stained face was displayed on my screen. She had a gag in her mouth. She looked petrified, pleading with whoever was behind the camera.

Unknown: Did you like it?

Me: Who the fuck is this?

I typed with shaky hands, not believing what I was seeing.

Unknown: You’ll find out soon.

Me: I’m going to the police with this, you sick fuck.

I clicked Send and started walking toward the classroom on the other end of the hallway. I could feel the erratic beat of my heart, threatening to jump out of my chest.

I had to show this to somebody. That officer from yesterday, maybe?

Unknown: Do that and you will never see your friend Hailey again.

Another picture popped up, only this time it wasn’t Megan. I knew the backpack in the picture, and that chocolate-brown hair. I also knew the street she was walking on, heading to the school. He was right behind Hailey, and she didn’t even realize it.

Me: No, don’t hurt her.

I pleaded, typing as fast as I could.

Unknown: Then you will have to keep quiet.

Me: Yes, yes, I promise.

I could feel tears threatening to spill over my lids, but I couldn’t lose my cool now. I took a deep breath and started typing again.

Me: Why are you doing this?

Unknown: I’m doing it for us, for our future. You’ll see. We’re going to be perfect together because you were made for me.

A sob caught in my throat as the students started filling the hallway, heading to their next class. I stood frozen in place, staring at my phone and his words.

Me: What do you mean?

Unknown: You were always meant to be mine. Sempiternum meam.

The words on the screen were getting blurry, my breathing erratic, and when a hand landed on my shoulder, I screamed loud enough for everyone in the school to hear.

“Whoa,” Beatrice spoke. “What the fuck, dude?”

I lifted my head, clutching my phone to my chest. Students around us stared, confused by my reaction, and I couldn’t stop shaking.

“Sky, you look as pale as a ghost,” she murmured, stepping closer to me. “Are you okay?” She pressed her hand on my forehead. “You’re cold. Should you even be at school today?”

No. Yes. I didn’t know anymore.

My stomach lurched, thinking about Megan, thinking about the killer that was messaging me. This definitely wasn’t a prank. Somebody was out to get me. Somebody was hurting people in my name, and I had no idea who.

“Skylar?” Beatrice’s face turned even more serious, and I knew I was scaring her.

“I’m fine.” I smiled. “Just… I saw one of those jumpy videos, you know, and got scared.” Liar.

How was I supposed to get out of this? What was I supposed to do?

“Are you sure?” She still didn’t look convinced. “Because you don’t look so good.”

And I didn’t feel so good, but I needed a moment to think about my options. Who the fuck was targeting me and who would go after my friends?

“Yeah, totally fine.” I took a step backward, heading toward the trigonometry classroom. “I’ll just get going, but I’ll see you later. Okay?”

My cheeks hurt from smiling, but I couldn’t let her see me upset. If she figured I was upset over something, she would definitely pass it to Kane, and then I would have to answer questions I didn’t wanna hear.

Without waiting for her answer, I left her with confusion lacing her face, and pushed through the sea of students gathering in the middle of the hallway.

Just breathe, Skylar. Just fucking breathe and think. Who would do such a thing?

But no matter how hard I tried to think about the person behind this, I came up with nothing. My phone felt like fire in my hand, but I didn’t dare put it in my pocket, still cradling it against my chest.

Somebody was killing people in my name, and I had no fucking idea why.