Let's Talk About Murder

15 | spoiler alert: I am a zombie

30TH OCTOBER.
ORION ACADEMY:
OUTSIDE THE CAMPUS.

SHE PULLED HER backpack over her shoulders and sprinted out of the Main Entrance during its unsupervised hours in the morning. She walked a block away from her academy and saw a black SUV parked on one side of the never ending street that etched into the horizon.

She rushed to the car. A tall man with a lean build waited for her to approach. He handed her the keys and she shoved a couple of bucks in his hand. He gave her a two finger salute and explained the time limit she has to use this rented car. She nodded and jumped inside the SUV. She thrusted her bag on her thigh and rummaged through it. She threw balls of crumpled paper, loose pens, and maps with crosses drawn on it out of her bag. Her fingers finally grazed against a hard surface. She pulled her diary out. She was deep into reading the lines written along the dotted journal in a messy handwriting when a voice called her out.

"Aphrodite, where are you going?"

She flinched and snapped her head to her left. West stood near the window of the car, his fingers fastened against the window pane. His thick eyebrow was arched with a look that was less suspicious and more Aha! I caught you.

"Um, none of your business!" She squeaked. "Are you following me?" Accusation was clear in the undertones of her voice.

"No," West said. "Saw you walking out so I made sure you were safe. As you know, we aren't exactly in the main city with busy streets."

"You were looking out for me?" Aphrodite shot a glare. "Can you even try to sound convincing?"

He groaned. He pried his eyes away from her and slumped his shoulders as he stared at the visible sight of the Orion Academy's Main Gate on the far end of the path. "All right, fine." He looked back into her ocean blue eyes that seemed to gather a storm. "I was playing hookie. I wanna skip practice today."

Aphrodite examined him from up and down, still not convinced. "Isn't Coach announcing the team captain this week? Doesn't this reduce your chances to become one?"

He clenched his jaw. "Trust me, that's the last thing I want right now. Just take me wherever you're going. I owe you one."

Aphrodite considered the pros and cons. After a pause, she sighed. "Fine. Whatever. Get in." Upon this, West smiled and was about to walk to the other side of the car when Aphrodite pointed her index finger at him. "But," she said. "This stays between us. If you tell--"

He intervened. "My lips are sealed." He pinched his thumb closer and forefinger and zipped them across his lips.

Aphrodite blew a breath out in response. He grinned lightly and ran to the other side of the car to sit in the passenger's seat. He pulled the handle of the door but it wasn't opening. He knocked on the window. Aphrodite pulled the window down. "Do you promise to not tell anyone at all? Not even Lex."

West rolled his eyes. "God, woman. I can stomach a secret. Trust me, I have my own."

She narrowed her eyes. "You can't be trusted by someone if you aren't willing to trust the opposite person either." West remained silent, biting his lips. "Yes," she continued. "Yumi told me how you said you don't trust any of us."

"Do you?" He huffed. "The whole sneaking out almost every day, going on a fake lunch with your step brother and right now, asking me to lie to my best friend. It clearly says that you're hiding something too. And since you're not telling one of us, it's obvious that you don't trust us either. We all have our secrets. Big or small."

Aphrodite stared at him.

She unlocked the door. He snorted and hopped in. "That's what I thought."

She inserted the keys in the keyhole and started the engine. She snapped her head to him. "I don't have a secret, okay? And I trust all of you...well, at least a little. The only reason I don't wish to share is because..." she swallowed. "I don't want my new and potentially good friends to see me any different than you do right now."

He lowered his gaze. His lashes brushed against his full cheeks. "I can understand. I'm not what I act like."

"Well, as long as you're not a zombie; I don't mind being your friend." She chuckled at her tease but West remained unaffected. She gulped her laughs and asked instead, "Who are you then?"

"It's hard to answer people when they ask who you are. How am I supposed to answer a question that even I don't know the answer to?" He sighed. "What am I? That is something I can answer. I'm flesh and bones and stardust that is left to rust."

A silence settled in.

Then, a laugh aroused from the girl sitting next to him. "You really are an English Major." She laughed and after a moment, he joined her too. The car air filled with their laughter. It was a long time since he had laughed this loud. And Aphrodite was the last person he expected to share this moment with.

"So, where are we going?" He asked once she pulled the car onto the road. She threw him the diary that she had been clutching for the last twenty minutes. He scanned through the pages to find addresses scrawled on the yellow-white pages. Peter Kevin. Peter Andrews. Peter McCall. Peter Hale. Peter Robinson.

"We are going to find Peter," she answered.

"Who is he?"

"I...a childhood friend," I croaked.

He definitely wasn't her...friend.

header image by Jannis Lucas.

so...Peter is not her friend. He could be her...well, oops. I'm not sayin haha.

McCall and Hale...nope. Its not not a reference to any TV show;)

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