Restless Soul

38

   Two days had gone by since the local news picked up the story. Both Amanda and Matt had been warned to stay put in case the police tried to reach them to give more details on what went down that day. Amanda had no intention to go anywhere. If not to check on Peyton, she preferred the privacy of her bedroom as she mourned the unfortunate death of a woman she barely knew.

   Sitting on the roof as the sun went down, Amanda found solace watching from above as the day came to an end. Her heart felt heavy, her mind still struggling to accept what was. Lorna was dead. She probably had been since the night of the game. Another wave of guilt threatened to take her under as she opened iMessage on her phone, re-reading the time stamp that might be the last proof of life Lorna left behind.

"What happened to you?" Amanda asked, shaking her head in resignation.

   The voices had been quiet since she saw the three bodies in the car staring her down. What did they want with her? If it was to remind her that she was somehow linked to all three of them, she knew that well. There was no way she would forget with Sky's whispers still haunting her at night, Austin's crushed skull as her feet as blood seeped from his wound, and now Lorna's decaying corpse. Though seen from afar, the image would never leave her mind.

   While her spirit was soothed by the soft melody playing in her ears, Amanda felt a few drops landing on her forehead and nose. Whipping at her skin, she craned her neck back and blinked in surprise. Angry grey clouds had gathered, advancing over the town with a menacing growl she felt without even taking her headset off.

   Amanda hurried back inside, locking the attic window on her way out. As she made her way down the stairs, she noticed someone in the foyer. Intrigued, she went to stand right by her bedroom door, the wall providing the necessary shield to observe the interaction taking place below.

Mr. and Mrs. Fullwood eagerly listened as Detective Reddick spoke in a hushed tone.

"What's going on?" Matt asked as he came out of his room.

   Snapping her head toward him, she hushed him with a single motion before turning her attention back to them. Her head dropped when she noticed all of them staring up. There was no way they hadn't seen her all thanks to her brother's inability to read the damn room. Before she could express her frustration with him for blowing her cover, Detective Reddick cleared his throat.

"Mr. Mayor," the man said simply.

   The two men exchanged a silent glance before Olivier turned his attention to Sheryl. With a nod, they all once again turned their attention towards the stairs.

By now, Matt had joined Amanda in observing their interaction, only he wasn't trying to hide it, standing at the top of the stairs in full view of everyone.

"Amanda," Mayor Fullwood called out, his tone serious.

Matt turned to look at his sister, finding her gripping the wall, a guilty look in her eyes when they met his.

"Detective Reddick has a few questions he'd like to ask you," Mayor Fullwood said.

   Swallowing hard, Amanda did as she was told. She knew sooner or later they would find out about her and Lorna's secret meet-ups. There were text messages and calls from and to the woman, they'd just discovered dead. If the police had no questions at that point it would prove an even more sinister truth, that somehow her family was deemed above the law, exempt from having to answer to anyone.

"You too, Matt," Sheryl said when Amanda was halfway down the stairs.

Without looking back, Amanda continued down and was then ushered into her father's office, followed by Detective Reddick, Matt, and her mother.