Chapter Six – Eva

No way. Was that Trish, dancing with Ron? I couldn’t believe it. All her tough talk about not wanting to find someone, and yet, here she was, dancing with a guy. I was actually pretty happy for her.

Tusk seemed almost infatuated, watching them. I looked at him, confused. “What’s up?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Something seems…off.”

I laughed softly. There he goes again, his own frustrations with Trish coming to the surface. “Nah, just let her be happy, Tusk.”

Tusk shrugged again. “Yeah, alright.” Yet, his eyes remained fixated on the couple, as if critiquing, trying to find literally anything wrong with what was happening. This didn’t last long, as a fellow classmate came up to him. Amanda, but everyone just called her Manda. Her bubbly personality flowed out of her every move. Even as she spoke to Tusk, she continued dancing to the loud music.

“Hey!” She beamed at him. “Nice party!”

Tusk smiled back, bowing his head, as if to say “thank you”. “Thanks. Wanted us all to go out with a bang, y’know?”

Manda laughed softly. “I’ll say! Good vibes, good vibes.” She paused for a brief moment. “Wanna dance?”

Tusk seemed taken aback. “Uh, sure.” His expression went from apprehension to shock as Manda grabbed his hand, leading him over to where Trish and her date were. Tusk caught on quick, and it didn’t take long for them to get closer, dancing together. I looked away. It felt wrong to watch this unfold. I decided to find something else to do. Grabbing some more punch, I hoped I would be the next person someone would approach to dance. My anxiety began to rise quickly. Maybe it was me? Maybe I was ugly or something. Or maybe there was a rumor about me that I didn’t know about. I sighed and took a sip, trying to calm those thoughts. With or without a date, I was here to have fun, and that’s what I was going to do. After all, I wasn’t alone. Ryan was without a date as well. Though, he didn’t even really look interested in having one. I had seen a few girls approach him, and he politely turned them down. Maybe he wanted someone specific. I couldn’t tell.

When I looked back at the dance floor, Trish and her date were gone. I glanced around, searching for her, my eyes sweeping over the crowd. From what I could see, they weren’t there anymore. Weird. She didn’t even say goodbye. I shrugged and refilled my glass with punch, leaning against the table. Ryan came over to me.

“Enjoying the party?” He asked with a smile.

I smiled back, nodding my head as I took another sip. “Yeah, it’s nice! It’s fun to finally break away from the day to day crap.” I laughed.

He laughed with me. “Yeah, I hear that. If I was at home, I’d probably just be listening to some music in my headphones.” He looked around. “Have you seen Trish?”

I shook my head ‘no’. “Nah, I think she left.”

Ryan’s eyebrows raised. “Interesting.”

I loved how this was becoming a bit of a detective mystery for us. Where was Trish? Where was her date? Did she finally give in and start trying to find love? Or did she leave, fed up with the guy? The whole situation was quite amusing.

“What about you?” I asked, finally. “You haven’t been dancing with anyone.”

“Meh.” Ryan looked down. “No one has really been catching my interest, you know?”

I nodded. “Yeah. Looks like I haven’t been catching anyone’s interest, either.” I laughed softly, but deep down, it  bothered me. It bothered me a lot, actually.

Ryan seemed to sense my sadness. He placed his hands on my shoulders. “Hey. Eva. You will find someone, okay? Try not to worry about it. Just let loose and have fun.”

I couldn’t help it, but my eyes filled with tears as he spoke. My eyes swept over all of the happy, dancing teenagers, celebrating love and the end of the school year. Would I really find someone? Everyone seemed to have it come so easily. Not me, though. It was a constant challenge.

Ryan seemed to read my expression. “You know, my Papa always told me ‘the watched kettle never boils,’ and that’s something I’ve lived by ever since.” He smiled warmly. “The more you try to seek it out, the less it will happen. Just let it happen in it’s own time. Let it come to you.”

I nodded, my tears drying up. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m probably overthinking it.”

He laughed softly. “That’s easy for us.”

I laughed with him. He wasn’t wrong, at all. Overthinking was in our nature.

The party continued on, and we never saw any sign of Trish and her date. Tusk and Manda seemed to get closer, and I was genuinely happy for them. They made a good couple, if they chose to take it that way. Maybe it was just a night of fun for them. I hoped for the best.

I went home that night without a dance, but after the things Ryan said, I wasn’t worried about it. I lied in bed, staring at the ceiling, recalling every word, and trying to change my mindset. “I need to let it just come to me,” I whispered out loud. Probably easier said than done, but I was willing to try, at least. Clearing my mind, I finally fell asleep, ready to take on the first day of our last week of school.

I woke up to my phone ringing and buzzing, tinging and chiming. I sat up, rubbing my eyes in confusion. “What the hell is going on?” My voice came out hoarse and groggy. I picked up my phone. Missed calls from Ryan and Tusk. A new group chat between us. I blinked, scrolling through the messages. Something about a news report? What? I put my phone down and rubbed my eyes again, trying to gain some clarity that wouldn’t come without coffee, but at least I was trying. Picking up my phone again, I mentally criticized myself to focus and read the whole thread.

My eyes widened with each message. The first was a link to a news article. “Eighteen Year Old male Found Dead.” No name mentioned. No crime mentioned. What was happening? I read on. Another article. “Update: Eighteen Year Old Male Identified.” I clicked the link, and as I read it, my heart pounded faster and faster. No way. How? What happened? “The teenager has been identified as Ron Wershberger. Cause of death is under investigation, but it appears to be due to several stab wounds on his torso.” My stomach dropped. That was the kid Trish was dancing with last night! I continued. “The killer is unknown. Police are investigating.”

I skipped the messages in the group to write my own. A simple, “what the fuck?” Which seemed to echo the sentiments of the others. Was it Trish? No way. She wasn’t capable of that. She couldn’t be. They seemed to be having a good time! Maybe he got caught up in something on the way home. Or maybe he was doing drugs or something, and owed someone money? There was no way it was Trish.

Seeing Trish in school solidified this. Surely, she wouldn’t be the killer and go to school the next day, right? She seemed happier than usual, especially since our fight. I caught up with her. “Trish! Did you hear about Ron?”

“Ron?” She stopped walking and faced me. “What happened?”

I explained the article. Her hand rushed to cup over her mouth, her eyes going wide. I even showed her the article on my phone so she could see for herself. As she read, she finally spoke.

“My god…” Her voice was shaky and emotional. “He was so cool too. I had a good time with him last night.”

I nodded, putting my phone back in my pocket. “Where did you guys go?”

She blushed. “You know, we uh, we left.”

I smirked a bit. Yeah, I knew what that meant. She absolutely wasn’t the killer. She had just had a good time with him. I lowered my voice. “So…was he good?”

She laughed softly. “Not that I have much to compare to, but uh, yeah. He was good.” Her expression shifted to sadness. “I know I just met him, but I’m uh, I’m gonna miss him.”

I echoed her sentiment. “Yeah, I’m sure. You guys seemed to hit it off well, especially if you disappeared for, well, that.” I took her hand. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

She pulled me into a hug, which I certainly didn’t expect. “Thank you, Eva.”

Tusk and Ryan rounded the corner and stepped back when they saw the two of us hugging. I glanced over at them, giving them a subtle thumbs up, to let them know she was safe. They nodded in understanding. 

Trish absolutely wasn’t a killer. We all knew it. Despite her bitchiness lately, she was a good person. She always had been.

Lunch was tense. While I could tell that Trish didn’t do that, the boys didn’t seem to be as convinced. Lunch became a bit of an interrogation, asking where she was, where they went, how long they were, erm, together, and what happened afterward. Finally, I broke into the conversation.

“Guys, stop. She’s uncomfortable.” I could see her clenching her fist under the table, as if she wanted to scream to make it stop, but didn’t have the courage to. “She’s going through a rough time too.”

Trish smiled briefly at me before looking down at her food, trying to ignore the glances between the boys. Poor Trish. Tusk already didn’t trust her, and Ron’s mysterious death only amplified his own suspicions of her. While I understood, I also just couldn’t fathom how Trish could be involved in any way.

Our friend group was noticeably quieter for the rest of the day, opting to text our group chat rather than talk out loud in front of Trish. Once we left, the group chat blew up again. In my room, I read through the messages, without having any input, myself. I sighed. They still thought she did it. They were creating their own theories and suggesting they go to the police with it. Only then did I step in, telling them not to, because I knew in my heart she didn’t do it. They seemed to agree not to snitch, but were still skeptical.

Chapter Seven Coming Soon!