Chapter 86 Ch. 56
"Oh, please," she snorted, bursting out in laughter. "Get over yourself, bro. Like... ewww." She made a face as though she was going to throw up.
"Ouch," Noah gasped, placing his hand on his chest. "Bro, you're mean. And, you know, I'm like depressed with this shit. You should be kissing my fucking ass."
Zara wheezed, slapping his arm as she doubled over. "Bro, what?" Her wheeze turned into a cackle.
"Zara!" Noah clutched his chest like she had just stabbed him. "You're literally feeding my insecurities. I'm gonna cry."
"Good thing there are napkins."
"Fuck you," he grinned, pushing her lightly. "But damn, you let out the most unladylike sounds."
"Evil communication corrupts good manners," she winked. "Guess who's the evil one between us."
"Have you been hanging out with my mom?" Noah narrowed his eyes. "'Cause I'll be damned if you tell me you actually know Bible verses."
"I go to church."
"On Thanksgiving and Christmas," he deadpanned. "Where the only verses are about Mary."
"Yeah, no shit."
"You liked her," Zara said softly after a few moments of silence.
He looked at her, and for a moment, she thought he might lie. But he didn’t. "Yeah. I did. Stupid, right? I knew she was older, smarter, all of that. But she made me feel like I wasn’t some idiot who just plays basketball. Guess I was just a fill-in until she found someone more her speed."
Zara frowned, resting her chin on her palm. "You’re not a fill-in. She’s just— Lia."
He let out a small laugh, shaking his head. "You’re pissed, aren’t you?"
"At her? Yeah," Zara said, sitting up. "You could have told me earlier."
"Well, other than the fact that you would have judged my playing ass— shittt," he gasped. "Karma's a real bitch. I think I got it coming."
"Yeah, possibly."
"Hmm-m. And yeah, well, you were kinda busy," he said, glancing at her. "Between the vampire crap— whether it’s real or not— and Ethan, and your races, and everything else, I didn’t want to add my stuff to your plate."
She smiled faintly. "You still could’ve told me."
"I know."
They sat in silence for a while, watching students move around.
Zara checked her phone, then glanced around. "She’s been gone for a while," she said finally.
"Who?"
"Prunella," Zara said, standing up and grabbing her tray. "I’ll be right back."
She left the cafeteria, weaving through the hall. She saw Ethan and Jace just as they were about to walk in. Ethan gave her a brief nod. Jace smiled, lifting his hand a little in greeting. She waved back, forcing a smile, and kept walking.
The hallway was quieter than the cafeteria. She turned into the restroom and paused. There was a sound coming from one of the stalls— soft retching, the kind that made her stomach twist.
She waited. After a few seconds, the toilet flushed, and the door creaked open.
Prunella stepped out. Her eyes were glassy, and her lips were pale. She froze when she saw Zara standing there.
"I thought you had a call," Zara said quietly.
"I did," Prunella said too quickly. "It’s over."
"You were throwing up."
Prunella blinked, looking away. "I was nauseous. I didn’t eat much this morning."
Zara crossed her arms. "You didn’t eat much yesterday either. Or Saturday. Or any other day since I’ve known you."
"Zara, can we not—"
"No," Zara said, cutting her off. "We’re going to talk about it. I know we’ve only been friends for a few weeks, but I should’ve noticed sooner. I talk about me all the time— my races, my life, my stupid drama. I never actually ask you how you really are."
Prunella looked confused. "What are you talking about?"
Zara took a breath. "I know you have an eating disorder."
Prunella froze. Her eyes darted to the door, then back to Zara. "That’s not— you don’t know what you’re saying."
Zara stepped closer, lowering her voice. "I do. I know it’s hard. I know it’s not something you want to talk about. But you don’t have to hide it."
"Can we not make this awkward?" Prunella asked. "Look, we're not in one of those crappy high school dramas and shit where we have to talk about this shit, okay?"
"Prunella..."
Prunella’s hands trembled. "You don’t get it, Zara. You think you know, but you don’t."
"I understand," Zara said softly.
Prunella shook her head. "No, you don’t. You don’t understand anything about me."
"Prunella I—"
"Look at me and look at you?" She yelled. "State champion, and you broke a record that's stood for fifteen years just when?"
"That doesn't matter I—"
"Yeah, well it does when I've not achieved anything worth recognition and my mom who doesn't even know you that well is already telling me to be more like my new friend!"
"Prunella—"
"You're skinny with curves in the right places. I look like a fucking bean bag. Hanging out with you... I don't know. It's better than being alone because I'm not a target for those assholes, but also fucking worse because every single thing about you reminds me so much of my insecurities. I see half the guys in school staring at you, they talk about you... You're this cool person who everyone admires but from a distance. People only hate you 'cause they're jealous. You're this 'I don't give a fuck' person who's mean and a bad bitch but also kind and... I don't even know how to describe who Zara Castillo is but there's respect for your name."
"Looks? Personality? Academics? Sports? Popularity? There's no goddamn person in this school who doesn't know who Zara Castillo is."
Zara was silent.
"Yvette might have been the queen of school before she died, but I think we... And everyone else knows who the real Queen was and is. Are you really oblivious to how people look at you... And at Noah? And now Ethan's hanging with you too... I'm the freaking odd one out and everyone just feels I'm friends with you because you pity me."
"I don't pity you," Zara said quietly with a sigh. "I'm friends with you because you're the one person who's not seeking friendship with me for an advantage." Zara looked around the empty restroom, then leaned closer. "And yeah, Yvette was queen— self-appointed— but I never liked her. And I am very oblivious to what you see about me," she whispered. "But I'm not oblivious to the fact that you killed Yvette."
Prunella’s face went blank. For a second, she didn’t even breathe. Then she moved fast.
Her hand covered Zara’s mouth. Her eyes locked on Zara’s, desperately. "You’ll forget this ever happened," she said slowly. "You didn’t hear me. You didn’t say anything. You’re going to walk out and forget everything."
Zara stood still, her heartbeat loud in her ears.
Prunella waited. "You’ll forget," she repeated.
Zara’s lips curved into a small smirk. "Nice try," she said quietly. "But I can’t be compelled."
++++++
Vervain, that was what he needed to get.
But he wasn't going to get it until about two weeks later and God knows Marcus had never been much of a patient person.
He stood up from the floor, tucking Ivanna's phone into his pocket, his laptop held under his arm, then walked out of the evidence room. He gave a small smile to the guard standing nearby and then went back to his desk, packing his things up to go home.
The night's air was cold and harsh against his skin, spreading goosebumps all over his body. The moon illuminated the grounds alongside the security lights on the outside that it almost felt like daytime.
The walk to his car was short, but his head wouldn’t stop running. Thoughts came one after another, and he felt like he was going crazy.
He wasn't supposed to chase this new lead because the existence of vampires was out of the ordinary, but he couldn't just let it go.
He'd just have to deal with his boss later.
He opened the car door, dropped the laptop on the passenger seat, and sat there for a while with both hands on the steering wheel.
He needed to stop thinking. He needed to breathe.
He drove home with the windows down, letting the cold air hit his face, but it didn’t help. The streets were mostly empty, the lamps stretched out in long lines that blinked by too fast for him to count.
When he got home, he didn’t turn on the lights. He dropped his bag on the couch, kicked off his shoes, and walked to his room. He opened the small drawer beside his bed and pulled out a roll of wires and an old recorder from his days in undercover work. He sat down, pushed the chair closer to the table, and began fixing the wires together, connecting one end to the recorder.
He tucked the wire under his shirt and pressed the recorder’s button. The red light blinked once, then stayed on. He picked up a pen and a sheet of paper from the table, his hand shaking a little as he started to write.
“If something happens to me,” he wrote, “check Dylan. And any recording device you find.”
He stared at the words for a long time before folding the paper and slipping it inside his Bible on the nightstand. He sat back, rubbed his face with both hands, and let out a slow breath. Then he stood up and grabbed his keys. He wasn’t waiting any longer.
The drive to Dylan’s place felt longer than it should have. The address showed that it was supposed to be a ten-minute drive, but ten minutes felt like thirty with the quiet road, and the lights that were too far apart, leaving the streets half-dark. He parked across the road and looked at the house for a few seconds before stepping out.
He knocked once.
It took a moment before the door opened. Dylan stood there with his jacket slung over his shoulder, looking like he was about to leave.
“Officer Marcus?” he said. “It’s late. What’s going on? Has there been any new development?"
“I need to talk to you,” Marcus said.
“Can it wait?” Dylan asked, frowning a little. "I have somewhere urgent to be."
“No,” Marcus said, running a hand over his jaw.
Dylan sighed, glancing at his watch before stepping aside. “Alright. Come in.”
Marcus walked in and closed the door behind him. Dylan dropped his jacket on the couch, then turned to face him.
“So?” Dylan said.
“I found something,” Marcus said, moving closer to the table.
“About what?” Dylan asked, crossing his arms. "Ivanna... Is it her body? Has it been found?"
“Yes, it is about Ivanna and I think we both know we're not going to find her body,” Marcus said.
"I'm afraid I'm confused."
“Her phone. Her notes. She deleted some things before she died, but the data stayed on the provider’s server. I filed a subpoena through the department and got partial access.”
Dylan went still, his expression unreadable.
“What did you find?” he asked after a short pause.
Marcus looked at him, slightly annoyed by how he was playing dumb so perfectly. “She’d been researching vampires, vervain, and compulsion. She was close to something, but the exact time forensics said she was dying, every file on her phone disappeared.” He stopped for a moment, his eyes fixed on Dylan’s face. “You wouldn’t happen to know why that happened, would you?”
A/N
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~ Lashes (I've lost all my funny cells. No dose of humour today).