Seven: Kaden

By the time I finally got out of the principal's office, I was sprinting for the parking lot. My silver Camary shone in the afternoon sun. I hopped in the drivers side and started the engine. The car roared to life. I backed out of the parking lot and headed down the street.

The wind was fierce and uncomforting. I had to get away. There was no way I was going back to school. I looked over to the passenger seat. There was a stack of text books, papers and my cell. Carmella. No, I couldn't call her. As much as I want to tell her abour what happened there was no way I could. She sent me to go and get her notebook. The same classroom I found Candy's body.

A shiver ran through my body. 

Carmella couldn't have known that Candy's body was there. Right? No. It was a stupid thought. Sure, the two hated each other with a passion but they would never kill each other. Well at least I don't think so. 

My mind began drifting back to what happened in the main office. Mr. Rodgers basically looked tired and defeated. His usually volumed coal black hair looked straw like and his eyes bloodshot. Ms. Cullen stood next to him behind his desk. Her eyes were full of sympathy and concern. Two things that I did not have time for. 

Both were silent and uneasy. I couldn't exactly blame them. Two deaths in one week. At this rate next week might be worse. I shook the thought away. It was too gruesome to think about. My parents always believed that thinking positively would lead to positive actions. For once I actually didn't think it'd help right now. There was way too much going on for thinking. 

When the street light turned red, I stopped. I looked around and found myself at an intersection. On my left was a forest of blazing oranges and fiery reds. I would love to drive down there and just get lost in it all. Nature in general usually kept me calm. Forests especially made life's problem just fade away. No matter how quiet MelodyHills may be, the atmosphere made you feel secrure and isolated from the rest of the world. But not today. 

I hit the gas as soon as the light turned green. The rush of speeding through the deserted streets felt oddly good. No one to worry about but myself. Out here I didn't worry about Candy or Audrey and for once, not even Mitchell. I slammed my foot on the brake. I realized something. 

Without hesitiating, I reached for my iPhone and checked the time. It read: 4:25. Crap. I completely forgot about the library and Mitchell. Our study session was today. 

I made a U-turn and drove back towards the school. When I came up to the school parking lot, there were very few cars still parked. My heart was pounding out of my chest. Maybe he was still here. I jumped out the car and ran for the closest door. 

The library's familar musty smell hit me when i opened the door. It made my stomach churn. Not the smell itself but the memory. The thought of this place being Candy's final moments was unbearable. The atmosphere felt colder, no longer the warm comforting feeling it used to give me. 

I looked over to the middle of the room, where we had our book club meeting. If the meeting hadn't been cancelled, would Candy still be alive? I tried to fight back the tears. What's done is done. There was nothing that could be changed.

I scanned the library, taking in every little detail. From the dusty forgotten books on the back shelves to the author inspiration quote posters plastered on the walls. I did one more look over but to find no blonde hair in sight. 

"Is there anyhting I can help you with?" said a voice.

I jumped. My heart was pouding twice as fast now. I turned to see the old librarian. She looked the the typical librarian you see at the publuc libraries in movies. Her gray hair was in a bun, she wore a white knitted sweater over her blue flower blouse and wired glasses.

"Um, I'm looking for a friend" I said, my voice cracking 

Her gray eyebrows knitted together. 

"Which friend?" 

"Mitchell Anderson."

She thought to herself for a moment.

 "Oh yes." her eyes lightning up with recognition. "That nice young man was just here a moment ago." 

My heart skipped a beat. "Was?" 

"Yes. He asked me to give this note to someone before he left." she said matter-of-factly.

I could feel my throat tighten. So he was waiting for me. Great. That was just great. The librarian fished into her sweater pocket. She held out a well folded piece of white paper and handed it to me. When she excused herself to help another student, I fumbled with opening the paper. In familar handwriting were the words: KADEN, SOMETHING CAME UP. CAN'T MAKE IT TO THE SESSION TODAY. PROMISE TO MAKE IT UP. -MITCHELL.

It took me a minute to register the words. He obviously made up the excuse for having to leave early. I guess he was pissed enough. Part of me wished I could go back to when he told me to meet him here. Hoping I could change the events. Maybe he ran off cause I'm a death maganet. After the last two deaths I don't blame him. 

Deciding on what I was going to do, I walked out the library's double doors. The parking lot was close to being deserted with the exception of my car and two others on the opposite side. I got in my car and sat there for a moment.

Where was I going to go? Home didn't seem like the best option. In this town, my parents would have heard everything within an hour. I ractched my brain for another place to go. Maybe Carmella's? But right now I didn't want to look at her much less share the same air as her. 

I rested my forehead on the steering wheel. There really wasn't anywhere I could go. There were things that happened today that I still didn't understand. Candy's necklace burned hot in my back pocket. I pulled it out and it made me realize the cops still haven't taken this up yet. The diamonds shimmered in the descending sun. The letters E + C were still emboraded in the middle. 

It bugged me that I didn't know what it meant. Was Candy mugged and eventually killed for this? By the looks of it, the necklace wasn't worth more than an honest two hundred. But why would anyone want to kill Candy? Actually it might have been easier to make a list of reasons why people would. In all honesty, Candy wasn't exactly the easiest person to get along with. 

A buzz in my jean pocket made me jump. I've got to stop doing this. I pulled my iPhone out from my pocket. The screen was lit with a picture of of me and Carmella, smiling at the summer carnival freshmen year on it.Carmella's hair was a bit longer back then. My developing muscled arms held around her waist. The ferris-wheel was spinning in mid motion.

 I stared at our sort of innocent smiles. . We didn't give a care in the world despite certain incidents. Back then, we never thought something bad would happen to us. Across the top of the screen was a notifiction for a new text. 

To my surprise, it was from Carmella's phone. I opened it up and read it out loud:

How many little white lies did it take for Ms. Candy to end up six feet deep?

I could feel my whole body go stiff. Was this some kind of joke? It had to be. I thought back to all those horror movies I used to love growing up. Most of them had stalkers that were silent but deadly. Others made their messages loud and clear for their victims. But this was different. 

The text was staring back at me. Taunting me. My eyes scanned the text over and over again. This was impossible. Carmella couldn't be sending a text like this. She would never go as far as to kill Candy. Camrella isn't a killer. Was she?