CHAPTER VII. BLAKE
'What the hell do we do?'

'I don't know, I don't know.' He said, the lighter still in his hand. The flame had begun to darken the skin on his thumb, but he was too traumatised to realise. I moved over to him, he jumped slightly as I did, and gently took the lighter from him.

The body was a male, young adult. He was wearing a black oversized jumper and blue jeans. We both stood, for minutes at a time, just staring at the lifeless entity before us.

'We can't go to the police.' He whispered eventually.

'What, why?'

'Because they'll think that we're the murderers.'

'Surely not.'

'We shouldn't even tell the others.'

'Really?' I creased my eyebrows. 'They can help us out.'

'No, it looks too suspicious.'

'But, I'm sure if we – ' I began. 

'Adriana,' He interrupted, 'it's a bad idea.'

Harry and I didn't sleep for the rest of the night. It was just turning sunrise when we made it back to the fire-pit. We didn't even bother with the chairs, sitting on the mossy soil beneath us instead. Harry looked deeply affected by what he saw, as was I.

'This wouldn't have happened if Kian hadn't dropped those damn ashes.' He said after a while of silence. 'We're cursed.'

'I'm sure this is a one-off thing.' I stuttered.

'One things for sure, we're leaving as soon as the others wake up.' He told me, and I nodded in agreement. 'Do I make an anonymous call to the police?'

'That's a good idea.'

The others eventually woke up, we were all sat around the fire pit an hour later. Harry kept peering towards me but moved his gaze as soon as anybody noticed. Lana was the last to wake up, her hair pointing upwards and her mascara deep under her eyes.

'Damn, I slept like a baby.' She said, moving to the fire pit. 'Why are you sat on the floor?'

'I guess we couldn't be bothered with chairs.' I tried to laugh but it came out extremely forced. Lana left to the shack, where Kendrick and Dua were, and I awkwardly looked to the ground. I wasn't sure why Harry wanted to keep the body so secret, I guess it was true that the group could be suspicious but it wasn't like Harry would harm anybody, right?

'Here.' Kendrick said, approaching with two chairs. He passed one each to Harry and I as Dua carried two for them both. We were all sat around the pit once the sun had fully risen.

'So, what's the plan for today?' Kian asked, rubbing his eyes.

'I was thinking we should probably go home this morning.' Harry said, and Kian raised an eyebrow.

'Aw, really?' Dua said, 'We could have explored the forest today.'

'Yeah, that'd be fun.' Kendrick interrupted.

'No guys, I really think we should go home.' Harry repeated.

Lana looked confused, 'Why are you so eager to go home?'

There was silence as Harry looked towards me, his expression laced with urgency.

'Yeah, I get what Harry means. We should go home and get prepared for the next term of school.' I said but I am met with a chorus of laughs, even Harry was laughing. 'What?'

'Adriana, you are something else.' Dua joked.

'That you are.' Harry took a piece of my hair and ruffled it with a chuckle before his face flashed with seriousness, and he stood from his seat. I looked away to find Lana watching me, she looked elsewhere once I noticed.

Once we were all in the pick-up truck, Harry turned the radio to the loudest it could be. Dua immediately complained about her hangover headache but Harry took no notice. I believed he just wanted to drown out the memories of the morning. We were singing along to The Clash in no time and I was surprised by how natural Harry could act under the circumstances. Soon enough, Dua, Kendrick and Kian had been dropped off home and it was Harry, Lana and I left in the truck. The atmosphere seemed oddly uncomfortable as Harry drove, only the radio still filling the air. We eventually halted outside of Lana's home and she jumped out of the car, waving at us as we drove away.

Further along the street, Harry stopped the car.

'Come on, get into the passenger seat.' He ordered, and I climbed over the gear stick into the seat. This made him chuckle. 'There are doors on this truck you know. You're always welcome to use them.'

'Are we finding a payphone?' I inquired as he began to drive again.

'Yeah, look out for one.'

The sky was gloomy grey in colour with multiple clouds lingering in the air. Each street looked equally as dull as I peered intensely from the truck window. Eventually, we found a worn-out silver payphone and Harry parked near it on the sidewalk. He told me to lock the truck once he had left, fearing that it was a bad neighbourhood. His call to the police was quick and he hurried outside of the payphone's box once it was done. However, he was unexpectedly stopped by a man wearing one shoe and a ripped shirt. The man held out his hands with a non-threatening demure. Harry looked annoyed at first, and I feared that he would neglect the poor man, but I was surprised to see him empty his pocket of various $20 bills, placing them into the man's hands before hurrying away.

I unlocked the car from the doors and Harry climbed inside with a sigh. He immediately started the ignition and we drove away fast.

'It's done.' He remarked, I put my hand on his arm to comfort him but shook it away when Harry's eyes found mine. His gaze returned to the road ahead; a crease in the centre of his forehead.

'Do you feel better?'

'Do you?'

'Yeah.'

'I guess I do.' He glanced towards me with a little grin pulling at either side of his mouth. 'Can you come back to my place?'

I raised an eyebrow at his request.

'I don't mean like that.' He started, 'My dad left on a business trip yesterday and I feel a bit too spooked to be alone after what happened in Rocky Trails. I'll invite the others too.'

'Sure.'

It was the early afternoon when the group were together again. They undoubtedly found it strange to be back together so soon but nobody complained. We were sitting around Harry's large television watching the 24-hour rolling news. The others were sat on the sofa, whereas Harry and I were, closer to the screen, on the floor. Eventually, the female host interrupted the channel to bring breaking news. I cautiously looked to Harry before staring back at the screen. Sure enough, it was the news story we had anticipated. The body had been found by the police and was named as 17-year-old Blake Redson. He had been stabbed in the chest a total of twenty times. Harry was shaken by this fact and  both of our minds were reminded of the sight we saw earlier that day. The final ruling by the police was that Blake had most definitely been murdered.

'If you're in the Bridgemont Valley area of Maine, we have to advise that suspicious activity is reported immediately and if anybody knows something regarding Blake, to get in touch with the Maine Police Department. Be safe.' The policeman closed the interview. Harry reached up and turned the television off.

'Dude, we were just there in Rocky Trails.' Kendrick stated with exasperation.

'I can't believe there was a dead body there the whole time.' Dua interrupted, her eyes wide.

'My dad is on a business trip so you're all staying over.' Harry interrupted to tell them, turning around to face the sofa but his eyes were focused on me. I didn't shake my gaze from the carpeted floor beneath me. Seeing the news coverage seemed to have hit me harder than expected, I felt slightly wary of how Harry and I had been involved.

'You're just scared.' Kendrick joked. 'I'll sing you to sleep and feed you milk while I'm here.'

'Shut up.' Harry grinned but didn't laugh.

Harry had two double guest bedrooms, so Lana and I took one while Kendrick and Dua took the other. Kian stayed in Harry's father's room which had been cleaned by the maid merely a few hours earlier. I lied in the bed and immediately felt the quality. The mattress seemed to mould instantly to the shape of my body and it felt like a cloud was lifting me. Because of this, I believed that sleep wouldn't be hard to find, but I was wrong. This was my second night of restlessness. My eyes found a golden wall clock nearby and it soon read 10.45pm. Feeling frustration get the better of me, I pushed out of the duvet and stepped to the bedroom's door. Maybe a walk could help me fall asleep.

I cautiously stepped barefoot into Harry's upper hallway, lined with the shiniest oak flooring. My feet padded along to the top of the staircase, moving downstairs to find Harry still awake and perched on the sofa. His view was intently glued ahead of him. No lights were on but the flashing glare of the television could be seen against all walls of the otherwise dark living room. I neared the entryway to get a better look of the television, realising that it was unsurprisingly showing the news.

'Jesus.' Harry's hand flew up to his chest. 'I thought you were a ghost.'

'Sorry.' I said, leaning against the arched entry.

'Couldn't sleep?' He asked and I nod. 'Come sit with me.' He patted the space beside him on the sofa and I trailed over. We sat like that for a few minutes, just mindlessly observing the news.

'Constantly watching the news will drive you insane, you know.' I told him and he sighed.

'I know, but it's the only way I can cope; knowing that his body has been found gives me the hope that nothing else will soon happen.' He turned to face me and I nodded. 'I'm sorry this happened.'

'It's not your fault.' I reached up to hold his arm. 'It was purely coincidence that we found him.'

'Yeah.' He looked down. Suddenly, I watch as his head falls against me and I feel his breath instantly hit my neck. I believed his gesture to be friendly, that he needed support, so I moved my arm around his shoulder. Never did I ever believe I would be holding Harry.

There was only the sound of the news in the background as we sat still as statues.

'I know what else could help me cope.' He finally whispered, his breathing still hitting my neck and causing goosebumps to raise over the exposed skin.

'What?' I asked, just as silently.

Things unexpectedly took a turn when I felt Harry attach his lips to the flesh of my neck, starting to leave a careful trail upwards to my jaw. The sudden pungent scent of whiskey reached my nose, laced in each breath he exhales. Disappointment flooded my veins as I instantly pushed him off of me and jerked to my feet in seconds flat.

'What the hell, Harry!'

'Come on, I know you want this.' He boldly stated, standing up to reach my level with a strong smirk.

'This is a serious situation. I'm offering you comfort, and you repay me by acting like an obnoxious jerk!' I shouted, stepping backwards away from him and shaking my head. 'I should have known.'

'Well, you're not offering enough.' The dark glaze fell over his eyes, the one true indicator that Harry had changed from kind to rude.

'Are you serious right now?' I yelled, hurriedly returning forward again. 'You jerk!'

'Stop shouting, you'll wake everybody up. Did your parents ever teach you manners?'

'You're one to talk about manners! I thought we were friends!' My fists balled up. I have to physically hold myself back from slapping him, it's a lot harder than I thought it would be.

'Oh Adriana, wake up! I'm just a lion looking for his prey.' He slurred with a deep laugh, but I didn't find it amusing. There had to be some truth to his statement.

'Fuck you.'