f o u r

_____

HORRIFIC was the only adjective strong enough to describe the excruciating night the trio spent, going back and forth from the hospital to the hotel right on the edge of town.

First, they'd dealt with a short questioning from Sheriff Hicks, who was kind enough to wait til morning to call Ross, under the assumption that Tara's attack was unrelated to the kids.

Then, they'd spent hours trying to visit Tara, which the doctors denied, only allowing family.

Even though Alex explained to them three times that her family was either in London or off in the middle of nowhere, so they were the closest thing she's got.

That didn't convince the nurse, who instead told them to try again during visiting hours.

Finally, they ended up at the hotel, which luckily, accepted eighteen-year-olds, and had an open room. The catch? The charges nearly maxed out Eli's credit card.

"We can help you pay it off," Alex assures. "Between my tutoring money, your tips from the diner, and Jamie's job at Boba Town, it'll be gone in a second."

"I know, it's just unbelievable. How can this night get any worse?" he laughs.

"I've never hoped for something as bad as I hope this was just a robbery gone wrong," Jamie shakes her head, grabbing her pajamas out of her bag.

"I think we all need rest," Alex stands, grabbing her bag. "We'll talk in the morning when Tara's up."

"10?" Jamie hesitantly asks.

"Sharp," she nods, pulling her hair up into a bun before walking into the bathroom.

_____

"Hey, guys," Tara weakly smiles as Alex and Jamie walk into the room, holding up a teddy bear and a bouquet.

"How are you feeling?" Alex asks, touching her shoulder.

"Shitty, if I'm being honest," she laughs, immediately wincing in pain. "But they gave me a shit ton of pain meds."

Alex instinctively glances at her sister, as if she was expecting her to pounce on the girl, begging for some.

"We're so sorry this happened. Do the police have any idea who did it?"

"Nope. Clueless as always."

"But I was trying to tell Eli last night- Wait, where is he?" she glances at the door, flinching at a noise from the next room.

"He's getting us breakfast. The hotel's breakfast bar was shut down this morning. Plus, he figured we'd want to talk alone for a while anyway."

"Of course he did," she coughs.

"He was being genuine, surprisingly," Jamie quirks an eyebrow.

"He signed the card," Alex holds it up, a weak attempt at best.

"How kind," she rolls her eyes, before growing serious. "But seriously, guys, the guy-"

"The nurse up front just gave me the third degree for a damn visitor's pass," Eli walks into the room, annoyance written on his features.

"Considering someone nearly murdered the person you're visiting, I think it's pretty standard," Alex whispers.

"As I was saying," she gives a pointed look to the boy. "The guy who attacked me... It was Ghostface."

"That's not funny," Eli sneers.

"Do I look like I'm in the position to make jokes? I'm serious, I swear it was Ghostface. Like in Stab," she argues, voice beginning to crack.

"We know who he is, Tara," Jamie nods. "Couldn't forget if we tried."

"Wait, he was just in the mask? Or did he do the whole schtick?"

"He called me before. Like in the movie, I think. Made me play some sick trivia game. One of the questions was about your mom."

"What kind of questions did he ask?" Alex steps closer.

"Who were the killers in the movie, who played Casey Becker, how old was your mom when it happened, stuff like that? But he, like, hacked Amber's phone and my security system. I don't know how he did it."

"God, I'm so sorry, T."

"It was so scary," she sighs, fighting tears. "And I don't understand why. I mean, why me? What did I do?"

"You didn't do anything," Alex assures, grabbing her hand as Jamie grabs the other.

"This is so fucked," Jamie frowns.

Eli looks away, growing uncomfortable by both the tears running down Tara's face and the guilt rising through his body.

If Ghostface was back, then it couldn't be a coincidence that he struck after he and his sisters came to town, meaning Tara was just caught in the crossfire of a bullet meant for them.

And as much as she annoyed him, he'd never wish something this bad on her.

Nobody gets to say anything else, however, because Sheriff Hicks walks into the room, a kind smile on her face.

"Hi, Ms. Hicks," Tara waves.

"Hi, Tara. Feeling any better?"

"It's been 12 hours," Eli whispers to the girls, who lightly chuckle, trying to keep Judy from overhearing.

"Um, not really. Is everything okay?"

"We got in touch with your mom, she's not gonna be able to make it home. And we can return your phone once we finish processing the evidence. Now, as for you three, due to new information, I'm gonna need to question you again."

"Is this about Ghostface?"

"Let's talk in the hallway. Give Tara a chance to get some rest."

"We'll be back later today. Wes said he's gonna tell everyone else."

"Okay," she nods, watching them walk out before calling Eli's name.

"Yes?" he raises an eyebrow.

"Thanks."

"For what? We got there after the cops."

"For answering. If it were the other way around, I wouldn't."

"Oh," he furrows his eyebrows, not quite used to navigating a conversation with Tara that doesn't require insulting her in some way. "Well, Alex practically forced me so don't worry about it."

_____

"Okay, where were you three at 9:23 PM?" Judy looks up from the file, reading the cellular bill.

"Um, at the diner off Main," Alex answers. "We told you this yesterday."

"And do any of you know anyone who may want to attack Tara?"

"No. God, no. Everyone loves Tara."

"Everyone except you, I hear," she points to Eli, which makes Alex and Jamie gasp.

"Woah, woah, you're not accusing us, are you?"

"Not us," he narrows his eyes. "Me."

"The timing of your visit and Tara's attack ring some alarms in my mind, yes, but I am not accusing you of anything," she admits. "In fact, I'm worried for your safety."

"Sounds a lot like you're accusing us of something. We have an alibi."

"I don't think you did it. But there is no denying the extra tie that you three have to Ghostface that no one else in this town does."

"That's not fair," Alex shakes her head.

"I'm sorry if this offends you, but it's my job. Now, have any of you received any weird calls or texts in the past few days?"

"No."

"Nothing."

"Nada."

"Okay, if any of you get anything, please come back to the station."

"So you can blame us?" Jamie raises an eyebrow.

"So I can keep you safe, Ms. Roberts. I called your father after I spoke to Tara. You unfortunately cannot leave town until this is resolved, but this way you'll have an adult with you."

She then stands, letting them out of the room, left to think about the complete 180 they'd been experiencing.

"Great," Eli sighs, as his phone rings.

"Hello?" he winces, putting it on speaker.

"What the hell is wrong with you three?"

"Okay, Dad, before you get mad-" Alex attempts to reason.

"Too late. I mean, I set one rule in this house. Do not go to Woodsboro, and what do you do? Go to Woodsboro."

"We didn't know this was going to happen!"

"You shouldn't have to get stung by a bee to know not to shake the hive."

"What- Dad, that's so unfair."

"No, you know what's unfair? Waking up to a call that says there was a Ghostface attack at the house my children decided to stay in without telling me."

"We weren't there when it happened."

"That's not the point. This is exactly why I told you all not to go there. That town, it takes everything good and sucks the life out of it."

"We're really sorry."

He shuts his eyes at that, an exasperated sigh leaving him as he hurries to unlock his car. "I know. Is Tara okay?"

"Yeah, she got really lucky. She's up and everything."

"Okay, please, and I mean please, be careful. I should be there before it gets dark. Stay together."

"We will. We're really sorry."

"One second, my car- I'll call you back," he hangs up, furrowing his eyebrows at the car's refusal to start.

"He could've been much angrier," Jamie nods, leading them to the car. "I want to take a nap."

"A nap?" Alex stops in her tracks, and Eli shakes his head, practically feeling the argument beginning. "After what we just found out, you want to take a nap?"

"Uh, yeah?" she looks around in confusion. "I'm not a cop, nor am I a doctor, so I can't really do anything. No use obsessing over it."

"Jamie, there's a serial killer-"

"This person hasn't killed anyone. The mask is in every store on Earth, doesn't mean it has anything to do with us."

"You're not that stupid," Eli leans against the car.

"You're right, I'm not. I'm also tired, so if you don't wanna drive me back to the hotel, I'll walk."

"Just get in the car," Alex sighs, getting in the passenger seat.

Simultaneously, their phones go off, making each of them take a deep breath, afraid to see what the message holds.

TEAM HOSS

dad
Car won't start, I'll be delayed
by an hour.

"And this day keeps getting worse."