An excited squeal left her lips as the Murphys dropped her back off at her house. It was well past midnight, meaning it was well past the official time of death declared for the Murphys which meant that she had successfully saved their lives. Naomi pumped her fist in the air, waving as the beige sedan turned at the end of her street.
After the movie had ended, Lyla had suggested getting animal style fries at an all-hours diner the three of them liked. Once there, Naomi had done her best to drag the minutes into another hour. She'd even brought out her sketchbook-- something she never showed off, but it was the only thing she could think of at the time. After the tray of fries were gone, Naomi had dragged them to the late night arcade across the street. That was where they'd killed the most time before Mrs. Murphy had blearily pleaded that they called it a night. On the way back to Naomi's house, Lyla had squeezed Naomi's hand with a wink and mouthed a silent, "Thank you" to her. It was obvious that she'd thought Naomi had been stalling so that Mrs. Murphy would be too tired to lecture her daughter about the car. While it was of course so much more than that, Naomi had merely smiled at her and nodded in acknowledgement.
The sight of her passed out father and his empty bottled companion did little to discourage her tonight. Naomi even stopped on her way to her bedroom to grab a spare blanket out of the closet, giving her dad a quick kiss on his forehead as she pulled the fabric up to his chin. She was in very high spirits as she softly shut her bedroom door and crawled into bed. She clicked on her phone, giddy with glee, as she checked the time to see that it was nearing two in the morning. She also noticed she had a missed text from Eli.
"did u tell her??"
Oh. She'd forgotten about this part. The first time she'd lived through this day, she and Eli had talked the night before about how Naomi should tell Lyla how she felt about her. It had ended with Naomi filling him in on her plans with Lyla, about the park that the gorgeous redhead had wanted to explore. Eli had urged her to tell her then, and Naomi had promised to consider it. Now it seemed he wanted an update.
Naomi leaned back against her pillows, laying on top of the violet comforter instead of beneath it as she typed back a reply. Her heart beat fast and her chest swelled with emotion as she hit send, nestling herself in her pillows as her eyelids grew heavy.
"Tomorrow."
She smiled as she set the phone down on her bedside table. She'd tell Lyla tomorrow. Everything she'd been dying to talk to her about and keeping secret from the girl would all come spilling out tomorrow. Because this time, there would be a tomorrow for Lyla. This time they'd get their happy ending. Naomi was sure of it.
She hummed in contentment as she lazily wriggled out of her shirt and tossed it onto the floor. A part of her brain reminded her she'd be more comfortable without her pants on, but it felt like too much effort to struggle out of those and so she left them on. The good news about keeping Lyla out so late was that she was more likely to sleep in, meaning Naomi would have an adequate amount of time to get dressed before seeing her again.
"And what about before seeing me?" a voice huffed.
Naomi sat up in bed, not even surprised this time to spot DJ standing above her, arms crossed with her shirt in her hands. "Here to congratulate me?" the girl asked, accepting the Nirvana clothing merch that the demon held out to her.
"Hardly," DJ scoffed. "I'm here to send you back… Again."
Naomi frowned at that. She didn't need to go back. It was basically the next day. Lyla and Mrs. Murphy were safe. They were alive. Why would Naomi need to live through this day again for the third time? Unless she was supposed to save Mrs. Murphy's car, which she hadn't originally thought would count.
The demon actually snorted at that. "No, it's not so you can save the car," she chuckled. She shook her head, instantly growing more somber. "It's still so you can save Lyla and Heather Murphy."
"What?" Naomi asked, genuinely confused. "But I did it. They're--"
"Dead," DJ interrupted, her tone much softer than Naomi had ever heard it. "Same as before. The man who killed them last time is leaving their house as we speak."
"That's impossible!" Naomi insisted, feeling frantic. "I saved them. That man the police are after should've been gone by now. They should be safe!"
DJ sighed, looking like she was fighting with herself about something. Apparently she came to some decision because she placed a gentle hand on Naomi's shoulder, her amber eyes aggrieved. "I probably shouldn't be telling you this," she confessed. The hand on her shoulder curled into a fist as the demon slowly shook her head, seemingly in defeat. "Your police have it wrong. The man who murdered the Murphys isn't some random civilian suffering from a psychosis due to medication. He is an individual who purposefully targets the Murphys. More specifically, he targets your friend Lyla."
No.
'No, that can't be right,' Naomi thought, silently arguing the demon's claim. 'Who the hell would target Lyla? She's thoughtful and selfless and besides that she's just a kid. What kind of a man would intentionally target a child? Don't most hitmen have a rule against killing children? Why would a random stranger decide to kill Lyla?'
"Because he's not a stranger," DJ informed her. The demon actually looked almost heartbroken as she spoke. "Not really, anyway."
Naomi squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stop the onslaught of tears she felt pricking at her eyes so she could think. "Who is he?" she managed to ask.
But DJ shook her head. "I can't tell you that," she reported sadly. "All I can tell you is don't overthink it. You're smart; you'll figure it out."
Naomi leaned back into her bedsheets. She thought it would be easy, saving Lyla. She thought all she had to do was keep her out of the path of a madman. She hadn't accounted for the fact that the madman might be actively trying to kill her. She'd barely had a plan this last time around,back when she thought the murder was just a tragic happenstance. How was she going to fight a grown man with a gun all on her own? What was she supposed to do now that she knew the truth?
"Humans," DJ mused mournfully. "So naive."
This time Naomi couldn't stop the sobs that wracked her body. Everything just felt so pointless. She'd just wasted her first attempt at saving Lyla, and now she only had two chances left. What if she failed then, too? What if she couldn't save Lyla and her mother?
"Did you honestly believe fighting Fate would be so easy?" DJ questioned, quirking a brow. Her tone, though, was still soft. Her eyes were still brimming with sorrow.
Instead of answering the question, Naomi let out a shaky sigh and asked, "What do I do?"
DJ regarded her thoughtfully. It was becoming quite clear to Naomi that there were certain supernatural rules surrounding her situation that even a demon couldn't break. It was possible that even asking DJ for a direct solution might put the demon on thin ice. Still Naomi felt hope that DJ would fold. After all, she'd said it was her job to fight Fate. Maybe she wouldn't mind breaking a few ethereal rules to do so.
"No such luck," DJ told her. "I can't tell you how to do this. What I can tell you to do is to breathe, clear your mind, and believe in yourself. You've got this."
"You sound like my teacher's wall of inspirational posters," Naomi responded flatly.
DJ shrugged. "Then at least you consider me inspirational."
"That's not what I meant," Naomi huffed, feeling irritated once again. "Please DJ, I don't know what to do. I need your help!"
DJ's eyes grew bright. "I am helping," she insisted, lifting a hand to twirl shadows and smoke. The room spun again in a wall of flame, and for the second time Naomi was overtaken by the intense spell of vertigo.
When a knock sounded what felt like seconds later at her bedroom door, Naomi rolled over with a groan. Once again, DJ was gone and Naomi was left to figure things out all on her own. Before Naomi had a chance to figure anything out for the day, Lyla came barging into her room. A look of pure suspicion was etched on her face.
"Don't tell me you forgot," she demanded, placing a hand on her hip.
Naomi shook her head. "I didn't forget about the park," she insisted, yawning widely. She slumped back a bit as she thought of an excuse. "I don't think my alarm went off is all."
"At this point, I am your alarm," Lyla told her. Her eyes drifted down Naomi's body. A smug smile settled onto her face as she looked back up into Naomi's eyes.
All of a sudden, Naomi remembered how yesterday had started. Without even bothering to look down at herself, she yanked her blanket up to her chin. "Um, could you maybe grab me a shirt out of the closet?"
Lyla giggled as she flung open the closet door. "Do you want pants too or were you planning on Pooh Bear styling it today?" she asked, rummaging around for some clothes.
"Some pants would be nice," Naomi blushed. Would she always wake up to this day with no clothes on, no matter what?
Embarrassment like she'd never felt before gripped her tight as she took the stone washed jeans Lyla tossed her. She kept the blanket up to her chin with one hand as she used the other to stuff her legs into the fabric and then wiggle her hips to get it up past her thighs. Throughout the whole ordeal Lyla waited by the closet door. If the smirk on her face was any indication, the girl was thoroughly amused. She watched as Naomi let out a sigh and threw herself back against the mattress before marching over with a shirt in her hands, shaking her head slightly at her friend's antics.
"Just so you know," Lyla told her, keeping the t-shirt just out of reach of Naomi's outstretched hand, "my first thought was 'hot damn!' That blanket you're clutching is not at all necessary, it's merely an obstruction."
"Noted," Naomi grumbled, flinging her arm out quickly in a failed attempt to snatch her shirt from Lyla's grasp. She let out a huff before brushing back a wild, periwinkle locke. "Would you just let me get dressed?"
Lyla laughed at her visible frustration. She obliged, handing over the faded band tee with a sad little sigh. Naomi stuck her tongue out at her as she slipped the shirt over her head. Once she had it firmly in place, the hem carefully resting at her waist, she finally pushed back her covers and rolled out of bed.
Her father was nowhere in sight as they made their way to the car outside. It gave Naomi pause for a moment. She'd wanted to thank him for getting Mikey to help them out of the gulley yesterday. Then she remembered that yesterday was technically today. That hadn't happened in the current timeline so he wouldn't have any idea what she'd be thanking him for anyway.
"Is everything okay?" Lyla asked, noticing her hesitation.
Naomi nodded and gave her friend a reassuring smile. "Yeah, I just thought I forgot something," she told her.
"Oof, I get that feeling all the time," Lyla laughed, tugging on the front door to hold it open. Naomi smiled her appreciation as she passed over the threshold. "And the one when you know what you need but as soon as you walk into the room to get it you forget what it is."
"I think that happened to me yesterday," Naomi said with a grin.
As Lyla fished out her keys and hit the unlock button, Naomi made her way over to the driver's side and opened up the door. Lyla gave her a knowing smirk as she settled into her seat but Naomi quickly shut the door, pretending not to have seen. She fought back a chuckle when she climbed in her side of the car. Lyla rolled her eyes and waited for Naomi to get her seatbelt on before starting up the rusty sedan.
"It's in very poor taste to mock someone who's being chivalrous to you," Lyla chided her.
Naomi shrugged, feigning innocence. "Is someone mocking you?" she asked.
Lyla leaned across her seat to swat at Naomi's arm. "Next time you can get your own damn door," she told her sternly.
"Oh no," Naomi laughed. "However will me and my two functioning arms accomplish such a feat?"
"Now you're just being rude," Lyla said. A sigh left her lips as she shook her head at Naomi.
Guilt crept in as Naomi watched the girl drive. It hit her so suddenly it nearly left her breathless. Lyla deserved better than this. She deserved better than a friend who was too scared to form an actual plan. Someone was hunting her, and all Naomi could do was sit here with her cracking jokes and hoping for someone else to fix things for her. No one was going to solve this bizarre scenario for them. It had to be Naomi, and if she was going to succeed then she needed to step up her game.
"Is everything going okay with you?" Naomi tried, wincing at how lame she sounded. It wasn't a very strong start, but at this point she thought it would be better to just go with it.
Lyla glanced over at her for a second before returning her gaze to the road. "Yeah, everything's fine. Why? Are you talking about that chemistry test I was worried about? I already told you, I scored a ninety-eight on it."
"No, but I'm glad you did good on it," Naomi replied. She wasn't really sure how to word the question she wanted to ask. It wasn't like she could just tell Lyla that someone was out to murder her, and somehow asking her if she knew anyone who hated her didn't feel like the right way to go.
Luckily, Lyla saved her from herself. She gave Naomi a stern look of suspicion. "Has my mom talked to you at all?" she questioned, seeming cautious.
Naomi had no idea what that meant but she nodded anyway. "She might have mentioned something to me the other day," she lied, hoping it was the right thing to say.
"Of course," Lyla sighed. She had her gaze fixed firmly on the road, refusing to glance over even for a second. "He doesn't have any right."
Naomi stared at her. She almost asked who 'He' was before she remembered she was supposed to be in the loop. Instead she reached over and brushed her hand gently against Lyla's. "I'm sorry," she told her. It seemed like the only safe thing to say.
"He left like a year after I was born," Lyla growled. "Now all of a sudden he corners my mom and demands I meet up with him? Absolutely not. Maybe if he had a better attitude about this I'd be more open to seeing him. I mean, he left us. He doesn't get to make any demands."
"Wait," Naomi said, completely confused. "Your dad is back?"
"Yeah," Lyla groaned, looking miserable. A frown crossed her face. "What did you think we were talking about?"
"Something else," Naomi hurriedly responded. She softened, looking over her friend's morose expression. "When did all this happen?"
"A few days ago," Lyla answered. "I guess he found my mom at her work and was like threatening her trying to get her to agree to me seeing him. She told him it was my choice, and I said no. Now he won't leave her alone. It's getting bad."
"Oh," Naomi replied.
She was trying to keep it together, but she was freaking out on the inside. She couldn't believe she'd found the answer. DJ had told her not to overthink it. She'd also seemed sad when she'd said that the police were wrong and that the murderer wasn't a stranger. Was this what she was talking about? Was the Murphys killers really Lyla's dad?
"When were you supposed to meet him?" Naomi asked.
"Tonight," Lyla said. She shook her head. "Not that I'm even considering it."
Of course it was tonight. It was all starting to come together in the worst possible way. Now at least Naomi knew who the killer was. It was a horrible realization that a father could do something so terrible to his own daughter, and to her mother. Still, it was one piece of the puzzle put together. All she needed to do now was come up with a plan to stop him.