she slammed her room door behind her as she slumped behind it, her breathe was unsteady, she shook her head in disbelief, she couldn't phantom what had just taken place, the more the replayed the previous scene In her head her fear and panic grew, she stood up as she paced around the room still contemplating on what step to take next, Elaine and the rest of the gang where coming to pick her up in a few hours from now, how would she face her friend after this discovery? was she going to lose this happiness just at it's peek? how would she get herself out this situation? she couldn't afford to drag Simone into her mess. She flung herself on top of her bed as she let out a loud wail, how could Mr Carter just resurface? she'd assumed he had gotten tired of blackmailing her and moved on but apparently she was mistaken, now he had chosen to involve Simone, how could she break this sort of news to her?
It all started last year when Mr Carter had offered her a ride home from school, of course she thought it was weird but she didn't suspect that he was planning something more sinister, she'd eventually hopped in and proceeded to hopping into few more rides, along the way she easily figured out his intent which was to have sexual intercourse with her and of course her initial resolve was to keep her distance but then she did some critical thinking and she got to know that he has been the first literal person to ever depicts such feelings towards her and probably ever will, she had accepted a visit invitation from him solely on an inquisitive nudge to experience sexual pleasure she knew it was wrong but she didn't think much of it, Mr Charles had been her first, when he told her he wanted to take some photos of her she agreed again not thinking much of the repercussions, it never occurred to her that he would later use those revealing photos to blackmail her, it all came to light when he sent her those pictures and threatened that if she told a soul he would leak those photos to the world, although she had no intention of revealing what had occurred after all she had agreed on her own free will, but it hadn't ended there, he would later return for the same request when she refused him he reminded her of what he had in store and she was compelled to go for a second time.For her it became just sex, her initial excitement to engage in this acts were killed by his manipulations, soon she felt no attachment to whatever they did. And after a while his advances stopped, Just when she thought he had gotten tired of her he chose to resurface and possibly ruin what she had tried so hard build, laying on the bed pondering for several minutes but to no avail she eventually gave into sleep. She woke up an hour later to hear disturbing sounds of books being tussled on the floor.
"mom?" she called once she spotted her mother in her room going through her bookshelf
"mom what the hell are you looking for?"
"Paige..I..uh ." her mother struggled to speak
Paige arched a brow expecting valid explanation
"I need money Paige..." she finally spook
"you need Alcohol" Paige corrected
"baby I just need a little amount..this time I promise to stop drinking, just this once"
"you expect me to believe you mom? you barge into my room.." Paige tone increased "you go through my stuff to steal money to get more booze, how low can you get, what the hell mom!" she immediately stood up, grabbed her bag and started packing some of her belongings
"where...where are you going?" her mother asked with a frail voice
"away for a few days, I can't stand you anymore"
"Paige please, I need you" her mother cried falling to the floor
"you need me? what about when I needed you? where were you? you were too busy trapped in your little world of self regret that you forgot your 12 year old daughter!" Paige busted into tears " I had to heal myself while you abandoned me, everyday seeing you hallucinate and drown how do you think it made me feel? I fucking hate you! he was your husband I get it!...but..but.." she sniffed " he was my father too"
walking towards the room door she paused and glanced back towards her mother who laid on the floor with a face full of tears, eyes lost in space
"I'm leaving.." she exited slamming the door behind her.
she made her way outside, Elaine horned indicating Paige to where she was parked, Paige ran over and jumped into the car with both Simone and Mandy at the backseat
"are you okay? you look startled" Elaine noticing Paige's look asked
"I'm fine, just had an argument with my mom"
"what? she didn't want you to come?" Simone asked
"no..it was about something stupid, no biggies"
The ride to Elaine's abode was fun filled, the girls would gossip about anyone and anything, there was smiles, laughs and occasional picking on each other by Elaine and Mandy, Paige struggled to keep a straight face while she harbored a daring secret inside her, she watched closely the constant smiles from her friends and imagined how it would all disappear when she voiced out what played in her mind, it made her stomach hurt, her breathing hastened, she tried to conceal herself to avoid being noticed. They finally arrived at their destination,
"woah" Mandy exclaimed as she inspected the building
"you live here?" Simone asked rhetorically
Elaine blushed offering them into the house "make yourself at home"
the girls admired the house with mouths ajar, each dispersing into separate directions to get a better view, Paige had received a text from Mr Carter, it sent cold chills through her body, once she read the message she lost stance and gently fell on the stool located at where she was, unknown to her Simone had seen her behavior and noticed her hands trembling, she initially wanted to interfere but she figured Paige needed some space and she would reach out when she felt so
"Paige, hunny I'm traveling out of town on Sunday for a visit, I expect to see you on Saturday, you know what will happen if I don't"
the text message had read.
with her phone planted on her chest, she lamented about her predicament.
Mandy wandered upstairs admiring different antiques and artworks, she spotted a library which of course tickled her fancy, she entered into the library and with excitement, glanced around the room a she walked from shelf to shelf admiring each book that caught her attention.
"ew Harry Potter? who still reads this crap?" she picked up the book surprisedly that particular shelf flipped opening tiny seriew of drawers, Mandy stood appalled by this sight, she took a step backwards contemplating if she should open the drawers to view it's contents
"well if it was hidden here it's obviously because they don't want it to be found" she whispered to herself.."but what the hell," she moved forward and carefully drew open the first drawer, after all she found no trace of security cameras in the house
"Temazepam (Restoril)?" she remarked silently
she proceeded to opening all the other drawers only to find dozens and dozens of ,Temazepam (Restoril)
"um Mandy.." Simone called
Mandy shook out of utter shock as she stumbles to the wall
"Simone.. what the heck! you scared the shit out of me"
"why are you scared, what were you doing? Simone walked towards Mandy to verify what she was up to
"nothing, nothing.. I just stumbled up on something strange"
"something strange? what's that?"
"Temazepam (Restoril)"
Simone arched a brow "again what the hell is that?"
"it's a very, very strong sleeping pill, I mean very strong, can even cause hypnosis"
"hey probably the old man has a hard time sleeping"
"but then he wouldn't need this type of drug, at least not this much..Jesus "
"is it that dangerous?"
"hell yeah and why would he hide it in here? "
"why do you think? let's just her outta here" Simone insisted
"I just don't get why someone would have several stacks of T.R, do you think Elaine has sleeping problems? even so taking so much is dangerous" Mandy kept on pondering
"just ask her then"
the girls later rounded up at Elaine's room at night all dressed in their nightmares,
"I have an idea, why don't we do something like a truth pact! " Simone introduced
"the hell is that?" Mandy asked
"we take rounds and when is your turn you have to tell a truth, whatever question you're asked, it has to be the truth." Simone explained now staring closely at Paige, she Clearly had something up her sleeves.
"um sure." Paige stammered as she placed down her phone that she had been awkwardly staring at all night long
"Pai.."
"Elaine..you first!" Mandy jumped in before Simone could speak
"ask away" Elaine muttered
"so about jean..." Mandy began, staring at the other girls to monitor their expressions "did you really..? I mean I know that you did but how and why?"
Elaine sighed "it's true, I did it, I sent those really dumb messages, since there was no way to keep on sending those love letters, I resulted to sending messages, I'm so stupid.."
"love letters? seriously" Simone teased "girl, you need some lessons on how to secure a man"
"aarghh, im just so embarrassed, I can't believe I did those things.."
" okay okay one last question Elaine..promise" Mandy rushed in "do you have sleeping disorder?"
Elaine appeared surprised "does this have to do with the letters? you think that I have some sort of disorder?" she replied seemingly upset at the question
"no, no Elaine I'm just asking.."
"why would you even ask that, I sleep perfectly, too perfect even.."
"I saw.." Mandy paused rethinking if it was okay to reveal that she snooped around and found something she probably shouldn't have
"truth pact Mandy, tell the truth" Simone said
"fine, I saw in your library, behind the Harry Potter book, it shifted and opened some drawers and I saw...Temazepam (Restoril)..so I wondered if you had problem sleeping"
"um.. wow..first off that's my dad library I literally have not been in that room for years, plus temaze- what now?" Elaine asked, not fully understanding what was going on
"Temazepam (Restoril)"
"stop saying it repeatedly like we're supposed to know what it means" Simone retorted
"it is a very powerful sleeping induced pill, okay, and I saw dozens, it was alot, and I worried nobody should take that much T.R"
"Elaine do you take whatever it was Mandy said?" Paige asked now concerned
"Temazepam (Restoril).." Mandy corrected
"yeah nobody gives a fuck about the name" Simone teased again
"I don't even know that we have a Harry Potter book, I don't take that drugs" Elaine replied
"then maybe it's your dad, even still it's not healthy at all" Mandy replied
"I don't think my dad has sleeping disorders... I mean he never told me..it's nothing to hide about right?"
"of course it's not..do you have.."
"okay, okay..that's it for Elaine... Pai.."
"Simone, how about I ask you something.." Paige interrupted, the room turned silent probably because her tone was sounding way too sinister
"what's with the voice, now I'm scared...just kidding ask me"
"okay..do you like Tina biles?"
Simone froze, her eyes twitched as she adjusted her wristband severally, how could Paige have suspected, there was no way she could come out now, it was like an attack on her personality, she took several gulps as she could almost hear her heart rapid beats
"why would she be interested in Tina biles... except she's a....ohh" Elaine picked up the scent
her breath was more audible now "who said I was ..I'm not..who told you that I'm interested in her, how could I be.."
"calm down" Mandy placed her hand on Simone's who was now trembling terribly
"it's okay if you are, we are your friends now, we understand you no matter what" Elaine assured
"truth pact remember?" Paige smirked, she had instantly thought about another devious plan, it was wild but worth the shot, she didn't plan to expose Simone's sexuality yet, but she had no choice.
"how'd you know?" Simone asked heads down
"well I noticed the way you acted whenever you're around her"
"you're right..I like Tina biles, and I'm a lesbian, I've been fantasizing about her for a long time, I've wanted..."
"okay weirdo, not that detailed" Mandy intervened
"I know I'm stupid, she won't even notice me" Simone lamented
"don't say that, you won't know till you try" Elaine comforted her
"you're not the only stupid one, okay guys I've had a really stupid crush on Cory Richards and just look at me.. you think he'd be interested?" Mandy laughed
"maybe it's time to start confessing those feelings"Elaine replied
"like you did to Jean?" Simone probed
Elaine bowed her head "no.."
"hey, don't listen to her, it's actually a good idea, I declare next week, confession week, each day, one of us has to confess our feelings to our specific crushes" Mandy suggested
"you're kidding me right?" Simone asked
"nope! I guess Elaine owes Jean an apology, also how about actually approaching him and see how it works out, I will...can't believe im saying this.." Mandy shrugged "I will also met jean, Simone you have to see Tina, and Paige..."
everyone turned their focus on her
"who are you interested in?" Elaine asked her
"honestly, no one.." Paige replied
Mandy arched a brow in disbelief
"I'm serious, I've never really seen myself worthy of someone else's feelings... I guess I naturally wrote myself off"
"that's really sad" Elaine lamented
"then we'll fix that problem" Mandy replied
"and how do you intend on doing that?" Paige asked inquisitively
"well you said you didn't deserve it, that means there's probably something you don't appreciate about yourself, with a little bit of make-up, clothes and self confidence, we can make it work" Mandy replied
all Paige could so was smile as we waited for the bombshell she was about to drop, she'd laid her cards the best way she possibly could, right now all she could hope for is that it plays right into her hopes, or else she would be severally fucked
"Paige" Simone called "did something happen to you that you are not telling us today?"
"what are you talking about?" Paige asked pretending not to know what Simone meant
"you'd been acting really weird today, and when we came in, don't think I didn't notice when you receive a text which made you almost faint, want to tell us what's that about?" Simone pressed on
Paige hesitated, this was the moment to see if it all would play her way or was she doomed to figure out this situation on her own
"common Paige.." Elaine urged
"truth pact" Mandy reminded her
finally Paige took her phone, placed it directly on the heart wrecking message Mr Carter had sent and gave it to Simone, who in turn read the message out loud
"okay..what is this supposed to mean?" Simone asked still not getting the underlying message
Paige sighed "I have been having sex with Mr Carter".
the atmosphere in the room quickly changed, Simone was left mouth ajar, Mandy had moved closer to see if Paige facial expression hinted that it was some silly joke while Elaine's surprised reaction showed all over her face, Paige had waited for their verbal reaction but no one spoke yet, they were still processing what they just heard
Paige nodded "I said..."
"we heard you Paige.."Simone replied
"wait..like Mr Carter, our English teacher.. Mr Carter?" Mandy wanted to confirm
"yes, Mr Carter our English teacher"
"did he..force you..?" Elaine asked
"no..no it was intentional at first.." Paige began "then it turned to something else"
"something else? what do you mean?" Simone asked
"he started to threaten me to keep having sex with him"
"threaten you? with what?!" Simone asked now looking pissed already
"yeah..why would he threaten you" Mandy seconded
"he took several nude pictures of me, videos of me" she sniffed as tears stood at the bridge of her eyes"
"are you serious? Mr Carter did that?" Elaine, now visibly emotionally distraught asked
"that pervert.." Mandy added
"this can't continue, Paige you have to put an end to this" Simone reached out
"what can I do? he literally has my pictures, If it gets out I could be ruined for life, I don't give a shit if he goes to jail, my pictures would be out there for the whole world to see, I can't deal with that"
"holy shit" Simone whispered
"so we just find a way to get those pictures from him.." Mandy inputted
"that's not all.. yesterday he offered me a ride, and he told me he liked Simone and he wanted a threesome" Paige began sobbing "he involved Simone into this and this time I don't know what to do"
"what..wait what!" Simone exclaimed
"so that's what the message meant, that pervert" Elaine remarked
"so what are we going to do now?" Mandy asked, glancing at Simone who whose eyes froze "hey Simone you okay?" she asked
"Paige I can't believe you kept this to yourself, what were you thinking?" Simone, holding Paige by the shoulders said
"I'm sorry, I dragged you into this..I couldn't tell you"
"no nope.. no one is dragging anybody anywhere, we are in this together remember? y'all help me before and whatever you decide to do with that scoundrel I've got your back" Mandy replied smiling and nodding to ease the air
"yeah, he deserves the worst" Elaine agreed
"he wants us.. that's what he's gonna get" Simone replied
"you're actually going to.."
"hell no, we'd find a way to get that pictures from him" Simone corrected
"but what if he doesn't, I mean.. I don't think he'll willingly give you the pictures" Elaine warned
"yeah, and this blackmail is going to persist" Mandy said
"I can't even imagine a man inside me.." Simone shivered utterly disgusted "no offense guys"
"I think we have no choice than to silence him forever" Mandy came to a conclusion "what do you think Paige?"
"yeah how are we supposed to that?"
all eyes where fixed on Paige now, she already had a plan all along, it had played According to how she'd wished, she couldn't do it all alone but now she has gotten support from her friends
"I suppose we will have to create another accident"
Everyone had dispersed to their various classes, Paige sat dazed as she was lost in her own head, paying no attention to whatever was happening in class, while she marvelled at how much in sync they'd thought, one minute she had her back against the wall and the next minutes she was immediately backed by her friends, it made the burden easier to bare, was this really the merits of having people by your side who shared the same ideas as yours, she basked herself in this new feeling that was now being a part of her, she adored the feeling, she'd found herself smiling sheepishly in class, she'd been able to unleash her in built rage in ways that she couldn't imagine and the more she thought of it, she relished in the feeling hereby developing a new part of herself she never knew she had, and as for that bastard she knew how to make him disappear for good.
Elaine felt a calm tap on her shoulders, she reacted and sat dumbfounded when she saw who stood behind her
"hey, can I sit down?" Jean asked
unable to speak for a while she nodded,
"um..how are you?" he asked as he swung sitting besides her
she battled to keep her increasing heartbeat in check, she fluttered so hard that she was sure he would notice
"are you ignoring me, you know I'm literally sitting besides you right?
she shielded her face to hide her pink cheeks
"fine, I'm sorry, I totally embarrassed you in front of everyone and.. whatever you did didn't justify my actions.. I'm sorry... Elaine"
she couldn't hide her reactions anymore, she wanted to cry his apology sent her mentally to cloud nine, she turned her gaze towards him as her eyes flickered in excitement
" uh are you blushing right now? " Jean smiled
she immediately blocked her face partially with her hands in shame
Jean was mildly swept off his feet from Elaine's cuteness, he maintained a short, up close glance at her, and for a moment there was an awkward silence, Elaine still shielding her face, she parted her fingers to investigate his action and spotted him intensely staring at her and she gasped loudly, Jean slowly removed Elaine's shaking hands from her face, and for some reasons he never knew why he felt like planting a kiss on her lips
" I'm sorry.. " she finally spoke " my..actions were really creepy and disturbing, so i understand if you are weirded out by me"
" you're cute" Jean whispered "are you free tomorrow? "
Elaine's eyes widened, she could not believe what she had just heard, did Jean Stilinsky just ask her out on a date? what this really happening, she froze for a moment processing what he'd just heard..
" hello... earth to Elaine "
" um.. " they were supposed to be murdering someone tomorrow, but there was no way she was going to miss out on this opportunity, she imagined her and Jean alone, she was sure the rest could handle whatever it was by themselves
" yeah.. I am "
" I'll text you the address, you know since I have your number" he laughed
"oh my God " Elaine embarrassedly replied as he dropped a joke about
her
" hey, I was just kidding.. chill "
"sure, is it.. like a date?" she stammered
" well, let's say I wanna properly apologize for the scene I caused, see ya "
she screamed loudly inside her as soon as Jean left, she couldn't believe that not so long ago she was creepily sending love messages and text messages without hopes of ever being recognized, now he asked her out on a date? well he didn't accept it but it was totally a date, this update had totally brightened her day, she had forgotten about her previous peril, she had been trying to distance the fact that she was terribly worried about some incidents that surfaced at last night's truth pact, most importantly Mandy's discovery of that drug, she later googled it and was absolutely stunned by what she saw, the drug was exactly as Mandy had described, for what she surely knew, she never had sleeping problems so she is definitely not taking it, it must be her dad, out of her being insanely worried about him she also googled about some side effects and that discovery was what surprised her the most was that she has been experiencing most of all the side effects she had seen online, she didn't quite know how to comprehend it, the daytime drowsiness, dizziness, muscle weakness, she'd been having those signs! but how can it be? was she sleepwalking and somehow ended up in the library? nah that seemed bogus, there was no way she would have known the exact place to look for it and who purchased it? the harbored a theory that scared the living hell out of her that she immediately discarded the possibility of it ever happening, now all she fantasized about was her experience with Jean, his eyes up close and most importantly their date, she thought of her friends and surely they would understand her being absent from tomorrow's "Accident"