Hidden Truths

One sunny afternoon, school just had ended. All the enlivened students (including me) were jumping up and down, because our summer break had started. The teachers were also delighted that they don’t have to keep up with us for the next few months. I walked out of school and Ryan caught up with me panting and coughing. “What’s wrong?” I asked politely. “Trying to catch up with you. Duh.” he replies rolling his eyes. “So, what’s our plan for summer?” I ask. Before Ryan could respond, Stella yelled from behind us. “Hey Brittany!” I turn around and wave back at her smiling widely. Ryan and Stella would fight most of the time we were together, and I would be stuck in the middle. Ryan hated when Stella was right, and Stella hated it when Ryan was the center of attention. Ryan silently made a small groan. I wasn’t looking at him though. I was focusing on Stella. Her tie dye shirt, he ripped jeans and her long hair styled into curls. Stella always looked good in whatever she wore.  “Anyways Brittany, I have an idea.” Ryan says still annoyed by Stella’s interruption. “I saw an abandoned house a few days ago. I didn’t get any time to explore it so we should go explore it!” “Sure! That sounds fun. Stella, want to come?” I ask looking at her eyes. “Sure.” Then I hugged both tightly and said, “See you tomorrow. Meet at my house.”  

    When I got home, mom was preparing a tasty pizza. “Hey sweetie. How was the last day of high school?” Mom asks while gently forcing the fat pizza into the oven. “Good. Me, Stella and Ryan are going somewhere.” I reply throwing my bag on the couch. “Where?” Mom asks confused. “To...Starbucks.” I lie. I always lie so I mean... “Oh! Well hope you have a good time sweetheart.” “Where is Brooke?” I ask mom. Brooke is my only sister. She is 24. She decided to stay with us for a few weeks. “She went to get some groceries for me.” Just then, I heard the bell ring. “Can you get that Brittany?” I nod. I run to the door and open it. It was Jacob. Jacob is Brooke’s husband. They got married two years ago. “Hey Brit. How are you?” “Good!”  “Hey Jacob! Where were you?” Mom asks. “I had some work to finish up in the office.” Jacob gets settled on the couch and takes a magazine from the table. I run upstairs to the bathroom and take a quick shower.  

     I throw my dirty clothes into the laundry and head downstairs. I hear a lot of commotion which probably meant Brooke arrived. Brooke likes to talk. Like a lot. “Hey Brit!” Brooke yells and runs to hug me. I hug her back. “How was the last day of high school?” Brooke asks smiling too much. “It was good Brooke.” “Come eat. We were waiting for you!” Mom says washing her hands thoroughly. I get seated and soon everyone is sitting. Mom cuts a slice of pizza and puts it on my plate “Thank you.” I say smiling at mom. “Your welcome.” After she hands everyone a slice, she sits. We all start eating. Yum. This pizza is so good. Just then, Jacob gets a call. He looks a little suspicious. “Ahem. May I be excused for a minute?” We all nod. He slowly gets up and grabs his phone and heads to the bathroom. Then we hear a slam. I finish eating my pizza and head to my room to get ready for bed. That’s when I heard Jacob talking. I really wanted to hear what he was saying. So, I put my ears against the door and tried to listen. This is what I heard. “I will text you all the details about that girl” “Brittany? What are you doing?” Brooke asks coming up. “Uh. I thought I heard something weird.” “He’s fine. Go to bed now.” Brooke asks gesturing towards my bedroom. I nod and then hurry to my bedroom. I shut the door and turn off the lights. Goodnight world. 

     I woke up with a big yawn. I was ready to go explore with Ryan and Stella today. I grabbed my phone and checked my texts.  

RYAN: We will meet at 11:00 at your house, ok? 

ME: Sure. See you later then. 

Stella: Okay at 11:00. Bye. 

The time is 10:50. I only have 10 minutes to get ready. Gosh. I put on, a Riverdale shirt, a black hoodie, and some casual black pants. I run downstairs. Mom has been making Pancakes. “Do you want pancakes buttercup?” Mom asks. “No. I will buy something from Starbucks.” I reply shaking my head. “You sure?” Mom asks a little concerned about me eating. “Yes mum.” I grab some money and head out. I wait for them. After a few minutes, they arrive. “Okay where is this place?” I ask. “Follow me.” Ryan leads the way while me and Stella follow behind. Stella waves at me and I wave back. After walking for a few minutes, we reached the house. Wow. The house was black and looked all rotten. A broken window, with glass broken on the ground, and the door, which looked almost broken. “Let’s go in.” we all nod agreeing. We come in and I hear a meow. I look around and find a black cat coming from a basement. “WOW! A basement! Let's go down!” Stella says grabbing both of our hands. We refuse. “Guys come on.” “Ugh fine. What if we die?” I ask opening my eyes wide. “Don’t be so stupid. That’s never going to happen.” Maybe it will. 

    It took us some time to get down there, but we finally did it. All we see is a long pathway. We walk and walk until we heard a scream. I turned around so scared. It was Stella. A rock had fallen and that freaked her out. “Sorry.” “It’s ok Stella.” We continue to walk. Finally, we reach a place. I see logs and grass that hasn’t been watered for years maybe. I also see a big tree. “We should head back.” Ryan says. “Yes, let’s go.” We were about to head back when we heard footsteps. We hid behind the tree. Finally, the dark figure stepped into the light. I almost gasped when I saw who that was. It was Jacob. Stella and Ryan were also gasping. “Isn't that your sister’s boyfriend?” Stella whispers.  I nod. Then abruptly, another man from the other side comes with a guy in this hand. His hands are tied and there is blood coming out of this mouth. “What should we do to him sir?” asked the man. “Death. That’s the only way he will learn.” I cover my mouth shocked. Was that our Jacob?! “Okay sir.” The man grabs a big axe from the corner. “No please!” yelled the man. Then Jacob laughs. “Do it Mark.” Mark slashes the axe across his chest and the man falls into his death. “Good. Now cover this up. Throw his body into the lake or somewhere.” Mark nods. He pulls the dead man by the leg and goes upstairs. Jacob opens a door and goes in. “We will stay here until he comes out. Then we will go observe that room.” I explain quietly. “Ok.” We wait and wait. Then Jacob comes out of the room and shuts it. He doesn’t lock the door. Good. Then he leaves the way we came in. When we heard he was gone, we went inside the room. What we saw, what unbelievable. A big board. With 3 people. One person labelled: DEAD. The person we saw killed: DEAD. Then another girl not labelled. He is targeting these people. But only 2 of them is dead. Now he is going to find the other girl and kill her. “We have to do something before he murders her.” Ryan exclaims. “Yes, and we have to figure out why he is doing this.” Stella explains. “Let’s go home for now. We will discuss this later.” I reply. We all nod and leave. 

    I got home after some time. I rang the doorbell. Mom slowly opens the door. “Hi Britany! How was Starbucks?” I gave her a thumbs up. When I get in, I see Jacob. He is wearing a different shirt and different shoes. “Hey Brit. How are you today?” I don’t even reply. “What are you doing here?” I ask mad. “We are going to a movie.” Jacob says crossing his legs now. I turn away and looked in the pantry. I find a bag of ketchup chips and eat them. “I am ready!” Brooke says coming down from the bathroom. I can’t. Brooke is so happy and thrilled. But Jacob is a liar. He is a murder. I need to do something. But I must wait.  

ME: I am going to try to steal his phone and figure out where he is going to kill the other girl next. 

RYAN: Ok...But be safe. Let us know if you need any help. 

ME: Ok. Bye. 

I throw my phone. I need to act natural. Got it. “Hey sweetie. You were acting a little weird earlier. Is everything alright?” I nod smiling as wide as I can. “Good! Jacob had asked us if we want to go to the burger place for dinner. “Sure!” We wait for Jacob and he finally arrives with Brooke holding his hand. “Let’s go.” We get in the car and drove off. When we got to burger place, we found a table for four. Then the waiter came to take our order. We all ordered burgers. (duh) While we were eating, Jacob said he said he had to sue the washroom. He placed his phone on the table and left. I grabbed the phone and put it in my pocket while Mom and Brooke were chatting about the movie they went too. “Mom I also have to use the washroom.” She nodded while getting back to the conversation. I run to the washroom and close the stall. I grab his phone out. No passcode. Phew. I get in and go to messages and find Mark. Then I look at the texts: 

MARK: Where are we going to kill Serena?  

ME: The beach. On Wednesdays there aren’t many people. We will stab her and then grab her underground to the hideout. Then we will end her there. 

MARK: Okay sounds good. But when?  

ME: Tomorrow. At 12:00. 

MARK: What if somebody finds out? 

ME: Nobody won’t. Trust me. David, Lucus and Serena. They deserved this. They ruined my entire life.  

MARK: I understand. Well, see you tomorrow. 

ME: Bye. 

After I finish reading those texts. I am more confused. What did they do to ruin his life? Maybe he isn’t a horrible guy...Maybe there is a backstory and a meaning to all this. “Brittany?” “What?” I ask confused. “It’s me, Stella.” “What are you doing here?” “Your Snapchat location said you were here.” Then she started laughing. “Lord, I need to turn that off.” “Yep! So, what’s the news?” “I stole his phone and found out that they are killing her tomorrow at the beach near the hideout. After they kill her, they will drag her to their hideout and kill.” “Okay. I sneaked out so I got to get home.” “okay bye. Tomorrow at 12:00, tell Ryan.” “Alright bye.”  

  I got out and all my family members were staring at me. “Brittany, where is Jacob’s phone?” Brooke asks crossing her hands madly. “Oh! I accidentally took it! I thought it was mine.” I grab the phone out and out it back smiling. “Okay good.” We had a nice dinner, but Jacob kept staring at me. Maybe he knew my plans. I smirk at him. Your plans will be over when I save Serena Jacob Potter. 

It’s the morning! I am ready to go and save her. I already texted Ryan and Stella the time and location. We are ready. First stop, beach. 

I walk into the beach and spot Stella and Ryan hiding behind a palm tree. They wave their hand at me to join them. I sneak past a couple of people who are gossiping about something. “Is here yet?” I check my time and it’s 11:58. “He should be here very soon. Also, they found out Serena has a meeting with a friend here today at 12:00. So, they are probably going to kill her friend too.” They all nod agreeing. Then I see a girl. Long brown hair and side bangs, a crop top and blue jeans. Then on the other side, I see another boy. Blonde wavy hair, casual red shirt, black pants and a cap. They meet in the middle. “Hi Michael! It’s been a longtime since I seen you!” “Same Serena!” The hug. Yep, we found Jacob’s victims. Then that’s when we saw them. Jacob and Mark. Holding a butcher knife behind his back. They slowly passed behind them and dropped his wallet on purpose. They walk back slowly to grab the wallet. Probably to stab her. “We should grab her and run. That’s my plan.” I reply. “Really?!” “That’s our only option! Let’s go and save the world!” I grab their hands and run towards them. I grab Serena’s hand and Ryan grabs Michael's. Stella pulls out a kitchen knife and waves at them. “DON’T. COME. NEAR. US.” Stella warns. Jacob is stunned. He is speechless. “Where is your car?” Serena’s perplexed but answers. “Over there.” Serena points at a white SUV. We run in and lock the doors and leave. But Mark and Jacob aren’t ready to give up. They run in their car. Now it’s a car chase. “Go faster!” I yell at Michael. He gives the accelerator a bigger push and we fly off. We reach some place. It’s near my house. “What’s happening?!” Serena askes stressed. “Go left and then right. We will reach my house. GO!” I scream. Michael obeys. “He is killing you. Do you know that man?!” Ryan asks angrily. Serena lowers her head, ashamed. “I SAID DO YOU KNOW THAT MAN?!” I ask. “Brittany, calm down.” Ryan exclaims putting his hand on my shoulder. “Yes...Yes I do...” Serena replies still with a lowered head. “How?” Stella asks. “I...” “Tell us!” “Fine! I did something terrible. It wasn’t because I hated him.” Serena tells us. “Tell us. Everything.” Ryan tells. “I was a poor girl. My dad had died of cancer and my mom had no job. I had four sisters and we had no food. I had to do something. A man found me while I was begging for some food. He told me I didn’t need to beg anymore. All I needed was to kill someone. He said he would give me everything I needed. I agreed. I went to his hideout and found other two people who looked like me: poor, homeless and dirty. He paid us a lot of money and said that he would give us everything after we were done with the job. We all nodded. I could see my brighter future. He showed us a picture of who to kill. A smiling woman, wearing rich clothing. She...She was Jacob’s mom. We decided to kill her and we did. But there was a big problem and that was Jacob. He saw us do it. We couldn’t do anything. Me, David and Lucus was in hideout for years. Now I am rich. I feel guilty. I am deserved to be killed.” We all look at the ground speechless. Silence. “Michael, stop the car.” I say. Everyone, expect Serena, looks at me like I am crazy. I get out and pull out Serena and the others with me. mark laughs. Jacob has a guilty look on his face. I smile because I know exactly what’s happening. Jacob feels bad. “Jacob, here.” I push Serena forward. “Kill her.” Micheal, Ryan and Stella all gasp. They don’t know my plan. But I do. Jacob drops his knife. “Do it Jacob. Kill her for killing your mother.” Silence. “Remember that day? When your mother fell on the floor with blood pouring out of her stomach? The knife on the floor? The red cold blood on the floor? Do you want to kill her still?” I ask squinting my eyes. Jacob's mouth is open, and she is straightly looking at Serena. He doesn't say anything. Everyone was about to climb in the car when I stopped them. I turned around to Jacob who now had wet tears in his eyes. “Don’t waste your time on revenge, those that hurt you will eventually face their own karma.” Now I feel good. It feels like Jacob had went into her life and saw how much she had experienced. While we were heading off, Serena’s began to wheeze. She held her chest in pain. Her neck. Then her jaw and back. “You okay!?!” Michael asks worried about her friend. “Go to the hospital!!” I yell. Michael turns the car and Serena falls onto Stella’s lap. She stopped breathing. She shut her eyes. “Stop. We couldn’t save her.”  

  Mom and Brooke are crying. They are devasted. Jacob is going to jail. For 4 years. Brooke hugs him. Mom hugs him. I do too. Because I feel bad. I found out that Serena’s mom died years ago, and she usually had heart attacks. But this time, it was her end. I didn’t tell mom and Brooke. I thought I would regret it. But no. I made the right choice. Sometimes telling everyone about something isn’t the best idea. After the cops take Jacob away, Brooke and mom hug me tightly. “Thank you, Brittany. Thank you.” Mom and Brooke says while crying more. I cry a bit too. But only a bit. Sometimes you got to accept that certain things will never go back to how they used to be.