The warm morning air brushed over her skin as her eyes fluttered open. Streams of light came through the slits in the open blinds that no one had bothered to close. Arder rolled over in the bed, hiding her eyes from the brightness. She guessed that school was probably about to start, yet she wasn't in any hurry to get up. When a loud knock sounded throughout the apartment, the redhead moaned in frustration and let her feet find the floor. "I'm coming," she yelled to whoever it was. She pushed her hair out of her eyes and started towards the front door."Lexie?" she mumbled, seeing her friend outside. She wondered how Lexie had known that she would be at Sophie's, and if the girl had gone to Arder's house first. Leaning over the railing, Lexie stood looking down at the roads below. Swinging the door open, Arder wrapped her arms around herself. "Hey, what are you doing here?" she greeted.Lexie looked over her shoulder and made her way inside without waiting for an invitation. "Sophie

Grey felt horrible; he was sick to his stomach. Everything about this girl made him want to stay. He wanted to throw away what he was told to do, pretend it wasn't the reason why he met her.He could feel her tears staining his shirt. In his eyes, the truth about her father wasn't a big deal, but that obviously wasn't how she saw it. Grey had so much more to admit to her, but in that moment he knew it would break even the strongest of spirits.He moved his hand up to Arder's head and stepped back to look at her. "We should go," he said, brushing her bright hair away from her face.She too stepped back from the embrace, seemingly embarrassed. She nodded and started towards the back entrance, wiping the tears away in the process. "Grey?" she asked, once they were outside."I can take you back to school," he told her, scanning the yard to make sure they were alone."Could you take me to the cafe?" she asked, following his gaze around the property. The short oak trees surrounding them

The clouds blocked the moon creating a dark shadow, everything felt pointless in that moment. She didn't know why she was walking to the factory, all she knew was there was no where left to go. The abandoned buildings on the street looked beautiful with the shadows dancing across them. They had uneven levels that created an artistic feel to them and the glass that littered their front lawns were like the loneliness that Arder felt. She took a moment to sit on the curb next to one of them, and just watched. She could see the silhouettes of the few birds flying across the sky and a tipped over metal garbage can rustling back and forth. A woman wearing a bunched up jacket and only one glove looked up from behind it. A few gray hair strands peaked out from under the light blue hat she had over her head. Arder jumped up and continued to walk, not wanting to disturb her further. "Arder?" A voice asked, making her jump. She spun around to see Grey standing in the middle of the street.This

Arder felt like she was drifting through a dream and that she would wake up at any moment. Sophie was yelling, but it was all background noise. And then the sirens came, slowly getting louder and louder, waking her up to the reality of what happened. Her mind was screaming, and her fist clenched around the knife. This was what killed my best friend. The phrase ran through her mind at a million miles per hour, and it destroyed her. "What do I do?" she asked Sophie. The flashing lights of the police cars were fast approaching, and Arder was the one holding the murder weapon.Sophie shook her head. "Just give it to me," she instructed. She snatched the knife from the redhead's hand and ran out the back door, only to return moments later. "There was no knife. You never saw it," she said, eyes wide and hands shaking. They were committing a crime, and they both knew it. Arder nodded from her seat on the floor. The image of Lexie's broken body just steps away was the worst she could think

"Why?" Arder asked. His question confused her in ways she didn't want to admit. Nevertheless, everything became uncertain the second she saw her best friend lying cold and bloody in that bathroom.He shrugged. "I don't know. I just thought that if I were you, I'd feel better knowing the person who did it was locked up." The girl hesitated, her hand feeling heavy in his. She told herself that there was no need to ask anymore questions, that she could trust him. "Well, hopefully they will soon. They might have some of the killer's DNA, actually," she said. She carefully watched his expression for any signs of fear, but if he knew anything, he certainly didn't show it. His expression stayed stone cold, almost angry. He stared straight ahead. "That's good." "Where were you all this time?" she blurted out. The question had been nagging at the back of her mind for every second of those four days. It had caused suspicion, and she hated it. Arder looked down, seeing her hands shake. He to