Chapter Two
“I bet my car is the only one in this neighborhood without leather interior,” Lucas joked as he stepped out of the car. “I don’t see Orion’s car anywhere.”
“Is anyone here?” Gavin called out.
“H-help…” Micah grunted in response. “For God’s sake! Someone…please. Help…me.”
“That’s Micah’s voice alright,” Lucas said. “Dammit all, he must be seriously drunk. These kids don’t know their limits.”
“But where’s Orion?” Gavin asked.
“What’s going on here?” Archer asked as he casually walked toward them from the street. “What’s that horrible sound?”
“I’m…h-here!” Micah groaned in agony. Archer hurried towards Micah as the other two stared at each other with worried looks on their faces.
“My god,” Archer said as he quickly fell to his knees, looking over the carnage with apparent surprise. “What…what the hell happened?”
“That guy…stabbed me. Still here. I don’t know.”
“Why would anyone stab you? Lucas! Gavin! Get over here!” He took a few steps toward the pool house and spotted Roderick huddled against the wall around the corner. As Lucas and Gavin started to make their way into the backyard, Archer reached down into the nearby bushes and retrieved the bloody knife. He advanced on Roderick, speaking softly for insurance. “You! I knew you were involved! How could you hurt my friend?”
Roderick looked incredulous. “Archer, what the hell are you talking about—” He let out a pained cry as Archer stabbed him in the stomach. “Y-you!” he grunted, withering against the side of the pool house. “You…fucker!” Archer stabbed him again under his ribs. “Stop! You…won’t get away with this!”
“What the hell?” Lucas asked when he saw Micah stretched out on the ground.
“Lucas?” Archer asked, smiling as he sunk his knife deeper into Roderick’s chest, twisting it. “Is that you?”
“Yes. What’s going on?”
“Someone stabbed Micah,” Archer called out, covering Roderick’s mouth. His body started to slack and he slid down the side of the wall. Archer patted his head and quickly rinsed the blood off his arm in a nearby hot tub.
“Stabbed?” Lucas asked stupidly. “We thought he was drunk!”
“He’s hurt,” Archer said as he reappeared around the corner. “Look at him.”
“Dammit, Micah,” Gavin said, kneeling down. “What happened?”
“Some…crazy...I don’t even know. Please…call police. Call 911.”
“It doesn’t look that bad,” Archer said, picking up a towel from the ground. “Take this and try to stop the bleeding, Lucas.” A sudden scream pierced the air and the men turned around to see Bentley standing on the path with a look of horror on her face. “Stop that screaming, bitch,” Archer roared. “Are you trying to wake up the whole neighborhood?”
“What happened?” she asked as she stepped closer.
“Stop!” Archer shouted. “Do you know anything about this?”
“I just went inside to use the bathroom and get a drink before I left, but then I heard shouting,” Bentley said. “What’s going on?”
“Ahh, a thief and a slut,” Archer said. “How convenient. Micah, did she do this to you?”
“Don’t…think so,” Micah said.
“You can barely think – you’ve lost too much blood,” Archer said, wrapping the towel around Micah’s shoulders. “Will one of you please call the police? And call my girlfriend and tell her to come over here. And you,” he said, looking at Bentley. “You don’t go anywhere.”
“Why? I didn’t do anything!”
“Going in the house for two things you could have easily done in the pool house?” Archer scoffed. “I highly doubt that! Just try to stay strong, Micah, we’ll figure this out.”
“I found something!” Lucas called from the side of the pool house.
“What is it?”
“It’s…I don’t know who it is,” Lucas said, looking at the mangled body.
“I know this guy,” Archer said as he joined Lucas. “That’s Roderick. He’s a friend of mine! He must be the guy who Micah was talking about.”
“So who did this to him?” Lucas asked. Sirens began to wail in the distance.
“The cops are on their way,” Gavin said from behind them.
“Shit, Gavin,” Archer gasped in surprise, grabbing his chest. “I almost forgot you were here. What a damn mess.”
“Who…who’s that?”
“Roderick,” Archer said. “I know him well.” He shook his head. “To think that he was capable of this! Someone must have tricked him.”
“Don’t know…him,” Micah said from the ground.
“But there’s someone suspicious here who might,” Archer said as the sirens got closer. “Bentley.”
“I didn’t—”
“Did you have something to do with this?” Archer asked her. “You look guilty.”
“I didn’t—” she croaked out as an ambulance and several police cars stopped in front of the house.
“A likely story,” Archer said. Several policemen came running back with their guns drawn.
“Are you kids alright? What a blood bath,” one grunted. “Where are your parents?”
“I don’t live here,” Archer explained as another car pulled out front. “I was walking to my girlfriend’s house when I heard some strange noises. I ran into Lucas and Gavin here when I came over to investigate. Oh, here’s my girlfriend right now.”
“What’s going on? Why did you call me here?” Ellie asked breathlessly as she ran up to Archer. She pulled him in for a hug. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, just a little shaken up,” Archer said.
“You’re going to have to start telling us something useful,” a cop said.
“Do you see that girl?” Archer asked, pointing at Bentley. “Don’t let her leave. She was here when we got here, possibly trying to rob the house.”
“I swear I didn’t do anything,” she said through tears of shock.
“You’ll need to stay here, miss,” the cop said, stepping close to her.
“What’s…what’s going on?” Ellie asked, suddenly noticing the puddles of blood around Micah.
“We think Roderick stabbed Micah.”
“Oh my God! Is he alright?”
“I think he’ll live,” Archer said, pulling away.
“Why would anyone want to hurt Micah?” Ellie asked, looking up at him. She couldn’t bring herself to look down again. So much blood.
“I think that slut Bentley had something to do with it. She was always upset that Micah didn’t want his father to know about her. You remember the summer, don’t you, Ellie?”
“I do,” Ellie said. “But I wouldn’t think Bentley would—”
“Don’t listen to him!” Bentley cried as a policeman took ahold of her arm. “I didn’t have anything to do with this!”
“Then why do you look so frightened?”
“Because there are two bloody bodies on the ground!” she howled as Micah was put on a stretcher.
“Are you scared because you were caught?”
“Caught what? I told you! I didn’t do anything!”
“You were always upset that Micah didn’t want anything to do with you.”
“That’s a lie!” Bentley said, her cheeks growing pink.
“Oh my God, could you be that jealous?” Ellie said.
“I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“What did you expect would happen when you thought this up, you crazy bitch?”
“I’m no more a bitch than you are,” Bentley hissed as she was restrained by the officer.
“Stop that,” Archer interrupted. “Both of you shut the hell up. We just want to make sure that Micah is alright. I’ll stay here until this is cleared up and the appropriate statements are made. You need to get in contact wi
th Orion and Dev and let them know what happened.”
“But, Archer—”
“You should go now,” Archer said, feigning concern. “Please. Dev will die if she knows you knew about this and didn’t tell her. Leave now.”
“I’ll see you later?” she asked.
“Just go.”