"Did you speak to Ethan?" He asked.

"Yes. He told me that he doesn't remember the third word and the reason why he couldn't see his killer." I answered.

"That's nice. I've been thinking hard on what the third word was." He muttered.

"What did Mr. Cooper say?" I asked.

"Right," He adjusted in his seat and cleared his throat," You need to help us by getting closer to Edwin."

"Is he the suspect?" I asked immediately.

"Yes, he is." He answered with seriousness.

I shivered at the thought of 'getting closer to Edwin.'

"You see, he abducted, threatened and even sneaked into your house for whatever reasons, but it's a criminal offence. We won't charge him as of now so that we can spy on him more and you...will be our spy." He explained.

I nodded but didn't say anything as he continued," And he seems quite interested in you, which is the best reason to let you do this job."

I had to get close to him to find out whether he committed the crime or not and what exactly happened in their house that night.

"Does that mean I...have to go to the prom with him?" I asked.

"Unfortunately yes," He said," But, you don't have to let him do whatever he wants to. Just treat him like you don't hate him."

"I got it." I asserted to which he looked at me in surprise," You...agree to do this?" He asked.

"I know the Gwen you know wouldn't agree without some heated argument." I chuckled," I'm just doing whatever I can for Ethan."

I looked around hastily," Did you hear him?" I asked Elijah and he shook his head.

"He's here?" He asked.

"He just thanked me." I smiled as I stood up. I was the only one who could hear him.

"Gwen," Elijah spoke," I want to warn you about this." he stood up.

"About what?" I asked.

"Don't let your guard down around Edwin," He swallowed," He might be the killer."

I couldn't say anything. I didn't know what to say. Edwin might or might not have killed his own brother. I knew he was a jerk, but not a total nut-job to have killed someone, leave alone his own brother. But, sometimes people might do the unthinkable. You never know.

I walked back home right after that and started looking for the bag which Edwin had left for me. I remembered sliding it under the bed and found it there. I couldn't believe myself for dressing up and going to the prom after knowing that my grandpa was on the verge of death and my parents had been driving without rest. I hadn't even called them to ask where they'd reached.

One thing that I knew for sure was that I had met a different version of myself in the past one month- A selfish and heartless bitch.

Gone were the days when I never hid anything from my parents and thought about nothing but studies. The old Gwen Smith had been erased. Her values, judgement, even her existence were gone.

How was I even different from Ethan?

I was a soul myself.

Once I was dressed up and done with very light make up, which I had done for the first time, I checked my phone. I sighed at the text notification from Edwin.

Edwin : I'll pick you up at 7.

I flinched and made a disgusted expression before sending a reply.

Me : Okay

"We start small." I breathed out. What else would anyone expect from someone like me, who'd never dated before? All I could think of was sending a heart text-emoji to show that I had officially cooled down about everything Edwin did to me, even stealing my first kiss.

I kept my phone away and started doing my hair into a neat bun and leaving out loose locks on either side. I glanced at the jewellery box tossed on the bed and grabbed it. I flung open the box to reveal an elegant platinum pendant with a little diamond. It went well with the dress and since it was really light, I felt comfortable wearing it.

I climbed downstairs carefully, trying not to mess the maroon low-knee dress. I had ten minutes remaining, so I locked all the doors and windows and finally went to the shoe rack. That's when I realized that I didn't have matching heels or heels at all. I wasn't fond of dresses and mom's heels were for formal places like her office.

"I'll just put these on." I said, pulling out my white and blue canvas shoes, when I heard a knock on the door.

"Fuck." I hastily shoved my feet into the shoes and put them on after tumbling three times and opened the door.

Edwin stood in front of me in awe and I was looking at him the same way. He looked stunning in his black suit that fit him perfectly. I guess both of us were amazed to see each other because he had been looking at me without saying anything. But when I felt him gaze down at my feet, I got nervous and stuttered," I- I didn't have any m-matching heels."

His gaze intensified when he looked back at me with his eyebrows scrunched. I remembered his letter, in which he wanted me to treat him normally but I was scared to death as he stood so tall in front of me. I tried to look normal and think of some words, something or anything to distract him but my head was empty.

Is there anything that he might hit me with? Shoes? Not effective. Maybe mom's favorite flower vase? Should I just push him out and lock the door? Or should I pretend that I'm dead? I'm going to fucking shove two fingers down my throat and throw up to show I'm sick. If I die tonight, my parents will never know how I died and I'm sure those nosy neighbors aren't going to be nosy enough especially tonight to take a peek at Edwin burying me alive in the front yard. Or maybe he'll take me to his house since he has a lot of space to bury me and no one will hear me scream. Then I can join Ethan to help him find his killer. Who knows if I'm going to become a ghost or not? I might fall into hell head-first and teach math to Satan's kids, if he has any. No, why am I thinking about this? Wait...Did I do my Biology homework?

"It looks cute." He said, adjusting his tie, a black one, similar to the one I bought as a gift for Ethan but couldn't give him.

I nodded and gave a crooked smile.

"Where are your parents?" He asked.

"They have-" I started off but a voice in my head cut me off.

Ethan?

"They're out for a movie." I spoke," And they'll be back at 10, which is my curfew time."

I hadn't even realized when Ethan came, but I listened to his advice and did as he said, adding a bit to it myself.

"That's too early, don't you think?" Edwin asked with a visible smirk and I panicked at the double meaning.

What does he want to do with me?

"The fireworks will be put off at 12." He said and I snapped the wrong assumption out of my head right that instant. He was just talking about seeing fireworks together.

"It's not like it's New Year." I said.

"Are you saying you'll see fireworks with me on New Year then?" He asked.

"I think, yeah." I replied dryly.

He glanced at his wrist watch and I caught a glimpse of his ring once again, shining as always.

"Let's go." He said as he stepped out and I followed behind him. I locked the front door but didn't have any pockets to keep my keys in, so I held them in my hand and walked across the street where his car was parked.

"I don't trust an underaged driver." I said as he held the door open for me.

"This isn't the first time." He winked so I sighed and got inside. How could I forget the night of my abduction? I had to make him pay some day.

I buckled up immediately and clutched my grip tighter on the belt. The annoyance was visible on his face but he didn't say anything, which I was thankful of. The lesser he speaks, the lesser I would speak and the lesser he would end up slamming me like a refrigerator door.

Our halfway drive to school was quiet because of which my nerdy brain was thinking about my unfinished homework. Part of me was also about to burst out screaming if Edwin laid a finger on me, thinking he would hurt me real good. Elijah's words were echoing in my head. Edwin might be the killer, but we didn't know how much of that 'might' was true.

"Didn't Elijah Berryman ask you out?" Edwin suddenly spoke which shocked me a little.

"No." I said," I don't like the whole idea of having a prom night without an occasion."

"You weren't planning on coming?" He asked.

"I wasn't."

"Me too." He said and I gave him that questioning look to which he laughed as he rotated the steering wheel and turned the car around.

"What...?" I uttered.

"I don't like prom nights too." He sighed.

"Then where are we going?" I asked, staring out of the window and observing every little signboard to be sure where exactly he was taking me. When we were closer to the turn which would take us back to my house, I thought he was really going to drop me back home and call it a night but he just drove past it and took two lefts, which definitely wasn't the road to my house.

"Edwin, where are you taking me?" I asked again.

"Somewhere quieter." He answered.

A/N

okay I haven't written a word after this chapter but i still published it as one chapter instead of dividing it into two because I'm going to give long chapters from now so that I can finish off the story at the 100th chapter.

keep reading and supporting me 💟

Dedicated to