Skylar's POV

It felt like I was frozen in a trance as I kept looking at my laptop screen.

"" This must've been the hundredth time he looked over at his right. "--you'll find it there."

I blinked twice before hitting pause. He had earlier mentioned a specific place which I hadn't paid much attention to. But now that he was talking about it--the metal discoid--I felt the need to play that part all over again.

"The State Museum in Harrisburg. The big statue of William Penn." I had no idea who that guy was, but I still kept on listening. "The last metal discoid. You'll find it there."

"Get access to the metal bar behind it. Type the code 5732. And you'll find the disc underneath it."

He was about to say something else, something that must've been another warning, when the camera imbalanced itself. I heard a loud crash from the video and it ended almost immediately. It took me a few seconds to finally look away from my screen and lean back against the headboard.

Who was that man?

At least I think I knew what object he was talking about. As far as I knew, discoid meant a disc-like structure.

I'd seen them in Alex's drawer.

Dread filled me out of nowhere. This video was what Blake wanted. This object, whatever it was, Blake's gang wanted that. They wanted that disc. But why? What was so important about that specific disc?

Why did I always end up with hundreds of more questions?

I looked back at my laptop screen; at the paused video. I didn't realize what I was doing until I copied the video into the laptop's storage, took out the USB drive from my laptop, and dashed out of my bedroom, going downstairs. Thankfully, there was no one downstairs to watch me rushing inside the kitchen and stuffing the USB drive inside the blender, switching it on just as quick.

It was probably the crackling noises from the blender which made Dad come out from his room. He eyed me warily before speaking out the obvious, "What are you doing?"

Perhaps I had gone a little mental. But could anyone blame me? Paranoia makes you do shit.

I leaned back against the kitchen counter, my heart racing in my chest. I glanced over at the blender and switched it off. All there was left inside were small black pieces of the USB drive.

Did I really just do that?

Even if I had now destroyed that drive, I was aware Blake would still be after me. Blake and...whoever Kevin was. The video clearly stated where that metal disc was. And I still had that video on my laptop.

If only I knew why they all were after a small metal disc.

•••••

"Can you tell me where the auditorium is?" I heard a girl ask me.

I didn't know why Principal Stewart couldn't have just stuck maps of the whole school on the walls. Why was I stuck here telling people where the auditorium was? Or the bake sale area? Or the stalls?

"Sure," I said with more of a forced smile before walking towards the auditorium. After all, as long as I was wearing the staff badge, people would just keep on coming towards me--like I was some sort of a pathetic magnet.

"You study in this school?" The girl asked as she walked beside me. I had no choice but to nod.

"Yeah."

"Crestmont High always does these kinds of events." She smiled. "I'm from Waverly High, by the way."

I knew which school that was. Our school's rival, mostly in sports. I didn't really understand the rivalry, though. For me, every single school was pure torture.

"That's great. I think most of the people around us are from Waverly High." I said since many of them had pointed that out. As this was a charity event, students from all nearby high schools were invited. Teachers as well. It was kind of a way for more publicity.

"Here's the auditorium." I stopped in front of the closed auditorium doors. "You can sign in your name here."

When she was gone inside, I exhaled and went back to the gym. I had no idea where the other staff members were even. It felt like I was the only person handling these people. Looking over at the clock, I realized that a whole hour was still left until I could go back home. This was tiring, and I truly hated Principal Stewart for forcing me to volunteer.

The gymnasium was more of a dance floor for the night--for the parent-children dance. Buy a pass to get on the dance floor and the money goes to charity.

"Hey, Sky. Can you give me a hand?" Olivia, a girl from my Chemistry class, asked as she tried handling the huge box of refreshments.

I could've just said a big fat no, but I wasn't that rude. I wished though for people to see just how freaking tired I was at that moment. Every single limb of mine was crying in protest.

"Sure." I went over to the refreshments table and started helping her out, replacing the empty spots on the stand with warm cookies.

At least I wasn't giving directions anymore.

All of a sudden, from the corner of my eye, I saw a silhouette amongst the crowd on the dance floor. Squinting my eyes, it took me a moment to recognise Caden. He seemed a bit exasperated as if searching for someone.

"I'll be back in a second," I told Olivia, before walking over towards him.

I had no idea he'd be here.

"Caden," I called out, stopping near him as his eyes found my own. "What are you doing here?"

I hadn't had a single chance to talk to him since that day he visited me at my house. He hadn't called me, and neither had I.

The exasperation left his face just as quick as he neared towards me. "I was looking for you." He said.

"Why...were you looking for me?" I couldn't help but notice the distance between us then. So that no one would know.

But people did know. That night, when Caden had stayed over at my house, I had completely forgotten about Jenna. She must've seen him leave my house the next day. And she had done what she was so good at. She had started rumours.

Which I wasn't surprised of. That girl had no life of her own.

Caden had wanted to keep this private. And I was fine with it. I had been. Until I found myself questioning why?

Reasons that he wasn't willing to tell me yet. What had happened that made it so dangerous for me to be seen with him?

My stomach clenched at that thought. As if hearing my silent questions, which wasn't really possible, Caden frowned a little.

"Your friend Alex, he's on the run from Blake's gang." He told me, all the while his dark green eyes fixated on me. Now that I noticed closely, his whole state seemed dishevelled. His shirt seemed battered in some areas, perfectly hidden by his jacket.

"Oh." Was all I said. What else was I supposed to say? That I knew about it already since Alex had come to my house just after escaping Blake's?

The frown didn't seem to leave his face.

"Why...did he leave Blake's gang?" I found myself asking. Caden looked at me for a while, running a hand through his already messed up hair, and that's when I noticed his bruised knuckles. The bruises looked fresh. He hadn't even bothered to bandage them up. And that irritated me more than anything. His carelessness irritated me.

"I don't know." He replied.

His gaze seemed to get slightly unnerving at that point, or maybe I was just a bit too tired. Still, I couldn't explain why I felt the small lump growing in my throat.

"Olivia needs my help. I'll...maybe see you later." I told him, taking a few steps backwards before turning around and heading back to the refreshments table.

Something wasn't settling well with me. It just seemed wrong.

Even though I didn't find Olivia near the table, I still busied myself with something before those thoughts could've crowded up in my brain once again. I just wanted to go back home and sleep. Forget about all of this for a little while.

"You don't look surprised." I heard Caden's voice right behind me. Why wasn't he leaving?

"I suppose...I don't need to look surprised if I feel surprised." I said, not really looking at him. Caden was quiet for a while, making me think that he had left. But I knew he hadn't. I could've felt his presence behind me.

I stiffened a bit when he touched my arm, slowly turning me around.

"Caden--"

"What is it?" He asked. He knew something was up. God, why was I so bad at this?

"Nothing." I shook my head, furrowing my brows. "Look, I'm really busy right now and it would help if you--"

"I know when something's up with you, Skylar." There wasn't much distance between us like before. I could almost feel the warmth from his body. "And I know when you're lying."

I had to get out of this.

"I'm not lying, Caden. Really." I still couldn't meet his eyes. Something didn't let me. "I'm just tired, that's all."

His hand was still gripping my arm. Unlike Alex, he wasn't harsh, and that just made it more confusing. Why couldn't anything be a bit simple for once?

"Did you go over to see him?" He asked all of a sudden, taking me by surprise.

"What...if I did?"

The frown came back on his face. "I told you not to."

"Why? Just because you thought he'd hurt me?" I couldn't help but notice how my voice sounded a bit louder now. "Or is there something else?"

Was there something else?

"It's not what you think--"

"That's what I'm asking you," I spoke up in disbelief. "What is so complicated that you can't tell me?"

I was exhausted and I was irritated and I just wanted him to tell me whatever this was, whatever that he was hiding from me. Couldn't he be a little honest? Was I asking too much?

"Nothing." His eyes widened a little. "There's nothing I--"

"Don't lie to me, Caden."

He pulled his hand away. "Are you going to keep on interrupting me?" He sounded angry, frustrated too. And I felt the exact same.

"I thought you trusted me," I whispered, this time looking right into his eyes. I didn't know why I said that. Things always fucked up when it came to trust.

However, saying it out loud made it feel more real. What if Alex was right? What did I really know about Caden?

"I do trust you, for God's sake!"

"Do you?" I could feel my eyes pricking at the corners when he didn't say anything after that. "Alex came by my house the other night. When you left."

I saw his irritation changing into surprise.

"He told me to stay away from you." I kept on saying, feeling the burden of those words.

"What?"

"He told me something." My voice had dropped to an even lower one, but since he was close, close enough to touch, he could hear me just fine. "He told me--Are your parents dead...because of you?"

I didn't realize how bizarre it all sounded until I said it out loud. And even if it was just a whisper, he heard me, his eyes widening a bit at that question. I didn't break my gaze away from his, though. I just waited for a response, any response. I would've been more than fine with it if he'd laughed right then, told me that I was speaking shit. But he didn't.

He didn't.

"Was this the thing that you were hiding from me?" I asked him slowly, swallowing. I was just dreading everything at that point. His answer. The stares we were getting. The whole stupid carnival.

Something passed over his eyes as he clenched his jaw. "Why would you believe him?"

I didn't even know who to believe anymore.

"I need a yes or a no, Caden." My voice somehow sounded steelier than his, while my insides felt like they were tangling themselves.

"Sky--"

"Why can't you just answer the question?" The urgency was obvious in my voice. So evident. I needed him to answer me.

"Because I don't want to lose you!" He sounded desperate. I've never heard him sound like that. Except when he had told me to stay away from Alex.

He did kill his parents.

"You...killed them?" It felt hard to comprehend anything at that point. "How--Why?"

His eyes pleaded with me, so much so that I almost stepped closer to him. But something held me back. A tug in my heart held me back. I kept looking at him, wanting him to deny it. Why wasn't he saying no or yes or anything?

He took a step closer towards me but the slight fear edging inside me made me step back. Away from him. I didn't know how to react. I didn't know what I was supposed to feel. Seeing that, the desperation on his face subsided, and a stone-cold expression took over its place.

"I did." He said.

I blinked, the shock obviously evident on my face. I kept on telling myself that maybe, just maybe, I had misheard him. But I knew I hadn't. I had heard him clearly. I just didn't know how to react. The loud music around me, and the numerous people surrounding me made this all seem a bit more overwhelming.

"Why?" I heard the strain in my voice as I tried to search for any kind of emotion on his face. I tried but everything was blank. His eyes held nothing. "Why would you--"

"It doesn't matter."

"It doesn't?" I couldn't help but let the anger overwhelm me. All I wanted to do was slap him, or do something to hurt him. The heaviness in my chest made me feel like crying. I didn't want to. "You need to tell me why."

"No, I don't." He looked away from me. "They're dead because of me. It doesn't have to concern you."

I kept on staring at him. Disbelief, hurt, sadness. I didn't know. He was treating me like he did when we first met. Like nothing.

"I don't owe you any explanation, Skylar." Everything about him still seemed devoid of any emotion.

Didn't he? Didn't I deserve a bit of it? I didn't ask him that, though. I was afraid of the answer he'd give me then.

He told me he liked me. He was hiding things from me. He thought he didn't owe me an explanation even then.

"You know what?" I finally found my voice, which not surprisingly came out in a broken whisper. "You've already lost me."

I turned around then, to get away from him. I couldn't have stood there any longer, watching him pull up all those barriers around him. Shutting me out. I hated that, the fact that he could never be truthful with me.

It was just who he was.

And that hurt.

______

Like my psychology teacher once wisely said, "human beings can sometimes be confusing AFFFFF"—can't say he was lol

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Crystal 🌿