Chapter 6
1810 Words
The smell of eucalyptus still hung in the air from her shower. Fresh, clean and kind of comforting.
Eve padded across her bedroom floor, hoodie sleeves covering half her hands.
Her tracksuit was loose and lived in, exactly how she liked it.
She went over to the window and pulled the curtains open.
The snow hadn’t stopped, but it wasn’t wild anymore either. Just soft flakes falling under a grey, gloomy sky, honestly, her favorite kind of weather.
She cracked the window open a little, just enough to let in a bit of cold air.
The heater was still doing its thing, but now the room felt less stuffy.
She moved around, straightened her bed, opened a few drawers, did a quick tidy even though it was already pretty clean.
It was just one of those mornings where she needed to do something.
Plus, school was cancelled thanks to the snowstorm yesterday, so she actually had the time.
Once everything looked good, she flopped back onto her bed, careful not to mess it up too much.
She reached over to her charging station— phone, iPad, smartwatch, EarPods— all fully charged, as usual.
She always made sure they were at 100%, just in case.
Her phone lit up when she picked it up.
7:53 AM. Her lockscreen was already full of notifications.
She had over 100 messages on w******p, 32 i********: notifications, and 76 snaps waiting for her on Snapchat. Pretty standard.
She opened w******p first and, yep... almost every single teacher had dropped something in their class groups.
Probably homework or whatever to keep everyone busy while school was still on hold.
But what actually made her blink was the student group chat. 472 messages. Four hundred and seventy two.
And people were still typing.
She didn’t even bother opening it. There was absolutely no way she was going to scroll through all that chaos.
The only chat she bothered to open was the one with her friends, ✧ the delulus ✧
Yup, it was named by Jayden.
❛ ━━━━━━･❪ ❁ ❫･━━━━━━ ❜
[7:04 AM]
⋆｡ﾟ☁︎ sage_the_sage ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎
y’all seen the student group?
everyone’s in full meltdown bc snow day = no transfer boy
[7:05 AM]
⊹₊˚ milo_the_menace ⊹₊˚
one girl said she lit a candle for him i’m crying
like ma’am… he’s not dead
[7:05 AM]
♡⋆.ೃ࿔ queen_quinn ♡⋆.ೃ࿔
they talkin like he was gonna solve world hunger
they haven't even met him
[7:06 AM]
☾⋆ jordy_mcboardy ☾⋆
for all we know he could be an average student like all of us
[7:07 AM]
⋆｡ﾟ☁︎ sage_the_sage ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎
exactly
❛ ━━━━━━･❪ ❁ ❫･━━━━━━ ❜
[7:09 AM]
♡⋆.ೃ࿔ queen_quinn ♡⋆.ೃ࿔
ANYWAY.
guess who got a follow back last night
[7:09 AM]
೫₊˚ ava.aura ೫₊˚
oh no
[7:09 AM]
⊹₊˚ milo_the_menace ⊹₊˚
don’t say it’s that guy with the arms
the one that looks like a gym subscription ad??
[7:10 AM]
♡⋆.ೃ࿔ queen_quinn ♡⋆.ೃ࿔
YES. and we’ve been TALKING
he called me “funny” i might faint
[7:10 AM]
⋆｡ﾟ☁︎ sage_the_sage ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎
girl he’s just trying to see the thirst traps up close
[7:11 AM]
☾⋆ jordy_mcboardy ☾⋆
quinn.
we love you.
but he gives “influencer who eats plain chicken” vibes
[7:11 AM]
♡⋆.ೃ࿔ queen_quinn ♡⋆.ೃ࿔
you know what
y’all are just haters. jealous haters.
⁺˳✧༚ ⋆｡˚ ☁︎ ˚｡⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆
[7:13 AM]
೫₊˚ ava.aura ೫₊˚
btw where is ✩ luca ??
he’s still on do not disturb mode since last night
[7:14 AM]
⊹₊˚ milo_the_menace ⊹₊˚
watch him hop up with hickeys all over and say "it was just some mosquitoes"
[7:14 AM]
☾⋆ jordy_mcboardy ☾⋆
also jayden read this chat like 2 minutes ago and dipped
left us on read like we’re his exes
[7:15 AM]
⋆｡ﾟ☁︎ sage_the_sage ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎
that does not sound like Jay, know what happened?
[7:15 AM]
⊹₊˚ milo_the_menace ⊹₊˚
...
[7:16 AM]
♡⋆.ೃ࿔ queen_quinn ♡⋆.ೃ࿔
and where’s EVE??
[7:16 AM]
೫₊˚ ava.aura ೫₊˚
yeah she's always online, this is actually worrying
☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ: ✧ :･ﾟ*⋆:･ﾟ*⋆ ☽
[7:17 AM]
☾⋆ jordy_mcboardy ☾⋆
imagine they’re all together
in some secret meeting
and we’re just the comic relief side quest
[7:18 AM]
⋆｡ﾟ☁︎ sage_the_sage ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎
if Eve doesn’t respond i’m showing up with tea and a megaphone
she can’t ghost us we have SHARED TRAUMA
[7:18 AM]
⊹₊˚ milo_the_menace ⊹₊˚
not the friendship subpoena
[7:19 AM]
♡⋆.ೃ࿔ queen_quinn ♡⋆.ೃ࿔
i miss her chaos.
group chat's too well behaved. it’s unnatural
⌦ ✩°｡⋆⸜ 🎧✮ ⸝⋆｡°✩ ⌫
[7:20 AM]
೫₊˚ ava.aura ೫₊˚
should we call? or wait it out?
[7:21 AM]
☾⋆ jordy_mcboardy ☾⋆
let’s give it one hour
then we send ✨the guilt trip texts✨
She decided to finally reply, because she knew Jordan was not lying.
[8:02 AM]
me
wow, did the group chat start a support group without me? I’m still here, just busy avoiding responsibility like a pro
also, who lit a candle for the transfer boy? save that energy for finals.
❛ ━━━━━━･❪ ❁ ❫･━━━━━━ ❜
The smell of something delicious floated up the stairs, pulling at her senses.
She swung her legs over the side of the bed, hoodie sleeves covering her hands as she stood up.
The warm, buttery aroma mixed with a hint of cinnamon teased her, like a private invitation she wasn’t about to turn down.
She slid on her slippers and tucked her phone into the pocket of her tracksuit pants.
Just as she turned to leave the room, Ddaeng started playing and she instinctively began to sing along, right up until she realized it was her ringtone.
Fumbling for her phone, she pulled it out quickly. Luca.
Her eyebrows drew together as she answered.
“Hey, Luca. Where have you been?” was the first thing out of her mouth.
She could hear him breathing heavily, and in the background, footsteps, wind, the unmistakable sounds of someone running.
“I need to talk to you,” he said, voice tight, breathless.
“What did you do now?” she sighed, already bracing herself.
“I—I can’t say. I’m like two streets away. I’ll be there in a few. Just—”
The call cut off.
She stared at the screen, frown deepening. Luca had a talent for getting himself into trouble, sure, but this felt different.
Worse.
And suddenly, she wasn’t just confused. She was worried.
She shook her head and finally stepped out of her room, following the heavenly smell drifting downstairs.
As she descended the stairs, she could faintly hear the TV murmuring in the background and the soft sizzle coming from the kitchen.
She headed straight to the kitchen, her stomach wasn’t exactly being subtle.
The moment she stepped in, she was surrounded by cool greys and that oddly satisfying calm that came with a perfectly organized space.
Of course. Naomi’s touch was everywhere.
If she saw something on Pinterest, it didn’t matter how complicated or extra, it would magically show up in their house a week later, down to the last aesthetic detail.
She frowned when she saw who was busy at the stove, it was Naomi.
"Mommm," she groaned, walking over to wrap her arms around her from behind and rest her head on her shoulder.
She hated seeing her mom up making breakfast when she should’ve been sleeping, especially after another brutal night shift.
"Morning, baby. Breakfast’s almost ready," Naomi said, multitasking like she always did, flipping something in the pan while reaching for a plate.
"Mom, why are you not sleeping?" Eve asked, making sure the disappointment in her voice wasn’t subtle.
Naomi didn’t even look up. "Last time I checked, I was the mom. Not you."
Eve huffed as Naomi nudged her lightly with an elbow. "Go bother someone else. I know both Elias and Jayden are awake."
"Mom, seriously." She pulled back from the hug and leaned against the counter next to the stove. "You just got home a few hours ago. You should be resting, not making a full on breakfast spread."
Naomi just gave her a look.
The kind that said I’ve heard it all before, and I’m still gonna do it my way.
"Ma, we’re more than capable of making our own breakfast," she said, still trying.
Naomi scoffed. "Jayden and your dad nearly burned the kitchen down."
"It wasn’t that bad. I was there before there was even any smoke," Eve defended them with a half smile.
Naomi gave her a look, then turned off the stove and set the last pancake on a plate.
"I’m done. Go say hi to your dad, he’s been glued to the news since he turned the TV on."
She gently pushed Eve toward the kitchen door.
"Promise me you’ll rest after breakfast?" Eve asked, pausing with a pleading look.
Naomi rolled her eyes but gave in. "Fine," she sighed.
"Oh! And make an extra plate for Luca, please. He’s coming over." Eve called as she jogged out of the kitchen, not waiting for the inevitable questions about whether Luca had gotten himself into trouble again.
Everyone kind of just assumed he had. Luca and trouble went hand in hand.
She walked down the hallway and turned into the living room.
Just like Naomi said, Jonathan’s eyes were locked on the TV.
The news reporter spoke grimly. “A young woman’s body was discovered in a nearby alley less than an hour ago. Authorities report signs of a violent struggle. The victim’s identity remains unknown, pending forensic confirmation.”
Footage flashed across the screen, flashing lights, crime scene tape, officers pacing back and forth.
Her heart dropped.
She knew that alley. It was the shortcut she used nearly every day. Just a few streets from their house.
A cold wave of unease settled in her chest. What if it was someone she knew?
The front door creaked open, cutting through the static in her mind.
She turned to the sound, but not before leaning down to press a kiss to Jonathan’s cheek. “Morning, Papá.”
He blinked like he was coming out of a trance. “Morning, niña. How are you?”
“I’m good. Luca’s here, gotta go.”
She spun and rushed to the door, then froze.
Luca stood there, wide eyed and trembling, blood smeared on his hands.
“Eve…” he whispered.
And then the world tilted.
- Writer
