In Memory of Reed Fray

Ten

Viola paced the cemetery. She was at Reed’s grave. Tori and Skylar had agreed to meet her there and as for Toby, the three of them had agreed to leave him out of it, despite his protest. But she had asked them for time because she needed to figure out how to tell them about everything that happened.

“Viola.”

She looked up and flashed the Filipina a smile, “Hi Tori.”

Tori gave her a hug and then turned to Skylar who was leaning against the tree, “So you up for story-telling now?”

“Don’t be rude or I won’t tell you anything, Skylar,” Viola said and then sat on grass near Reed’s grave. Tori did the same thing. Skylar lingered at the tree for a moment before joining them. Both of them looked at Viola expectantly.

“Quick question,” Viola said, “How come Tori is here again?”

“Because she was the first one I told. When I read Reed’s journal. I came to her for help and she would be useful,” Skylar said, glancing at Tori.

“And don’t worry, your past would be safe with me,” Tori said, taking Viola’s hands. She just flashed her a quick smile, closed her eyes and allowed her mind to recount everything that happened to her.

“Before I begin, let’s get things straight first. My real name is Clary Evans. Viola’s my second name and the Rose’s, they’re my foster parents. Barbara is my Mom’s best friend and my godmother. They couldn’t find another relative who’s capable of taking care of a seventeen year old kid.”

“What happened to your parents?” Tori asked quietly.

Viola turned away. Somehow, this was easier with Reed and when she told Toby, “They’re dead. My mom, she died when I was 12. Dad died just this year.”

“Oh I’m so sorry,” Tori whispered, placing her hand on top of Viola’s. Skylar didn’t say anything, he just patiently waited for her to go on.

“I got the first note when I was fifteen.”

“Daddy!” Viola yelled, she was going to be late for school and her Dad was still running around the house, in frantic search of his car keys, “I’m gonna be late!”

“In a sec, hunny!” her father yelled back, “It’s here somewhere.”

Groaning, she sat on the doorstep. She was scared. It was her first day in high school and she had no idea what that world held. She wished her Mom was still here. But she died almost three years ago. In a car accident that almost took her life too.

“Juno?” she whispered when she saw the white Lab running to her. It was their neighbour’s dog but she was usually at the Evans household. When the dog was in front of her, she rubbed her head, “Hey girl. I haven’t seen you in a while.”

But then she noticed a piece of paper stuck in the dog’s collar. She tugged it out and folded it open. She furrowed her eyebrows, confused at what was written.

I’m gonna save you, Elena.

“And you never told your Dad about the note?” Skylar asked, “Like a normal kid would?”

Viola sighed, “I wanted to. But there was a part of me that said that maybe it was just nothing. My Mom was dead for three years already at that time; I didn’t think that it was meant for her.”

“After that, did the notes just keep coming?” Tori questioned, leaning closer to her.

Viola shook her head, “No. It stopped. It would only come during special occasions. Like my Mom’s birthday or on Valentines. By that time, I figured that it was really for her but I didn’t tell Dad. I didn’t want him to think my Mom had once betrayed him because that’s how I first saw it.”

“I thought that whoever was sending the note, it was from a guy my Mom had cheated Dad with. I didn’t think she could ever do that to him. But I was already sixteen by that time and I’ve seen many girls cheating on their boyfriends and hearing about my friends’ parents getting divorce because of the same cause. I thought that it could be possible for her to do that.”

“See, I had the perfect high school experience before,” Viola shared, before divulging into where everything went wrong, “In sophomore year, I was elected captain of the cheer team. The basketball captain was my boyfriend and he was also royalty in our school. It was perfect.”

Tori imagined how perfect that life could be, despite the fact that Viola was being raised by a single parent. Still, what teen didn’t want the perfect high school experience? Popular, loved by all, and envied by many. And she could easily picture out Viola living out that life. But she was robbed of it.

“That was when the notes got weirder,” Viola said shaking her head and wrapping her hands around her arms, “Because they were being true to their words.”

Cheer practice had just been over and all Viola wanted was to go home. But she had to wait for Colton. He was still in the gym, well probably in the boys locker room and he took longer showers than Viola. And so she decided to just fix her things at her locker. It was a complete mess.

When she opened her locker, she was surprise that it didn’t look like it had earlier, when everything was a mess. Her books were piled neatly, her pictures placed just as neat too. She didn’t think janitors were allowed to tidy student’s lockers even if she knew that Mr. Thomas would if he got the chance. Peering closer, she noticed a note stuck behind the picture of her and Colton.

I don’t remember you being this untidy, Elena. But then again, all I remember about you are good things. I don’t like it being tainted by bad memories. But on another note, who’s the guy? I thought it was only me. And trust me when I say that I’m not happy about your wild adventures with him. So I decided to put a stop to it.

Just then she heard a commotion. The cheer squad, well those who stuck at the gym, were screaming at everyone to move. The basketball team was scurrying after them and they were carrying something. Or rather someone. Viola grabbed one of the cheerleaders, “What’s going on!”

“Clary! We’ve been looking for you! It’s Colton, something happened!”

Her eyes widened and she sprinted to the clinic. Colton lay on the bed, head covered with blood. He wasn’t moving at all, “Oh my god, is he gonna be okay?”

“We called the ambulance,” the nurse said, she was panicking too, “But his heart is still beating.”

She moved closer to Colton and took his hand, it was starting to grow cold, “I’m so sorry.”

Because she knew, by then, it was her fault.

“And you still didn’t tell anyone?” Skylar asked.

“I did,” Viola stated, “I went to the cops. Showed them all of the notes. But they told me that it didn’t make any sense. The notes kept stating Elena, so it wasn’t for me. Maybe it was all just a bad coincidence.”

“Bullshit,” Skylar cursed. The police were idiots, “What happened next?”

“I’d spot some guy outside our house sometimes. But all I see is just a silhouette of a man and before I knew it, he stopped sending the notes,” she whispered, the ghosts of her pasts haunting her. The words Colton threw at her when he discovered what she had told the cops, the possibility that he was hurt because of her. But everyone didn’t withdraw from her then, they pitied her because Colton broke up with her but it was only a matter of moments when another guy came sweeping in.

“And then I got another boyfriend,” Viola continued, “And I was a junior by then. Things got worse.”

She refused to relive that. What happened to Damien Bennett was unthinkable. Everybody ruled it out to be another car accident, with a drunk driver and all. But the driver wasn’t drunk, nor was he intoxicated with other drugs. It was Damien who was drugged. He had come from a party, after an awful fight with her. What happened to him was much worse because it was near death experience. While Colton was unconscious, he still had his vitals whereas Damien, he loss too much blood, he was unconscious and his vitals were low. Everyone thought he would be dead. But he didn’t die. What was worse was when he was discharged from the hospital, his parents sent him to rehab, believing that he was under the influence of drugs most of the time.

“And then his next victim, the most important man of my life,” Viola said, the tears were threatening to fall by then, “He set out to kill my father.”

Viola was grounded. She’d been going to school late and she’d been cutting classes. It was because of Damien. She felt so guilty when she found he was sent off to rehab and alcohol became her numbing best friend. Her Dad had found out about everything and he wasn’t so please and even after her explanation, he still grounded her.

“Don’t look that upset, kid,” Paul stated, looking at his daughter who was staring sullenly at her dinner, “Justice just had to be served.”

“But it’s the Fourth of July, Dad!” she whined, “Can you at least let me go see the fireworks?”

“Fine, fine, go get your coat,” he said and a huge smile appeared on her face, “But I’m coming with.”

Viola rushed to her room to retrieve her coat. She always loved the fourth of July and she was in love with fireworks. She heard her Dad yelling for her to hurry up and she dashed downstairs. He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her shoulders before opening the door. When the door opened, he jumped back, shocked written on his face.

A tall man stood in front of them, eyes blazing and he smiled, a cruel one, “Hello Paul.”

The tears were already falling then and Viola was choking on her words. Tori wrapped her arms around the poor girl, rubbing her back soothingly, “You don’t have to finish it, Viola. We get it.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head, “When he arrived, my Dad was so shock. Shell-shock. And when he came to his senses he told me to run and call 911 but I stood there. And then the man, I couldn’t see his face because he had a mask on. But somehow my Dad knew him. And then he punched my Dad repeatedly. I managed to call 911 right there on the spot.”

“My Dad kept telling me to go between punches. And he tried to fight back. But then he blacked out and the man rushed to me and grabbed my hair. He was looking at me and then he hugged me. I was hysterical by then. My Dad told him it wasn’t her the moment he found his senses again. The killer, he just stared at me cruelly. And then said that my Dad was playing tricks on him. That I was his sweet Elena.”

“And then he pushed me. So hard my head landed on the floor and I started bleeding,” she continued and she furiously wiped away the tears on her cheeks, “But before I could black out, I saw him drive a knife into my Dad’s heart.”

Skylar stared at her while Tori rocked her back and forth. Reed was right. She was broken, “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“You weren’t the one who did it,” Viola managed to choke out, “You don’t have to apologize for anything.”

“But what happened after, Viola?” Tori asked, “Didn’t cops question you?”

“They did. But they wouldn’t believe me. They knew I was Damien’s ex and they thought I was on drugs too. They thought I murdered my Dad,” she said shaking her head, remembering all the court trials, “But Barbara believed me and she gathered enough evidence. I was found not guilty and before they could throw the killer to jail, they found him dead. At least that’s what they told me.”

“Obviously he’s still on the loose,” Skylar stated, standing up and staring at his brother’s grave, “And he’s obviously killed Reed.”

“You seem so sure,” Tori said.

“Don’t you see the pattern, Tori?” he asked, “All the guys that have any form of relationship with Viola, those are his victims, those are people he harms.”

Both girls stared at him, “So what are we gonna do?”

Skylar looked at them, his grey eyes intense, “We dig deeper. We need evidence.”