Chapter LI

The second day of the spring festival had arrived and Lilly couldn’t be more excited as she made her way to school. Even considering the incident with Alexa the previous day, she still enjoyed the event overall and so, she was prepared to make the best of day two. Luckily, when she got home the previous night, Alexa had kept to herself so they hadn’t been forced to talk about what happened in the clubroom, something Lilly was grateful for. She had no interest in discussing it and so as long as Alexa was content keeping quiet, Lilly wouldn’t complain. In addition, Eric had already told her that he intended to speak to her sister that morning so hopefully he would be able to clear some of the issues up.

Lilly smiled, thankful that Eric was so determined to get to know Alexa. In fact, it almost made her feel like she wasn’t putting in enough effort. After all, Eric had met her family numerous times and Lilly didn’t even know his father’s name. He’d never talked about his family but she supposed it was time that, as his girlfriend, she made an effort to get to know his dad.

Yeah, maybe I’ll run that by him today at some point. I’ve been wanting to visit his house. Maybe we can work something out for this weekend once the festival is over.

She nodded to herself at the idea as she made her way through the school’s front gates and into the courtyard. Much like the previous morning, it was rather busy with students setting everything up for the day to come. The rain had ended sometime during the night, but the courtyard was still pretty wet. She could see a few groups setting up umbrellas in case it returned. However, after a moment, Lilly realized that a lot of them were grouped up and talking in hushed voices. It was an odd sight and she couldn’t help but wonder if something had happened. Frowning, Lilly crossed the courtyard and made her way into the school building. There, she found a similar sight. There were groups of students standing around in the halls, talking softly to each other, some even looking terrified.

What the hell? What happened that has everybody so shaken up?

Lilly paused and considered going up to one of the groups to see what was wrong before deciding it would just be easier to ask Eric when she got to the clubroom. With her heartbeat increasing from anxiety, Lilly quickened her pace and hurried up to the third floor, hardly stopping to even look around like she did the previous morning. Instead, she made a b-line for the clubroom.

“Hey, guys?” she began as she rushed into the room.

Yet, she quickly went quiet, looking around in surprise. Damien and Liz were sitting at the back table, looking like they’d just seen a ghost. There was no sign of Eric, which she found odd given how early he tended to get to school. The couple looked up at her, both seeming to be trembling. Seeing Damien and Liz so shaken was enough to tell her that something really bad had happened.

“Damien? Liz?” she asked. “What’s going on?”

Liz swallowed nervously. “Did…did you check the news? Have you heard anything?”

“No, I haven’t,” Lilly replied. “I don’t usually check the news. I just got here and saw that everything seemed kind of off. Why? What happened?”

“There…” Damien closed his eyes for a moment, as if considering how to phrase his response, before sighing and looking back at her. “Last night, some people got murdered down at Ralph’s Diner.”

Lilly exhaled sharply, her body going cold as she processed Damien’s words. “Murdered?! You mean…somebody just…?”

He nodded. “I guess they were found earlier today when one of the morning workers came by to start his shift. He found the servers and chef brutally murdered and…called the cops…and…”

Damien trailed off and he looked like he just couldn’t believe what he was saying. Liz was crying so Damien silently placed his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. Lilly understood why. It was obvious, after all.

“Damien…” Lilly uttered, desperate not to allow herself to break down. “Alice went to Ralph’s last night, didn’t she? Did they…did they find her or…? I mean, was she there?”

Much to Lilly’s relief, he shook his head. “No. They didn’t. From what I was reading, they only found staff. The problem is…” Damien paused once more. “Liz and I both tried calling Alice a few minutes ago but we couldn’t get a hold of her. Have you heard from her?”

They…can’t get a hold of her? Why? She can’t possibly still be asleep, right?

“I haven’t,” Lilly whispered. “You don’t think…?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “We only just heard about this a few minutes ago. I haven’t even called Eric yet so I don’t have a damned clue where he is. Not to mention…something else happened last night. The diner wasn’t the only place that was attacked.”

“W-what?!” Lilly exclaimed. “What else?!”

“We don’t really know,” Liz answered through tears. “Apparently something happened at the hospital but there isn’t much news on it yet. Some sort of break in, I heard. Nobody seems to know if it was linked to what happened at the diner.”

“The hospital?”

Jay…

Clenching her teeth, Lilly tossed her backpack onto one of the desks and pulled her phone out. She quickly found Alice’s contact information and called her. Her heart was pounding and she was desperate for her friend to pick up. She needed to hear her voice. She needed to know that Alice was okay. Yet, no matter how hard she prayed, she didn’t get what she wanted. The call went to voicemail.

“Hey, Alice,” Lilly quickly said. “Uh, I’m just calling to make sure you’re okay. Please give me a call as soon as you can. Thanks! Bye!”

She slowly lowered the phone and placed it against the desk, feeling her body shaking as she took in all the information she had just been told. She can’t actually be dead, right? There’s no way. She can’t be! It just isn’t possible! Not after everything we’ve been through! I can’t lose Alice!

Suddenly, the door to the clubroom burst open and Eric rushed in. The boy was breathing heavily as he scanned the room, his eyes wide. He then exhaled slowly and leaned against the doorframe to catch his breath. Evidently, he had sprinted up there.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” he muttered. “I was going to head to the library first, but…I heard about what happened at the diner and had to get here as fast as I could. I…assume you all know?”

Lilly nodded, as did the other two. “Yeah,” she said. “Damien and Liz just told me everything. Have you heard from Alice?”

Eric grit his teeth and shook his head. “No, I haven’t. Nor have I heard from Vinny. I’ve already called Alice, but for some reason, Vinny’s contact isn’t in my phone anymore. Have any of you heard from him?”

Lilly was so shaken up by the sudden news that it took her a moment to realize what Eric said. Once it processed in her mind, though, she couldn’t help but frown.

“W-what?” Damien asked, beating her to it. “What are you talking about, Eric?”

Her boyfriend looked up at them and raised his eyebrows in confusion. “Huh?” he muttered. “What do you mean? What’d I say that was confusing?”

Lilly glanced back at Damien and Liz but both looked equally confused. It at least appeared like this wasn’t something only she was thrown off by.

But then…what the hell is he talking about?

“Eric?” Lilly began. “Vinny? Vinny who?”

He glanced over at her and stared at her strangely for a moment. “Lilly? What’s wrong? What do you mean, Vinny who? Vinny Mickelson. Who else?”

“Vinny…Mickelson?” she parroted. “I don’t…um, am I supposed to know who that is or…?”

Eric stared at her like she’d gone insane, which only confused her even more. He then turned to Damien and Liz. “What’s wrong with you guys?” he asked, his voice sounding more desperate. “Why are you looking at me like I’ve gone mad? Vinny Mickelson! Our club member! He went with Alice to the diner last night! They were on a date!”

What on earth is he talking about?! He doesn’t sound like he’s joking. He seems genuinely thrown off so…what’s wrong here? What am I missing?

“Eric?” Damien said. “Are you…okay, man? Cause…we don’t have another club member. It’s just us four. And Alice certainly didn’t go on any dates. She’s single, dude.”

“Single?!” Eric exclaimed, his eyes wide in desperation. “No other club member? Guys, this isn’t funny! This isn’t the time to be pulling my leg! Have you heard from Vinny or not?! Is he gonna come jumping out from around the corner or something because I’m not laughing!”

He was shouting by the end and Lilly had to take a step back. She’d never seen Eric like this. He was always so calm and composed but right now, he looked like he was going to throw up.

What the hell…is going on?