Unraveling Shadows

Part 2: Chapter 11

"And if beauty is terror... Then what is desire? We think
we have many desires, but in fact, we only have one. What is it?"
"To live."
"To live forever."

-The Secret History

Carla looks at her clothes and Tyler's. Carla was wearing a black denim jacket on top of her white perfect-fit singlet, and black jeans with sneakers.

Tyler was wearing a black hoodie with her baseball cap, black jeans, and black and neon green runners.

"Not my fault you decided to dress like that," Carla comments, pulling her phone out of her pocket.

"I didn't even know we were coming here until you opened your mouth midway through the drive."

"You didn't even ask me where we were going. You just followed the address I gave you."

"We look like we're about to ambush someone." Tyler sighs. "Remind me why we're in front of this dude's house?"

Carla looks at her phone while both of them stand under the dark night sky, in front of an absolute stranger's house.

"Benjamin Royce. Age 17. Allergies: Peanuts." Carla starts.

"Geek," Tyler comments without reaction, staring at the house.

Carla laughs, "I thought so too." She continues. "His mother is a nurse who started her job only two years ago after the divorce. So, you can already tell why she lets us check Benny's bedroom..." Carla lazily turns her head in a rainbow to Tyler.

Tyler does the same and looks at her. "Because she's a hopeless and stressful mother who doesn't know the word gullible is because her vocabulary is limited."

"Spot on."

"That means she didn't study?"

"Yep. She was a housewife."

"Then Ben's attending our school because of his father?"

"One of the school's board members, yeah. They're rich. But the mum's dad was generous enough to give her a house. She just has to pay the bills."

"Sucks for her." Tyler sighs, a smoke of cold air leaving her mouth. "I feel bad for her already. She lost a son too."

"The cruel life of the rich and spoiled." Carla sighs too, except her smoke comes out into a perfect circle until she stops exhaling.

"And you're saying Myles found all this information from you?"

"Only the important stuff. He asked around some kids about this Benny who died last week."

"Guess being a newbie has its advantages."

"No shit." Carla turns to Tyler. "You do realize that once we go in we're gonna have to talk and empathize with the mother, right?"

Tyler smirks and points at herself with her thumb. "That's my talent."

"Good, I'll leave you to the lead."

"And you check his room for everything and anything."

She nods. Tyler nods too. And she walks up those stairs and rings the bell of this mansion dark and unlively mansion. The door opens and they receive a warm and saddened expression of a mother.

"Hi, Mrs. Royce." Tyler smiles, "We're Benjamin's friends, I'm Tyler and this is Carla. Carla let you know we're coming?"

"Yes, yes, she did. Come inside." She steps to the side to let them into her dark and gloomy and awfully lonely house. "You two knew my Benny well."