Lie is Just a Word

𝓕𝓸𝓾𝓻

Song of the Chapter: this is me trying by Taylor Swift
11 MONTHS AFTER THE MURDER...

Scarlett. Scarlett Adair. The only name Carly Brager could think of for the past eleven months of her life. Scarlett Adair. The girl who was murdered. It had haunted Carly since the day it happened. No matter what she did, all she could see when she closed her eyes was Scarlett's lifeless face. Her pale skin and blue lips. Those eyes that stared directly at her. Almost as if to say "It's your fault."

But it wasn't. Carly just happened to be there the night it happened. She was the last one to see Scarlett alive. Scarlett. If only she hadn't been so out of it, she might've seen who was with her, who killed her.

Walking through the halls of Harborough High was a strange feeling for Carly. She never quite felt like she fit in. Carly was pretty much a ghost in comparison to anyone else. The person many knew her as was gone. She died the night Scarlett did.

Carly was never close to Scarlett, in fact she wouldn't have known who she was if not for Winter. Winter may have been Carly's rival but Scarlett was nothing but kind to Carly, which Carly appreciated. True kindness was rare in a place like Harborough, especially amongst the highschoolers. Everything was about prestige and popularity. Gossip and rumours. Everyone knew everyone and everyone also knew everyone's business which is why secrets were a luxury. However some secrets were far too dark.

Everyone knew that Carly had disappeared for three months and no one knew why. Sure, Carly said she'd fallen down a flight of stairs but no one truly believed her. Another thing everyone knew about Carly: she was a shit liar.

In all honesty, Carly was grateful that her parents only really cared for the image and kept everything hush-hush. Then no one would find out where she'd actually been.

For once in her life, everyone's attention wasn't on her. Instead, everyone was focusing on Winter. Winter was still her beautiful, beaming, cheerful self. At least that's what everyone else thought. Carly knew better. She saw the look on Winter's face, one she knew all too well. The "I'm fine... well actually I just want to die but I'll pretend to be fine to please everyone else" look. It was a look Carly was used to displaying herself.

Winter headed down the brightly lit hallway as Carly leaned against her locker. Most people assumed that Carly was jealous of Winter but the truth was she couldn't care enough to. She didn't care for the popularity as much as Winter or her parents did. She'd rather just be invisible.

The first bell rang as Carly closed her locker. That gave her three and a half minutes exactly to make her way across the school. Harborough High wasn't exactly a large school by any means. There were two floors with about 12 classrooms per floor, not counting the gym, cafeteria, or auditorium. Ninth and tenth graders shared classrooms, though they weren't there at the same time. Eleventh and twelfth graders did the same.