THE SNOW FELL HARD THAT DAY AND THE TOWN WAS SILENT - YET, ILARIA STILL FELT LIKE THERE WAS TOO MUCH NOISE.

She sat crossed legged on the floor of Kennas room, the feint smell of apples-Kenna scent still somehow surrounded her. Everything was untouched.

When she'd knocked on Kennas families door that day, she knew that her parents had not gone through her room - not yet. It was too soon.

And yet they gave her full permission to desrupt the frozen in time image of their daughters room, the one they were hoping would still come back.

She wanted to cry - though no tears came out this time. Perhaps she had finally run out of tears.

She traced the pattern on the carpet, it was the color Sage - Kennas favorite color.

They say "you'll move on" there is no lie bigger than that for how do you move on after someone has left a hole in the shape of them in your heart? How do you fit a different person entirely in that hole? You can't and you don't because why would you want to move on?
There is a hole in your heart, or perhaps holes in your heart in the shape of people you loved and you cannot fill those holes with entirely different shaped people, they would not fit.

And so you will not move on but you will learn to breathe around it, to accept it, to take a breathe without it hurting so much.

Ilaria took a deep breath and snapped herself out of her daze. She was doing this for Kennas justice, she reminded herself over and over, she had to do this, it had to be done.

He had to be caught.

Just then her phone went off and her brows furrowed, she barely spoke to anyone.

Kai :
You good, agent?

Ilaria :
I'm great, spending some time with your dad :)

Kai :
I don't have one of those

Ilaria laughed though she probably shouldn't have and left him on read, how could she reply to that anyway?

With a sigh she finally got up from the floor and decided to start with Kennas desk, although she wasn't certain she'd find anything. Kenna used her phone for everything, Ilaria was the one who wrote everything down.

She opened the draws, stacks and stacks of paper lay there, full of drawings. Ilaria smiled to herself, a ache in her heart as she looked at all of it.

Kenna loved drawing, she had told Ilaria it wasn't any different to writing or reading. It was an escape, as all creative things are.

She set the pages down and sought out Kenna's planner. It lay far beneath a bunch of drawings and as Ilaria picked it up she couldn't help but smile some more.

It was so Kenna like, to have a day planner with nothing but doodles over it. She flipped through it nonetheless, just to be sure.

Strangely, she found a date that was reacurringly written under every month.

Ilarias brow furrowed, the 18th of every month. She was murdered on the 19th.

It seemed like a person's name was written but Ilaria couldn't quite make it out. It looked like Kenna scratched it off once the day was over.

And if that was not odd enough, there were two numbers written under one name - one of those numbers she was pretty certain was her ex's

She closed the planner and left it out, she planned on taking it with her to try and make out the name written down.

It was strange being in this room, she swore she could still hear their laughter - her and Kennas, as Kenna sat and drew and Ilaria wrote and they'd joke about anything and everything.

It all bounced off the walls around her.

Next, she went through Kennas closet - finding some of the things she thought she had lost somehow - turns out her bestfriend just enjoyed stealing her clothes.

But, nothing that would be of use to her and Kai.

It seemed that the only thing that could help her from this room is the planner. Dissapointed she picked it up and held it to her chest - perhaps once she got Kennas phone she would find more.

When she left the room, she found Kennas sister waiting for her on the staircase.

Rose, her ginger hair was cut in a Bob - where Kenna grew her hair as long as she could, Rose had been cutting it since Ilaria knew her.

Ilaria sat down next to her, letting out a sigh "i suppose I should have came here sooner."

Rose turned to her, green eyes sympathetic "oh no, Ilaria - we understand why you didn't." she smiled then - a smile so similar to Kennas, Ilaria felt her heart stutter.

"I should have been here for you though." Ilaria shook her head and pulled Rose into a tight hug "I've missed you so much"

Rose smiled against Ilaria's shoulder "I've missed you too." when she pulled back she gave Ilaria a expectant look "have you found anything?"

Ilaria pursed her lips and shook her head "only thing is her planner, she wrote a name under the 18th of every month with two different phone numbers but one is repeatedly scratched out." Ilaria bit her lip "one of the numbers is Chad's, I think."

"Chad? As in your ex?" Rose's eyes widened "I never knew they spoke."

"neither did I." Ilaria rubbed her eyes, a headache suddenly forming "Kenna always said she hated him, from the start but it looks like they spoke way before Chad and I even got together"

Rose chewed on her bottom lip, thinking "I'm sure there's some kind of reason -"

"did the 18th mean anything to Kenna?" Ilaria asked, she knew everything about Kenna but she never knew anything Kenna did on the 18th or anything that might have happened.

Rose shook her head slowly "no, sorry."

Ilaria nodded "i'll figure it out Rose" she said meeting the girls eyes "I will."

Rose grinned "I believe you."

Ilaria grinned back "Well, I've got to get back to my pretty boy - he must be waiting for me" she winked, jokingly to lighten the mood.

Rose laughed "yeah, you go ahead and keep me updated."

"I will" Ilaria said, already making her way downstairs and outside Kennas home.

♠︎♠︎♠︎♠︎♠︎♠︎♠︎♠︎♠︎♠︎♠︎♠︎♠︎♠︎♠︎♠︎♠︎♠︎♠︎♠︎♠︎♠︎♠︎♠︎

"I think I have something" Ilaria said, hope sparking in her chest. She held her phone to her ear. Staring out to the woods from her room.

"what is it?" Kai asked over the line, his own hope evident in his voice.

"Kenna wrote under the 18th of every month, two numbers and one name. The only problem is the name is scratched out aswell as one of the numbers but I think the number that wasn't scratched out is my exes"

"holy shit" Kai hissed "but wait, why would she be talking to your ex?"

Ilaria shrugged "no clue but I need you here, maybe we can make out the name and then go to Chad's."

Kai had arrived no later than 20 minutes after Ilaria called him.

Now they sat side by side on the carpeted floor of Ilarias room, as they often found themselves.

"I think that's a H" Ilaria said squinting at the scribbled out name on the planner.

Kai nodded his agreement and tilted his head "and that last letter could be a N" he rubbed his chin and sighed "maybe we should go meet up with that boyfriend of yours, he might know somehow? I mean, considering his number is under it."

Ilaria nodded mutely and let out a sigh "okay, let's go" she supposed she was delaying it on purpose.

She wasn't ready to see him again, not after what he'd done.

It was freezing that night and Ilaria remembered it was the kind of cold that made her very blood feel frozen in her veins, she was going over to his house. It was the night after Kenna had been reported dead.

She just wanted to be held but when she got there, she found his arms were already full of someone else.

Kai held out his hand for her to stand up, she grabbed it - solid in hers and hoisted herself up.

"Not looking forward to seeing him, huh?" Kai raised a teasing brow, Ilaria had gotten used to him reading her so easily - it seemed he read anyone so easily. It was quite eery at first but she got used to it.

"Not at all." she said blowing out a breath "but let's go pretty boy, we don't have time to waste and I wanna get this over with."

Kai nodded his head of brown, fluffy hair and grinned "okay, agent-as you wish."

Once they arrived oustide Chad's huge house, Ilaria couldn't help but hide her disgust. Everyone in town had big homes, there were very few people who did not - those who didn't were still well off though.

Kai turned to her "you never told me he was like stinking rich"

"did you tell me you were stinking rich?" she chimed and Kai nodded "okay, fair enough then."

He gave her his arm to hook through and she did, a laugh spilling out of her.

"now, I shall march you to your very own dread with a smile" he said and Ilaria shook her head, not quite sure why she found it so funny.

Once they were at the top of the steps and infront of Chads door, Ilaria rang the door bell and unhooked her arm from Kai, though he remained close.

Chad, ofcourse, opened the door - his father was rarely home.

His face was one of shock as he said her name "Ilaria."

She smiled thinly "Chad"

Kai leaned over to whisper in her ear "you never mentioned his the school's biggest asshole either"

Ilaria elbowed him in the stomach and he let out a high pitched ouch. Chad raised his eyebrows, his eyes darted between the two of them.

"what do you want?" he asked

"your soul, maybe some money, oh and dessert, you should have dessert right? A house this big?" Kai gestured inside.

Chad rolled his eyes and Ilaria couldn't help the small smile breaking across her face.

"actually, it's something more important than that" she informed Chad "I found your number, all over Kennas planner."

Chad raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms "okay and?"

"you guys never spoke." Ilaria said slowly "well, not to my knowledge."

"so what do you want to know? That I was sleeping with your bestfriend? I thought you figured that out already, being as smart as you are"

Kai pursed his lips, clearly not very pleased with Chads tone "you're bullshitting so hard right now."

Chad ignored Kai, keeping his eyes solely on Ilaria - she never showed him emotion "Chad if you're trying to hurt me, it's not going to work." she shrugged "quite frankly I don't give a single fuck anymore."

"but I know you're lying and you know you're lying" she stepped closer to him and tilted her head up "so why don't we cut the bullshit and you tell me what the fuck you were doing with my bestfriend the night before she went missing."

Chad, realizing Ilaria wasn't there to waste her time sighed and stepped aside to let them in "you're going to want to sit for this one."