". . .people will always tell you to stand up for yourself but they'll stand on the sidelines when you get punished for it. What they'll never admit though, is that I did what had to be done. What all of them wanted to do but never had the guts to do. Ain't that some shit?"

Barbara Thatcher laughed softly as she did many times throughout her interview. She tucked a long piece of black hair behind her ears, staring into the camera. Her soulless eyes were chilling. Even more chilling was the fact she talked about murder like it was normal. She was firm in her beliefs, I'd give her that. And she believed she did the right thing.

I couldn't resist searching her up after my mother's biography about her. I suppose I was right about her portraying herself as the unlikely hero. She had a hero complex as she talked. Killing her classmates was the only option in her eyes, and she had the right to protect herself.

Her words, not mine.

I couldn't fathom how she could smile like that from behind bars. She was in dull orange prison clothing. Her hair was kept together. Her personality was neat. Her and my stalkers mentality was the same—unforgiving and unregretful.

"So, this is why you wanted me to learn about her. . ." I whispered.

I clicked out of the old video on my phone and set my phone down on the bed beside me. I then yanked my earbuds out of my ears.

Mother nature was lively tonight; to the point I couldn't rest. Case in point: the soft chirps, loud and obnoxious as ever, creeping in through my window sill. There must have been a cricket or something hanging around outside.

Finally, after minutes of speculation, I mustered up the energy to approach the window. Officer's Delaney and Baring were huddled in their patrol car, minding their business as had become the routine. A single light was lit above them in the car; both of their faces lit. I surveyed the dark streets. For what reason? Honestly, it was just by nature at this point.

It was a good thing I did though because I just might have missed the dark blur blending into the side of Robert's property.

The hairs on my body stood at attention. I cuffed my hands around my eyes, pressing my face closer to the glass. The blur appeared more like a dark shadow from here. If I had Patty's or my mother's horrible eyesight, I knew I wouldn't have seen them.

It was eleven at night, wasn't it?

I checked the time.

No, scratch that. It was nearly twelve at night. And there was a random person lurking around Robert's house? I didn't think it was the man himself. For starters, Robert made it clear he was a no bullshit kind of guy. But the nail in the coffin was all the sneaking around—and they weren't sneaking out, they appeared to be looking for a way in. For someone to go through that much trouble to do that, it couldn't have been Robert.

Unless he had just done something terrible. Well, whether it was Robert or a possible intruder, I had two armed police officers sitting right outside my window who'd know exactly what to do.

"Shit," I swore and knocked on the window. The first knock went unnoticed so I tried again. It took several more attempts for me to accept that my signal failed.

I sifted through my hamper nearby, filled with dirty laundry from the past few days, and grabbed the first article of clothing I could find—a pair of gray sweats. I hopped towards my bedroom door, struggling to pull my sweatpants on, then bolted downstairs with my slippers on when I succeeded.

"Tyler? You should be inside at this hour." Officer Baring spotted me first. He frowned and rolled down the window from the passenger seat.

I huffed and puffed, approaching his side of the vehicle. "I think I just saw someone sneaking into my neighbor's house."

"Pardon me?" Officer Baring's frown stretched further.

"That house"—I pointed to Robert's property where not a single light was on—"my neighbor lives there and someone just disappeared around the backside of the house in dark clothing!"

"Son, are you sure? It could just be the homeowner or something." Officer Delaney didn't look convinced.

I dug my fingers into my palms, glancing back over at Robert's house. It was hard to withhold my frustration. Part of me understood why they weren't taking my allegations seriously. But the bigger part of me knew something was wrong. I just needed them to check. Gosh, what was so hard about that?

"No, you don't understand! He's involved in my brother's investigation. He has two young kids. Neither of them are old enough to sneak in and out. That could be my stalker!"

A quiet conversation passed between the officer's—strictly by face. The longer they took to make a decision, the more aggravated I felt. What were they waiting for? A Goddamn miracle?

"Okay," Officer Delaney finally spoke, his sweet and calm tone grating my ears. "You go back inside. We're going to call an officer over to check up on your neighbor's house. Okay?"

"You will?" I wasn't convinced.

"Yes." Officer Delaney nodded, then gestured to Baring. Baring had his mouth to his walkie-talkie, saying something I didn't understand. Relief flooded my body. Reluctantly, I left them to their own devices and returned to my room.

But just because they told me to stay inside, that didn't mean I wasn't going to watch every step of the way. Ten minutes later; no sign of the intruder and still no officer on sight. I paced my room more times than I could count. Blood centered the skin around my cuticles where I'd left teeth marks. My gaze landed on the window every so often.

"Ugh, I can't take this!" I pulled at my scalp, a growl of frustration ripping out of me.

Enough was enough.

I pulled my sweats back on, my sneakers following suit. I'd snuck out of my house many times before so two officer's out front weren't going to stop me. As I crept down the stairs, I listened for the sound of my mother's TV. Junior was fast-asleep in the room next door.

I couldn't go through the front, so that left me with the back door option. For safety, I snatched the can of Febreeze off the kitchen counter, whilst tip-toeing through. It'd at least give me some range if I had to attack. Spray it right in the intruder's eyes.

I quietly shut the back door behind me, the cool summer air sucking me in.

Now that the easy part was over, how the hell was I going to get across the street? I wasn't the tallest teenager alive. But I damn sure wasn't short enough to go unnoticed. The cars parked in their driveways and along the sidewalks were a good start. It was risky sneaking through other neighbor's properties just to get across the street, but it was a risk I took anyway.

"Nice and easy, Tyler. . . Quiet is in your blood. . ." Walking and crouching was one of my least favorite things in the world to do. Screw being uncomfortable. It was painful for my back.

"Crap," I hissed, lowering myself into a crawl when Baring's eyes swept this way. Both of them were standing outside the patrol car now. As if they were on the lookout for anything suspicious, or perhaps that officer was finally closeby.

I sucked in a breath, muttering, "Halfway there."

I continued to slither through nearby cars, stopping whenever Baring and Delaney looked in my direction. Finally, when I was close enough, and they looked away for a split second, I bolted. I didn't stop—even for the sake of my pounding heart and my rugged breath—until I made it to the side of Robert's house.

My back was glued to the perimeter as I crept alongside it. The side of the house led me to the back. For the most part, everything was in order. Robert seemed like the kind of man who'd want fencing in his backyard. But there was none. Perhaps that's why his kids played in the front. Not to mention, they were only renting the house for the summer.

I slipped my free hand into my pocket, searching for any signs of a person nearby. No one was here though. How'd they get in? Did they get in? Maybe they gave up and left.

I paused.

At the far end of the house, beside the back door, there was a window. And it was open.

"No way," I ran up to the window, whispering. My internal panic was clawing up my throat. I knew it, I knew it. Darn it, I hated it when I was right.

The window was opened wide enough to fit a body. Someone bigger than me? Robert was bigger than me. As far as weight was concerned. I'd say he had a few inches on me in height too but he wasn't the only one of the suspects I'd met so far.

Was I really about to commit another crime? I'd like to say I learned my lesson after sneaking into Cecilia's apartment a few months ago. Truly, I did. But this was different. This was for the sake of my neighbor's life; which could be in danger, might I add. Crap, guess I was going in.

"Ouch, son of a—!" My body hit the floor with a soft thud. Totally not my intention when I forced my body through the window. I groaned and rolled onto my stomach.

Where was I? The living room? This looked more like the basement.

Though it was dark, I could make out the white walls. Everything was plain and simplistic in this home. If I didn't know Robert was just a visitor before, I surely knew that now. Could the intruder still be inside? No, I didn't want to think about that. Just check on Robert and leave.

That's all I needed to do.

I flashed my phone's light around in search of the stairs.

No screams of terror yet. Hopefully, that meant Robert was still alive. Kids were awfully quiet too. So, maybe they were tucked in their beds asleep. There was still the possibility that Robert snuck into his own house after doing something terrible.

The stairs squeaked beneath me. I cursed the weak wood as I tried my best to stay quiet. When I made it to the top, I found myself entering a hallway connected to the kitchen. So, I was in the basement. Still no sign of anyone up here.

"What the fuck, kid?" Robert's voice frosted over me like ice.

I tensed and turned, slowly.

The first thing I noticed was the hammer in his hands. It was raised slightly, probably prepared to take me out. Thankfully, he noticed who I was at the last second. Just some scrawny teenager—who was also his neighbor—he could take on himself. No weapon necessary.

"It's not what it looks like." I slowly lifted my hands above my head to show I meant no harm. Why was he carrying a hammer? Did he know someone was in his house already? More importantly, I had no idea he was creeping up on me. He could've killed me if he wanted to.

"Really? Because it looks like you're sneaking around my house and I have half a mind to toss you outside on your ass. Are you trying to rob me? Is that what this is?" He fixed his lips into a snarl, his menacing glare tearing me apart like he wanted to do with his hands.

"No, I swear! I saw someone—" I waved my hands frantically.

The sound of a door closing nearby caused us to stop mid-talk.

Both of us froze.

Someone just left through the front door.

Judging by the look on his face, he didn't know what to make of me or that.

"You've got five seconds to explain to me what you're doing here before I kick your sorry ass kid," he said, calmly. Even then, I could see the worry stricken into his heart. He knew like I knew, we weren't alone. And I was not the intruder he thought I was.