EP 02. CHAPTER TWO
━━━ everyone is a suspect.

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SYNOPSIS
❝ Lillian and Harvey reunite. Amelia keeps a secret. The students of Crestview meet Sheriff Greyson and Detective Nuñez and learn about the missing kids. Charlie and Lillian work on a murder board. Harvey is forced to spend time with Lorraine.
A shocking secret is revealed.❞

TWO YEARS AGO
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PART ONE - LILLIAN

━ BRING IT ON HOME TO ME - SAM COOKE.

THE SOUNDS OF GIGGLES FILLED THE AIR. Lillian and Harvey laid on the floor in front of her bed in her old bedroom, the walls a white color with flowers and other floral designs added on to it. Listening to old records on Lillian's record player, Harvey moved his arms to the music foolishly while Lillian laughed harder and covered her eyes with her hands. This would be the first time since Lillian and Harvey started going steady that Harvey had ever been in her room.
Looking at her right now, Harvey watched the crinkles on the edge of Lillian's eyes as she laughed. He smiled to himself, she was mine, and I was hers, he thought. The music seemed to fade; they both looked into each other's eyes, Harvey drowned in her ocean blues, and Lillian drowned in his dark browns.
"Lillian," Harvey's voice spoke as if it were a whisper, to Lillian it was. "I love you." Those simple words meant everything in that moment. "Harvey." Lillian spoke, her voice full of emotion. To Harvey, it felt like it was being echoed, louder, and louder...

1982- PRESENT DAY
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PART TWO - HARVEY

━ AN AWKWARD CONVERSATION - viral gossip in town - BLAKE NEELY.

"HARVEY?" IT GOT LOUDER. "HARVEY?" At the mention of his name, Harvey was brought back to reality. Standing before him was Lillian, standing a foot away from him. Her ocean blue eyes sparkled in the early morning sunlight from the stained glass window above her.
Harvey looked at Lillian in awe, she truly was a sight for sore eyes in front of him, her blonde hair rested on her shoulders in tight curls, her bangs covered most of her forehead.
"Hi," Lillian spoke first, unsure of what to say. "It's good to see you." She smiled. Lillian and Harvey stared at one another as if they were trying to make sense of it all. It had been so long that neither one of them almost didn't recognize the other because of how much they both changed.
"It's good-" Harvey paused and cleared his throat, "It's good to see you too, Lil." Lillian smiled at the mention of her old nickname. "Your hair is nice." Harvey said, referring to Lillian's new hairstyle.
"Thanks, I'm thinking about getting a blowout the next time." Lillian and Harvey laughed. It had felt like a few moments had passed before Harvey spoke up again. "I heard about your grandmother, I'm sorry for your loss." Harvey looked down at the ground in sadness, he knew exactly how it felt to lose someone you love.
"Thanks," Lillian said quietly. "I'm sorry about your mom. I know it must've been difficult, and I should've been there." The last time Lillian had seen Yvette was before she died, Lillian had been living in California at the time so she missed the funeral. Even though they weren't together anymore and Harvey had broken her heart, she still had a place in her heart for him.
"It's alright, it wasn't your fault." Harvey simply said.
"I heard your dad got remarried." Lillian said. That topic stung Harvey's ears. "Yeah, don't really like her that much." Harvey said sarcastically, Lillian thought he was joking but deep down Harvey was telling the truth. Despite how Harvey felt about Lorraine, he couldn't help being mesmerized by the sound of Lillian's laugh, how her eyes crinkled at the edges, her smile lines more enhanced and sharper. He missed seeing her laugh like that, especially when he was the one who made her laugh like that. It made Harvey angry when all he could think about was Lillian the night they broke up. The flashbacks of that night ran through his brain over and over again without stopping. The pain that she felt was hurting him. Every single day Harvey still found himself wishing he hadn't left, reliving the moment of walking away, his legs being pulled by a magnet back to her. Oh how he wished he could go back in time. Relive all those glorious memories.
Suddenly the sound of the school bell sounded in Harvey's ears and he knew it was time for them to part ways. "So I guess I'll see you around then?" Lillian suggested. Harvey smiled, "Yeah you will."
And with that, they went their separate ways, but not before both of them stole glances at each other.

PART THREE - LILLIAN

"GOOD MORNING STUDENTS!" Headmaster Blake's voice boomed over the gymnasium full of students. "I am very thankful that we are glad to gather here given the recent tragedy that happened over the summer break. As many of you have already known, two of our brightest students, Edin Stuart and Campbell Browning, went missing unexpectedly just before the start of the school year." Headmaster Blake paused, looking at the crowd of students in front of him piled up in the bleachers.
Lillian listened in as Headmaster Blake discussed the summer incident. Looking around, Lillian noticed several students whispering about the missing kids and that only ignited the fire that sparked Lillian's curiosity. Lillian looked past Marigold's shoulder, whom she was sitting next to, and saw Harvey sitting by Charlie, somewhat in his own world.
"And now," Lillian heard Headmaster Blake speak, "I would like to introduce Sheriff Ian Greyson and Detective Lara Nuñez. They will be going around asking each student some questions regarding the investigation, soif anyone knows anything regarding the investigation, please let either myself or Sheriff Greyson or Detective Nuñez know immediately. Have a great first day and great year." The students applauded and then made their way back to their classes before the bell for third period rang.

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Lillian got up from her spot on the Bleachers and made her way out the double doors with Marigold following behind. "So." Marigold spoke, making Lillian turn her head. "There's this party next Friday night, will you go with me?" Marigold asked.
"Why?" Lillian asked.
"I don't want to go by myself, plus Charlie said he was going to go with us so we won't technically be alone." Marigold explained, smiling mischievously.
"I'll think about it. It isn't a no but it's not a yes either." Lillian said. Marigold squealed in excitement and took hold of Lillian's right arm as they walked to third period. Lillian sighed, she knew whether she wanted to or not that she was going to this party.

PART FOUR - SHERIFF GRAYSON & DETECTIVE NUÑEZ

BOTH SHERIFF GREYSON AND DETECTIVE NUÑEZ interviewed each student separately and together in one of the empty classrooms. First it was Lillian, who stated that she never really knew Edin and Campbell that well, and that she was in California when the kidnapping happened.
Then, it was Marigold's turn, who explained that she only knew Edin from the cheerleading and debate team and that she last saw her with Campbell in the hallway arguing, to which both Detective Nuñez and Sheriff Greyson found interesting and suspicious.
Next they interviewed Grace, who seemed a little unedge, often looking around the room or playing with her fingernails- a bad habit that she was trying to get rid of- or placing a strand of her brown hair behind her ear. Then they interviewed Harvey, who explained that he had fixed Campbell's car once and that the last he saw them both was at the diner, the night they disappeared. When they got to Charlie, he explained that he had tutored Edin on Chemistry, but what he didn't mention was that Campbell was his stepbrother.

PART FIVE - AMELIA

━ DID YOU KNOW CAMPBELL BROWNING? - everyone is a suspect - BLAKE NEELY.

THE LAST TO BE INTERVIEWED WAS AMELIA, who was sitting in the chair in the desk in front of Detective Nuñez while Sheriff Greyson went to get coffee. Amelia fiddled nervously with the charm bracelet containing different charms that she had received for her sixteenth birthday, afraid of what to say.
"So, Miss Brighton, I understand that you knew the victim?" asked Nuñez, her thick black hair resting on her shoulders. Amelia didn't know what to say, she knew both of the victims very well.
"Well," Amelia began to say, beginning to pull on the charms. "Edin was on my cheerleading squad, one of the best flyers too. And Campbell," Amelia paused, thinking about Campbell. And the time she spent with him during the summer. She could still remember the feeling of his lips on her neck, the smell of his scent in the air. "Um, I didn't know Campbell that much." She lied. Amelia felt the words come up as vomit, she didn't mean to lie but she was afraid of what would happen if anyone found out about what she had done.
"Okay well if there's anything you remember here's my card." Nuñez said, handing Amelia her card with the number of the sheriff station on it. "I will, thank you." Amelia quickly took the card and walked out of there as fast as she could, without Nuñez suspecting anything. Amelia had to get out of there, and fast. Running to her locker, Amelia leaned her head against the cool metal, breathing in deeply.
"Rough morning?" A voice beside her asked. Amelia turned to the voice and saw a boy about her age, maybe a little older standing next to the water fountain next to Amelia's locker. "I'm sorry. Do I know you?" Amelia asked, sarcastically.
"The name's Easton. Easton Daring." Easton shook out his hand for Amelia to shake. Easton had dark brown hair, dark brown eyes and a cocky smile. Easton was a stoner and sometimes a player, given his mood. "Well I'm not looking for a fix so you can just buzz off." Amelia said, fixing her bangs and pink halter top before turning towards Easton, her gold and silver bracelets jingling as she moved.
Amelia had to admit though, Easton was very attractive but she was with Elias, but she didn't mind the desire of other guys fancying her.

PART SIX - CHARLIE

CHARLIE KEPT LOOKING THROUGH THE STAINED GLASS in hopes of finding the person he was looking for. "Charlie, I'm sure she's on her way." Marigold reassured, eating a bag of gummy bears. "She said she'd be here 5 minutes age." Charlie answered back, leaning against the door to The Violet Hour Room.
Giving up, Charlie walked back over to Marigold who was sitting at one of the desks, watching him with attentive eyes. Suddenly, there was a quiet knock on the door, making Charlie jump up from his spot on Marigold's desk.
"Hi, sorry I'm late, calculus took forever." Spoke Lillian, smiling as she came through the door. "It's fine, Charlie here was about to send out a search party for you though." Marigold teasingly smiled. The trio laughed until realization of Edin and Campbell's disappearance hit them and their smiles dropped.
"Speaking of them," Charlie paused, walking over to a board covered by a blanket. "This is what I needed to show you guys. No one else knows about this and if the police found out it would make me look suspicious." Charlie said as he pulled the blanket off revealing a series of photos, notes held together by red string, all connected to the missing kids.
"Um, Charlie, what is this?" Marigold asked, puzzled.
"A muder board obviously." Charlie replied. Lillian and Marigold looked at each other, trying to piece together what Charlie was saying. "Okay." Lillian and Marigold said in unison, dragging out the last syllable. "But what is it for?" Lillian asked.
"Edin and Campbell disappearing changed Blue Haven. All people ever talked about is will they ever be found instead of pep rallies or the town's 80th anniversary. Blue Haven has changed, we all feel it." Charlie explained. "So what can we do to help?" Lillian asked, smiling.

PART SEVEN - HARVEY
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HARVEY WATCHED AS STUDENTS made their way into that classroom that was English. "Hey man, I heard that we're getting a new English teacher, and that she is hot." Charlie said, causing him to receive a flick to the of his neck from Marigold as her and Lillian to their seats behind him and Harvey. "What I meant was that she's hot if you're into that cougar type thing." Charlie said, defending himself.
Harvey laughed, patting Charlie's shoulder before stretching, "Nice save bro." Just as he said that, the rest of the class made their way into the classroom followed by Grace, her friend Faye, Amelia, Elias, and stoner Easton. Suddenly, a feminine voice was heard as the new English teacher walked in the room, closing the door behind her. Everyone in the room, including Harvey and his friends, looked to see who their new teacher was.
"Alright everyone," She called, getting the students attention as she wrote her name on the chalkboard. "My name is Mrs. Abbott-Caraway but you can call me either Ms. Abbott or Ms. Caraway." She spoke. Harvey swore under his breath as he stared at the women in front of him.
"Harv, isn't that your mom?" Marigold asked, tapping Harvey on the shoulder.
"My step-mother." Harvey corrected through gritted teeth, angered at the fact that he not only had to spend time with Lorraine at home, but now at school as well.

PART EIGHT - MARIGOLD

MARIGOLD RODE HER BIKE ON THE STREET where her house belonged to. Marigold parked her bike in the driveway of her house. Marigold' s house was painted white with black painted shutters and a blue door. It was surrounded by large cherry blossom trees that looked vibrant in the springtime. Walking up the front steps, Marigold held up the newspaper that read, "STILL NOT FOUND! LOCAL OFFICERS INVESTIGATE STUDENTS OF THE VICTIMS..." with a picture of Crestview Prep on the cover. Sighing, Marigold shoved the newspaper into her purple crossover body bag that she used as a backpack.
Purple and Yellow were Marigol's colors. In almost every one of her paintings the colors were in it.
That was her thing too, painting.
Marigold walked around the back of the house to the back door and walked inside. As usual, several dishes were piled up in the sink, a thick layer of dust on the bookshelves in the hallway, there's a film of grease around the stove, and the sound of the tv playing could be heard. And Marigold's mother was nowhere to be seen.
"Mom?" Marigold called, placing her bag on the bench next to the door. Marigold checked the living room. No answer, an unsettling feeling washes over Marigold as she walks further into the house. "Mom!?" Marigold out again, this time getting a response.
"Down here." A voice replied, coming from at the end of the hallway. Entering her mother's bedroom, Marigold found Claire, her mother, sitting in bed, the blankets covering her legs, wrapped up in her mint green robe, her shoulder length dark brown hair flowing on her shoulders.
"What are you doing?" asked Marigold, noticing her mother's somber facial expression as she flicked through the TV channels of their brand new TV while eating chocolate ice cream.
"I can't decide whether to watch Family Ties or Three's Company." Claire replied.
"You're eating my ice cream." Marigold pointed out. "Dad bought me that on Saturday.
"Yeah well you can ask your dad for more. Wherever the hell he is right now." Claire replied. Claire and Marigold's father, Wilson, are going through a divorce after Wilson was caught cheating six months ago. "He's at a motel on Forest Street." Marigold answered. The room was quiet for a moment until Marigold spoke up again.
"Mom, I need money." Marigold said, getting straight to the point. "Why do you need money?" Claire asked, looking at her daughter. "For the cheerleading competition in San Diego in December." Marigold explained. "It's 250 dollars all together."
"Mari, we don't have that kind of money." Sighing, Marigold took that answer as a no as she made her way down the stairs to the basement to her bedroom. The basement was fairly nice looking and warm down there so Mari had no trouble sleeping down there.
Turning on her bedroom light, the color illuminating a soft yellow hue to it. Paintings littered everywhere as Marigold had yet to find space for them, her double sized bed is covered by a white and yellow striped comforter with a multi-colored striped blanket laid across the bottom. Her walls had nice tan wallpaper that contained pictures of her life.
Several pictures of her and her friends hung in her room, her and Lillian in third grade, her and Charlie at the Midnight diner- something about that picture made Marigold favor it more, maybe it was the first picture taken of the pair after Lillian had left, and a picture of Harvey on his 13th birthday, right before his mother had gotten sick. Looking at those pictures sometimes made Marigold sad, if only things were different she often said to herself. But things were definitely different. But for the worst...

PART NINE - LILLIAN

━ NOBODY - SYLVIA.

Dear diary...
So far my time back here has somewhat given me
a strange feeling, like something has changed in Blue Haven.
LILLIAN WROTE THESE WORDS DOWN IN HER DIARY. Being back home made her both happy but she also felt like something evil was lurking in the small town. Thinking about the conversation she had between her, Charlie and Marigold, she thought about the fact that two teenagers went missing and no one has neither seen nor heard from them since the summer. Then she thought about all the possibilities of where they could be or worst case scenario, the possible suspects to their case.
Suddenly her mind drifted away from the investigation to Harvey. Seeing him again made her some =¹juk9o njk0pelief, maybe it was because she had finally moved and her heart was healed enough for her to talk to him without bursting into tears, or maybe it was something else about how she felt about seeing again after two years. But whatever it was she could put her finger on it.
Lillian looked at the little clock on her bedside table that read 4:20 pm as she listened to her little walkmen that laid on her bed next to her unfinished homework, nodding her head to the song Nobody by Sylvia, Lillian continued to write in her diary before Cat entered the room.
"Lili, there's someone on the phone downstairs, said it was important and that they need to speak to you right now." She explained. "I'll be right down." Lillian answered, placing her pink pen in her diary, securing her place. Making her way downstairs, Lillian spotted James, trying to hook up the tv in their living room.
Then she made her way into the kitchen where Nancy stood drinking a glass of wine after just getting off her shift at Blue Haven General Hospital. Lillian smiled at her mother before going over to the phone hanging up on the wall and putting it against her ear.
"Hello?" Lillian replied.
"Lili, it's me, Marigold." Marigold's voice spoke through the phone. Lillian smiled, she knew exactly what Mari was calling about.
"So, about that party Friday night," Marigold went on to say. "Are you going with us?" Lillian could hear her smiling through the phone. "But us, you mean-" Lillian trailed off. "Me and Charlie of course. Who else?" Mari said, matter-of-factly.
Sighing, Lillian Lillian sighed, she knew whether she wanted to or not that she was going to this party. So she laughed and answered, "I guess so."

PART TEN - HARVEY

CLOSING HIS LOCKER DOOR, HARVEY made his way to the empty and quiet hallway to the English classroom, the room he would dread going to every day. Stopping in his tracks, Harvey looked in the classroom window and saw Lorraine standing there, buttoning the last button on her blouse. Harvey watched in horror at what he saw. Lorraine kissing another teacher. Harvey always knew that there was something off about Lorraine, a young woman like her marrying Jack? A man half her age?
Harvey waited outside the classroom, acting as if he had seen nothing and waited for Lorraine to walk out. Leaning his head against the wall, Harvey began to think back to when his life was easier. Back when his mother was alive. He can still hear her voice now, her laughter as it filled an entire room. Harvey's thoughts were pulled away when the sound of the door opening was heard and both Lorraine and Mr. Fisher, the biology teacher, walked out.
"Oh Harvey, how long were you standing there for?" Lorraine asked, innocently hoping he didn't see their scandalous affair, and he did.
"Only a few minutes." He spoke, his body growing tense the longer he stood there.
"Well, we better get home then. Your dad's planning on taking us out for dinner tonight." Lorraine spoke. The drive home was silent and awkward between Harvey and Lorraine as she drove the both of them home. Harvey sat in the passenger seat, feeling on edge. He contemplated whether or not he should tell Jack about what he saw, his mind racing with different scenarios about what could happen. Pulling into the driveway of their house, Harvey immediately got out, closing the car door behind him. Harvey walked up the front steps of his house and pulled out his house key, opening the door only to be greeted by his golden retriever, Zeus.
"Hey boy." Harvey replied, scratching the dog behind his ears. Harvey made his way down the hallway towards the kitchen, Zeus following behind him, and searched for his father. He sighed in relief when he realized that Jack wasn't home yet. It meant that he didn't have to tell him about what he saw.
Even though Harvey hated Lorraine, and she hated him, He knew that Lorraine made him happy and he didn't want to take that away from his father, especially after losing his mother. But Harvey knew, deep down, that he had to at least confront Lorraine.
Looking at her as she took a sip of the glass of wine she poured for herself, Harvey cleared his throat and leaned against the kitchen island.
"I saw you." He spoke, his voice laced and thick with anger. Lorraine stopped drinking, immediately frozen. "Saw what?" She spoke. Harvey rolled his, it didn't surprise him that Lorraine played innocent.
"I saw you, in the classroom with Mr. Fisher." Harvey watched as the color from Lorraine's face drained. She was caught and Harvey knew that. "Now I won't tell Dad, just yet, but I know that he doesn't deserve this trash."
"Well, Harvey," Lorraine paused, walking over to where Harvey stood. "You and I both know that what you saw was just me having a brief conversation with a teacher. And if you so just as breathe a word of this misunderstanding," Lorraine spoke lowly in his ear, grabbing a hold of Harvey's hair, pulling it backwards. "There will be consequences." Lorraine finished.

PART ELEVEN - LILLIAN & HARVEY

TWO YEARS AGO
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━ THE GREAT PRETENDERS - THE PLATTERS.

LILLIAN WALKED TOWARDS the back of the library, Harvey following behind her. "Come on." Lillian spoke to Harvey, looking back at him to make sure he kept up. The back tables were Lillian and Harvey's favorite place in the whole library. It meant they could be as loud as they wanted while they played on their gameboys or studied for upcoming tests. Sliding in their seats, Harvey and Lillian laughed before they were told 'shh'. Lillian let out a cackling laugh as she opened up her English binder that contained her homework.
"How much laughing juice did you have this afternoon?" Harvey laughed, leaning forward on his forearms. Laughing juice is the pair's way of saying Pop, especially since it made Lillian extremely giggly whenever she drank it, it was a private joke of some sort. Both Lillian and Harvey were the age of fourteen. Lillian had braces and Harvey had glasses.

━ A PROMISE TO KEEP - viral gossip in town - BLAKE NEELY.

IT FELT AS IF TIME HAD STOOD STILL in Harvey's eyes as he watched Lillian chew on her pink pencil. For as long as Harvey could remember, Harvey and Lillian had been best friends since they were in grade one. Harvey would watch as little Lillian would walk into the classroom, wearing pigtails in her hair. Harvey alway felt that his feelings for Lillian were just strictly platonic but as he kept looking at her, and listening to her laugh at the things he would say, it made him realize that maybe, just maybe, they weren't just friends.
"Harvey?" Lillian called, breaking him out of his thoughts. "Were you listening to me?" She asked. "Mhm hmm." Harvey replied, nodding his head. "I was just thinking about something."
"Thinking about what?" Lillian asked, eyes glued to her English notes. "I want you to make me a promise." Harvey said, getting straight to the point. "Promise me that no matter what, we'll never leave each other." He finished, looking directly into Lillian's eyes and held out his pinky towards her.
"Promise." Lillian smiled, linking her pinky with his. They leaned in and rested their chins on their hands, looking deeply into each other's eyes. Neither one of them knew it yet, but one of them was about to break that promise...

PART TWELVE - AMELIA
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PARKING HER RED CONVERTIBLE in the driveway of the Brighton Estate, Amelia slammed her car door shut, making her way into the huge mansion. Brighton Estate was a fairly huge land that the Brightons owned, hence the term "Brighton Estate". The house was large and painted white and far too many windows to count. The driveway went around in a loop with a big fountain in the middle, a statue stood on top. Several cars were in the driveway and Amelia noticed that they were her mother and father's cars.
Opening the double doors to the house, Amelia sighed.
"You've been acting strange ever since those officers were at school this morning." Amelia's best friend, Kathleen asked. "Something bothering you?"
"I'll explain it later." Amelia answered and right on cue, Amelia's mother, Adele walked down the large marble staircase. Adele was in her mid forties who had luscious red hair in thick curls, blue eyes and a dazzling smile. Adele was one of the richest women in town and her family practically owns half the town.
"Ah Mother!" Amelia called out to her as Adele made her way down the stairs. "Kathleen and I have some homework to do so we'll be busy for a while." Amelia lied. They weren't going to study at all, instead Amelia had something to give to Kathleen, something very important and very incriminating. Leading the way up to her bedroom, Amelia opened the white double doors to her master bedroom. Amelia's room consisted of her three favorite colors: pink, white, and red. Her queen sized bed sat in the middle of her room with her pink furry bench at the foot of her bed, a box of shoes laid open from that morning. Several floor lamps stood in the corners of Amelia and her vanity table sat on the opposite side of her room. Double doors lead the way to her balcony which overlooked the swimming pool area outside. Basically everything you could think of in a rich popular girl's room.
"Okay." Amelia said, placing her purse on her bed. "What I'm about to show you, you can not tell anyone, my parents included. Even the police or your parents." Amelia said, looking at Kathleen.
"I promise." Kathleen said. Amelia went over to her walk-in closet and pulled out a box. Opening the box, Amelia pulled out a single tape. "What is that?" Kathleen asked, pointing to the tape in Amelia's hand.
"It's a tape. Of me and Campbell... this summer." Amelia said. Kathleen looked confused for a second before it all clicked in her head. "Oh my god!" She gasped, covering her hand with her mouth.
"Shh! Keep your voice down, my parents are downstairs." Amelia whisper-yelled.
"Why are you showing me this? Is this what you were stressing over all day today?" Kathleen asked.
"Yes and I'm showing you this because I somewhat trust you to keep your mouth shut and not say anything to anyone. If the police find out about this then I could look guilty. And if my parents find out, well you know they're crazy." Amelia explained. "You already look guilty by having that but I promise I won't tell anyone." Kathleen said.
If only Amelia hadn't shown that tape to Katheleen, maybe she wouldn't be in the mess she is in now...

PART THIRTEEN - HARVEY

━ 1000 EMERALD POOLS - BORNS.

THE MUSIC ON THE JUKEBOX PLAYED in the background of The Midnight Diner. Harvey sat in the seat across from Jack and Lorraine and watched with a hidden disgust as the couple shared a quick kiss, it almost made him want to vomit. Especially after what happened that afternoon. Harvey desperately wanted to tell Jack right in front of Lorraine about what he saw but he took one look at Jack's face and he saw how happy his dad looked and decided against it. When the time is right. He thought.
Harvey played with the straw in his milkshake glass as he continued to listen to Jack and Lorraine talk. Maybe if she wasn't after my dad's money, she and I could actually be friends. Harvey thought.
Just then, the bell rang, signaling that someone had entered the diner. Harvey looked past Jack's shoulder and saw who walked in. Her blonde curls rested on her shoulder, she didn't have on the clothes she wore to school but she did wear a pair of old blue jeans and white t-shirt and long denim coat over it. Despite what she wore, Harvey always found her beautiful in his way, together or not, it didn't matter to him. As soon as Lillian entered the diner, Lillian spotted Harvey right away, walking over to their booth.
"Hey Harvey." Lillian smiled. "Hey Lillian." Harvey greeted her. "Dad, do you remember Lillian, she and her family moved back from California." "Ah! Lillian! It's so good to see you. Last time I saw you, you were just a little girl with braces and pigtails." Jack laughed, getting up from his seat and hugging the young girl. "This is my wife, Lorraine. Lorraine, this is Lillian Beck, Harvey's old friend." Jack introduced Lillian to Lorraine.
"It's lovely to meet you." Lillian said. Lillian felt a somewhat uneasy feeling as the two of them stared at one another. Lillian could feel that something was off and shady about Lorraine's character. And soon she would come to realize that she was right.
"Lillian, perhaps you could join us for dinner?" Jack wondered. "No, I was just stopping by to pick up food for my family, but thank you for the offer. Some other time." Lillian replied. SHe bid farewell to Harvey, Jack and Lorraine and with that, she got her food and left the diner. The bell rang on the door as it closed.
Harvey back in his seat and thought it troubled him knowing that he was keeping a secret from his father. But that's the thing about secrets really, they're dangerous, sometimes even deadly. And that's what Amelia's world would become, dangerous and deadly come Wednesday morning.

PART FOURTEEN - ENDING

━ TROUBLE - CAGE THE ELEPHANT.

BY WEDNESDAY MORNING, Amelia felt like all eyes were on her, and not in the good way that she adored. But in a bad way, like everyones' eyes were shooting daggers into her. Making her way down the hall, Amelia took notice that some students were laughing, pointing or staring in her direction as they walked by her. It stressed her out because she didn't know what was going on. Suddenly she saw Kathleen making her way up to her with a worried look on her face.
"Kathleen, what's going on?" She asked.
"Something's happened." Kathleen simply replied, scared to tell her what was wrong. But she didn't need to. Because Amelia heard everything. The sounds of her and Campbell's voices in the computer room, her giggling, everything. And everyone was watching. Watching the sex tape of her and Campbell. If she felt like she was going to throw after her interrogation, she was definitely going to now. Complete shock and fear covered Amelia's face as she stood next to Kathleen as the students of Crestview Prep either watched from the computer room or looked at her in disgust.
"Amelia Brighton to Headmaster Blake's office." The school speaker called throughout the school.
Amelia knew she was in big trouble now. Especially after lying to the police about not knowing Edin and Campbell. Now she had a motive in an ongoing investigation in "The Missing Kids" case.

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PUBLISHED, MAR. 27 /22

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