❝ everyone wants to help but no one actually can. ❝ the evident coldness she is donning is a stark contrast to the girl she was mere weeks ago, a social butterfly radiating warmth as strong as the summer heat. but everything has changed since then. the popularity she once worn as a badge of honor has been torn into shreds, rebuilt into a new reputation that feels branded to her flesh for all to see someone dangerous, her existence a threat to those that were unlucky enough to be close to her. she is a ticking time bomb, the occasional explosion killing everyone but her. those she loved had not been spared. losing one of her friends had ached but the recent loss of the boy that had held her heart for over a year is a brutal pain, especially given the role she had played in it all. his demise is on constant replay within her mind despite her best efforts to shut it off. she can’t wash away all that blood. it stains her skin, embedded in her nails and hair; seeping into her mouth.
she had been beyond foolish and naive to have thought normalcy was possible after the murder at the police station, a death she had unknowingly been made responsible for. she had paid the price dearly, now coming to the grand realization that the only way there was to live anymore was to never allow herself to let her guard down ever again. she can’t afford to lose anyone else; to be forced to witness more crimson shed. the podcaster had been nothing but a solid ally and eventual friend since her arrival in lakewood, but the risks of being associated with her were now far too high. ❝ you shouldn’t even be part of this, piper. look what happened to riley and will. anyone close to me is a target. ❝