9. Amnesia

August

Another day, I woke up unable to move a single muscle in my body. As I attempt to sit up to silence my alarm, my skin and bones feel pierced by a million knives, and I wince in pain. My head hammers, feeling like my skull is cracking, and grabbing it doesn"t help. My ears are hurting too. They experience a loud ringing that makes them feel like they're bleeding. My body feels heavy and sluggish, and I can't seem to get myself to move. What the fuck happened last night? I lay here, clueless and a little frustrated that I can't recall anything, trying to search my mind for the last thing I do recall, but I can"t even think at the moment. When I look down, my eyes are sore and throbbing, and I notice marks on my hands and arms, which I quickly pull the blanket over to conceal. A groan escapes my scratchy throat, and I manage to turn on my side. I close my eyes again, ignoring the pain and hoping for a few more minutes of sleep before I have to get up to get ready for work. But that doesn"t happen. Melanie"s scream pierces the silence around me, causing my eyes to flutter open. My door slams open, and she rushes into my room, jumping on my bed in terror.

"Scarlett, you need to wake up!" She shakes me, thinking I"m sleeping.

"I"m awake, Mel," I groan again, my gaze fixed on the window, watching the rain fall.

"What happened last night? I can"t remember shit," She asked, trying to get me up.

"I can"t remember either. Did we go out?"

"No idea. Why can"t we remember? Were we drugged or something?" She asks, her voice panicked, as she scrolls through Instagram on her phone.

"Who would have drugged us, though?" I finally turned to face her, rising slowly. I reach for my phone and unlock it, oblivious to the radiating pain. When I launch the app, my heart sinks and bile rises in my throat.

"Uh, Mel… Have you seen what"s trending?" With tears already welling up in my eyes, I turn my phone so she can see what's at the top of my feed.

She draws a breath, drops her phone, and grabs mine from my hands.

"No fucking way! Is that River?!" I sit here with my eyes cast down, picking at my nails frantically as she screams while reading the article. I nod, but nothing comes out of my mouth. She puts the phone down and picks up her own while desperately looking for additional news reports about what happened. Picking up my phone again, I read the article slowly, feeling a lump in my throat that won't go away when I swallow. My body trembles, my hands sweat, and nausea threatens to knock me to the ground. His body was reportedly found at the lake early this morning, according to reports. When they recovered his body from the water, they discovered that he had been stabbed more than 70 times. His head and hands had been severed.

I sputter, puking all over, not having time to make it to the bathroom. Melanie sits motionless on my bed, unable to speak as she stares at me, mouth agape and eyes wild. What the fuck happened last night, and who did this to River?

"Does it say who did it?" I ask, sounding hopeful. As tears roll down her cheeks, she shakes her head.

"No, it says they don't currently have any suspects, and anyone with information is urged to contact Salem Police."

I grab a towel and clean myself off while ignoring the marks all over my body and speculating as to who—if anyone—might be responsible. Who am I kidding? Of course, they"re behind this. They killed Shawn; they must have killed River too. When I regain my composure, the first thing I do is call my workplace and explain the gravity of the situation. Shock consumes me, not only because I didn't get to say goodbye to him, but also because I can't remember what happened last night. If I could, I might be able to figure out how River was murdered. The buzzer for our apartment goes off, scaring the shit out of us and making us both jump frantically. Melanie follows me out of bed, clinging to my wrist for dear life. I press the button on the speaker box in the living room, my voice shaking as I speak.

"Yes?"

"This is Detective Holbrook from the Salem Police Department; do you have a moment to speak about River Wilson?"

"Yes, come on up." I buzz him up and stand at the door, fear coursing through my bones as I unlock it and wait for him.

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