Page 417 of Knox Academy Omnibus
Shot. There was a bang. A gunshot.
Water – or is it blood? – rushes in my ears and I’m slammed back into the present, gasping for breath like my head really did just break the surface of a death-defying wave.
I cough and splutter, my eyes watering from the effort of trying to catch my breath.
When my vision returns to normal, Laura is lying on the ground. Why?
I look around and there’s so much blood. Where did it come from?
The cool metal of the gun slips from my hand, and Debbie jumps to catch it before it hits the ground. Why was I holding a gun?
My legs give out and I fall to the floor.
Fuck. Laura is dead. She’s on the ground because she’s dead. The blood is because she was shot. She was shot by the gun I was holding. My gun.I shot her. I killed her.
Oh my god, I killed someone.
What have I done?!
Tears roll down my cheeks. I didn’t mean it. I didn’t intend to?—
“I know you didn’t mean it. Now, you listen to me,” Camilla states firmly, taking my face between her hands to draw my attention away from the dead body on the ground and onto her instead. It takes several attempts before her face comes into focus. “You need to dig deep and pull yourself together. The first time is always the hardest. Just breathe.”
“I made a mess,” I cry. “I’m supposed to graduate.” I have no idea why these particular concerns are the ones coming out of my mouth right now when I should be sobbing about being a murderer and not getting blood on my Louboutins.
Elsie is going to kill me.
A hysterical laugh bubbles up my throat and escapes my lips before I can stop it. I shouldn’t be laughing right now.
Someone justdied.
“I’ll go and get you a new gown, these things are easily fixed. You stay here with Debbie and everything will be okay.”
I nod, and Debbie helps me to my feet. My hands shake and I try to breathe but my chest hurts. The smell…I retch.
“Let’s step outside,” Debbie suggests. “Just for a minute. No one will see.”
As we shuffle to the door she pulls the small blind on the door closed, and locks the room behind her. Debbie types out a message on her phone as we stand in silence.
I’m numb. Cold. Shaking.
Frost appears around the corner and when his eyes fall on me he blanches. His gaze turns to Debbie and he rushes forward but she steps up to meet him, leaving me alone, but only really a few metres away. They have a hushed, heated sort of argument before Frost approaches, picks me up, and takes me to a nearby bathroom. Debbie follows, still tapping away on her phone.
It strikes me that Laura was doing something similar before…
A heaving great sob breaks free from my chest as Frost places me back on my feet in front of a sink, and he and Debbie try to clean me up with warm water, school soap and rough paper towels.
I want to tell them to be mindful of my makeup, that Elsie will kick their asses otherwise, but no words come out.
“Amelie, listen to me,” Frost demands. I blink once, twice, three times and his serious face blurs into focus before me. “We will make this disappear. I can get Baxter and we don’t even have to tell Monty or the guys. It will stay between us.”
I’m grateful that Frost would be willing to risk his life for me but I can’t let him do that. I shake my head, but it feels like wading through treacle. Every movement is so heavy. My words come out sluggish and thick around my dry mouth.
“No…I want to…tell them but…can we…let them graduate…first?”
Frost nods just as Camilla joins us in the bathroom with a new gown. Debbie must have texted her or something to know where to find us.
I still feel out of it, like I’m missing snippets of conversation as my consciousness keeps getting pulled back into that room with the body and the blood…
