No Control

“My nose looks like a period right now.” Niall whined, as Callie pressed the cloth to his nose to stop the bleeding.

“I said sorry bro, but seriously creeping up on us at a time like this was not you’re smartest move. You practically asked for it.” Harry pointed out, and tried to keep his laughter hidden.

“If this is broken, I’m taking a huge shit on your face, and I swear on that.” He threatened, which made everyone laugh except for Dax.

“Oh baby, you know I love it when you talk dirty to me.” Harry smirked.

Niall glared at him for a moment or two then shifted his focus to Callie, “Is it broken?”

Her eyes glanced up at his face, then back down to the bloody cloth and sighed, “I’m afraid so.”

Niall’s eyes widened, and he looked as if he was about to cry, “Really?”

“I have no fucking idea because I don’t have a medical degree,” She snapped at him sarcastically, “Seriously, how am I supposed to know? I’m not a doctor.”

“That was mean.” Dax said quietly, and Niall with a sly grin looked up to Callie then stuck his tongue out.

“Well it was necessary.” She replied, then continued to blot underneath his nose with the cloth.

Liam was smiling, and shaking his head, “It’s not broken, the punch wasn’t even that hard.”

Harry scoffed, and rolled his eyes, clearly offended, “I beg to differ.”

Apparently this is how our little group acted when we were thrown into a life or death situation together. We mock and make fun of each other, we joke and laugh, and we punch each other in the face. Personally, I enjoyed watching the little bitch of the group get mocked then reassured his injury wasn’t even bad in order to prevent him from crying.

“Why are you guys here?” I asked, looking between Liam, Niall, Callie, and Dax.

“Ask this one,” Liam said, then pointed to Callie. Immediately she stopped working on Niall’s nose and turned to me like she had just remembered something.

“I have to talk to you.” She stated, then moved closer to me, and stared at me dead in the eye without blinking. The action made me impulsively take a step back.

“About what?” I ask and she clenches her jaw, making it obvious she was annoyed that I put on the spot like that. I realized what she wanted to talk about was now classified as ‘girl talk.’

“Periods,” She answered back quickly, lying, but getting the reaction she wanted when all the guys groaned in disgust.

“Callie, not in front of people who have penises please.” Niall grimaced, “That’s like mentioning the human centipede in the middle of dinner.”

She turned to him, shaking her head, “So you can say your nose looks like a period, but I can’t mention periods in general?”

“That’s different.”

“How?”

“Well you have them, so you know what they really are. Im a guy, in order to stop myself from throwing up and questioning what happens to my favorite place in the world once a month-” He pointed his index finger at mine and Callie’s crotch area, ‘-I imagine it’s glitter.”

Niall’s logic makes Harry, Dax, and Liam all laugh whereas I rolled my eyes and Callie just stood there dumbfounded, clearly not catching onto what he was referring to. She opened her mouth to reply but judging from her expression, she had no idea what to say. In the end she ended up shaking her head, and throwing the bloody cloth at him.

“I give up!” She yelled, then pointed at me, “You, outside.”

“Don’t go too far.” Harry warned just as I began to walk out.

I couldn’t help the amused smile creep onto my face at his protectiveness, “Don’t worry dad, I won’t.”

His signature smirk rose to his lips, “Say that again, but this time say daddy.”

Before I had the chance to respond and show Harry a few other names besides daddy I could call him, Callie stepped in front of me and closed the kitchen door. Quickly, I glanced around the cafeteria to make sure nobody was in here and I exhaled the breath I didn’t know I was holding in relief when I noticed we were alone.. as I said, it’s a very open area so unless the killer was hiding underneath a folded up table, we would know if he was here.

Callie looked over her shoulder, I’m guessing to make sure nobody decided to poke their head out of the door to eavesdrop on our little private talk. When she faced me again, she sighed, “You have to tell them.”

I looked at her curiously, “Tell who what?”

“Really?” She rolled her eyes and leaned closer to me, “You need to tell hot and hotter that your dad is sticking it to their mom.”

My jaw dropped and I didn’t know if it was because of what Callie suggested, or the way she decided to word it. I crossed my arms over my chest, “Why the hell would I do that at a time like this? We both know my adultering pig of a father is the least of our worries right now.”

“You have to tell them because of what’s going on,” She stated, “You don’t think this is getting to be a little too weird?”

I clenched my jaw and looked at her with a blank expression, “Just a little, I mean it’s not everyday you’re held hostage in your own school by a crazy psycho with a knife.”

Callie stared back at me, mirroring my blank expression.. clearly not impressed with my sarcasm, “Think about it Mia, all these messages about secrets? Love thy neighbor? It’s a tad coincidental considering your dad was loving the neighbor lady a little too much.”

As I processed her words, my body went stiff. Honest to god, that thought never crossed my mind once. The messages the creep was sending us never made sense, and I would have never guessed they would have something to do with me- or more so my dad and the neighbor mommy. As much as I didn’t want to agree with Callie, she brought up a good point. I don’t know how I missed the whole love thy neighbor thing, that alone was like a huge red flag waving in front of my face. Now it wasn’t waving in front of my face.. it was repeatedly bitch slapping it.

“Choose your friends carefully,” I muttered under my breath, remembering yet another message that related perfectly to the affair. Callie didn’t take her eyes off me, sympathy was written all over her features, “No, no way.” I say, trying to shake the thought away.

“Mia, it makes sen-”

“No it doesn’t!” I yell, and the two of us seem a little shaken at my sudden outburst, “It doesn’t make sense because if it were to be true, who does that make the killer?”

Callie looked stumped, like she was thinking about it for a while.. when truthfully we both knew what she was going to say, she just didn’t want to admit it and I didn’t want to hear it, “The killer is a guy, you saw him in that video.” She said, “What if they’re working together?”

Now I was the one who was stumped. I had no other theories pop up in my brain, there was absolutely nothing I could say to make this situation sound better, "I’m not telling them.”

“You have to,” Callie whines, “This concerns all of us now. I realized when you left the main hall that this whole thing had to be about the affair. I was about to run after you, but the guys stopped me.”

“Do they know?” I ask her.

She looked almost hurt, “Why would I tell them something like that? It’s not my business to spread so of course not.”

“Good, let’s keep it that way then.” I say, but Callie was not having it. I went to step for the door, but I didn’t move more than a foot before she stepped in front of me.

“It isn’t my business, but it is the brother’s business,” When I opened my mouth to argue, yet again, she put her hand up to silence me, “Actually, if this whole thing really is happening because of the affair than it’s everyone’s business.”

My anger got the best of me and I take a step closer to her, “This is not about that!” I shout, “This has nothing to do with my pig of a father and their whore of a mother!”

Callie had no time to reply because the door separating us from the guys opened, and all of them were now in the doorframe. Harry and Dax were in the front and Niall and Liam were behind them, but looking over their shoulders. Everyone was staring at me. Callie kept glancing between me and the door, and I couldn’t tell if she was relieved that the truth was out, or if she was guilty that put me in this position. Niall had the cloth still pressed under his nose, but his jaw was hanging wide open. Liam’s eyes were nearly out of his skull, and one hand was on his forehead. Dax was glaring at me in disbelief, and most definitely hurt.

And then there was Harry, whose expression was was unmistakable. He was furious.

“Holy balls,” Niall muttered, and I shifted uncomfortably. I knew all eyes were on me, but the stare that I could feel burning into my head was infact Harry’s. His eyes had not left me.

“What exactly do you know, Mia?” Harry asks through gritted teeth. I could tell he was trying to keep himself composed, but I couldn’t miss the fact the he wanted to scream and belittle me.

I closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. I mentally cursed at myself and at Callie, “You know what I know, clearly you heard it all.”

He shook his head, “No, I want to hear it directly from you. I want you to tell me like you should have before this damn night even began.” His words cut right through me, they were cold and laced with a venomous tone. I felt a pang of guilt at his remark. I knew he was right though, I have been lying to not only him, but to Dax too, all night.

I didn’t reply right away, I kept eye contact though, almost like I was challenging him to back down and drop it. Right now though, it felt like I was having a fight with a bear and the only thing I had to defend myself with was a banana and a toothpick. After a few minutes, I groaned in frustration.. he wasn’t going to falter, “What do you want me to say? That I walked in on my dad banging your mom? Are you happy now?”

Dax flinched at my words, whereas Harry didn’t even blink, “How long have you known?” He asks.

“I had the pleasure of finding out right before I came here actually,” I said, smiling bitterly at him.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Why should I have?” My anger was now getting the better of me, because he knew I hated getting put on the spot ever since middle school when he would force me to do our group presentations in front of the class, yet here he was practically giving me my own spotlight.

“Because this affects our lives, not just yours you selfish bitch!” He yelled, and I actually jumped. He went from stone cold to raging anger in a millisecond.

“Harry, calm down.” Liam said, putting a hand on his shoulder. He tried pulling Harry back into the kitchen but it was no use, he had just shrugged it off.

“No, no I won’t calm down. You had no right to keep this to yourself, it affects you me and Dax.” He says, taking a few steps closer to me, “Even before we got thrown into this shitty situation you should have told us. Oh and you definitely should have told us when people started dying and along with their bodies came messages like love thy neighbor!”

I didn’t reply. I had nothing to say, because he was right. I was in the wrong for lying to them and pretending everything was alright. Then again, why should I have to be the one to tell them? It shouldn’t have been my burden to tell them something like that.

“I don’t know how your stupid little mind didn’t add up those little messages and think, oh my god maybe this has to do with this great big secret I’m keeping from everyone about my father not being able to control his dick.” Harry was still yelling, only this time he was attempting to mock my voice.

I scoffed, “My father wouldn’t need to control his wandering dick if your mother hadn’t rented herself out.” His jaw instantly clenched at my words, and even though he now knew his mother was having an affair, I guess it was never nice to hear people talk badly about your parents. I proved that myself when I jumped to my fathers defense even though he didn’t deserve it.

“Enough,” Dax snapped, and I was a little surprised by the authority in his voice, “So if this is happening because of our parents, which ones do you think are doing it?” He asks, and I raise my eyebrows in shock.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Harry snaps.

“Well, do you think it’s the ones who got screwed, or the ones doing the screwing?” Dax clarifies, I nearly choke on my own saliva at the way he asks the question. He was so sly about it, and so casual.

“How could you even ask something like that? You really think mum and dad could do something like this?”

“I don’t know, it’s surprising what people could do if they’re pushed enough.” He replies, his words came out with so much emotion, and so much pain that I wondered what happened to him that he now has such a grim view on people.

“Why would it be the ones doing the screwing?” Callie asks, cutting off Harry from something he was about to say.

“Two can keep a secret if one of them is dead.” Alex says, “That to me sounds more like someone trying to keep a secret, while someone’s trying to get it out.”

My mouth fell open, because yet again, that thought never crossed my mind. What if it wasn’t about people trying to get revenge? What if was people who wanted to make sure my mouth stayed shut?

“So you think it’s Mr. Elliot?” Callie asks Dax, who just shrugs.

“My mum would not do this!” Harry bites, “How the hell are you people even thinking about something like that?”

Dax steps forward, getting so close to Harry that you’d think they were kissing if you were behind one of them, “Because people do horrible shit, Harry. No matter how high you put them on the pedestal, people always do horrible shit.” His eyes never left Harry, and it was almost like they were having a silent argument through their stares. I thought the one Callie and I had earlier was intense, but the one the two brothers were having made ours seem like we were just deciding what type of snacks we wanted from the shelves. Their intense stare was suddenly at the back of my mind as I heard a sound that I was becoming accustomed to.

Screaming.

All of our heads turned to the side, and we suddenly realized that Niall and Liam were no longer in the door frame. Without another word about our adultering parents, the four of us had sprinted for the kitchen and towards the sound of the scream. Niall and Liam were on the floor in the back by the storage cupboard.

The air I had in my lungs left as I spotted the red pool of blood on the ground that was growing bigger and bigger with every slow, menacing second that passed.

Notes