Later that day, I'm alone in the house for a few hours until my parents come home. I open Spotify on my laptop and play Dying In a Hot Tub by Palaye Royale at full blast. Aimlessly, I walk around my room, looking at my band posters.

"Okay, maybe I do have a problem." I mumble with a smirk.

I walk over to my window, staring at nothing in particular but the clouded overcast. The streets are empty, save for something that catches my eye suspiciously. It's a black car. Strange, I've never seen a car like that in our neighborhood.

I can't take my eyes off it for some reason, even more so as it stops abruptly outside of Brendon's house. A man steps out, furious, and unkempt with brown hair and a black shirt with jeans and converse. He storms up to Brendon's porch and knocks, no, bangs on the door. After a few seconds, Brendon opens the door to reveal himself. The man starts yelling something I can't make out. Brendon doesn't seem bothered by him venting at all.

I grab my binoculars to see Brendon mouth the words, "Are you done?"

The man yells some more. Then, gives Brendon the middle finger and storms back to his car, slamming the door and speeding off.

I look back at Brendon, who stands on the sidewalk and watches him as he departs. Then, as if on command, goes into a rage, knocking over his trash bins.

Throwing my binoculars on the bed, I grab my hoodie and run outside to his house, where he kicks one of the bins.

"Brendon!" I yell and he stops, giving me a hard glare like I'm interrupting something. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, it's fine."

"Who was that?"

"Nobody."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No, Ruby, just go home."

He's clearly upset about something in regards to what just happened, but, if he wants to leave it alone, I guess I should respect his wishes. I turn around and start to head back home.

"Wait!" he calls making me stop. His face looks apologetic now. "I'm sorry, Ruby."

"It's okay. Do you wanna talk about it?"

"No, but there is something you can help me with."

"Okay, what is it?"

He looks around to check if the coast is clear, then walks a little closer to me. "Go back home, grab a travel backpack and put some spare clothes in there. Meet at my house in 10 minutes."

Before I can process everything, Brendon's speed walking back to his house. I stand there for a minute, dumbstruck and perplexed by such a request.

"Hurry!" He yells upon noticing me.

I run home and to my room, grabbing an old black backpack with some contusions from my closet, and putting a random shirt, jeans, and shoes.

Heading back outside, I knock on Brendon's door. He opens it and has a backpack himself with I'm assuming the same contents. He grabs my arm and pulls me inside.

"This is gonna be quick, Ruby."

"What're we doing?"

"Ask questions later, there isn't much time. Give me your hearing aids."

I stare at his extended hand.

"Ruby, come on."

Hesitantly, I remove them from my ears and give them to Brendon, who places them on the coffee table in front of the couch.

"Keep up, okay?" He signs and says.

I nod and follow him out the back door. We run through the woods in his backyard, farther beyond until all signs of civilization are out of view. After climbing a small, steep slope, I notice we're on the side of a freeway. It's divided by a faded yellow line in the middle, but it's empty.

Brendon pulls me down so I crouch with him, eyes fixated on the road.

"Just wait." He signs.

After a few minutes, a black car emerges from behind a road hill.

"Okay." He removes my backpack and lets it fall on the ground. "Here's what you're gonna do. Walk out into the road, wave your arms, and make him stop. Ruby, go."

I stare at the car, making its way closer to where we are. Wait, what does he want me to do? Is he trying to get me killed?

As these thoughts are forming in my head, Brendon pushes me into the road and the car is in front of me. I shut my eyes and feel it come to a halt from the vibrations on the ground. The door opens to reveal a man exit his car in a frenzy and bend down to my level.

It's the same one who yelled at Brendon earlier.

He's asking me, "Are you alright? Where are your parents?"

My eyes shift behind the man, to Brendon towering over us, holding a rusted silver hammer. He raises it and as the man turns around, Brendon swings it, bashing him in the head. He screams.

I gasp as his body hits the ground with an audible thump, blood pouring from his open skull. Some drops find its way onto my clothes. Brendon's wearing a sinister smirk and the hammer is now coated in thick crimson. He places it in his back pocket, then towers back over.

"Help me hide him." He signs and says.

I sit with my elbows propped up for support, taken aback and looking at the body.

Brendon lifts me up. "Now!"

He grabs one arm, and I grab the other. We haul it toward the other side of the freeway. I'm trying to hold back vomit as blood smears on the concrete. Brendon seems all too calm like he's done this before. We drag it to the other side and into the woods. After about a minute, the body begins to stir. He's alive. I look at Brendon.

"Leave him."

I let his arm go and so does Brendon. The man twitches, showing signs of brain damage. As soon as his eye opens, Brendon swings the hammer down again, smashing his head over, and over and over. There's nothing I can do but watch. After a while, he finishes and stands over the body, breathing heavily with blood on his face and clothes.