I woke up to a pounding in my skull and my bones seemed to crack as I slowly sat up on a wooden bench. Bustling people in brown outfits caught my attention quickly. Police Station. We were in a police station. Just like that everything came rushing back and the tears started up once again. The truth finally sunk in, that Alia was dead and I'd lost my mind because of it. Thankfully, that anger that had drowned me before however was gone. God, the poison I'd spit out. I resisted the urge to tear my hair our because of it. There was no taking that back was there? What the hell was I thinking? I'd blamed them for the death of their friend just minutes after she'd died. What kind of sick person does that?

They sat on the bench across from me now with different expressions on their faces. Neither however showed hatred and for that I was glad. However, Zahra wasn't even looking at me so I turned to Rosaline. Hurt shone in her eyes as she saw me sit up on the bench.

"Rose I'm so sorry," I said weakly. 

She was already shaking her head with an understanding but sad smile.

"You don't need to apologize." 

She sounded sincere as she walked across the room to sit next to me. Her eyes bore into the side of my head. I couldn't bring myself to meet them so I talked to my folded hands instead.

"Yes I do. I shouldn't have said those things."

 I shouldn't have said anything. Mourning, that's what I should have done but instead I'd started a fight over her dead body. It was the last thing she would have wanted. God I'd been absolutely crazy. I put my head in my hands, unable to face Rosaline as she continued to speak.

"But they were true. Every word of it. I just wished you'd said them when she was here," Rose said.

I bit my lip to hide another round of tears. Her casual use of past tense was much too soon and I looked up at her with tear-filled eyes.

"She's really gone isn't she," I asked as my voice cracked. 

Her arms came around me and she pulled me into her shoulder to cry. Shoulders shaking, I let my emotions loose, not caring that a few people around the police station were shooting me odd looks. In fact that only person who didn't even glance at me was Zahra. She was pointedly staring at her shoes and I could feel the anger radiating off her even at a distance. How was I supposed to even begin to try and appease her? If it was one thing that Zahra was not, it was forgiving and I'd been unforgivable last night.

"Zahra." 

No response. Not even a blink of an eye that would allow me to thinking that she was hearing me. I crouched down before her to meet her downcast eyes and she tilted her head up to face the ceiling in retort.

"Zahra please look at me," I begged. 

She didn't so much as acknowledge that she'd heard me and I didn't expect her to. I could only hope she was listening as I began my apology that couldn't even began to encompass how bad I truly felt.

"I'm so-," I started.

"I don't want to hear it." 

Just like that she cut me off with enough anger in her tone to catch me off guard. Her eyes now met mine, blazing, and it had me flinching away. I'd really done some damage last night hadn't I? My next words were muffled and even weaker.

"I just, I lost it, seeing her there like that," I trailed off uncertainly. 

Apologies were hard to make, especially when the other person didn't want to hear the word sorry.

"That's no excuse," she said.  

No, it wasn't but it was all I had. Instead of saying something along those lines, I word vomited instead and regretted it instantly.

"Every word of it was true and you know it." 

If possible, she grew angrier and she shot out of her seated position with an outcry. I fell backwards this time in genuine fear. I'd ruined our relationship, most likely for good.

"You think I didn't care about her? You think either of us didn't?" 

It hadn't seemed like it but I refrained from saying that.

"Both of you pushed her around," I shot back.  

I stood up to match her height and regretted it instantly as it only seemed to fuel her anger. She took a dangerous step forward until there was hardly any space between us, and hardly anywhere else to look but her burning eyes as she spit out angry words.

"That doesn't mean I didn't care! Who are you to decide that? Maybe I cared too much. You don't know," she screamed.  

Her words were jumbled in my head and none of it seemed to make sense. Was this how I'd sounded last night?

"Zahra what are you saying?"

"But she only had eyes for you," she said softly.  

And suddenly it clicked. How had I not known? Zahra's friendship with me went back over five years and not once had she told me how she felt. The words I'd uttered came screaming back to me and I resisted the urge to bash my head against a wall as I realized how badly they must have hurt.

"Zahra I had no idea," I said. 

She was just shaking her head with disappointment and turning away. Was that shame on her face?

"Of course you didn't know. You were blind."

Well she hadn't exactly come out and told me that she was even interested in girls. How was I supposed to know that she'd been keeping Alia away because she liked her and didn't want us to notice? The more I thought over the theory though, the more it made sense. That pain I'd heard in her outcry when she'd found Alia was something that only came out of love.

"You never told me Zahra. You never trusted me with that. To me, as an outsider, all I saw was you push her around for no reason," I said firmly even if it sparked her anger even more. She looked at me then like I was a child, incapable of understanding.

"There's always more to the story than what you see Davina. Some things are hard to tell." 

I hung me head in shame at the bite in her words. Pushing her to come out wasn't what I'd implied but it had come out that way. Maybe I was a horrible friend. Maybe that was why she'd never come out to me. Whatever it was, it didn't matter now.

"Zahra I'm so sorry," I said.  

She just turned away from me and was about to march out of the police station. Maybe even march out of my life forever. No, I couldn't lose two people at once. My heart couldn't afford it.

"Zahra for god's sake don't turn your back on me." 

My voice came out high and needy and she paused in her steps. When she turned back, her eyes were filled with tears and my heart shuddered at the sight. I hadn't even seen her cry last night, or even comforted her. No instead I'd hurled more poisonous words at her face.

"You words hurt Davina," she said. 

They had meant to. My cruel mind had conjured them to hurt them like I'd been hurting. The more I thought over it, the more I realized that my words would always sting for her and unlike Rosaline, no amount of apologies would allow her to completely forgive me for what I said. I could hardly forgive myself. Some words can't be taken back. Instead, we'd just have to do what we always did best; sweep our biggest problems under the rug to keep our friendship alive.

"So did your punch to the face Z," I muttered. 

I traced a finger over my throbbing cheek. She didn't seem guilty about it and she didn't need to be. Another punch might even do us both well.

"You deserved more than a punch for the bullshit you said," she replied coolly. 

I cracked a smile at that and replied.

"I know." 

Those two words were enough for us to move on from this. She only needed to know how badly I felt and that was all I could give her. For now at least, we would be all right. Zahra looked over my shoulder to Rosaline expectantly.

"Give it to her," Zahra said.  

Give what? I turned to Rosaline as she backed away slowly while shaking her head. Her hands were closed in a fist.

"The doctor said we shouldn't upset her Zahra," she said evenly. 

She hid her fisted hand behind her body. Zahra took a threatening step forward, her eyes narrowed on the hand Rosaline hid.

"We're all pretty damn upset right now. Just give her the note," Zahra said angrily. 

Realizing she wasn't going to win this round, Rosaline sighed before handing me a small chit of paper that had one word etched across it in black, cursive writing.

Leave

To say it was terrifying was an understatement. Who knew one word could send my heart into overdrive so easily? There was someone who lived on this island who not only knew us and wanted us to leave, but was also ready to kill someone for it. The implications of that one word left me speechless for a moment.

"We found this next to her body," Rose said.  

Her body. Alia's death hadn't been random. It had been planned, a warning to make us leave this island. Why? Why would anyone be that desperate? What had we done? The beginnings of another panic attack began to appear at the corners of my mind and I desperately shoved it away. Now wasn't the time to wallow in fear. I had to figure out what this note meant, for her.

"What the hell does this mean?" It was all I could manage to ask as I held the note out to Zahra.

"It means that whoever killed Alia wants us to leave this island," she said.  

That meant they'd been watching us closely, close enough to notice that Alia had been left behind and had pounced in when the opportunity had presented itself. And who else had been watching us closely, who else had appeared yesterday night as well, just minutes before she must have died?

"Him. It was the guy in the woods," I muttered gravely and Zahra's head snapped up.

"Who?"

 I just shook my head and pocketed the note. There was no time to explain. The police needed to know about this right away. That man could be anywhere on the island but his piercing green eyes that suddenly rose in my memory would certainly be a start to finding him.

"I need to tell the police all this." 

I was about to walk to the nearest desk where a man in a brown suit sat when Zahra grabbed my arm. Her expression was apologetic but her grip was still firm. What could she possibly want now?

"Wait Davina there's more," she started.  

I dreaded what she was about to say next, something that would put another chink in my resolve that was slowly deteriorating. I was 22 year old bar musician after all, not a private detective.

"What? What else did you find Zahra," I asked cautiously.

"Not find. The police aren't investigating the case. They're resolving it." I blanched, my mouth opening and closing several times before I could get any words out.

"What? How?" 

She'd just been discovered dead yesterday night. How could they put the case away so easily? Was that even legal? Or had they already found the man?

"They chalked it up to an animal attack," she said.  

That would explain the blood that came from her neck and stomach but that didn't explain the note in our hands. The police didn't know and they'd taken the easier route.

"But what about this note? They have to see this note and change their minds," I said eagerly. 

Again I tried to move but Zahra stopped me. This was slowly becoming infuriating. Each second, that man was slipping further and further away. I'd already spent enough time 'sleeping.'

"Davina. We tried. They told us that if we knew what was best for us, we'd leave this place." 

It was Rosaline that spoke this time, soothingly like she was talking to an animal. I shook my head, shaking off Zahra's hand as well. There was no way I was leaving this place until I found him. The anger that had possessed me last night came in full force once more as I turned on my friends.

"I'm not leaving until we find out who killed Alia," I said determinedly.

"Davina we need to leave before someone else gets hurt. Whoever this man is has the police scared." Rosaline was trying to be as gentle as possible but it was only making me more infuriated. Surely Zahra wasn't suggesting we leave as well? She'd just admitted to liking her? I turned on her, hoping she'd stay. She didn't even look me in the eye.

"Zahra he killed Alia," I appealed disbelievingly.

"I know and I want to find him as much as you do but I can't afford to lose either of you in the process. The police themselves are turning their back on this case Davina," she said sadly. 

The sentiment, although touching, only disgusted me. We were running away, like cowards, just like the police. If we didn't fight for her, who else would? The thought scared me but that didn't mean we could desert and run.

"So we just leave? We can't just leave Zahra," I said more firmly this time. 

But she still held on to her point, just as stubborn as I was. Her hands grasped my upper arms and she shook my slightly, like I'd lost all sense. Maybe I had. What was I really going to accomplish after all if the police themselves had withdrawn from the case?

"Yes we can. Rosaline's already booked tickets. We're flying out tonight," she said just as firmly. Her tone left no room for argument. Fine, if she wouldn't stay then I would.

"No. No I'm not coming," I said. 

Zahra shook me harder this time and involuntarily, a few tears sprung up in my eyes. More and more people in the police stations began to glance our way.

"Davina look at me." 

I realized my attention had wandered off slightly. My eyes fixed on Zahra once more and she continued in that no nonsense tone that was grating my nerves. I would fight her for this if need be but her next words had my fire dying.

"This isn't a thriller movie. This is real. We could die. If Alia was here, she'd want us to leave and you know it. There is something really powerful behind this and we don't have the manpower or the brains to figure it out. Do you understand me?" 

I did, but that didn't mean I wanted to accept it. It was hard to accept that we were powerless.

"Yeah but-," I started but she cut me off sternly. 

Zahra wasn't going to back down on this one.

"No buts. The flight leaves at 6 tonight," she said. 

 I had no doubt she'd throw me over her shoulder and onto the plane if need be. Tears ran down my cheeks as I realized the harsh reality of our situation. We couldn't fix this mess alone, as much as I wanted to. The thought of Rosaline's or Zahra's bodies in similar states to what I'd seen Alia's in would completely destroy me.

"I know it hurts but we got to make the smartest decision here," Rosaline said softly. 

She wrapped her arms around me to lead me out of the station. On the way, we passed a policeman whose brown eyes fixed on me. The fact that his eyes never left mine as we left the station wasn't what unsettled me. It was the word he mouthed just as I stepped foot outside the station.

Stay 

Things are heating up!! If you liked this chapter vote and comment below. 

Question: Leave or Stay?

Also the picture above is of Rosaline played by the lovely Natalie Portman. 

Love

-ASH