Cassie, like most of the students opted for going back home, a few decided to talk to the school counsellor; she had a long line outside her office. Cassie used not having to stay in school as an opportunity to visit Caleb at the station, her parents were contacted about the situation but she lied to them that she would be studying in the library. 

She knew Caleb most likely was not ready to see her, but her guilt pulled her to the station to try and make things right. She parked her mustang in front of the station and fear immediately filled her insides. Her palms were sweaty, extremely sweaty and her heart was racing. Caleb could be very scary and intimidating when he wanted to be, she remembered how furious he was when he discovered that she had taken the shirt, she remembered how he grabbed her arms, how he inflicted pain on her, she remembered the fire burning in his eyes, the way he breathed heavily and uncontrollably, he looked like his soul had been claimed by a demon. He looked like a killer. she shook the thought away and took in a deep breath.

She dried her sweaty palms on her jeans as she stepped out of her car, she didn't know what she was going to say to him. She was still a bit frightened of him she still didn't know if he was the killer or not she felt like she didn't even know him at all. Even if he wasn't the killer she knew that he had something to hide. An innocent person won't be as belligerent as he was that night.

As soon as she stepped out she felt chills go up her neck, she felt as if she was being watched. She scanned the parking lot of station carefully but there was no one suspicious-looking in sight, she had increasingly become paranoid and she did not like it one bit. 

She walked up the very familiar steps that led to the building, everything looked the same but felt so different, usually she'd be here to help Brady with the case, skipping eagerly up the stairs with no hesitation whatsoever. This time, she was at the station to see her brother who was the prime suspect in the very murder case she was working on.

"Hello, I'm here to see Caleb Meyer, he's my brother," Cassie said to the officer at the front desk. 

"The murderer boy," the officer who Cassie had not met before spat out. She hated the man sitting behind the desk because he had just judged Caleb even though it had not yet been truly confirmed that he was the murderer. She opened her mouth to defend him but she felt she did not have the right to, so she stayed quiet.

Once her identity had been checked , the officer had led Cassie into a small room that had walls that were once white, there were two chairs on the shorter ends of a rectangular table, Cassie sat facing the door. A few moments later Caleb walked in wearing a beige shirt and pants. His hair was tousled in every direction possible, and he had a bit of stubble forming on his chin and upper lip. Caleb was someone that took pride in his appearance, but because of Cassie he was morphing into someone she did not recognize. 

Caleb looked up at Cassie with his eyes burning with rage. "I don't want to see her," he spat out venomously to the officer that brought him in.

"Caleb please," Cassie pleaded in a shaky tone.

He looked hesitant for a while before answering "Five minutes and I'm gone," he said while aggressively taking a seat in front of her.

There was awkward silence between them, he bored his eyes into hers angrily in a way that gave her chills.

"Thank you," she said softly as she rested her gaze on the rickety table in front of her.

"Four minutes fifty seconds, talk," he said flatly.

Cold sweat trickled down her face and her heart was racing. "I'm so sorry Caleb, I didn't mean for things to get this far. When I saw the rose in your bag that day I got so confused and  I was scared, and then I talked to Brady. I made him promise not to tell anyone, he kept his promise but unfortunately another officer found out  and that's why you're here" she explained.

"Good to know," he deadpanned

"Please don't give me the cold shoulder Caleb," she said teary-eyed.

He let out a bitter laugh filled with so much pain and anger. "What do you want me to do Cassidy? Would you rather I give you my shoulders for you to cry on?"

"I didn't say that,"

"You know what, it's way too soon for me to pretend I've forgiven you, I need some time to heal first. Right now I can't look at you without anger welling up inside me so it's best you go."

"Can I just ask you one question Caleb?"

"What?"

"Do you hate me?"

"I'm still trying to figure that out myself," he sighed.

Cassie nodded weakly "Thanks for the birthday gifts you got me Caleb, they're all so thoughtful," she said with a smile.

He simply nodded his head and knocked on the door, the officer walked in and took him away. 

                                                                                                      * 

Cassie got back home with still a lot of time to spare, she contemplated visiting Brady but got embarrassed once she remembered that he had been punched twice because of her. 

She dragged her legs to the kitchen to get something to drink, as she was about to pull the fridge open she noticed a note on it. Her heart skipped a beat, the first thought that came to her mind was that the killer was sending her another threat. She leaned in and then she noticed that it was only her mothers terrible handwriting. She took the note off the fridge and squinted a few times before she could make out what it said. 

'Your father and I have an important event to attend tonight, we won't be back till midnight. Don't go anywhere, you'll be in big trouble if you disobey me'

She wondered what her parents had to do that was so important, but she was also glad that they were spending time together till late. She hoped that they were working out their differences because the fight they broke into the other day was heartbreaking.

Her parents being gone gave her a lot more time to spare, so she racked her brain to figure out something productive to do with her time. Before Matt's death and Caleb's arrest, finding the killer was just more or less a hobby or a challenge a challenge, but after her world had crumbled finding the killer became her life's mission. She thought of what to do for a while and then she remembered reading in the article that contained information on Rose Bryson, that she had a best friend, Irene Andrews, it was Irene who found Rose's body therefor she knew she needed to have a conversation with her. 

She picked up her laptop and googled Irene's name, it wasn't easy to find there were many people with that name and so she decided to narrow it down by putting Freetown beside her name. She scrolled and scrolled and then she finally found her, she recognized her from some of the pictures in the other article, she was older now and bigger but she had distinctive features like her red hair and piercing emerald green eyes were hard to miss. In the picture she found, Irene was posing in front of a cupcake shop that was obviously owned by her since it had her name on it. Cassie had passed by the store a few times, so she knew exactly where it was.

It was already noon by the time Cassie pulled up In front of Irene's cupcake shop. She stepped out of her car and she still couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching g her, she felt as if someone's eyes bore into her back she turned around abruptly and then she came in contact with someone, her heart got caught up in her throat but then she noticed that it was only a kid and he had dropped his ice cream cone because of her.

"Sorry," she apologized smiling sheepishly

"Whatever grandma," he replied rudely as he picked up his ice cream cone from the floor and licked it.

Cassie gave him a disapproving look but he just shrugged his shoulders and walked away. She scanned the whole streets but no one looked too suspicious, but that did nothing to ease her anxiety. She couldn't see anyone watching her but she could feel it.

She walked inside and was hit by the colour pink, it was a cute little baby pink shop with fuchsia pink furniture. The store was empty but for one couple that saw in a booth by the window. She went up to the counter in front there was a young beautiful girl there, Cassie had seen her around town a few times.

The girl stood behind a beautiful display of cupcakes that were in a glass casing, they were all beautiful and Cassie knew that she had to try one before leaving.

"Hi what will you like?" The girl asked politely with a wide smile across her face.

" I'm not here to buy cupcakes, I'm actually  here to talk to your boss, Irene."

"Oh, she's in her office who should I say is looking for her? "

"My name's Cassie, but she doesn't know me so it probably won't help," she laughed awkwardly.

"Oh, I'll let her know someone's here to see her," she smiled.

"Sure,"

The girl came back out but Irene was not behind her. "She doesn't want to see anyone, I'm sorry."

"Tell her it's important," Cassie urged.

"I don't think that will change anything, she was pretty adamant about not seeing anyone."

"Then tell her I'm here about Rose Bryson she'll surely let me see her."

The girl looked hesitant for a while before going back into  Irene's office, when she walked out Irene still wasn't behind her.

"She still doesn't want to see me?" Cassie asked in a shocked tone. 

"On the contrary she said I should send you in immediately, she never meets with anyone in her office so this Rose Bryson character must be very important. Follow me."

Irene's office was a cute small office that had the same shade of pink as the store. She had so many pictures of cupcakes on the wall. Everything was completely pink but different shades of pink; from her seats to her pictures to the souvenirs on her desk.

Irene was sat on a beautiful small couch that was placed right beside a big window, she looked even more beautiful in person than she did in the pictures taken ten years ago.  She wore a very elegant pink dress with baby blue pointed shoes. Clearly this woman's favourite colour was pink. She held in her hands a cosmopolitan magazine which she placed on the table in front of her as soon as she noticed Cassie's presence.

Irene had a look of confusion on her face as soon as she saw Cassie, she kept on looking at her as if she was trying to figure something out. Cassie felt as though her piercing green eyes were a laser and with each look she pierced deep into her soul.

"How old are you?"

"Err 18?" Cassie said as more of a question than an answer.

"Are you 18 or are you asking me if you're 18?" she asked sternly.

"I'm 18," Cassie cleared her throat

"What's your name again? Kelsey?"

Cassie shook her head "Cassidy Meyer, but everyone calls me Cassie when they're not mad at me," she laughed awkwardly.

"And how did you know Rose? You were eight when she passed, I knew all her little cousins and nieces and you're certainly not one of them," she asked in a serious tone. For someone who loved pink she didn't t seem too friendly she was quite intimidating despite her petite frame.

"I didn't know her, but I want to help find who killed her."

"Why do you care? Is this what kids these days do for fun? Catch murderers. " she asked as she rested her chin on the back of her hand.

"I care because the person that killed your best friend is still out there, he's back and he's killing more people the exact same way he killed Rose."

"Have a seat" she said tapping on the empty space beside her on the couch. "I read about that in the papers and I get confused every time, " she said as she crossed her legs "Anyways I don't get what the search is for it was obviously that her sick boyfriend Peter Wood that killed her and they let him go free because of the power his father had," she said bluntly.

"Why are you so sure it's Peter Wood that killed your best friend ?"

"I never really liked that guy,  he made Rose do things that were unlike her, " she seems to be warming up to Cassie a bit now.

"What kind of things?"

"Rose was very beautiful she was also very poor and she never liked it for one second, in high school Peter was the most popular guy and the richest. He noticed Rose the 'good girl.' She was very beautiful so naturally he fancied her, but he didn't want some virgin goody two shoes to be his girlfriend and so he gave her a special bucket list. He told her that she had to do all those things before she could be his," she rolled her eyes.

"A bucket list? What was on it?"

"There were five things on the bucket list 1.Steal 2.Drink 3. Do drugs 4. Smoke 5. Loose your virginity. After the fifth item on the bucket list, he wrote now that you've done all these you can die. He always claimed that by die he meant your innocence can die and your popularity will be born."

"Woah," Cassie breathed softly.

"There was always something significant about that bucket list, he made a lot of girls do it and anytime they did it something bad will happen to them. Nude pictures would get leaked, they'll fail an exam, lose an eyebrow, but nothing as serious as death."

"Why did they do it if they knew the consequences?"

"It was their initiation into the world of popularity, it was a small price to pay," she shrugged.

"That's terrible!" Cassie exclaimed.

"When she did all those things she was now eligible to be his girlfriend. He changed her whole wardrobe. He changed her. I always knew Rose didn't really love him, she only loved his money, she was even cheating on him. He on the other hand fell deeply in love with her, she was his only long-term relationship, they dated till she. . . till she--" a single tear rolled out of her eyes.

"You don't have to say it Irene," Cassie placed a comforting hand on her knee.

"I remember he would always give her a rose, every month she would come back with a rose. A night before the party he found out about her affair, she told me that he was really mad at her. The next day I heard that Rose was dead she died at his party," her tone was strained.

"Have you ever told anyone this story before? "

She scoffed "I've told the whole world but money can erase anything in this town, they destroyed all my interviews, everything I said was destroyed. And I'm sure the only reason why he didn't take me down with Rose was because he would be the only suspect."

"Was the number thirteen ever special to Rose?"

"It was her lucky number, she loved the number so much she wrote it everywhere, I always knew that there was a secret reason why she loved that number so much but she always kept it a secret from me. She kept too many secrets from me, it became her lucky number freshman year in College she never told me why."

"What happened to the guy that Rose was secretly dating?"

"Some say he was murdered others say he committed suicide, no one really knows what happened."

"And do you think Peter killed him?"

"Yes" she replied bluntly.

"But why would he kill all these other girls? It's very unwise of him since he was the main suspect years ago."

"That's what I'm yet to understand"

"I read an article that said you were the one that found Rose's body, is that right?"

"Yes, unfortunately It is. I never ever attended any of those parties and she begged me to come, she wanted me to talk to Peter and beg him. As a good best friend I agreed but there was no point because by the time I got there they were making out and so I assumed that he had already forgiven her."

"Thank you so much for talking to me Irene."

"You're welcome, I know you're young but I trust you, so please lock up whoever killed my Rose," her voice broke.

"I promise I will. I'll leave now."

"You can't leave without taking one of my cupcakes"

"I was just about to go buy some," Cassie smiled.

"Don't worry it's on me, and I'm sorry for being a bit uptight at first, Rose's topic is a very delicate one," she said with a melancholic smile.

"It's alright I understand," Cassie replied smiling warmly at her.

"Ashley, pack a box of our special cupcakes for this lovely lady she said to the girl at the counter as they stepped out of her office.

"What's special about the cupcake?"

"You'll see," she replied with a wink

Ashley brought back the cupcakes in a beautiful pink box. Cassie eagerly opened it up and was welcomed with the sight of six beautiful rose cupcakes .

"Wow, they're beautiful,"

"Thank you, I make them myself every morning. Everyone loves it. My secret ingredient is love. I make it in honour of my dear friend Rose"

"You really loved your friend I can see,"

"Yes I did, I just wish she listened to me more often I wish she kept the promise we made when we said we'll tell each other everything" she said sadly.

"Thank you Irene I promise that the next time I come here it will be with great news.

"Thank you Cassie," she said as she engulfed her in a warm hug.

                                                                                         *

It was only 3:30pm when Cassie got back home. She was so happy about her meeting with Irene, she knew that she had to tell Brady about it even if he would be mad about her working on the case against her fathers wish.

She stepped out of her car and that uneasy feeling of someone watching her returned and this time the feeling was heightened, she grabbed the box of cupcakes and  locked her car. She was about to run up the steps of her house but she tripped on something but regained her balance. She looked down to see a small rectangular box in front of the steps of her house. She looked around her street before crouching to pick it up.

She sat down on the steps and she slowly opened up the box, in it were flowers that had become a sign on danger; roses.  She counted six roses and she immediately knew who they were supposed to represent. She picked up the first one and taped to it was Tyler's name, taped to the second was Phoebe's name, to the third Dylan's, to the fourth Jesse's, to the fifth Tucker's name and to the sixth Matt's name, but Matt's rose was cut in half and was missing a significant number of  petals. The roses did not need to be accompanied by a note for Cassie to know that it was another threat. Sweat trickled down her face, her palms got sweaty, her heart started beating rapidly, faster and faster, her hands began to shake.

She dropped the box on the floor and quickly ran up the steps of her house she banged the door shut, causing the chandelier in her living room to shake. She was in a  state of panic because any move she made could cause her to lose another friend. She looked outside her window, the feeling that someone was watching her was still there. She opened the curtain slightly and was shocked to find someone in all black from head to toe standing firmly and watching her house. He didn't move one bit, he wasn't scared of her, he simply stood confidently with his face hidden behind a black mask and watched. She widened her eyes at the sight of him and for a second she forgot how to breath. Although she couldn't see his face she could tell that he was staring right at her. She noticed slight movement in his mask where his mouth would be, and she knew that he wasn't only staring at her, he was smiling too.