"Elliott, please!" I cried out as I ran after him. He'd seen me in the halls and last period had just passed, meaning it was time to go home. As soon as he'd noticed that I was approaching him, he'd sprinted off without a second thought.

I followed him. He was walking towards his house or at least, I assumed he was. His legs were a lot longer than mine and he was gaining speed by the second.

I began to run again.

"Elliott," I gasped out, "Just hear me out."

His whole body jolted as he stopped. He seemed just as surprised at his own actions as I did when I crashed into him. He pushed me off like I was a fly; like vermin.

"If your parents were murdered and the culprit came up to you and asked to talk about it, would you?" Elliott jeered. He showed contempt for me with the look of pure hatred and frustration he gave me.

"What if as a result of their actions, they'd been punished for it too?" I retorted. The malicious tone that I spoke in shocked myself. I didn't want to be mean to him. I just wanted to talk.

"Punished? In that case, you deserve it."

"My mother is dead too!" I shouted as I burst into a fit of sobs, gripping Elliott's arms, "It isn't my fault!"

"Is that what that guy told you, or have you tricked yourself into thinking you're innocent?" Elliott spat. He began to walk away but my grasp on him was still tight.

He glared at me. I ignored that and began to talk to him in a calmer tone, "Please, Elliott. I want to be friends. You're the only one who understands me! Everyone else is just throwing pity my way but I'd rather it go to someone who wants it!"

"I'm sorry," Elliott choked out. I saw his eyes glimmer with tears and I started to think he'd finally come around when he added, "I just need time."

"It isn't my fault," I whispered to myself but I didn't believe it. It was partially my fault, yes. But how was I to know that my actions would result in three dead parents?

"I know that deep down," he admitted and I could see him cursing himself inside for speaking the words that were spilling from his pale lips, "I just need someone to take out all the pain on."

"I know how you feel," I told him and with that, I walked away. He was left alone, staring after me as I sauntered back to my home. On the outside I must have looked like I was careless but a million thoughts of anger and self-hatred were running through my mind.

I needed to see Seth. I slid my phone out of my pocket and pulled it up to my ear as soon as I found his name in my contact list and hit call.

"Yeah?" He responded, knowing it was me, "What's up?"

"Are you home yet?" I asked with a sigh. I looked behind me, almost expecting Elliott to be there, but he was long gone. I was nearly at my house anyway.

"Nope," Seth told me. I felt as though I could hear his smile through the phone when he said, "I'll be over in ten."

He hung up but I didn't mind. If he was close to his house, then he'd probably take ten minutes speed walking.

I opened my front door and stepped inside. I felt the same wave of nostalgia and sadness come over me as I thought about my mother.

I thought of the way she looked when she'd had a restless night but as soon as she saw me, her face would light up and she'd get onto making the morning tea. Before my eyes were images of her standing doing her ironing as she told me about the latest family gossip and celebrity juice.

I sighed again. I went up to my room because I knew Seth would just come in. Laying on my bed, I stared at my ceiling.

It wasn't blank like you'd expect it to be. Right over my bed was an array of stars and moons of different sizes. They'd been there ever since I was very young and when I'd asked why my mum had put them there, she reminded me, "You need to keep dreaming. If you don't dream, how can you succeed?"

I thought I was about to fall asleep when Seth barged in, plopping onto the end of my bed. He held out a hand to me but I didn't take it.

"What happened?" He questioned me softly as he retracted his hand.

"Elliott happened," I grumbled, "He said he knows that it's not my fault but he needs someone to put the blame on."

"What? That's completely absurd!" Seth shouted, slamming his fists down on my bed in rage, "l get that he's upset, of course he is, he's just lost his parents. That doesn't make it acceptable for him to make this whole thing your fault when he knows it isn't!"

"Seth, calm down," I said quietly, placing a hand on his arm. He looked at me longingly; he wanted me to be angry, to yell with him. I wasn't going to.

"It's not fair, Luna," Seth told me with a sad smile, "He can't blame you for this. If I see him tomorrow..."

"Don't," I urged in a pleading tone, "Please don't."

Seth just looked at me sideways. He didn't look impressed with my decision but if there was one thing I loved about Seth, it was his ability to follow my decisions.

"What do I do?" I inquired in a low voice.

"Just wait it out," Seth told me calmly. His brown eyes settled on me as I rested my hands behind my head, shutting my eyelids so that I didn't have to see this cruel world anymore. He said softly, "I'm going to go now, okay? I have homework."

"Okay," I responded breathlessly, basically asleep. Seth planted a quick friendly kiss on my forehead before rushing out of the doorway. I assumed he was getting ready to jog back to his house.

My phone buzzed in that moment. It was from an unknown number and the words read as follows:

You're a murderer.