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𝙑𝙊𝙇𝙐𝙈𝙀 𝑰. ── CASUALTY OF YOUR DREAMS!

❛ 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌, 𝒈𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆 ❜
─── chapter two! ❫

002. ╱ ✹ ⠀⠀ ❝ green flags turned red
from all my bleeding. . . i fell quickly
for words, misleading. ❞

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     THE NEXT DAY WAS A WHIRLWIND OF RUMORS, GHOST STORIES, AND ANXIETY. The news of Tara Carpenter's attack late last night had circulated all around Woodsboro. There wasn't a person alive who hadn't heard about it and a local news station that wasn't reporting on it. From the rumors that Tara had been stabbed repeatedly and left on death's door by an assailant donning a Ghostface mask to the possibility that the masked killer could be back, everyone was talking about it.

     The very idea of Ghostface returning with an unknown vengeance was too much for some to handle. The hold the masked killer had on the small town for decades was tight and strong.

     If the rumors were true, no one was safe.

     Which was why the police department and the school system were cracking down on safety measures as quickly as possible.

     "Attention, Panthers. A reminder that all classes and school activities are canceled tomorrow due to public safety concerns." The voice of Woodsboro High's vice principal echoed across the campus. Police were scattered everywhere, conducting interviews with students and teachers.

     Wes Hicks approached the three picnic tables under the trees located off to the side of the high school. It'd taken a while to track down Sam Carpenter's phone number, but once he'd managed to find it on his old iPhone, he didn't hesitate to call. Although she and Tara weren't on good terms or in contact, she deserved to know what happened to her little sister.

     "That was Sam," he announced to Amber Freeman and Mindy Meeks-Martin. The rest of their friend group would be on the way soon.

     "She's coming?" Amber asked, raising an eyebrow. She almost couldn't believe it.

     Sliding his phone back into his pants pocket, Wes nodded. "Yeah." He sat down next to her, leaning against the tabletop.

     "Watch everything get worse," Amber warned, shaking her head.

     "I also texted Kyn to meet us out here," he added, sighing exasperatedly at the girl's immediate groan.

     "Awesome."

     A few feet away, closer to the trees and leaning against another table, Mindy side-eyed the girl's reaction. Sure, she and Kynlee were broken up, but Amber acted like she'd been dumped instead of Kynlee. This attitude of hers was getting old.

     Wes appeared to feel the same for he glared at Amber.

     "Listen, all I'm saying is," Chad's voice preceded him as he and Liv approached, arms around the other, "with everything going on right now, I think it's time we take our relationship to the next, most intimate level." The couple sat down at the picnic table directly across from Wes and Amber and to the left of Mindy.

     The trio looked to Liv for clarification, confused.

     Liv exhaled, resting her palms against the wooden table when she leaned forward to get a full view of her boyfriend's face. "He wants me to accept his Find My Fam request," she explained, giving him an 'are-you-out-of-your-mind' look.

     Quickly jumping to defend himself, Chad pointed at her. "It's the smartest option with a would-be killer on the loose," he reasoned, darting his gaze around the rest of their friends in hopes someone would back him up. They didn't. "You know exactly where I am and I know exactly where you are." He placed a hand on Liv's knee, squeezing softly.

     "Aw, you can stalk me like a jealous boyfriend," she teased, resting a hand on top of his.

     "And you can stalk me like a jealous boyfriend." Chad grinned.

     Amber mimicked the sound of someone gagging. "Is this because you two aren't having sex yet?" she retorted, laughing.

     Chad pointed at her. "You actually bring up a very good point. Not that I want to sound like a stereotypical jock trying to get into his girlfriend's pants—"

     "Great!" Liv promptly cut him off, kissing the side of his face.

     "Don't do it, Liv," Wes advised, shaking his head. "There's a psycho out there. You make yourself harder to find. Delete social media, tape over your phone camera, disable GPS."

     "Ah yes, thank you very much, Edward Snowden." Chad and Wes exchanged sarcastic smiles. "Actually, your mother just interrogated me about Tara's attempted murder, which was very fun." Chad pointed over his shoulder in the direction of Judy Hicks, Wes's mother and the Sheriff of Woodsboro.

     Pressing his lips together, Wes gave his mom a nod of recognition when they locked eyes. Judy briefly grinned and tipped her hat at him, a proud smile on her face. Then she resumed her post, focusing on the student she and her deputy were questioning.

     "I'm sure she's asking everybody," he reassured his friend. "I mean, Ghostface is back."

     Mindy gave him a look, tearing her attention away from searching for updates on her phone. "The press still isn't saying Ghostface."

     Shrugging loosely, Wes scooted over on the bench of the picnic table he and Amber sat at. Out of the corner of his eye, he'd noticed Kynlee exiting the school. "My mom doesn't want to cause a panic," he reasoned, holding his right hand out toward the approaching black-haired girl.

     "It's definitely Ghost-fucking-face," Kynlee argued, taking his hand and allowing Wes to help her climb on top of the bench before sitting on the table. "This town is cursed," she added, dropping her bag to the ground.

     "Thank you for that," Wes said unappreciatively.

     "And thank you for that text," she replied, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. The pair shared genuine, small smiles. It'd been a very long day for them.

     Minutes after Judy had informed Wes of Tara's attack last night, the first person he told was Kynlee. Initially, the girl hadn't taken the news well. Some tears were shed with Wes swearing he wouldn't tell anyone that she had a tiny breakdown once hearing about Tara. He also promised her that before they went to school in the morning that he'd take them to the hospital to check if Tara could have any visitors yet. Luckily, the two lived down the street from each other and already drove to school together every morning.

     When Kynlee and Wes arrived and asked hospital personnel, it was revealed that Tara had only recently gotten out of surgery and was sleeping. Unfortunately, she couldn't see anyone until she was awake and had been checked on. Both teens understood, but that didn't relieve the uneasiness that resided in the pits of their chests.

     Following telling Kynlee last night, Wes alerted the rest of their friend group. Everyone was concerned, but ultimately grateful that their friend had survived.

     Mindy cleared her throat, bringing the attention to her. "It'll get out by the second or third killing."

     Gasping, Amber scowled at the curly-haired girl. "Jesus, Mindy, there wasn't a first killing. Tara's alive."

     "Mmm, she could still die," Mindy suggested.

     "What the fuck?!" Kynlee and Amber exclaimed in unison.

     In the corner of Wes's peripheral vision, he could see Liv glance between the ex-girlfriends.

     Despite their scolding, Mindy added, "Or the killer could come back for her."

     "Fuck! Mindy, come on!" Chad immediately called his twin out, giving her a 'what-the-fuck-is-wrong-with-you' expression.

     "Mindy, shut the fuck up!" Kynlee snapped, glaring at her harshly. The very possibility of one of her best friends dying was too much to consider. This wasn't a fucking horror movie or something to make a spectacle of. This was Tara they were talking about.

     Wes rolled his eyes, resting his arm on top of Kynlee's thigh. "I'm just telling you, arm up, okay? Pepper spray, check. Taser, check—"

     "Girlfriend repellent, check." Amber quickly cut him off, finishing his list of precautions to take.

     Chad and Liv laughed at the comment while Kynlee ruffled Wes's hair, disregarding it.

     "Nice." Wes shot Amber a sardonic smile. "Thank you." In response to Kynlee, though, he leaned further into her touch.

     The laughter died down and suddenly the grin on Liv's face vanished. Her eyes were focused on something in the distance and she sat up. "Shit, is that... Vince?"

     Everyone turned to see a guy, who was most definitely a few years older and covered in tattoos, similarly to Kynlee, watching them. He was leaning against a car, presumably his, with a toothpick balanced between his teeth. Nobody but Liv recognized him.

     Upon noticing the group's lingering stare, he waved at Liv and winked.

     Kynlee's nose scrunched up in distaste at the gesture. Ew.

     "Wait..." Chad had heard that name before. It'd been mentioned in past conversations with Liv. "The creep you hooked up with last summer?"

     Hesitating for a second, Liv sighed. "Yeah, he worked with me and Tara," she explained, keeping her arm wrapped securely around his shoulders.

     Amber quickly turned to look at her. "He worked with Tara?"

     Not bothering to be discreet, Mindy lifted her phone and zoomed in on the camera app, taking Vince's picture. Potential suspect, check.

     "He's been stalking my Instagram the last couple of weeks, posting the creepiest shit," Liv shared, growing more uncomfortable to longer Vince kept his eyes locked on her.

     As Mindy looked down at her phone to further inspect the photograph, she heard someone snap their fingers. Peering up, she caught Kynlee motioning for her to text her the image. With a single nod, Mindy was quick to comply.

     "Probably time to introduce him to Hobbs and Shaw," Chad said, puffing out his chest and flexing his arms. He didn't mind roughing up the dude if need be.

     Liv's jaw slackened and she shook her head. "Maybe not the best idea to incite violence right in front of the sheriff!" she hissed, pointing behind them and toward Judy. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Vince spitting out the toothpick and walking to the driver's side of his car. A breath of relief left her lips. "Looks like he's leaving. Thanks anyway, boys," she grinned, squeezing her boyfriend's biceps right where the bruises were.

     Chuckling, Chad rubbed his arm. The bruises were still sore.

     "Tara says she fought back hard," Amber spoke, jutting her chin in Chad's direction. There was a jesting tone to her words, but nobody seemed to take her next statement as a joke. "You've got bruises."

     "Seriously?!" Kynlee deadpanned, aggravated at the insinuation Amber was making. Never in a million years would Chad ever lay a hand on Tara or any of their friends for that matter.

     Amber waved her off and ignored the incredulous look Liv gave her.

     Chad scoffed, annoyed too. "Yeah, it's from football practice."

     "Oh, sure," the black-haired girl hummed.

     At nearly the same time, Kynlee and Wes's phones chimed.

     Kynlee's ears perked at the distant sound. She reached down to the left, digging her phone out of her back pocket. A smile spread across her face when she saw she'd received a text from Tara. Hey! The nurse mentioned you guys came this morning to visit. I'm up now, pls come <3 Bring the others too! The message was also sent to Wes in a group text.

     "Tara's awake!" Kynlee exclaimed happily, jumping off the picnic table.

     "She just texted," Wes said, looking at the rest of their friends. "Kyn and I are going to the hospital. You guys coming?"

     Mindy and Chad answered in unison, "Yeah."

     While everybody gathered their things, Liv pressed her lips together. "Oh, uh. I can't, but I'll meet you guys later."

     Nobody noticed the suspicious side-eye Wes gave the pink-haired girl. Your friend is stabbed and you're not going to see her? With a tug on his arm, he blinked and allowed Kynlee to steer them toward the parking lot with Amber in the lead.

────

     THE MINUTE WES HICKS PUT HIS CAR IN PARK, KYNLEE SPRUNG OUT OF HER SEAT AND SPRINTED TOWARD THE HOSPITAL. That morning, the hospital staff had told them Tara's room number, so Kynlee already knew where to go. She'd been at that hospital one too many times for all the cooking accidents her father and Malik experienced at least once every few months.

     The rest of the group was struggling to catch up, for she'd run faster than they'd ever witnessed before.

     "Have you ever seen her run that fast?" Mindy asked Chad as they walked through the lobby.

     Chad laughed. "Yeah, a couple of times." It wasn't often that Kynlee would go out of her way to run.

     When Kynlee reached Tara's room, she burst in without a second thought. "T!" she breathed, shoulders dropping in relief at the sight of the black-haired girl sitting in the hospital bed.

     A watery smile spread across Tara's lips. It'd been scary being alone in the hospital without her mom or friends, but she was elated that she finally had someone there with her. Especially after last night.

     "K!" Tara held her arms out, eager for one of her friend's infamous hugs. In her opinion, Kynlee Manral gave the best hugs.

     Kynlee sat down on the bed and embraced Tara lightly, conscious of where and how she held her. The amount of pain the girl was in was incomprehensible, and Kynlee didn't want to potentially make it worse.

     "I'm so fucking glad you're safe and alive," she whispered, kissing the side of her head. Without realizing it, she began tapping her feet against the tiled floors. "I love you."

     Tears blurred Tara's vision and she relaxed. "Me too. I love you."

     Not soon after, the rest of the friend group arrived and a series of hugs and statements of gratefulness were exchanged. Then, everyone got comfortable. On the extra bed next to the injured girl sat Wes. Off to the side, in two chairs that'd been pulled up, were Chad and Mindy. Meanwhile, Amber stood next to the bed with a hand on the headrest with Kynlee a few feet away from her, still sitting with Tara.

     "How are you feeling?" Amber asked gently.

     "I'm all right," Tara reassured her, even though that wasn't entirely true. "The painkillers are helping a lot."

     Mindy wore a crooked grin. "Better to be high than in pain."

     Laughs echoed around the room.

     Another question came to mind and Amber cleared her throat. "Has someone called your mom yet?"

     Tara's mood visibly declined and a slight frown appeared. "Yeah. We talked on the phone for like ten minutes."

     Tilting her head, Kynlee's eyebrows scrunched together. "Isn't she in London for work?"

     "Yeah, and she's staying there. She can't come." Tara responded.

     "What the fuck..." Amber scoffed, not surprised but still irritated. "Your daughter is stabbed and you won't leave work to come see her?!"

     "Amber..." Wes trailed off, giving her a look. It was the same cautionary look he'd found himself giving her more and more recently. Something was up with her, but he never explicitly commented on it.

     Amber glared at him. "What?! It's fucked up."

     Peering over her shoulder, Kynlee glanced at the twins.

     When Mindy locked eyes with the girl, she quickly shook her head. "No comment. Not my family."

     "Same." Chad agreed.

     Suddenly, the door opened, and in walked someone none of them had seen in years.

     "Oh, fuck," Kynlee murmured under her breath, eyes widening. The insistent tapping of her foot came to a pause.

     Wes, Mindy, and Chad all got to their feet.

     Sam Carpenter entered the hospital room with a random man trailing behind her. "Hey. How are you feeling?" she asked her sister, making her way over to the bed and crouching down.

     Compared to the last time Kynlee saw the older girl, her appearance had changed so much yet so little. However, one thing stayed the same— she was still just as beautiful.

     "You came," Tara muttered, almost in shock.

     "Of course, I came." Sam's face softened at the comment and she swallowed harshly. "This is my boyfriend, Richie," she briefly met her boyfriend's awkward countenance.

     Richie waved and forced a smile, obviously out of his element. "It's so nice to meet you," he greeted. "I'm so sorry if I'm intruding."

     "Nice to meet you, too." Tara returned the wave, off-put by the fact that Sam brought her boyfriend with her. At least she was there, though. That alone meant more than anything else.

     While Tara and Richie talked, Sam made her way to the group and began distributing hugs of welcome. It brought many of them a sense of comfort. When she left, she didn't just leave behind her family. She also left behind a group of kids that cared about and looked up to her.

     When it came to Kynlee's turn for a hug and she stood up, she was immediately embraced. The force of Sam's body colliding so quickly into hers made her nearly topple over, but Chad managed to jump over. He placed a hand on her back, keeping them steady.

     "Thank you," Kynlee chuckled, giving him an appreciative expression over Sam's shoulder. "Hey, Sam."

     "Hey, Little Lee-Lee," Sam breathed, using the nickname she'd coined for Kynlee when she was seven.

     Groaning, Kynlee covered her face after they pulled apart. "God, I still fucking hate that nickname."

     "Oh, I totally forgot about Little Lee-Lee," Mindy gasped, sending Kynlee a mischievous smirk.

     "Aw, Little Lee-Lee," Chad teased his best friend, laughing at her scowl.

     Kynlee flipped the twins off with both hands. "Kick motherfucking rocks, both of you." Her words were met with a wink and poked-out tongue.

     "Your tattoos!" Sam noted as she made her way to her boyfriend's side, taking in all the ink she could see. "I like them."

     Blinking, the black-haired girl focused her attention back on Sam. "Thanks," she replied, still a little awe-struck at her being there. After skipping town all those years ago, she didn't think she'd be seeing the older Carpenter sister anytime soon.

     "These are Chad and Mindy, the twins, Kynlee, and Wes," Sam explained to Richie, pointing to each of the teenagers. "I used to babysit them all."

     Feeling a tug on her hand, Kynlee glanced down to see Tara's fingers curling around her own. Physical touch was both of their love languages, and Kynlee knew Tara was comfortable with her enough to show affection. She sat back down, giving Tara's hand a gentle squeeze.

     "Which is always how I like to be introduced." Wes joked, making everyone chuckle.

     It was then that Sam's gaze trailed over to Amber and she tensed. "And Amber... Hey."

     Amber gave a stiff smile, not at all thrilled by Sam's presence. "Hi. Nice to see you." There was no way to mask the disdain she felt.

     "H-Hi, I'm Richie," Richie introduced himself again, clutching onto the straps of his backpack like his life depended on it.

     Sweeping her eyes up and down his timid figure, Amber grimaced. "Hi," she muttered, leaning into the side of Tara's hospital bed.

     "Where's Mom?" Sam questioned, curious as to where Christina was.

     "She's stuck at a conference in London," the younger Carpenter answered. A wave of confusion washed over the oldest. "She called me earlier," she added, wanting to assure her sister that their mom knew of the situation.

     Amber folded her arms over her chest while scoffing. "Yeah," she grumbled, "for all of ten minutes."

     A frown tugged at the corners of Kynlee's lips at the bitter comment and she nudged her ex-girlfriend's foot. It was a silent attempt at telling her to shut up. Unfortunately, it didn't work, but it steered the conversation in a different direction.

     "Looks, guys, Tara's really tired. Maybe we should just give her some space," Amber suggested, turning to the others.

     Right away, everyone else agreed and gathered their things.

     Kynlee leaned over and placed a kiss on Tara's forehead. "Text if you need anything, T," she whispered, ruffling her hair.

     "I will, K." The volume of Tara's voice matched hers and she watched her loved ones head toward the door. "Not you, Sam." All movement came to a halt. "I want you to stay."

     "But the rest..." Chad trailed off, passing Kynlee her phone, which she almost left.

     Wes completed the train of thought. "Yeah."

     "Go go go," Kynlee hissed, pushing Chad out of the room. It was blatantly clear that the sisters needed some time together, and their presence would get in the way of that.

     Once Mindy, Wes, Kynlee, and Chad had left, they made it a few feet down the hallway before pausing to wait for Amber. Surprisingly, no staff were nearby and it was eerily quiet.

     "You guys wanna go to Sunrise Sunset? Play some pool?" Chad asked, referring to one of Woodsboro's local bars they regularly attended. He directed his line of sight to Kynlee, who stood next to Mindy. Yes, he would like for the rest of his friends to agree to go, but he wanted Kynlee to go specifically. It'd been a minute since they faced off in pool.

     Wes pulled his car keys out of his back pocket, witnessing the smitten look on Chad's face. It was obvious to anyone who was to pass by that the jock felt something for the clueless black-haired girl. If only he would acknowledge and do something about it. Given the last few years, how nothing had ever happened between them, and his relationship with Liv, that was incredibly unlikely, though.

     "Yeah, I'm in," Wes said.

     Kynlee gave Chad a knowing stare. "Duh." Never would come a day where she turned down playing pool.

     "You're my ride," Mindy deadpanned, giving her brother a blank expression. "So, yeah."

     Behind the group, Amber exited Tara's hospital room with her backpack in hand.

     At the sound of a door closing, Chad glimpsed over his shoulder to see her approaching. "Amber," he called, wiggling his eyebrows at the moody girl. "Sunrise Sunset?"

     Shrugging, she sighed. "Sure."

     An ecstatic grin spread across Chad's lips. "Fuck yeah!" Things were getting better now. They got to finally see Tara and reunited with Sam. Now, they were going to play pool. "Let's go!"

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❝ you were on my 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 all the 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆. . .
𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 out a 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 for 𝒕𝒘𝒐. . .

what i'd 𝒅𝒐 in a room 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆, only 𝒎𝒆 and 𝒚𝒐𝒖! ❞

     physical touch is 100% kynlee's love language!

     i wanted this chapter to give an introduction to kynlee's dynamic with the whole friend group. it will definitely be explored further in the next few chapters! i'm super excited for what's to come and i'm loving writing this book!

     hopefully, another chapter will be out soon. i've been very busy with work and haven't had as much time to write.

     i hope everyone is having a great week so far!! <3

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˒⠀𝑹𝑬𝑴𝑰𝑵𝑫𝑬𝑹. . . ▬⠀⤸

Thank you all for taking the time out of your day to comment on this story. It means a lot and helps the story be spread to a broader audience &&& allows me to grow as an author. All I ask is that people vote on each chapter, please. As a creator, it takes time to write and develop stories. So please, vote on every chapter. It means a lot more than I could ever express.

Don't forget to vote & comment!

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˒⠀𝑪𝑶𝑷𝒀𝑹𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻. . . ▬⠀⤸

❝ All Rights Reserved.
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