Page 10 of The Secrets of a Sin

“You need to call 911.” I grasp her arm in order to get her attention, but she seems to be fighting for air. “Sister…” I shake her forcefully wondering why the hell I’m acting like the teacher right now.

I should be the one in hysterics anyway. I’m the one who came across her body for god's sake.

Her trembling form scrambles away from my hold and runs into the room next to us. I follow closely behind her and watch as she pulls out a phone from her purse with trembling hands.

“This is Sister Mary at St. Catherine’s.” Her voice cracks, but she manages to hold it together. “One of my students came across a dead body.” I watch as her eyes squint and her face bunches up before tears start to stream down her cheeks bones. “Yes, the body is of a student.” She nods then her lost eyes peer into mine. “I.. I don’t know. She just came to me covered in blood.” After a few more words are exchanged she hangs up and releases a deep sigh.

“Are they coming?” I ask stupidly, but right now everything is hazy to me. My legs are on fire, my lungs burn and my head seems to be the most wounded of all.

She slowly nods and stands up taller. Beside her is an old quilt that's folded neatly into a square and she swiftly pulls it under her armpit.

“Take me to her.” She wipes at the flesh under her eyes. “Before any other students discover her body.”

I guide her to the courtyard where the sun is now peeking up in the sky and before I know it, we’re hovering over Phoebe’s body.

“Oh my god.” Sister Mary gasps, spinning away from the body turning a shade of white. As she arches forward, her body begins to convulse violently as she retches all over the pavement in front of her.

Resting a palm onto her shoulder, I try to reach for the blanket in her arms. “Let me do it.” I whisper knowing Sister Mary would most likely suffer from a heart attack if she peered down at the body again.

I can feel her body quiver under my palm as her spasms stop. “Thank you.” She gazes at me from the side with appreciation laced in her auburn eyes. Nodding, I grab the blanket and start unfolding it as I step towards her body.

Exhaling, I stare down at Phoebe one last time. Possibly the last time ever and a rush of sorrow crashes into me. At one point after my video was discovered and I was the laughing stock of the town, I wanted to be this. Dead and on display for everyone to see so they knew exactly the kind of torment I lived with daily. I wanted their grief and regret for how they treated me… any other emotion other than the disgust I was used to. To them I was just a freak, a whore who couldn’t turn down a dick when, in reality, that wasn’t true at all.

I wanted out of this fucked up world where I could finally be at peace with my addiction, and no one could look down on me anymore.

I craved silence.

But more than anything, I wanted to be accepted for who I was.

With the blanket in both hands, I toss it in the air and gently lay it over her body. The fabric covers her completely, but splatters of blood are still visible beside her.

What happened to you, Phoebe?

* * *

“Okay, repeat that again.” The cop who’s had one too many donuts asks as he leans against the desk.

Inwardly, I roll my eyes. “I woke up this morning around four. I went for a run and that’s when I found Phoebe.” I glance between the three officers who are staring at me with curious eyes.

“And you didn’t see anyone or anything suspicious as you came across her body?” He rubs at his temple as he bounces his eyes from his notepad to me.

“No.” I answer honestly. “All I saw was the knife that was in her hand.”

He scribbles something down and I shift my eyes around the room noticing Principal Welch reclined against the wall in the front corner gazing at me with despair in her eyes.

“Isn’t four a.m. a little too early to be going for a run, Ms. McKinney?” He raises a brow in my direction.

Slightly offended, my eyes narrow at the overweight cop. “No, not at all. I choose to run that early because I don’t want to end up looking like an overweight pig.” I motion my head towards his gut which causes one of the cops beside him to cough into his hand holding back laughter. Blinking at me, he appears seconds from tasing my ass, but instead he peers down at his notepad and continues to write. “If you are trying to insinuate that I had anything to do with this, I didn’t.” I glare feeling my skin heat from their accusatory stares.

It’s not like I wasn’t used to repulsed leers, but this was different. They were staring like I was a suspect of her murder.

The cop raises his hand in the air to calm me as if he can sense my irritation rising. “That’s not what we’re saying. We're just trying to find out what happened.”

Resting my palms onto the desk in front of me, I lean forward a tad to catch the cop ogling me. “I found her body. That’s all.”

Focused on my chest, he shakes his head with a grunt while I swiftly cross my arms grossed out by his blatant stare. He opens his mouth to say something, but the sound of the door opening causes all our heads to turn.

“Sorry, I’m late.” A deep voice announces as a head of blond curls walks into the room. He struts further into the room with confidence, and I can feel the air in the room shift from his presence. “Traffic was a bitch.”

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