Crooked Halos
Chapter Thirteen
The water’s running cold but I just sit and stare at my feet, not saying a word, not wanting to.
I hug my knees to my chest and my gaze shifts to the grubby white tiles. There are thirty six in total on the floor.
The water’s running cold and I know I should get out and start getting ready to face the rest of the day, but every time the thought crosses my mind I think about the world outside these four walls and suddenly I can’t face it.
I don’t want to face it.
There’s no blood anywhere, and I know it all happened just a couple of steps away but it feels like a different place, feels like a different time.
I start counting the lines in between the tiles.
“Will?”
I don’t even look up, I carry on counting.
“Will?”
Footsteps on cold tiles and the face peering in, eyes deftly avoiding anything below the waist.
“Will? Everyone’s looking for you, the wardens are calling people in for questioning about the ‘crime scene’.” He makes little quotation marks in the air with his fingers, a sarcastic smile decorating pretty features.
“Thanks, Bren.” I sigh and wrap myself in the towel he hands me.
He passes me my clothes and turns away modestly. I dry myself quickly and pull underwear on.
I’m pulling jeans over my legs when he talks again.
“He called Ryan in, they’ll ask what you know about it, they’ll question you until you go mad if you let them; just deny everything – the kids are dead anyway, they’re just trying to find an excuse to kill more.”
I nod, zipping the jeans up and pulling the t-shirt over my head.
Brendon smiles as I run my fingers through my hair, wondering if I need to get hold of a pair of scissors and cut it.
“Good luck.”
He leaves. I turn back towards the shower cubical and the small droplets of crimson decorating the floor. My mind goes blank.
***
“Was Jared a close friend of yours?”
“No, sir.”
“Did you ever suspect him of anything?”
“No, sir.”
“Did you ever see or hear him leave the dormitory after curfew?”
“No, sir.”
“Did he ever say anything to you concerning the killings?”
“No, sir.”
“Are you sure of this?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Think back, think very, very carefully, and I want you to be completely honest when you answer me. Are you absolutely certain he never said anything?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Nothing at all?”
“Nothing at all, sir.”
“Did he ever seem… excited, after the killings?”
“No, sir.”
“I want you to be very clear, are you certain? Was he ever, excitable or nervous… twitchy… when the murder scenes were found?”
“No, sir.”
“Did you ever notice any blood on his clothing?”
“No, sir.”
“Was there ever any blood on his sheets, towels, any of his personal belongings?”
“No, sir.”
“Was there ever anything that could have linked him to any of the killings?”
“No, sir.”
“Are you sure? Did he ever leave the dormitory in secret? Did you ever notice him coming back when you didn’t realise he’d left?”
“No, sir.”
“What about his brother, Shannon?”
“What about him, sir?”
“I have heard that you had a rather… close, relationship with this boy.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Did you ever notice anything suspicious about him?”
“Never, sir.”
“Did he ever confide in you?”
“No, sir.”
“Did he ever argue with Jared about something you never understood?”
“No, sir.”
“Are you absolutely certain?”
“Yes, sir.”
“So what happened to end this, relationship, between yourself and Shannon?”
“He falsely believed me to be cheating on him, sir.”
“I see, and who were you supposed to be cheating on him with?”
“… His brother, Jared Leto, sir.”
“Ah, I see. So why did Shannon believe you were engaging in a relationship with Jared?”
“I don’t know, sir.”
“I’m sure you do, William. Why did Shannon Leto accuse you of cheating on him with his brother?”
“I don’t know, sir.”
***
When I enter the dormitory, no one looks up, no one seems to care any more.
Ryan looks pale and withdrawn, sitting by the window, staring out through the bars while Brendon sits on his bunk, doodling into a notebook and part of my rational mind wonders if they’ve had an argument.
Jade and Davey are nowhere to be seen and Frank and Gerard appear to be asleep on Gerards bunk.
Shannon deals a hand of solitaire and stares at it sadly.
I walk over to my bunk and remove the notebook from under my pillow, flicking to a blank page and fumbling around in my pocket for a biro and starting to write, losing myself in my world until the bed sinks down by my side and an arm snakes around my waist. I curls into the warm figure subconsciously before I realise what I’m doing and I pull away, staring at Shannon like he’s mad.
I open my mouth to say something but he cuts me off, holding both hands in the air in a mock-gesture of surrender.
“Look, Will. I’ve been thinking about it, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions about you and Jared.”
“But, why?” I stare at him, wondering in his angelic features, the perfect curve of his lips, the clear blue of his eyes, so much like his brothers.
“It’s just…” He sighs, running his hands through his short hair and meeting my eyes again. “Jared’s dead and I don’t want to die hating him for something he never did.”
“You’re not going to die.” I attempt a smile but it fails miserably.
“You heard Ryan, whoever’s killing… they’re not going to stop, they’re not going to stop until they die.”
“I know.”
“We’re all going to die, Will. The chances are we’ll never make it out of hell alive, we might as well make the most of it while we can.” He shoots me a weak smile.
I blink. “What are you trying to say?”
“I love you, Will. I want to give it another go, you know, being together… I want to start again, if you’ll take me back and forgive me for being such a fucking prick.”
My head is spinning and my stomach growls in hunger, the pain of it shooting up my spine, crippling me.
“Yeah, yeah, I’d like that.”
His only response is to kiss me, his lips against mine, pressing his own, larger frame against my own, small and crippled through starvation, the world is still spinning and I can feel bile in my throat.
I pull away from him, the world tilting sideways horrifically and I lurch backwards, ending up on the floor, scrambling at the bedsheets to try and stand back up but the world blacks out before I can do a thing about it.
I hug my knees to my chest and my gaze shifts to the grubby white tiles. There are thirty six in total on the floor.
The water’s running cold and I know I should get out and start getting ready to face the rest of the day, but every time the thought crosses my mind I think about the world outside these four walls and suddenly I can’t face it.
I don’t want to face it.
There’s no blood anywhere, and I know it all happened just a couple of steps away but it feels like a different place, feels like a different time.
I start counting the lines in between the tiles.
“Will?”
I don’t even look up, I carry on counting.
“Will?”
Footsteps on cold tiles and the face peering in, eyes deftly avoiding anything below the waist.
“Will? Everyone’s looking for you, the wardens are calling people in for questioning about the ‘crime scene’.” He makes little quotation marks in the air with his fingers, a sarcastic smile decorating pretty features.
“Thanks, Bren.” I sigh and wrap myself in the towel he hands me.
He passes me my clothes and turns away modestly. I dry myself quickly and pull underwear on.
I’m pulling jeans over my legs when he talks again.
“He called Ryan in, they’ll ask what you know about it, they’ll question you until you go mad if you let them; just deny everything – the kids are dead anyway, they’re just trying to find an excuse to kill more.”
I nod, zipping the jeans up and pulling the t-shirt over my head.
Brendon smiles as I run my fingers through my hair, wondering if I need to get hold of a pair of scissors and cut it.
“Good luck.”
He leaves. I turn back towards the shower cubical and the small droplets of crimson decorating the floor. My mind goes blank.
***
“Was Jared a close friend of yours?”
“No, sir.”
“Did you ever suspect him of anything?”
“No, sir.”
“Did you ever see or hear him leave the dormitory after curfew?”
“No, sir.”
“Did he ever say anything to you concerning the killings?”
“No, sir.”
“Are you sure of this?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Think back, think very, very carefully, and I want you to be completely honest when you answer me. Are you absolutely certain he never said anything?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Nothing at all?”
“Nothing at all, sir.”
“Did he ever seem… excited, after the killings?”
“No, sir.”
“I want you to be very clear, are you certain? Was he ever, excitable or nervous… twitchy… when the murder scenes were found?”
“No, sir.”
“Did you ever notice any blood on his clothing?”
“No, sir.”
“Was there ever any blood on his sheets, towels, any of his personal belongings?”
“No, sir.”
“Was there ever anything that could have linked him to any of the killings?”
“No, sir.”
“Are you sure? Did he ever leave the dormitory in secret? Did you ever notice him coming back when you didn’t realise he’d left?”
“No, sir.”
“What about his brother, Shannon?”
“What about him, sir?”
“I have heard that you had a rather… close, relationship with this boy.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Did you ever notice anything suspicious about him?”
“Never, sir.”
“Did he ever confide in you?”
“No, sir.”
“Did he ever argue with Jared about something you never understood?”
“No, sir.”
“Are you absolutely certain?”
“Yes, sir.”
“So what happened to end this, relationship, between yourself and Shannon?”
“He falsely believed me to be cheating on him, sir.”
“I see, and who were you supposed to be cheating on him with?”
“… His brother, Jared Leto, sir.”
“Ah, I see. So why did Shannon believe you were engaging in a relationship with Jared?”
“I don’t know, sir.”
“I’m sure you do, William. Why did Shannon Leto accuse you of cheating on him with his brother?”
“I don’t know, sir.”
***
When I enter the dormitory, no one looks up, no one seems to care any more.
Ryan looks pale and withdrawn, sitting by the window, staring out through the bars while Brendon sits on his bunk, doodling into a notebook and part of my rational mind wonders if they’ve had an argument.
Jade and Davey are nowhere to be seen and Frank and Gerard appear to be asleep on Gerards bunk.
Shannon deals a hand of solitaire and stares at it sadly.
I walk over to my bunk and remove the notebook from under my pillow, flicking to a blank page and fumbling around in my pocket for a biro and starting to write, losing myself in my world until the bed sinks down by my side and an arm snakes around my waist. I curls into the warm figure subconsciously before I realise what I’m doing and I pull away, staring at Shannon like he’s mad.
I open my mouth to say something but he cuts me off, holding both hands in the air in a mock-gesture of surrender.
“Look, Will. I’ve been thinking about it, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions about you and Jared.”
“But, why?” I stare at him, wondering in his angelic features, the perfect curve of his lips, the clear blue of his eyes, so much like his brothers.
“It’s just…” He sighs, running his hands through his short hair and meeting my eyes again. “Jared’s dead and I don’t want to die hating him for something he never did.”
“You’re not going to die.” I attempt a smile but it fails miserably.
“You heard Ryan, whoever’s killing… they’re not going to stop, they’re not going to stop until they die.”
“I know.”
“We’re all going to die, Will. The chances are we’ll never make it out of hell alive, we might as well make the most of it while we can.” He shoots me a weak smile.
I blink. “What are you trying to say?”
“I love you, Will. I want to give it another go, you know, being together… I want to start again, if you’ll take me back and forgive me for being such a fucking prick.”
My head is spinning and my stomach growls in hunger, the pain of it shooting up my spine, crippling me.
“Yeah, yeah, I’d like that.”
His only response is to kiss me, his lips against mine, pressing his own, larger frame against my own, small and crippled through starvation, the world is still spinning and I can feel bile in my throat.
I pull away from him, the world tilting sideways horrifically and I lurch backwards, ending up on the floor, scrambling at the bedsheets to try and stand back up but the world blacks out before I can do a thing about it.