The Key Chased the Blade

Simon steadied me as I staggered to his car. Alex went back to his douche-friends and I couldn't see them any more. I felt like vomiting. My skin was sticky with cold sweat and I was getting chills. I couldn't wrap my mind around this. John. John had put a dead bird in a locker with a rope around its neck. John. My brother John.

What did that mean?

"Did that kid hurt you? Are you okay?" Simon asked frantically.

"No, I'm fine. It's what he said," I nearly gasped. "I need to talk to my brother."

"What? Why?"

"Just get in the car." I fumbled for the handle.

"Noah, no, tell me what went on."

I pulled on the handle. John. The dead birds. The nooses. Simon with a stab wound and dead birds around him. No. They couldn't be related. Stupid John and his stupid antics. They couldn't be related. John must've been framed or something. The stupid beeping of the car assailed my eardrums and I cussed some more. Simon grabbed onto my arm. "Noah-"

"Get in the freaking car, I'll tell you later." I shoved myself into the car seat.

"Noah-"

"Get in the damn car!"

Simon got into the damn car.

I shoved the keys in the ignition and started it up. The engine hummed. "Noah, what did he tell you?" Simon asked. "What did he say?"

I wasn't even sure what to tell him. Oh, my brother John might be a suspect for this? Huh, I wondered what Simon would think when I'd tell him that John nearly killed him. He probably wouldn't want to come over to my house next weekend.

I started laughing at my own thoughts. The giggles came out hysterical.

"Noah!"

"I'm going to kill my brother." I sobered. I put the car to drive and swerved out of the parking lot.

"Why? What did he do?"

"He knew Tyler Marvin and didn't tell me."

"Who's Tyler Marvin?"

"The guy I talked to's twin brother."

"Wait, slow down, I have no idea how this is related to anything."

"Tyler is Sadie's Goddamn boyfriend!" My voice jumped up to a shriek and I drove out to the street. Simon grabbed the wheel.

"Um, Noah, maybe I should drive now-"

"Simon, you got stabbed, so shut up." I started swearing. God, this was probably the most I have cussed in my entire life. "I'm taking you home with your damn cough drops."

"Wait, tell me what happened. From the very beginning." Simon's hand didn't leave the wheel.

"No."

"No?"

"I said no! I'm not going to tell you!" I swear I nearly hit a pedestrian on the way to Simon's house. I almost took out his mailbox when I pulled up into his driveway. Then I exited the car and stormed out of there. Simon caught up with me as I was halfway down the street.

"Noah, hold on, please," Simon pleaded. "I am a part of this too. I deserve to know!"

I stopped. Then I whirled around. "Fine," I spat. "John left a nasty prank in someone's locker the day Sadie died. Tyler and her were fighting over it."

Simon's eyes went wide. "What was it? What happened? Did Tyler have anything to do with it?"

"Tyler didn't do anything to it. John did everything." I was shaking so hard I couldn't even say the next words.

"He hung a dead bird in someone's locker."