Yet another death. This marked the third one. Onyx sat at his desk, a multitude of thoughts racing around in his head. Perhaps there was a serial killer on the loose? Who could it be? Are all the cases even by the same person? Officially the stories had been that Runa committed suicide, and that Aster had a simple, yet tragic, allergic reaction. But that was wrong, Onyx felt it within every fibre of his being.
The police didn't know them like he did. Runa's vivaciousness and love for life, and the way Aster was meticulous about her allergies. No. Onyx refused to believe that their deaths were just simple tragedies. Someone was picking them off one by one. His mouth turned uncomfortably dry at that thought. What if they were after him next? Or Dahlia?
Steely determination gripped Onyx. He refused to be a victim, part of someone's sick and twisted fantasy. Different thoughts were formulating in his mind. The best thing to do right now was to make a plan. Dahlia came to his mind. Deep in his heart he knew that she wouldn't betray them - after all she had sacrificed so much for them. However, the logical side of him was telling him over and over that Dahlia was acting differently, more rattled and skittish over the past couple of months. The inner turmoil of his heart and mind disagreeing with each other was a pit in his stomach. As if he was in the middle of a game of tug of war, each side relentlessly pulling him towards their grasp.
After deliberating between sides, his heart had won him over, a rare victory. Dahlia had known him since they were children, she was the reason he made it this far in life. She had a strong presence that matched her sense of justice. Onyx began to remember that day ten years ago when they first met.
The air was balmy, a hot breeze blowing everywhere, sweat making clothes stick to classroom chairs - the height of Summer. Dahlia was new to Cervusborough, having just moved there a week prior. Onyx had never talked to her, and he didn't want to. She seemed to be the same as everyone else, only thinking of themselves. That was far from the truth. The same group of boys had been harassing him again. He always had been quiet, hating confrontation. Just as the bullying was about to become physical, Dahlia came swooping in out of nowhere, punching the main instigator in the face. Onyx would never forget the stream of crimson dribbling down the lower half of his face. At that moment Dahlia had become his hero, and he had regretted that he thought so badly of her, even apologising for almost a whole year after.
Dahlia was the person who gave him a chance when no one else would. When the world seemed so dull, she gave him a reason to keep going. Above all she trusted him. And he trusted her, hands trembling slightly at the thought of doubting her, betraying her trust. Conviction filled his mind. Dahlia wouldn't hurt him or their friends. She was the one who had brought them all together in the first place. Onyx would've never met Runa and Aster if it weren't for Dahlia.
His thoughts flashed to his two deceased friends. As much as he wanted to shed tears over them he couldn't. When he had first found out about Runa his heart crumbled into pieces but his eyes stayed dry. Same with Aster. When he was younger he thought that there was something wrong with him, a defect. After all, the first and one of the only times he had ever cried was when his father had vanished from his life, as if he was a spectre who had never really existed. Dahlia was there that night to hold him as the tears poured out of his eyes.
Mind made up, Onyx opened up the message app on his phone, asking Dahlia to come over. They would survive this together no matter what it took. No less than a second later Dahlia had replied, agreeing. A small smile replaced the growing frown on Onyx's face. Dahlia had always been quick to reply, but this must've been a new record for her. Maybe she'd been getting bored at home doing nothing, he thought.
Startled out of his growing worries, Onyx heard the door fly open before Dahlia threw herself onto the bed. He shuffled slightly, giving her more room. Thick silence permeated the entire room that was bathed in dim sunlight filtering in from the curtains. The silence was shattered by Onyx's shaking voice.
“I miss them.”
Onyx wasn't one to admit his feelings to anyone. But Dahlia wasn't just anyone. To him, she was the only one he would dare admit something like that to. Dahlia grabbed his hand, tracing circle shapes on his inner wrist. A childhood habit from sleepless nights that had continued to this day.
“I miss them too.” She finally whispered back.
“Do you not find it a bit weird? Their deaths, I mean?” Onyx questioned.
“What do you mean?” Hesitation laced Dahlia's voice.
Onyx looked at her in the eye, almost expressionlessly trying to gauge why she was hesitant. He always had been good at reading people, especially Dahlia.
“I just mean, do you really believe what the police say?” He had turned his whole body towards her now.
“Don't you?” She responded.
It seemed that she was dodging the question, Onyx thought. But why? Didn't she have her own suspicions too?
“It’s all just so sudden, I mean don’t you remember Runa promising to tell us something important, the very thing that had her so distant? And then a couple days later I’m meant to believe that she decided to jump off a roof? Does that really sound like her to you? Runa never broke a promise, you know that.” Onyx's voice was hoarse, as if speaking out of desperation. “And Aster, who was so tediously careful, accidentally injected herself with the wrong medicine? What medicine was she even taking and why wouldn’t she have told us she was sick?”
Unshed tears clouded his vision making Dahlia look like a blur of colours.
“He.” The single word flew out of Dahlia's mouth as if it was something urgent.
“What?” He asked, while blinking tears away.
“Aster was taking testosterone, that’s the medicine he was taking. Aster is - was a boy.”
Dahlia…it was impossible for her to know something like that. Onyx involuntarily shuddered.
“How do you know that?” He backed away warily. “That wasn't in the police report.” His voice full of clarity, the truth dawning upon him.
Dahlia's lack of reaction had told him everything he needed to know. It was as if the whole world came crashing down at that moment. He darted backwards, slamming his back on the wall, mind too clouded to even feel the pain. The rise and fall of his chest was uneven, breath coming out in short bursts. Tears streamed down his face freely.
Through the blur of his tears, Onyx saw Dahlia pounce on him, pillow in her hands, before smothering it into his face, her body weight holding him completely down.
“I'm so sorry, Onyx.” Dahlia sobbed, making her voice come out strangled, as if she was choking.
It didn't take long for Onyx's lungs to finally surrender, his body unmoving with no physical traces of what had happened, as if he were a pristine statue.
