Work Text:
She was murdered
That’s too harsh
She had been killed
Still too harsh
She was dead
Nothing sounds right
Her friends sat at a table.
Blank looks on their faces.
Riley drums her fingers on the the table.
(Although, what should they be upset about? Maya ended their friendship months ago)
Around the time she started ignoring her friends (the only ones she ever had)
Rumors went around
Maya had a boyfriend.
Something she never had.
But not just any boyfriend
The hottest most desired senior at the rival school.
Key word- RIVAL
Students were known to date people from rival schools.
But for one reason only.
To use them for secrets.
People were concerned.
Not for Maya.
For the secrets she could spill.
(But come on- she doesn’t pay attention to sports)
Two days before she went missing
She broke up with him
The circumstances were unknown.
During the last three months of her relationship she was timid.
She missed school a lot.
The longest span had been four days.
When she came back
She was jumpy.
She was scared.
And Maya Hart was never scared.
She was the fearer
Not the fearee.
People were not used to this behavior.
Honestly between you and me
This is where everyone should have noticed something was wrong.
But they didn’t
They continued to think their lives were absolutely perfect.
Her supposed “best friends” didn’t even try to find out.
And maybe that’s what hurt the most.
Three days after she had gone missing a body was found.
Well, a bag in the lake containing the body.
Everyone waited on the edge of their seats.
No one wanted it to be who they knew it was.
When the police confirmed their thoughts everyone was devastated.
Students were offered special counseling.
Her closest friends were dismissed from school.
No one could...
No, no one wanted to believe what had been told.
They wanted to keep thinking they lived in a nice neighborhood with nice people.
But that was impossible.
Because suddenly students were suspects.
Teachers were suspects.
Anyone could have done it .
People became on edge
Just looking at someone in the wrong way could land you in the Health Office.
After her mother was cleared
(Though who could suspect her mother? She was the one that gave them coffee)
And her friends.
(Those were the obvious suspects. Sometimes friends kill)
And the friends families.
(No one thought it was one of them, however. Covering their boundaries, I suppose)
Her now ex boyfriend.
He plead not guilty .
Saying her loved her.
He would never hurt her.
He would never do anything to cause her pain.
(He was a convincing liar)
They never did a lie detector test
No one knew why.
(They did one for every other person)
So he was cleared.
He hadn’t killed her.
Until the police found her journal.
A journal where she recorded her entire relationship.
To how sweet he was in the beginning
To how he resembled a monster by the end.
Maya detailed the abuse she had suffered
The physical, the verbal.
And more.
The reason she was gone for four days is not a pleasant one.
Maya writes how he invites her to stay with him
How he’ll teach her everything she needs to know.
This is a direct line from the journal,
“The only thing he taught me was not to scream too loud,”
To confirm that this journal was real, they compared school assignments
The handwriting to be more specific.
The writing is identical.
The way she messes up the words sometimes,
Like writing around i and e in weird
Or how sometimes she writes her “e”’s backwards.
(It comes to some professionals that she may have been dyslexic)
They have enough to arrest him now.
So they do.
They arrest him.
Put him on trial.
And sentence him for life in prison.
Before I leave you,
I want to leave you with three phrases.
The first is the first line of her journal.
The second is the last line of her journal.
The final is something you’ll find out soon.
“I’m happy today. He asked me today. I’m happy.”
“He told me he was sorry. I agreed to meet him. I hope he’s right.”
She was murdered
That’s too harsh
She had been killed
Still too harsh
She was dead
Nothing sound right.
She’s gone
(That still doesn’t sound right)