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Language:
English
Stats:
Published:
2023-11-19
Completed:
2023-11-19
Words:
202,839
Chapters:
113/113
Comments:
3
Kudos:
9
Bookmarks:
2
Hits:
563

We Were Here

Summary:

In 2006, a group of high school friends play a deadly prank on a teacher as revenge, resulting in the dissolution of their group. Eight years later, in 2014, the friends reunite for the funeral of one of their own after his suicide. But as the old friends reconnect, secrets come to light and blame is placed, as they each try to piece together what happened, and where it all went wrong. A first-person story with alternating perspectives, each character has a voice in both 2006 and 2014, to highlight who they were, and what they have become.

Chapter 1: Matthew - 2014

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The world is filled with questions:

What was that noise? What have I done? Am I going crazy? Are they after me?

I can still see it. I can see my past played out on a timeline—I can see a cracked mask and black suits, I can see a hand twitch in a pool of blood. I can see them all, staring at me, asking me what I’ve done. What I can’t see, is how it could’ve happened any differently.

In high school, we thought we were the only ones. Special. Tight-knit. Us against them, all that bullshit.

In Afghanistan, we thought we were the only ones. Special. Tight-knit. Us against them. All that bullshit.

We were never special. We’re all against each other. The idea of camaraderie, of friendship, of trust and closeness—all lies. The group mentality I found in high school, and in the Marines, makes you believe that those things exist, but in the end, when you exact revenge as a whole, the moment the cards fall, you’re left standing there staring at each other, trying to figure out who has the most blood on their hands.

I always knew how it would really go. I was always the smarter one of us.

No, don’t think about that. Get these thoughts out of my head. I’m haunted. The walls and ceilings are crawling with ghosts. Time to cook up a shot. Push in the plunger. Release the chemical. I am free, alive, liberated; I am Captain-fucking-America.

For a moment.

How can there be safety in numbers when misery loves company?

Notes:

This novel is a largely unedited work; I apologize for any misspellings or grammatical errors, the work on it is still in progress. Not all of the views reflected here are necessarily my own, but rather, my idea of what that view might look like. I wrote this between 2013-2014, and I feel that this reflects that time. Despite the possible mistakes and the offensiveness and the here-and-there cringe, this was the story I wanted to tell. It's an imperfect story about imperfect people with heart, who I hope are relatable, and stay with you as they have with me all this time.