Invisible String

The following morning, I woke up with the worst headache I had ever experienced. I groaned as I sat upright in my bed. I tried to look around the room, but it kept spinning, so I gave up. A sudden movement beside me caused my head to rotate with such speed that it could trigger whiplash.

"Why is everything spinning?" Sasha moaned irritably beside me. I was lucky that it was Sasha rather than some random hookup. "What am I doing in your room?" With a shrug, I got out of bed slowly.

"Do you want a cup of coffee?" I asked Sasha as I retrieved my hoodie from the back of the door. A grumbling response indicated that the answer was yes. I cracked a smile as I left my bedroom, shutting the door behind me.

The aroma of bacon wafted from the kitchen into my nose. I highly doubt it was anyone who lived here; Cara has no idea how to cook rice. After turning the corner, I entered our open-concept kitchen and living area. Reid was standing at the stove and working on whatever was in the pan.

"Hmm, Hi Reid." I didn't know what he was doing here, so I gave an awkward wave.

"Morning, there's fresh coffee in the pot, and breakfast will be ready in a few." He turned his back on me. It dawned on me then that he was standing in my kitchen, shirtless.

"Not to be horrible or anything, but what are you doing here?" I walked up to the kitchen counter and leaned against it. I couldn't stop staring at his back and shoulder muscles. How can someone be so fit?

"We crashed here after the party; Cara and Grayson were pretty wasted, and they didn't want to leave each other." From the couch, Jamie called out. With a gentle smile, I turned to face him. I've grown to like Jamie a lot.

"You didn't sleep on the sofa, right?" I pointed, and Jamie shook his head.

"Sasha offered her bed up so me and Reid could share." I sat down in the chair next to the sofa and propped my legs up on the coffee table. I sighed deeply and covered my eyes.

"Did I do anything embarrassing last night?" I asked Jamie because I knew he would be truthful with me.

"No, we just continued to drink and play games. You did try to piggyback me back to your apartment, but you fell." His gaze shifted to my knee, which was grazed and covered in dry blood. That explained the minor sting while walking.

My concentration flicked from Jamie to the television. There was a newscast playing quietly in the background, but all I could hear was crackling bacon in the pan. I became confused and hurried to find the remote to turn up the sound. I reached across the sofa and grabbed it from Jamie.

"Police were called to the dorm room at five thirty am this morning; at this moment, police are looking into possible suspects and hope to get answers to this brutal murder."

"Wait, that's our college?" Jamie stated, catching Reid's attention. After shutting off the cooker, Reid moved towards the TV. He yanked the remote from my grip and switched to another news channel.

"This is the second murder this month. College students and families are concerned about the murderer's whereabouts." My gaze alternated between the two men and the screen in front of us. "The young girl has been named Amy Leed, twenty-one from South Carolina." The newsreader announced it to the entire audience.

"Wait, Amy, as in the Amy you slept with last night?" Jamie observed as he gradually turned to face his best friend. "Please tell me you don't have anything to do with this." Reid raised his hands in defence and cast a glance at me.

"I swear I didn't do anything." He tried to defend his innocence, but his attention strayed from me and fixed itself on Jamie. "You saw Amy before we all left Jamie; you made the joke, 'Did he last more than three minutes?' and then she told you to fuck off." Jamie appeared to be attempting to recall.

"I do remember walking home last night." I made a point. "After I hurt my leg, Reid and Grayson helped me climb the stairs back to the apartment." Jamie brought his hands together, then followed with a point in my direction. So it couldn't have been Reid, he was with us all night.

"I remember now. I tried to steal the keys and run away from everyone, but Cara tripped me up, and I hit my head against the wall." He turned sideways and flashed his hairline, which was slightly bruised.

"What has that got to do with me?" Reid hadn't taken his eyes off of the news.

"I just wanted to tell you guys." Jamie shrugged and smiled to himself.

--

"Do you believe Reid has something to do with it?" I shook my head as I clutched my textbooks. I had just finished class and ran into Ingrid on the way home from our neighbourhood coffee shop.

"When I left the party last night, Lucy gave me a place to crash as I got way too drunk." I mentally replayed some of the events.

Ingrid quickly became intoxicated from shots and other people's leftovers. She went from zero to a hundred. I tried to help her get sober before leaving, but her friend Lucy had other plans and continued feeding her liquids.

"Did you know Amy well?" Ingrid sighed.

"She was on the cheerleading squad, but I didn't know her that well. We'd talk after practice, but I knew very little about her or her life."

Our colleges had decided on an evening lockdown, which required everyone to be in their dorm rooms or apartments by eight p.m.

"I understand what our college is trying to do with the whole lockdown thing, but what would stop the murderer from killing again before eight pm?" I stated something obvious. Ingrid turned her head to one side and came to a halt.

"You promise me you'll let me know when you're home safe; I don't want anything happening to you or the girls." I nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I promise we'll be fine; please let me know when you get home, okay? I am capable of holding my own." She smiled softly and drew me in for a brief hug.

"Now I'll catch you later; Sasha will have my head if I'm not home for pizza night." Ingrid blew me a kiss before darting across the street.

I continued walking towards my apartment, but I couldn't stop thinking about Reid sleeping Amy and how he might be called in for questioning. He may still be on the suspect list because of his relationship with Hannah.

As I entered the apartment complex, I noticed all of the students hurrying into their apartments and slamming the doors behind them. The halls were filled with the sound of chains rattling. It terrified me that someone could commit such heinous acts.

"What's taken you so long? I was about to submit a missing person report." I rolled my eyes as I set down my bag near the door and locked it behind me.

"I bumped into Ingrid on the way home." I exhaled. I walked over to the refrigerator and took one of our last bottles of water.

"Anyway, we left class thirty minutes ago, Car—you wouldn't be able to file one until twenty-four hours."

"I don't care about any of that now, did you hear?" I opened my bottle and took a drink. Cara leaned against the counter and stared at me intently.

"Hear what?"

"Reid has been taken to the station for questioning."