Act 3 | Chapter 8

It was an awkward drive to be sure. Riley drove in silence, keeping her eyes and attention on the road, while the sound of music helped relax her. There were many times during that drive that I had contemplated on telling her the truth and admitting to all of it. My crimes. But the one thing holding me back was that I didn't want to scare Riley. She seemed pretty shaken from the night before, and that was apparently something I did out of self-defense. If I told her that I had just willingly killed two people, would she ever be able to see me the same again?

Hours passed, and I soon looked up from the book I was reading and glanced over at Riley. Her expression had not changed. She only continued to stare at the road ahead. Perhaps it would be best to tell her. To admit to everything. I would at least be honest with her, and maybe she could forgive me for that.

"Riley... I..." I started. She glanced over at me and sighed, giving me a simple "What?" in reply. "I- I'm sorry."

Again, no real response from her. Though after another minute of silence, she looked back over to me and asked only a single question.

"How many people?"

This was the question I was almost afraid to answer. On one hand, I could tell her the truth about killing Maria and Hannah, or just lie and say that the man in the ally was my first ever kill. But I don't think Riley would've believed me if I went with the ladder, and by that point, I could lose her trust.

"Three." Was my only response.

"Who?"

I went quiet again and let out a long sigh. It was a difficult thing to answer, and frankly, one I didn't ever want to. I didn't have a choice though.

"M- Maria... H- Hannah... and... him." I replied, referring to the stranger from the ally, whose corpse was rotting away in the nearest dumpster if I was recalling the night correctly.

"I fucking knew it!" Riley screamed, causing me to jump and quickly look over at her. "Just... why Zoe? There were better ways of setting this shit!" She yelled at me in an angry tone. It was clear she was very unhappy with me

"I'm sorry, Riley. I just couldn't take it anymore." Trying to come up with an excuse was a difficult task because really, I didn't have one. Maria deserved to die, so I just killed her, simple as that.

"What the fuck changed?! You were always so shy, how did you manage to even bring up the courage to kill someone, let alone three fucking people!?"

"I... just changed. I couldn't take it anymore. Maria and her bullshit. So I got rid of her. Just like in those movies."

Riley's eyes widened a bit, and her body tensed. I knew the look in her eyes, and it was a shock. Slowly, her mouth opened and she glanced back over to me.

"It's my fault then. I showed you them." She said in a low voice.

"No, Riley it's not your fault." Riley didn't respond to me for the rest of the trip. She drove home in silence, leaving me in a state of pity and grief. "Did I screw this up? Is Riley really blaming herself?" Hours passed, and as night fell, we made it back into Bate's County. The County line seemed to zoom past us as we drove past the welcome sign. It was actually nice to be back home, even under the circumstances. The lights of the city just didn't compare that to New York. It was such a big place with so millions of people, and Bates County didn't even have half the population as the Big Apple.

Riley parked the car in the parking garage built into the side of her apartment complex and she pulled the keys out of the ignition. The two of us sat there in silence, not making a single sound, or uttering a single word. Riley turned to look at me, and I, her. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Her eyes started to water, and I wanted to lean in and hug her, but as I tried, she just moved back slightly.

"Zoey. I'm sorry for being mad at you and yelling. I can't understand what you're going through, but... I can't exactly wrap my head around the fact that you're a murderer." The way she spoke made it sound like this was difficult for her to talk about. Like it was something she never wanted to say or admit to, but I'm at least glad she built up the strength to tell me.

"Riley, I'm sorry," I repeated myself.

"No. I just... I just need some time to understand everything." She said and stepped out of the car. Riley helped me with my luggage and the two of us walked back up to her apartment.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Riley explained, stepping into the apartment, and walking down her hall to her room. She didn't even bother to yell out and greet her mother that we were back. Maybe she was just too tired from all the driving, and that mixed with the new truth about me was a bit too much for her, but I decided to give her some space and some time alone. It only seemed right. After watching Riley leave, I sat down at the kitchen table and ran my hand through my hair. "Did I screw up?" This didn't feel right. Maybe I did royally screw up, and I was about to pay the price for committing crimes. The apartment seemed a lot bigger then I remember it being, but maybe that's just because I spent a week in a small one-bedroom hotel room. Though, without Riley beside me, the place just felt bigger. I didn't like it. I wanted Riley to be sitting next to me again, but I don't think that's going to happen for a while.