On Campus

On Campus was a story I began writing for a Murder Mystery challenge back in, I think, March. I had honestly forgotten about it after I had missed the deadline to finish, but looking back, I really like it, and I am happy I was given this excuse to dig it up.

"What time is it?" I tiredly ask no one as I stretch myself out of my bed. I don't know what I drank last night, but it left me with one hell of a hangover. I don't think my head has ever hurt this bad. I'm still wearing my day clothes and haven't even removed my rings. I check my phone for the time just to find that I forgot to plug it in last night. "Fuck." I plug it in and start my search for Tylenol and water.

My dormmate, Cassidy, isn't here right now. It's still relatively dark outside, so she either just headed to her morning class, or spent the night with her girlfriend. Regardless, I'm still grateful for the empty room. After failing to find my Tylenol, I plopped back on my bed and opened my laptop. Finally seeing the time at the corner of the screen, I'm pleased to see that I still have about 2 hours before I have to go to my class. I check my email for any updates on my grades when I notice a mass message from my professor.

"Dear Students,

this week's lectures have been canceled due to the unfortunate death of one of our students. Everyone please stay safe and remember that the counselors and my own doors are open if anyone needs guidance to help navigate through this dark moment.

My thoughts and prayers to the young lady's friends and family.

See you next week."

HOLY. SHIT.

I'm suddenly lightheaded and shaking. Someone died?

I do a quick search to see if I can find out who it was, as well as any other details left available. I discovered that the body was found in one of the shared bathrooms at the end of a dorm hall. In my building.

Now, I'm more panicked than before. I try to see if the cause of death has been released, but nothing has been released yet. All I can find are stir-crazy rumors on the school's blog.

"I heard they found her with a knife in her gut."

"Probably just another dumb blond that got drugged at a frat party."

"There is no way this was an accident."

"So scary to think there could be a murderer on campus."

Murder?

My head is throbbing, my mind jumps back to Cassidy. Did I see her last night? I check to see the battery on my phone, but it won't charge.

Ha, of course now, when someone close to me could be dead, my phone decides it wants to stop working.

I quickly get dressed, there's no time to wait, I have to try and find her. Cassidy may not be my closest friend, but she still means a lot to me. Even if she's not dead, I don't like the idea of not knowing her whereabouts while there's a potential murderer on the loose.

I now know there is no way she's in her class, we have the same professor, just different subjects. That leaves her girlfriend's house. It's only a block or so away from the dorms, but this still felt like the longest walk ever.

I knock on the door anxiously. It only took about 10 seconds before the door was opened by a tall woman.

She had tan skin, curly brown hair, the facial structure of a Greek god, and was well-toned and muscular.

Yup, that's Beaverly.

Beverly and Cassidy had been together since their sophomore year of high school when Cassidy flipped off some chick who was calling Beverly fat, and since then it was history. Cassidy was there for her through everything; if she was gone, I imagine Beverly would break.

She stands in the doorway for a second; she looks really tired, and her eyes are puffy like she has been holding onto tears.

"Hey Beverly, is Cass with you? Some girl died at the dorms, and I haven't---" she slammed the door in my face. Wtf. I knocked again, but she just yelled through the door to leave her alone.

I don't know why she is blowing me off, but I really can't stress about that right now. Beverly would have told me if Cassidy was there, even if she was upset with me. I began to head back to the dorms, hoping that Cassidy would have returned to the room by the time I got back, but when I got there, the entire entrance was surrounded by curious students talking about what happened there.

I recognize one of them as someone from Cassidy's class. "Hey! Have you seen Cassidy?" I asked. She doesn't reply. I try again, but she walks away.

I don't understand why everyone is ignoring me today, but it is frustrating the hell out of me. All I can do is take a deep breath, I need to focus on finding Cass.

About 20 minutes pass, and I'm still outside the dorms. The place is crowded, and the authorities aren't letting anyone in. I try to rack my brain and remember if I saw anyone inside the building this morning as I was leaving, but I was too focused on getting to Beverly's.

Then I see her.

Cassidy looks stressed as she talks to who looks to be a detective. Does she know something about the girl who died? Before I can process what I'm doing, I've already run towards her. She shivers as I wrap my arms around her. Now that I am closer, I can better observe her features. Her hair is unbrushed, and her eyes are framed with dark circles. I start mindlessly rambling about how scared I was and how grateful I am that she was safe. As I'm talking she bursts into tears. "Cass, what happened? Where have you been?"

That's when I see it.

Two solemn paramedics carry out a stretcher covered by a white sheet, and my heart drops to my stomach. A pale hand dangles from the side, and on her fingers, are my rings.

"So you say you found her with a couple of empty bottles of Tylenol?" I hear the detective ask Cassidy

"Yeah, I-I didn't know what to do, all this time. I was living in the same room as her- How did I not pick up any signs? How could she just kill herself?"