Chapter 4: Whipped

"You are pathetic," Brye said, watching her fix the hem of her blazer in the passenger mirror. "You wouldn't come when I begged you to, but the minute Barbie Channing bats her lashes and says 'please' like it's a charity campaign you are suddenly RSVPing yes?"

Chyler rolled her eyes. "Shup up."

"She said please, Chy. Girl, you are whipped and we are not even in Act Two yet."

"I'm not whipped and I don't have a crush on her."

Brye gasped, hand over chest like she had slapped him. "Oh no? So you are just putting on your best cologne and brooding for fun now?"

"Brye."

He grinned. "I'm just saying. If this was a movie, I'd be the gay best friend warning you not to get your heart broken again while still encouraging the sexual tension for entertainment value."

Chyler gave him a look. "You are literally doing that right now."

"Exactly. Now let's go relive the trauma."

"Why is this so important to you anyway? You didn't even go to this school which by the way, you should thank God for."

"Um, hello? I'm a homewrecker, remember? I seek out the closeted jocks who are hiding behind their little straight marriages to people please. Where best would I do that if not here, where everyone is stuck in the same routines, work and marriage and is looking to have a good time?"

"God, you are despicable!" Chyler muttered.

"Oh why, thank you!" Brye responded as he led the way inside.

★★★

The Sycamore High fifteen-year reunion was being held in the same grounds, the grand hall of the popular school in the district that was one of its kind. White fairy lights glitter along the walls, soft music spilled from speakers all around, and the air smelled like expensive catering. Whoever had planned this had outdone themselves.

Chyler regretted coming the moment she stepped inside. She recognized the faces, some aged gracefully, some barely changed, but all exuding confidence that screamed "I've moved on and up." Doctors, CEOs, Married couples living their best lives as influencers... Everyone seemed to have polished lives except Chyler who was still living in the same zip code she grew up in. She felt like a walking antique.

Brye nudged her. "Smile. You look like you are casing the place."

"I am," she muttered.

"Will you leave your cop persona outside just for a night and have some fun?" Brye reprimanded. Chyler sighed hard, unsure how to do that. "You will be fine, love. Get a drink to calm your nerves. I have to go now and test out a closet case I just spotted but I will be right back, okay?"

"You are leaving me? Brye, come on. I did this because of you!"

He patted her shoulder. "Honey, you did it for that Barbie doll you should be looking for, not me." Chyler's shoulders drooped. "You are strong. You are beautiful. You got this. Okay?"

Just like that, he vanished into the crowd. Chyler sighed and wandered toward the corner, to the drinks table. The voices around her blurred into one loud hum of people bragging, laughing, hugging like they had all genuinely missed each other. She hadn't. Not a single one of them because these people wouldn't have noticed if she had dropped off the face of the earth after graduation. They never cared. Only when she had something rebellious to do did they give her attention.

It was the questions she was trying to avoid. Where she ended up, what she had achieved... more like they were holding a competition to see who was at the top. Yeah, she was not ready to deal with that.

Her feet took her to the entrance of the hall, then outside. She took the hallway, walking slowly away from the party towards the gymnasium. She needed air, the space and the quiet to deal with a thoughts alone. Thoughts that were mostly circling around back to Capri over and over. Where was she anyway? She hadn't seen her or Caden inside but she figured they were probably waiting to make an entrance like they always did in highschool.

Highschool. The thought made her chuckle. Walking down that hallway, she felt like nothing had changed. Like no time had passed.

She was drawn from her thoughts several steps later by a loud, high-pitched scream that echoed in the hallway. Her instincts kicked in before her mind did and she ran forward before she could figure out where it had come from. Then, it came again and again and this time, she caught the source.

She sprinted to the enclosed swimming pool right next to the gymnasium, her hand automatically reaching for a gun that was no loner at her waist. Damn suspension! She flung the doors open and skidded to a stop at the edge of the tiled deck.

Capri was on the floor, heels kicked off, her hands shaking violently as she pointed toward the water. Her face was paler than the moonlight. Her mouth moved but no sound came out. Just a series of short, shallow gasps.

Chyler dropped beside her. "Capri? Capri, hey breathe! It's me. I'm here."

Capri blinked rapidly, then pointed again. "B... blood."

"What?" Chyler turned. Her stomach dropped.

A body floated in the center of the pool, face down. The water around it was no longer clear but stained with a sickening shade of crimson that seemed to spread with each second. She got up quickly and jumped into the water, her mind working to rescue the person out of the water.

Too little, too late. He was dead cold on the platform. She turned him up, her face falling on the familiar sight.

"Oh my God. Is that... Jason?" Capri gulped, getting closer but not close enough.

Chyler looked up slowly, her stomach churning. Jason Wyler. The former swim team captain was now dead and judging from the freshness of the blood, very recently.

Chyler stood, her entire body going still. People were starting to gather at the pool's edge drawn by the screams. Gasps echoed, someone yelled to call 911, and the first wave of panic broke loose. She didn't move or utter a single word. She stared into the water, her heart pounding.

How could a state champion in swimming just fall in a pool and drown? Upon looking at his body again, she noticed the dent on his neck. Almost too small to miss but there. This wasn't an accident. This wasn't highschool drama.

Someone had murdered him right in that school. Her gaze flicked over to Capri who was still shaking, incoherent. God, I hate highschool! She thought silently, her gaze dead still on Capri.