Serena

I run as far away from them as I get. I hate them all. They have no idea. They have no clue what happened a couple nights ago. I keep running the tears streaming down my cheeks. I finally stop in front of a small park and collapse down on the grass. I bring my knees to my chest and cry. My sadness swallows me and all the happiness I've ever had is gone. I hear someone walking behind me then sit down next to me. I whip around to look at them, ready to snap. My face goes soft when I see Eric looking at me with the saddest look. He holds out his arms and I hug him. I sob into his shoulder and he strokes my hair comfortingly. It was different to have him hold me. I finally stop sobbing and let go.

"Serena, this isn't just about Megan is it?" he asks.

"No," I croak.

"What's wrong? I'm worried about you."

“Too much. No one will understand. No one cares. I have nobody left!!" I cry, and I break down again.

"What happened? I heard you crying the other night, when you insisted on watching by yourself. Tell me."

“I-I got a call. It w-was from the Thousand Oaks police. They said they found my family...dead. They were murdered. All of them. My mom, my dad, my sister, and brother. All gone. I didn't even get to say goodbye!" I can't even cry anymore. I feel Eric's eyes on me. He pulls me into another hug. When he lets go, I see he has tears in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispers.

"At least I have you," I whisper back.

"Did you really mean what you said to Trenton? Do you really hate him?" I'm taken aback by this. I think about it for a moment. Do I really hate him? All my joy, all my love is just drained.

"I-I don't know," I say, meaning it.

“Serena. You don't hate him. I know that for a fact. You don't hate anyone in our group. I see it in your eyes."

"Why did I say I hate him?! What if I actually do?! What's wrong with me?! Just get rid of me! I have nothing to live for anymore!!" I sob, the tears coming back.

"Nothing is wrong with you. You are perfect. Like you said, you still have me. And you have all the others to look after you,” he says, wiping my tears.

"No, I'm not perfect," I whisper, my heart sinking.

"You are to me," he whispers back, and with that he kisses me. We remain locked for who knows how long. It was different from the first time. I feel happiness for the first time in so long run through me. When we break apart, I throw my hands around his neck.

"I love you," he whispers in my ear. "Don't ever change."

"I love you too," I whisper back. We let go and walk hand in hand back to the others. They are sitting on the curb next to a mountainside, watching the sunrise. Eric goes to sit with Nathaniel and I walk over to Trenton. He sits with his back to me, away from the others. I sit down next to him and he looks sadly at me. I could tell he was crying earlier. I pull him into a hug and we hold each other for a couple moments.

"I'm sorry," I say.

"Don’t be," he replies. “We’re all just going through hard times.” We let go and he looks straight into my eyes. I feel him enter my mind and I don't protest. He learns about me. He digs deeper into my memories, my happy and sad ones. He finds out everything. He exits my mind and pulls me back into a hug. I feel tears rolling down my cheeks.

"I didn't know. I'm so sorry. Why didn't you tell me?" he whispers.

"You don't need to worry about anything else."

"What do you mean?" he asks, worry evident on his face.

"Megan wasn't exactly lying when she said I know everything about you guys..."

"Serena..." He tries to stop me, but I ignore him.

“When I hear your thoughts too long I get sucked into your memories. By now I know everything about everyone in our group. Everything." He glances at the others before talking to me.

"What about slender?" he asks.

"Nothing. It's like he erases all memories except for trying to kill us," I reply. He opens his mouth to ask more, but Kylie yells to us she found a hotel we can stay in.

"Well lets get going then!" he says cheerfully, quickly hiding his worries with a smile. We grab our things and follow Kylie down the road.