"What do you want me to do with this? Wipe my ass?" Morgan stares at Taylor, the folded-up note dangling from his fingers.

"Morgan, for once in your life, can you be serious?" She snaps, snatching the note from his hands. She unfolds it to show it to him again, as if he'd already forgotten what it says. "Look. Somebody knows."

They stand on the side of the football field near a set of empty bleachers. Morgan is dressed in his green and white football gear, and glances back at his team as they practice. Riley tackles one of the linebackers to the ground, a cloud of dust surrounding the two. Cesar is nowhere in sight.

Further down the field, the cheerleaders hold a practice of their own. A frustrated Paige commands them around like slaves, causing her and Casey to get into an argument. What they're saying is unclear but, as Paige crosses her arms and looks away irritated, she spots Morgan in the distance.

He shakes his head, clearly in a state of denial. "No. Somebody is just playing a prank on you."

Her tone steadies and she lets the words drop out slowly, focusing on each syllable as if explaining something to a young child. "Shady Grove is the street where that boy died."

Aggressively, Morgan grabs her arm and pulls her to the side of the bleachers and out of sight from the others. "You don't think I know that?! I see that boy's face every damn day. And Garrett's. Now keep it down before the whole team hears!"

"If this person already knows," She gulps, almost choking on her own words. "it's just a matter of time before everyone else finds out anyway."

He shakes his head again. "Nobody knows."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I just am." He sighs. Clearly this is not a topic he wants to discuss. "Nobody else was there that night."

Taylor gestures to the note. "Then how the hell do you explain this?"

"Cesar."

She cocks an eyebrow.

"He's been worried. Telling me that he thinks that you're gonna go to the cops." He sighs. "He probably put that in your locker to scare you into keeping your mouth shut."

Looking back down at the note, she straightens out the lines from the fold with her hands. "Well, if that's the case, then it's doing the opposite effect."

"Yeah. So, you see? No big deal."

"You son of a bitch." Paige snarls, wrapping around the bleachers to corner them. She waves a note, on similar paper to that of Taylor's, in Morgan's face as she yells at him. "How dare you! I already know that you got with that Panthers tramp and you think you can nudge me for a little hook-up on the side?! I don't think so!"

He looks at her like she's crazy. "Paige, what the hell are you talking about?"

Paige gestures at the note. He snatches it and reads it. In similar handwriting, it says 'MEET ME IN THE GYM AFTER PRACTICE, T.C.'.

"I didn't write this."

"Like hell you didn't. Then what would T.C. stand for?" She rolls her eyes. "No more notes in my locker, perv."

Taylor grabs the slip of paper and compares the handwriting of both notes side-by-side. "Somebody forged it." She says as she looks up to glare at her brother. "Would Cesar do that too?"

The two exchange worried looks. Paige, standing in the middle, shoots a confused glance at both of them. "What are you freaks talking about?"

"Paige, gather the group up and tell them we're meeting at my house tonight." Morgan turns to her, his voice shifting to a deep and serious tone.

She crosses her arms, scoffing. "Umm, I have plans. And why?"

"Not anymore. We think someone may know about that night and they're screwing with us." He says anxiously.

"Whatever. It's probably Cesar."

Taylor turns to her. "Look, just get the group together. Okay? Please."

"Aye aye, captain." Paige rolls her eyes before turning back to the field. As she approaches the cheerleading squad, Julia walks up to her to tell her something. Paige shrugs, nonchalantly, and an overly enthusiastic Julia skips off back to the school's building.

Taylor steps over in front of the bleachers to retrieve her backpack she had tucked between the front two rows of seats.

"You're going home?" Morgan asks, trying his best not to show concern.

She puts the notes in the front pouch of the backpack before throwing the straps over her shoulders. She glances over to him. "I have somewhere I need to be first. See you tonight."

The funeral service has already started. Slightly over a dozen people, a small family overall, gather around the casket as a priest standing nearby reads from a bible.

Taylor lurks several yards away in the background. She's afraid that, if she were to go any closer, the secret and the guilt consuming her would just exude from her skin and everyone around her would sense it.

Kris, eyes bloodshot and astray, stands stiff in the front row of the crowd. She clings a red rose close to her chest, hugging it as if it were a teddy bear and she was a young girl stranded all alone. Taylor watches Kris slowly step forward to approach the casket. Her hand trembles as she sets the rose on the coffin's lid and breaks down into tears.

Feeling uneasy, Taylor looks away from her to glance at the crowd. She scans the group and stops when she gets a glimpse of a familiar face. Cesar shifts his head, his hands held behind his back with high prudence. Wearing a formal black tux, he stands amongst the crowd as if part of the family.

"Cesar...?" She mumbles to herself.

Taylor turns back to the casket to see Kris, head lowered and eyes narrowed, glaring back her direction. Her eyes lock directly with hers, and Taylor can feel her stare as it pierces deeply into her soul.

She turns to quickly break eye contact, quivering from her nerves. She doesn't want to leave the service early and be disrespectful, so she stays a few more minutes until the casket is lowered into the ground.

When the crowd begins to disperse, she turns and quickly walks the opposite direction. Maybe she didn't see her? She probably wouldn't even recognize her if she did. Hopeful thoughts flood her mind as she spots her car parked alongside the curb across the street.

A hand reaches up and grabs onto her shoulder. Startled, she spins around, almost stumbling backward into the grass.

Kris retracts her hand as she crosses her arms. She steadily gazes at Taylor in scrutiny.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

♫ ᴡɪɴɢs / ʙɪʀᴅʏ ♫