Olivia lived in a lovely house. He’d been there a few times, having met her dad both in school and out of school. He seems like a nice, fair man, Principal Holmes. Certainly better than their last principal, a man with something to prove. The front path was lined with fragrant roses in a few different colors. Once, he’d picked a rose for her and put it in her hair, smelling the heady scent while kissing her. They had kissed a lot, but they had never slept together the whole time they’d been dating. She’d once confided in him that she was still a virgin. He said he’d wait. Olivia said she wanted to wait until she knew it was right, despite having said ‘I love you’ and spending all her time with him. She spent her weekends with him and after school, doing their homework together. She would talk about their plans for the future, for when they went to college together and moved into a small house nearby. She had their future all mapped out, right down to when she expected to get married and have kids. When she had mentioned marriage and babies, he’d been a bit surprised, taken aback. He had grown up knowing all about marriage and babies straight out of high school and it hadn’t ended well for his mom.

The warm wind whipped around his face, making his shirt billow behind him. He rounded the corner to Olivia’s street, trying to rehearse what the hell to say to her when he noticed something going on at the end of the street. He stood up and pedaled harder, screaming his bike to a stop and jumping off, throwing it to the ground.

There was a throng of people standing out in front of Olivia’s house. He pushed through them, desperate to see what was going on. A scream split through the buzz of people talking, everyone stilled. Coming outside the front door was a gurney, rolled by two official looking men in uniforms. He had a terrible sinking feeling in his stomach. The yell had been from a man.

He saw Principal Holmes walking beside the gurney, holding Olivia’s hand as she was rolled along the path.

What the fuck had happened?

‘Principal Holmes!’ he yelled, catching the eye of the wild-looking principal as they loaded Olivia into the van. ‘Principal Holmes!’

‘I heard she hung herself.’

‘No, she slashed her wrists.’

Wren turned and glared at the two gossiping women beside him before running toward Principal Holmes. The older man grabbed him in his arms, leaning heavily on Wren as he sobbed.

‘She’s dead, Wren. She’s really dead this time.’ Wren was stunned into silence. He wasn’t sure what to say, let alone do.