His side, her side and the truth

The only sounds that could be heard, were the slight bubbles of a water dispenser and the small glitches the large light made as it flickered and rocked itself backwards and forwards.

It was a shame the room had no colour, nor did it hold any comfort. Just a tiny box with a small metal table and two chairs. Which is a shame because you could tell she needed comfort right now. Only two souls occupied the space within the room, with nothing but a metal table between them. Her eyes were creating tiny rivers, while he continued to stare within them. Making her almost uncomfortable as he waited for her to speak.

“It’s just sad what happened… you know?” She sniffled but her voice did not tremble.

“I’ve known him since the start of High School. I understand that I must explain myself as a witness… but I do not know the entire truth, you know?” She said, as her eyes struggled to create more rivers. A confused expression formed across her face while she fumbled her brain searching for the story.

“I guess… I should start from the beginning.” She said and the table began to rattle whilst he pressed his elbows down and leaned forward into Veronica. She let out a quiet gulp in fear he would hear it and took a deep breath before speaking.

“…It was the final game for them, and it was for us too. It’s my last year there and it was my first-time being picked for captain. I just didn’t want to let everyone down. As cheerleaders we are the generator for them, if we don’t cheer them on strong enough… they could lose everything.” She said as she desperately tried her best to prevent their eyes from meeting.

“So, you could never imagine how happy I was to see them win. To see them take home that trophy. To see Mason, shoot that last basket. To see everyone so… so happy”

Her lips began to quiver, and her eyes were fixed on the table. Even though she could not physically see his eyes through his sunglasses, she still tried her best to avoid them.

“So, after their win, everyone was still so hyped, you get me? And it was our last time together as a real team… So, Kyle decided we should have an after-party. Mason was the one who thought it’d be a good idea to host it at his uncle’s lake house. He claimed his Uncle already owned 3 similar to the one we went to, and that he was getting this one for his birthday next month anyways. So, we didn’t think it’d be so bad to go there…”

Veronica noticed she could not tell the entire story without looking him in the eyes, it was just unnatural for a witness to do so. She shifted her eyes to the water dispenser and watched as each bubble made its way to the surface of the tank while creating a bubbly sound.

“Charlie had this... truck. You know? The kind that only had three seats at the front and the back was completely open and empty. Anyways he had that truck and ridiculously it was the only car that went there, everyone else just walked because it was just a few blocks away. In fact, the only reason I thought Charlie brought that truck was because he was the one getting the drinks for us.” Veronica could feel his eyes burn holes through her neck, but she stood her ground and continued to avoid his face. She lifted her hand towards the Water dispenser and outstretched her finger.

“Hey... do you mind getting me a cup? I’m just a bit nervous…”

The chair screeched against the floor's concrete as he raised himself above the table, each step he took over to the dispenser echoed within the room. He took a plastic cup into his bear-like hand and allowed the water to pour within it. Veronica focused her attention to her clasped hands in her lap, until it was brought to the plastic cup he placed in front of her. She watched as he sat himself down within the seat in front and leaned his arm on top of the table. After taking a sip from her cup she decided to continue the story.

“So, Me and Mason decided to chill by Charlie’s truck because that’s was the quickest and easiest way to constantly supply ourselves with drinks… I know… it's stupid. But we were having a blast. Then I dunno... maybe Charlie came out and saw us or something? Because he randomly started screaming at us to leave his tuck alone and said something about his paint job? I just thought it was kind of stupid honestly because everyone was leaned against his truck. He always had a grudge against Mason, to be honest… at first, I thought it was because I was his ex. But now that I think of it, it was probably because their coach took his captain role and gave it to Mason. I mean that makes sense, right?” She asked him while making the mistake of letting her guard down and allowing their eyes to meet. She could not see his eyes, but she could tell she was being judged. Taking another sip of water, she continued to speak.

“So, we decided to head upstairs inside the lake house, but not without taking an extra detour to the kitchen. That’s where Mason thanked everyone for coming and made a speech about how proud he was of everyone… including me” She said while she focussed her eyes down at her hands that she held in her lap. “In fact, it was after that speech when he grabbed me around my waist and whispered into my ear to go upstairs with him. That’s where we entered the bedroom and he tried to… well, you know… but I said no of course. Not because I didn’t love him. I just wanted it to be… special.”

Veronica began to twiddle her thumbs as the beat of her heart drifted from her chest to her fingertips.

“I guess I must have pissed him off because he yelled at me and told me to leave. So, I did. That’s when I went downstairs into the kitchen to be with the rest of the squad. A few moments after that was when…. Well... when I heard Charlie screaming outside by the lake and I saw Mason’s body in his arms.”

The man leaned back into his chair; his eyes were still shielded by his sunglasses, but it was obvious he was staring into hers. Veronica’s throat began to feel dry as she took another sip from her cup.

“S-So am I free to go?” She asked and her only response was the slight nod he gave as he pointed to the door behind her. Slowly she raised from her seat and made her way out the door whilst her heartbeat echoed throughout her body and rattled her bones.

The man sat back within his chair as he waited for his next visitor, he knew he needed to hear more because he knew something she didn’t know. He knew that she was never in the kitchen without Mason, but he couldn’t make a complete conclusion without hearing more. The door began to creak as the handle was pulled down revealing a young boy in comfortable clothing.

“I was told to come in,” He said, as the man gestured to the seat which was previously occupied by Veronica.

The same hollow sounds from when Veronica had been there surrounded them both within the room, as he faced Kyle and waited for him to speak.

“I understand why I’m here. But I wanted to make it clear that I don’t know much.” He said in a stern voice, almost as if he were trying to mask the fear he knew he was feeling but decided to ignore. The man lifted his hand gesturing for Kyle to continue despite his statement.

“So, we had just won the game. Mason threw the winning ball, and everyone was basically kissing his feet after that. Heck, I can’t lie I was too.” Kyle said as he shrugged his shoulders “After our win Mason got the craziest idea to have an after-party at his uncle's place or something. Can’t lie that’s why I slightly think he did this, you know? Like he planned to kill himself as a grand gesture after the win. I mean… it was his idea to go there in the first place.”

Kyle decided to lean back in his chair slightly spreading his legs as he made himself more comfortable. The man focussed his eyes onto Kyle showcasing little to no emotion towards his stale theory.

“Anyway, we all decided to drive down to the Lakehouse, and it was a pretty cool place. Everyone, there was pretty chill too. Charlie had brought some drinks from a shop a few blocks away in his truck. So he left it parked outside whilst he went inside to put the drinks in the kitchen. I didn’t really drink that night, so I never made many trips to the kitchen.”

Kyle began to rock his legs in and out while every so often tapping his shoes against the floor and twiddling his fingers within the pockets of his tracksuit.

“As I was finishing up a cig I saw Veronica and Mason leave the house and lean up against Charlie’s truck. So I thought, why in the actual fuck would he leave the house with his girl just to drink against his truck. It makes so sense. I mean everyone knew Charlie didn’t like Mason, so what? Did mason have a death wish or something? Anyway, I decided to make my way over there and stood next to them.” Kyle began to rub his nose and his eyes began to wonder, similar to Veronica just moments ago “I asked them if everything was okay and Mason said he was pissed. He said he wished our team had lost, and that it would have been better for us. What bs. He had the hottest girlfriend, scored the winning goal for our team and the little shit was still complaining. Ungrateful.”

His chair started to rattle against the floor as he continued to shake his legs “You know if I had a girl like that I’d never complain.” He spat

“Anyways, Long story short Charlie found us out there by his car and he got pissed at Mason. He told him to leave and said he too was sick of his shit.” Kyle chuckled and continued to twiddle his thumbs within his pockets, only this time they were beginning to sweat, and the fabric was starting to stick to his skin. The man watched as Kyle tried to hide his twitches, but it was already to noticeable.

“Eventually Mason left and went into the house, he took Veronica in with her. Charlie kind of just stood there looking at me for a moment. Then he left and went inside the house. I didn’t want to go in there because everyone smelled like alcohol, so I just pulled out another cig. This time next to Charlie’s car.” He said letting out another chuckle “Soon some of my team dragged me indoors, they said they were playing never have I ever, and it was beginning to get intense. So naturally, I made my way to the living room. It was a few moments after that when we heard Charlie yelling for an ambulance. You know at first, I thought he was messing around and then I saw Mason’s body in his arms completely covered in water… I didn’t know what to say by that point”

Kyle hung his head down as he focussed his eyes to his feet “I never liked Mason… but he wasn’t a bad guy” He said as he raised his head to face the man that sat in front of him, still holding a face with no expression. Kyle watched as he raised his hand and gestured towards the door, indicating for his departure. He slowly made his way towards the door but stopped once he rested his hand on the handle.

“You know Mason was the kind of guy that hated his life but pretended he loved it… he was never strong.” He murmured and then continued to make his way out of the room.

The man began tapping his fingers against the table as he waited for his final visitor. He knew that Kyle’s story must have held some truth because most of it matched what Veronica describe. But there were still a few differences that were to major to ignore. To top it all off Kyle said it was Mason’s idea to have an after-party when Veronica said it was his own. He rested his head in his arms in frustration as the light continued to flicker above. The slight sound of the door opening was brought to his attention, as a tall skinny looking boy with dark black hair, a lip ring and dressed in full black decided to step within the box. He gestured for him to take a seat.

“No thanks. I’ll stand” Charlie said, as he closed the door behind him and leaned his back against the wall. The man decided to lean back within his seat as he rested one arm on the table.

“You know, Me and Mason never really got along much,” He said, “But when we did get along he was an okay guy.”

Charlie looked off into the distance, his face looked as if he was in intense concentration. He had his arms crossed along his chest and you could tell he was nervous about speaking but he still wanted to.

“I was angry after the game, not because we won but because Mason scored the winning goal. It was our last match and I didn’t score once… So, everyone was excited and Kyle decided it would be a good idea to have an after-party. You know Mason wasn’t cool with the idea at first. He said stuff like, there was nowhere to go and we had no money. But then Veronica reminded him of some Lakehouse he took her to at the start of summer.”

Charlie looked at his face, although he couldn’t tell if he was making eye contact with the inspector. It still felt as if he was and he felt a sudden urge to continue his story.

“Then Kyle told me he wanted me to get the drinks for the party, he said no one will be driving and I’m the only one who brought their car in the team. Which made sense so I went with it. After returning from the store I dumped the stuff in the kitchen and began making my way to my truck. I went passed Mason and Veronica as I left the house. She was telling him the drinks were here and that they should get a few before their finished. I believe it was at that point when I saw Kyle smoking next to the house.”

Charlie’s eyes wandered over to the seat in front of the inspector, he began to stare at it as if there were someone within it.

“I went to take a nap in my truck because I was still moody from the match and I was tired. It was 2 a.m. you know? Before I could even catch myself a good rest I heard two voices behind the driver's side door of the truck. Naturally, I listened to them”

The Inspector sat up in his chair and removed his sunglasses resting them onto the table in front of him. Charlie could tell he was interested in this part of the story, which meant he hadn’t heard it from anyone else yet.

“I also decided to take a look through the door and surprise, surprise it was Veronica and Kyle. He gave her like 3 maybe 4? White pills. He said she needed to give it to him when he was drunk so he wouldn’t notice her doing it. She said that she’d do it before she brings him upstairs so that Kyle will know its ready by the time they're back down.”

Charlie could see that the Inspector had blue eyes, whilst he had plain old dark brown ones. He continued to focus his gaze on to the Inspector's eyes as he spoke.

“At the time I didn’t think much of it, because it wasn’t the first time I’ve seen pills being thrown around at a party like this, so I just rolled over and tried to sleep. Except I couldn’t sleep with all the music and screaming and leaving wasn’t an option. So, I left my truck and made my way over to the lake. I can’t remember why I wanted to go there…” He said as he furrowed his eyebrows together.

“Oh, I remember now. The lake started to look like the same lake my mom use to take me to as a kid. So, I walked over to it and across that little pier it had. That’s when I noticed something in the water…” Charlie began to look at the floor as he let out a large sigh “I dunno how he got in there… all I remember was how panicked I was”

The Inspector raised from his seat and placed the sunglasses back onto his face, he began walking towards the door but before leaving he placed his arm onto Charlie’s shoulder and stopped to look at him in his face. Even though no words were exchanged the Inspector smiled and they exited the room together.