I put some comfortable clothes in my bag to change into after Sarah's party. Her parties are always the biggest and best ones. Everyone who is anyone always shows up at them. Her parents are always out of town and there's always alcohol at these parties so Sarah always lets me crash at her place since she's been my best friend for most of our lives. I shove my phone charger in my bag along with my wallet and some face masks. I pick up my car keys and head to the walmart up the street. I always bring some snacks for after the party because usually all the good stuff is gone from her house by the time everyone leaves so i load up the shopping cart with all kinds of chips and candy and fruit and stash it all in Sarah's mini fridge once i arrive. I help her set up by putting out way too many red solo cups and helping her set up the big ass speaker that usually gets the cops called on us by the neighbors. I finish washing the dishes as sarah calls my name asking for help. I put the long sharp chef's knife from the sink on the drying rack and go to meet her. Sarah and i pull all the valuables and stash them up in her closet and lock her bedroom door before anybody gets to her house. The time passes by fast and before we know it it's 9:30 and people start showing up. The party quickly gets large and soon everybody is stumbling around drunk and making out in corners and trying to find any unlocked or unoccupied bedroom. I head into the kitchen to find the cup with my name on it and down the rest of the fireball in my cup and try to find my boyfriend, Blake. I scan the living room in search of him but i don't see him anywhere.

“Autumn!!” i hear Sarah loudly slur. “Come play beer pong with us” she calls. I head over to her and hop into the game, losing pretty badly. I begin to feel lightheaded and the room around me begins to spin so i excuse myself from the game and walk up the stairs. By this point mostly everyone is gone and the only people left at the party are those who are also spending the night. Me, Blake, Sarah, her boyfriend, Jackson, and our other friend, Amanda. I pass Amanda in the hallway as she walks towards the empty guest bedroom and i walk into the bathroom as nausea takes me over. I haven't seen blake yet tonight, maybe he didn't show up. He and Amanda are usually really awkward around each other i guess because they don't know each other well. Blake has a bad habit of pulling out his hair when he gets really nervous so he tries to avoid situations like that. I closed the bathroom door and sit down in front of the toilet and rest my head on the edge of the bathtub. I guess i got too drunk because when i woke up, there was sunlight streaming in through the window and the time on my phone read 11:30 am. I pull myself to my feet and stumble into Sarah's room. I rummage through my bag and slide my sunglasses over my eyes to try and stop the pounding headache. I stumble down the stairs and into the kitchen to get some water. I closed my eyes once i got to the bottom of the stairs because most of the downstairs was windows and it was still to bright even through my sunglasses but i knew my way around Sarah's house enough to easily get to the kitchen  without looking. I grab a cup from the counter and make my way to the fridge, only opening my eyes long enough to fill the cup. I take a step back and find my foot stepping in a cold puddle of liquid. Disgusted, i spin around to see what was spilled. I pull my sunglasses off my face, hoping this was some kind of trick. It wasn't. A loud scream escapes my lips and i feel hot tears running down my face. Jackson, Blake, and Amanda run down the stairs asking what happened. Terror creeped on to their faces as they took in the sight that lay before them. Sarah lay sprawled out on the floor, stab wounds in her chest and stomach, and cold, red blood surrounding her body. Sarah Rhodes was dead. The police arrived shortly after and we were rushed away from Sarah's body. We were taken down to the station for questioning and were taken in one at a time. After about an hour somebody came to get me and brought me into an office. He introduced himself as officer johnson and asked me to sit down.

“Mrs. Reed, would it be okay if i have a doctor come in and take a blood sample?” officer Johnson asked me.

“A blood sample? For what?” i asked, beginning to get nervous.

“Mrs. Reed im aware that there was under age drinking going on at your friends house last night and im trying to figure out if the intoxication had anything to do with the death of Sarah Rhodes and im asking to take the blood tests because i think whoever killed her must have drugged the other people in the house and we would like to do some tests to make sure.”

“Wait wait wait, you think one of us killed Sarah??? That's absolutely insane there's no way any of us would have done that to her!!!” i yelled.

“Ma’am please calm down; we aren't sure of anything yet but we have to consider all of our options.” he said. I nodded my head and he pressed a button to notify the doctor that she could come in. she silently took my blood and then quickly left the room. “The tests should be back in a few days but until then, i have a few questions for you.” he proceeded to ask me dozens of questions about my relationship with Sarah and he wanted to know exact details of what happened this morning. I wasn't nervous, though. I didn't do anything wrong except for the underage drinking but i know for a fact that i didn't do anything to sarah. I remember going into the bathroom last night and that's exactly where i woke up this morning. When i was finally able to leave the police station i headed over to sarah's house to grab my clothes and stuff from the night before. I knew i should have been sad but it didn't really hit me yet i guess. I honestly felt nothing. Just numb. I didn't want to think about how life would be without my best friend by my side and so as quickly as the thought came i pushed it out of my mind. The cops and crime scene photographers were gone and so was sarah's body. Nobody was at her house so i let myself in. i walked up the stairs, forcing myself not to look towards the kitchen because i knew if i saw the blood stain on the ground then it would all of a sudden feel so real. I shove my clothes into my bag and take a look around sarah's room. I see the picture frame on her nightstand and i study the photo of me and her at the beach last summer. I put the photo in my bag and run down the stairs. I see my car in front of the house and search my pockets for my keys before realising that i left them locked in a drawer… in the kitchen. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I stand in my place for ten minutes before turning around and slowly walking towards the kitchen. I try to keep my gaze away from the floor to avoid seeing the blood. I grab the key to the drawer and quickly unlock it and grab my car keys. I turn towards the front door and my eyes fall to the floor. The dark stain that wasn't there just a few hours ago. It was then that it really hit me. Sarah wasn't coming back. I feel a hot tear slide down my cheek and then i couldn't stop crying. My eyes were blurred and burning from the tears and my nose was running to no end. I was gasping for air and i fell to the floor just five feet from where the stain was. It was hours before i stopped crying and the sun was beginning to set. I layed on the floor feeling numb again, my eyes tracing the outline of the floorboards. I noticed that one of the boards was loose and i frowned from my spot on the floor before i got up to go examine it. My nails dig under the board, easily pulling it up. Under the board was a sharp kitchen knife, coated with blood. My breath catches in my throat and i fumble for my phone. I dial officer johnsons number and sob over the phone telling him what i just found. After i leave the police station for the second time today, i head over to Blake's house to tell him what i found. He comforted me and held me while i cried until i eventually fell asleep. Blake must have told Amanda and Sarah's boyfriend Jackson what i found because they called me in the morning to tell me and Blake to meet them at Amanda's house.

“Autumn you know we love you so much and we would do anything for you…” Amanda said once i got to her house. She paused for a moment “Autumn… did you kill Sarah?”

“Excuse me??? Why the hell would you think i killed my own god damn best friend? Are you insane??” i yelled. I stood up and stormed out the door, slamming it behind me. Shortly after i got home, my phone rang with a call from officer Johnson.

“Autumn i need you and Blake Andrews to come into the station within the next hour. If you both aren't here by 2:00 ill be forced to send some officers to come get you both.” and with that statement he hung up the phone. I quickly called blake and told him what officer johnson said and i once again, left to go to the station. Blake wasn't there yet when i arrived so i went inside to talk to the officer. “There were no fingerprints found on the knife so we aren't didn't really get much from that but we are sure that it's the murder weapon.”

“Well do you have any idea who might have done it?” i asked.

“Well all of you kids are suspects as of right now but one of you more so than the others.” he responded.

“May i ask who?” i questioned curiously.

“Mrs. Reed, we found a hair at the crime scene. We didn't mention it until we ran some tests but we have come up with a match… the hair belongs to Blake Andrews.” my heart sunk. He wouldn't have done anything like this. “Of course this doesn't mean anything. Hair falls out all the time and it's not like it was on her body, in fact it was about two feet away so all that really tells us is that he was in that spot at some point that night which doesn't really say much because we already knew he was there but we’re taking all the evidence we can get.” he continued. He let me leave and on my way out blake was walking in. he looked nervous.

“Its okay” i told him. I gave him a quick hug and kiss and walked out to my car. I stayed in bed for three days, hardly getting up except to get water or go to the bathroom. I could hardly even eat. I felt like id lost everything now that Sarah was gone. On the fourth day, my mom came in my room and told me i had a visitor. Amanda came into my room and i immediately rolled over in bed and pulled a pillow over my head. “Go away” my voice muffled through the pillow.

“Come on Autumn im sorry. It just seemed kinda sketchy that you found the knife i wasn't thinking and i'm just scared.” she sat down on the edge of my bed and reached to grab my hand. Her sleeve came up slightly and i saw long, scratch marks running across her arm. I grabbed her arm and spun around to face her.

“What the hell is this??” i hissed at her.

“Autumn i swear it's not what you think. I was drunk and i threw something at a raccoon and it attacked me i know it's not really believable but please you have to believe me!” she begged.

“Go to the station and prove to me that those are from a raccoon go get it tested.”

“Okay. fine.” she said and yanked her arm away from me and left. “I'm pretty sure i know who did it though” she said as she left. She knows who did it? And she tried to blame me? And she didn't turn them in?? I hopped up out of bed and ran after her. I jumped in the passenger seat of her car and questioned her as she drove to the doctors office. She wouldn't give me any answers. The doctor said the scratches were from a raccoon proving that Amanda wasn't lying to me. She dropped me off at my house and i immediately went over to Blake's house. I always let myself in since we've been together for so long. I stop in his doorway when i hear him talking on the phone.

“Did you do it Blake; i won't tell anyone i swear”

“Yes Amanda. I killed her. She knew about us and she was going to tell Autumn and i couldn't let that happen, i had to get rid of her.” my mouth dropped to the floor and i took out my phone and thinking fast i pressed record.

“Blake you know you aren't going to get away with it, you need to get out of town, please i love you”

“I'll see what i can do. Autumn already found the knife and they suspected me because of the hair but i dont think Autumn thinks i would ever do that.” he was right. Up until that point i didn't believe he would ever kill someone or even hurt someone. He hangs up the phone shortly after and instead of going to talk to him and pretending i didn't hear anything, i take off, leaving his house in a hurry. I pull into a nearby gas station parking lot and turn off my car. I close my eyes and take a deep breath before beginning to sob. Not only was my best friend murdered a few days ago but i found her body and have that image permanently scarred in my mind and i just found out my own boyfriend killed her so that i wouldn't find out he was cheating on me. I never thought he would be able to do anything like this… he's always been the type of person who would never even hurt a fly and he’s always been so honest with me… or so i thought. I can't help but put the blame on myself. I should have never given him a chance when i found out he liked me four years ago because this one, stupid, guy just cost me everything. My crying intensifies and i soon find myself gasping for air and feeling nausea creeping into my stomach. I try to take deep breaths to calm myself down. What do i do now? Should i turn him in so he can never hurt anyone again? Or should i pretend i never found out and let the cops solve this by themselves? Blake is sick. I know that. Nobody in the right state of mind would ever take someone else's life especially if you know them and are friends with them. I know he’s going to be put in jail for a long time but i can't help but wonder what will happen to Amanda. I begin to feel bad, thinking about how she may get in a lot of trouble even though she didn't know he was going to kill anyone but i quickly remember his reasoning for killing Sarah in the first place and a deep hate begins to form in my mind for Amanda and mostly for Blake. Who even knows how long they were going behind my back and having an affair for. I can tell that the disgust is prominent on my face and with that in mind i immediately head over to the police station. I barge into officer Johnsons office and when he sees the puffy redness of my eyes he stands up.

“What happened did you find anything?” he asks, concerned.

“I know who did it” i croak before breaking into sobs once again. I pull out my phone and let him listen to the recording. His eyes are wide and he immediately picks up the phone, calling for the arrest of Blake Andrews. Officer Johnson tells me i can stay at the station until they’re sure blake is locked up so that there's no chance of him coming after me once he finds out that im the one who turned him in. five hours pass by before im informed that he’s been arrested and i leave the station. I numbly drive home and numbly walk up to my room. I close and lock my bedroom door and for the next five days i stay in bed. There is no longer anybody i can trust and nobody i feel like i can talk to. My best friend is dead. My other best friend was sleeping with my boyfriend. And my boyfriend cheated on me then killed my best friend. I don't know how ill ever trust anybody ever again but i guess now i'm going to have to start trying to recover from this terrible, shocking incident.