"Hello?" AJ asked in a groggy voice, picking up the phone next to his bed.
"AJ?" someone said. He could barely make out the voice because whoever it was was sobbing loudly.
"Yes? Who is this? What's wrong?" he asked.
"S-S-Sarah." she choked out.
"It's okay, baby. Just take a deep breath and tell me what's wrong."
"It's-it's-it's Kevin!"
AJ sat up, now fully awake and alert. He shook Danielle. "What?"
"He's d-d- he's been killed!"
"Oh my God! WHAT?!"
Danielle rolled over. "What happened?"
"Kevin was murdered!"
Danielle's eyes widened. "Oh. . . my. . .God. NO!"
AJ's face was twisted into a weird form, as he tried to hold back tears. "Sarah, where are you?"
"K-Kevin's."
"We'll be right there."
"Ok." Sarah sobbed. "Please hurry."
"Hang in there, bye." AJ hung up the phone and sat, starring at the wall in a daze.
Danielle buried her face in her hands and began to cry.
"This can't be happening!" AJ said, standing up. "Not to Kevin."
He slammed his fist into the wall.
"AJ, please." Danielle moaned. "Please don't freak out on me."
AJ sunk to the floor, and buried his head in his hands, not wanting to appear weak by showing his tears.
Danielle climbed out of bed, crawled over to AJ, and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on top of his, both crying over their lost friend.
"I'm sorry, you can't go through here." a police officer said, stopping AJ and Danielle as they tried to cross the police lines surrounding Kevin's house.
"But, we're friends of the victim." AJ said, his voice raw and hoarse from crying.
"I'm sorry, sir, this is an official crime scene. No one is allowed on or off unless permitted by Mr. Smith." the officer said.
"Sarah?" Danielle asked, sniffling. "Where is she?
The officer shrugged.
"Please, officer," Danielle continued. "Sarah called us and asked us to come down here. She needs us."
"I'm afraid I can't permit you-"
"Dani! AJ!" the officer was cut off by Katie. She and Nick ran over to them and everyone exchanged tearful hugs.
"What's going on?" Nick asked. "Where's Sarah?"
"I don't know." AJ replied. "The officer won't let us go find out."
"Why not?" Katie demanded.
The officer signed and monotonely recited what he had said earlier. "This is an official crime scene. No one is allowed on or off unless permitted by another officer or Ms. Smith."
"Then permit us!" Katie cried.
"I can't."
Katie propped her hand on her hip. "Why the hell not? Our friend is in there alone and scared, and you won't let her friends go in there and console her?!"
"Look," the officer said. "I don't make the rules. I'm just doing my job."
"Well, your not doing a very good job of doing your job." Danielle muttered.
Suddenly, everyone fell silent as paramedic wheeled a body covered by a white sheet out of the house and into an ambulance.
"Oh my God." Danielle whispered. "Kevin."
Katie choked back a sob as Nick pulled her to him and they cried in eachothers arms.
"Danielle," AJ choked.
Danielle looked at him sadly, and knew he was about to break down. "Oh, baby, c'mere." she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and he titled his head down on her shoulder.
She felt his body rack with sobs, as she rubbed his back.
Danielle herself couldn't cry. As much as she felt she needed to, as much as she wanted to she just stood there, stunned.
For a moment, she held her eyes shut, hoping that when she opened them, this nightmare would be over.
Unfortunately, it wasn't. She didn't open her eyes to realize it had all been a dream. She opened her eyes to see Elizabeth, Howie, and Sarah walking out of the house, Elizabeth's arm wrapped around Sarah's shoulders, and Sarah starring at the ground, crying as they walked.
Sarah looked up, and AJ pulled away from Danielle.
"Thank God you guys are here." Howie said.
"Could you please let them by?" Elizabeth asked.
The officer looked at them sheepishly, as Katie and Danielle glared at him and, and let them pass.
Katie and Danielle immediately enveloped Sarah in a hug.
"I told the Police everything that's been happening." Sarah said, still crying. "They want us to get away from here, and have two police officers come with us for protection."
"Where are we gonna go?" Nick asked.
"Kevin had a couple acres of land far away from everything with a huge house built on it in Kentucky not to long ago. He was. .. planning on proposing to Sarah soon and moving there with her." Howie explained as Sarah sobbed harder. "We're going there."
Elizabeth nodded. "Brian and Brittny are already on there way to get things ready. We're all gonna split up into two groups and go different ways with one of the officers to keep whoever the fucks doing this off our trail."
"Ok." Katie said. "Who's going with who?"
"How about me, you, and Sarah go in one group, and you four in the other?" Nick suggested.
"Everyone nodded.
"Everyone go home and pack for a week, the meet back here in an hour." AJ said.
With that, everyone left to pack up their lives, and leave for who knew how long.