"That's not funny!" I yelled.
Brian gasped and threw his hands to the sides of his head. Howie narrowed his eyes at Tyra but didn't react.
"You're joking--right?" Brandie demanded, setting down the soda can and climbing to her feet.
"What a sick joke man."
Tyra let out a hoarse cry. "It's not a joke Brandie. I'm not joking. I'm telling you all the truth."
"NO!" Brian yelled, his eyes wild.
"I did it," Tyra insisted. "I killed Kevin. You're my friends. I want you to know the truth. I know you will keep my secret."
"Whoa--" Brandie murmured.
Cold shivers ran down my back. One after the other. I stared at Tyra. I heard her words. But I didn't believe them. I didn't want to believe them.
"It's not true! It's not true!" Brian yelled. He ran across the room and threw his arms around Tyra, not letting go of her. "It's not true! I know it isn't! I know!"
Tyra grabbed his arms and gently pushed him away. "I'm sorry Brian, I'm really sorry. But I did it. I'm telling the truth."
Shaking his head, Howie stood up. He crossed his arms tightly over his chest, walked to the window and stared into the afternoon sunlight.
Brandie gaped open-mouthed at Tyra. I struggled to stop the shivers that shook my body. Finally I found my voice.
"But ... why?" I choked out. "Why, Tyra? What made you do it?" The room grew quiet. I could hear only Brian's loud breathing and the beating of my heart.
"He was ruining our lives," Tyra replied, in a voice just above a whisper. "He was ruining all our lives. It was getting worse and worse. I-I did it for all of us."
"But, Tyra--" I started.
"We all wanted Kevin to die, right?" Tyra broke in shrilly. "We all hated him, right? We all hated the way he bullied us, the way he pushed us around, the way he forced us to ... to..." Her voice cracked.
"It's not true!" Brian wailed again. "It's not true! Not true!"
"I'm sorry," Tyra told him softly. "I'm sorry you're so upset. But I'm not sorry I did what I did. I'm not sorry I killed him."
I glanced up to see Howie spin around from the window. He still had his arms tucked tightly over his chest. To my suprise, he expression was angry.
"Tyra, you shouldn't have told us," Howie snapped.
Tyra's eyes grew wide. She gaped at Howie, obviously confused. "Huh? I thought-"
"You shouldn't have confessed to us," Howie insisted. "Now you've made us all part of it. That isn't fair."
"But--but... yoiu're my friends!" Tyra stammered, taking a few steps toward Howie, her arms outstretched.
Howie stepped back until he bumped into the windowsill. His eyes were lost for a moment by a ray of sunlight. He moved, and his angry glare came into view.
"It isn't right," he told Tyra through gritted teeth. "Even though we are your friends, how can you involve us in a murder? What are we supposed to do? Just keep the secret and never think about it again?"
"But I did it especially for you Howie!" she cried hoarsely. We all heard a loud noise by the door. Tyra turned quickly and her face went white, probably afraid her Mom was home. After the door didn't open, she turned back to Howie.
"Why are you giving me a hard time? I did it especially for you," she repeated shrilly. "Kevin was ruining your life more than anyone else's. He was blackmailing you and forcing you to give him money, and--and..." Howie shook his head, frowning at Tyra. "You should thank me!" Tyra protested. "You really should Howie. Instead of staring at me like that, you should be thanking me!"
"But you killed him, Tyra!" Howie cried in a trembling, emotional voice I had never heard from him before. "You killed him! He was ruining my life, true. He was pestering me all the time. Demanding things. Annoying me. But--" Howie took a deep breath. "But I would never kill him! Don't you get it Tyra? Don't you see what you've done? You've killed a human being. You killed Kevin!"
Tyra opened her mouth to reply. But Howie cut him off with a wave of his hand.
"You don't just kill someone because he's annoying you," Howie said, speaking slowly, saying each word clearly and distinctly. "And then you don't confess. You don't tell what you did to a roomful of people."
"You're not people--" Tyra insisted. "You're my friends. I told you because you're my friends."
"And what are friends for?" Brandie broke in. She may have meant it as a joke, but it fell flat.
Even Brandie couldn't make us smile now. I studied her, wondering what she was really thinking. It was so hard to know with Brandie. Her jokes always covered up her true feelings.
"You put us in a horrible position Tyra." Howie sighed, finally lowering his hands to his sides. "Now we have no choice. We have to tell your parents. Or call the police."
"NO!" Brian screamed. He turned on Howie. "What are you saying? We've got to protect Tyra. We've got to keep her secret.
"I trusted you guys," Tyra murmured, lowering her eyes to the carpet.
"I think Brian is right," I said thoughtfully. "We can't turn Tyra in. It--it's just too horrible to think about!" For a second my breath caught in my throat, but soon caught it again.
It was all too much. Too much sadness. Too much horror. Too much tension.
"She's made us part of a murder," Howie argued.
"But she did it for us," Brandie chimed in. "Believe me, when Kev totaled my Mom's car, I wanted to kill him. I really wanted to. But I didn't have the nerve."
"You didn't want to take a human life," Howie told Brandie. "You weren't being a wimp. You knew you don't just kill someone because they're trouble."
Brian slid up beside Tyra and slid his arm around her waist.
"We have to go on with our lives," he said, leaning his head against Tyra's shoulder. "We have to try to forget this happened and go on with our lives. If we turn Tyra over to the police, how can we do that? How can we ever get back to normal?"
"He's right," I argued. "If we turn Tyra in, one more life will be ruined."
"Thanks AJ," Tyra said softly. She turned to the others.
"You all know me. You all know I'm a good girl. You know I'm not a killer. Just a normal girl. And your friend. We're all good friends."
She swallowed hard. I could see she was choked with feeling. Brian squeezed her waist. He raised his head and kissed her cheek.
"You know I'm not a killer," she repeated, her eyes moving around the room. "You know I'll never kill again. Right? Right?"
A week later, Tyra killed again.
Chapter 13
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