Chapter 5
540words
Flushed with excitement, he waved a small object – a phone – as scrambled to his feet.
"Killer!"
"Killer here! On my phone!"
"I filmed it!"
Eyes widened in collective shock.
My mother, Helen Johnson, lunged forward, snatched the phone from his hand, and frantically unlocked it.
The moment the screen lit up, the color drained from her face, her whole body beginning to tremble violently.
Others crowded around, voices overlapping.
"Mrs. Johnson? What is it?"
"Who's the killer? Is it Charlie?"
Before they could see, my mother slapped me again, sharp and clear.
"Monster!"
Her eyes were bloodshot, her voice a raw, broken thing, "You really were involved with that idiot!"
Curious gazes shifted to the phone screen, and smirks began to form.
"Well, Maya Johnson, looks like you and Charlie have been an item since you were teenagers!"
"His phone's gallery is full of you!"
The photos were sorted by date. The earliest was a picture of me in my school uniform.
As they swiped, photo after photoshowed me—laughing at the village crossroads, hanging laundry in the yard, bent over my homework...
They found a video. It was filmed by Charlie on the day I returned to the village.
The footage showed him holding the phone, grinning his goofy grin, asking eagerly,
"Maya, you miss me?"
On screen, I smiled, pinched his cheek gently.
"Miss you? Of course I miss you!"
The reaction was instantaneous All eyes were on me, filled with disgust.
Nathan threw himself at me, his voice a strangled yell,
"Maya Johnson! After all this, you still deny it?"
"You faithless bitch! I was so wrong about you!"
Tears streamed down his face, his eyes blazing with betrayed fury and pain.
Jake Wilson led the jeering.
"Pah! Just a used-up slut!"
"Acted so high and mighty, so pure... and all along? Messing around with a man, who's got the mind of a five-year-old!"
He sneered directly at me, "Maya, what did you see in him, huh? What's his... special talent?"
"What else could it be? Must've been good in bed!" a village woman spat, sparking raucous laughter.
Jake walked over, clapping Charlie on the shoulder mockingly.
"Hey, Charlie! Tell me! Do you really like Maya Johnson?"
Charlie blinked, confused.
"Like?"
Jake leered, "You know... the kind where you wanna see her every day, be with her all the time!"
"Like! Like!" Charlie nodded, his expression eager and earnest.
The crowd's laughter grew louder. They mocked me openly, their words and expressions humiliating.
Charlie, mistaking the attention for approval, clapped his hands excitedly.
"I like play with Maya!"
"Maya nice to me! Maya give me candy! Give me toys!"
Then his expression dimmed. He pointed a trembling finger at Jake, mumbling,
"Not like you! You bad! Always bully me!"
Jake's smirk widened, poking Charlie's forehead aggressively.
"Yeah, I bully you! Whatcha gonna do about it, moron?"
Charlie flinched, fear flashing in his eyes.
He looked at Jake in sheeer terror, tears welling up, as he suddenly shouted,
"You no touch me!"
"You bad! You bully!"
His voice rose to a piercing scream, his finger jabbing accusingly at Jake.
"YOU BULLY LILY JOHNSON! YOU RIP HER CLOTHES! YOU THROW HER IN WATER!"
