A Body Too Many The date was 26th of June, it was a normal evening I was hanging out with my best friend Hannah. School was over and we were hanging out in the front. I was always jealous of Hannah, she was more popular than me, better grades, and a boyfriend. But I still loved her. That afternoon she wanted to drive home, I’m 18 so I have my own car so I drove home with her. I must admit though as we were driving back my foot slipped and we were going straight on a turn. “Why are you not turning Kaylee…” Hannah said concerned. But I did nothing and kept on driving. I don’t really remember much from then except that I had crashed into the ocean k!lling Hannah… I didn’t mean to k!ll her. Well that's at least what I told the Police.Life was never the same after that, I was more popular, had more friends, and Hannah’s ex-boyfriend, Jake. Life was great, all so I thought. After Hannah died a new girl came to our school, her name was Leylah. She seemed kind, energetic, the same energy Hannah had. She came up to me in the school hallway. “Hi! I’m new here, my name is Leylah, what is yours?” she said to me. “Hi, I’m Kaylee, wanna be friends?” She said yes, great. We had the same classes so we were always together, but everyone liked her. Until something unexpected happened. My boyfriend left me… for Leylah. Layla said yes, she didn’t know he was my boyfriend though. She came and told me after class, all about him but I just nodded and didn’t tell her. But I did get invited to her house for a sleepover. I arrived at her house and talked, played games, and watched a movie. Then we went to sleep, well at least she did. The next morning I woke up and I couldn’t find her anywhere. I looked around the house, but couldn't find her anywhere. I told her mother and she called the police and they had a whole team searching for her. 5 months passed, I was the most popular girl in my school and was friends with everyone, after Layla went missing I got back together with Jake. I was sitting on the couch after school watching the tv, until an urgent broadcast came up saying that they had found Layla… how was that possible? I was the one who k!lled and buried her that night, but no one needs to know that. Who was this girl who claimed to be Layla? That night I couldn’t sleep at all, I had enough of wondering about Layla, so I snuck out to the place I buried her, she was still there. D€ad. How? At school the next day Layla was there. She ran up to me and gave me a big hug. I could already know it wasn’t her, who would want to hug the person who murdered them. I played along with it. “Omg Layla I was so worried about you!! Are you okay??” Wonderful. “It’s okay girl, I’m okay.” We were okay for about 2 weeks until I saw in the bathroom afterschool. I watched her as she removed green contacts from her eyes, her eyes were actually hazel, not like Layla’s. She removed a wig, well i thought it was a girl, it was a boy. I tried to peek even more around the door but I knocked over a drink bottle. He turned around instantly, I quickly hid around the door. He didn’t see me, that was close. I went home that night and thought about what I saw. I then realized he looked familiar.The face… It was like a ghost from my past, but not Layla’s. No, it was Hannah’s brother—Lucas. I hadn’t seen him in years; he was always the quiet one, the shadow in the background. But why was he here? Why was he pretending to be Layla?I couldn’t sleep that night. My mind spiraled with questions and guilt. What did he know? Did he suspect what I had done to Hannah? Or was this something else?The next day, Lucas—or “Layla”—was waiting for me by my locker. His fake smile gave me chills. “Hey, Kaylee! I was wondering if we could hang out after school. Just us.”I hesitated, my stomach twisting in knots, but I managed to smile. “Sure, why not?” I couldn’t let him know I was onto him.After school, we drove to a secluded park. The air between us was heavy, like a storm waiting to break. As we walked along a trail, he suddenly stopped and turned to me. His hazel eyes—his real eyes—pierced through me.“You know,” he started, his voice calm but cold, “I’ve been thinking a lot about what happened to my sister. The police called it an accident, but accidents don’t leave holes in people’s stories, do they?”I froze. My heart raced as he stepped closer, his voice dropping to a whisper.“And then there’s Layla. You were so close to her too, weren’t you? Funny how your friends seem to… disappear.”I tried to laugh it off, but it came out shaky. “What are you trying to say, Lucas?”He smirked, pulling something out of his pocket—a small, worn journal. “This belonged to Hannah. She wrote everything here. Her hopes, her fears… even her suspicions about you.”My blood ran cold. I reached for the journal, but he pulled it back. “Not so fast. You’ve had your secrets for too long, Kaylee. It’s my turn to uncover the truth.”I panicked. The trees seemed to close in around us. “I didn’t
mean for any of it to happen, Lucas. I didn’t—”“Didn’t what? Mean to kill her? Mean to kill Layla too?” His voice rose, and for a moment, I thought he might attack me.But then he stepped back, his smirk returning. “Don’t worry. I’m not here to hurt you. I just wanted to see your face when you realized your perfect little world is about to crumble.”And with that, he turned and walked away, leaving me standing there, shaking.The next morning, the journal’s contents were leaked online. Every secret, every lie, every shadow of doubt was laid bare for the world to see. My friends, my popularity, even Jake—it all vanished in an instant.And Lucas? He disappeared, just like Layla. Just like Hannah. But sometimes, late at night, I swear I can hear their laughter, echoing in the darkness, haunting me forever. I didn’t go to school for days after the journal was leaked. People weren’t just whispering behind my back—they were outright accusing me. My phone buzzed nonstop with messages from classmates, reporters, and even strangers. Some called me a murderer, while others demanded answers.I deleted all my social media, but the damage was done. My parents barely spoke to me, the police reopened the case, and Jake… he didn’t even bother breaking up with me. He just stopped showing up.But none of that compared to the nightmares. Every time I closed my eyes, I was back in the car with Hannah, her voice ringing in my ears: “Why are you not turning, Kaylee?” Or I’d see Layla—or whoever she was—standing at the foot of my bed, her hazel eyes burning with accusation.One night, I heard a knock at my window. My heart nearly stopped. Slowly, I pulled back the curtain, but there was no one there. Just the darkness and the faint rustle of trees. Then I saw it—a note taped to the glass.Meet me where it all began.I didn’t need to guess where that was. The cliff. The one where Hannah’s car went over.I debated ignoring it, but something pulled me there. Maybe it was guilt. Maybe it was fear. Maybe it was the hope that I could finally end this nightmare.The night was cold, and the ocean roared below as I approached the cliff’s edge. At first, I didn’t see anyone. Then, from the shadows, Lucas stepped forward. He wasn’t dressed as Layla anymore. This was Lucas—quiet, calculating, and angrier than I’d ever seen him. “You killed my sister,” he snarled, stepping closer. “And Layla. You buried her like she was nothing. How many more people have to die before you stop pretending you’re innocent?”“I didn’t mean for any of it to happen!” I yelled, my voice trembling. “You don’t understand—”“I understand perfectly,” he snapped, his hazel eyes blazing with fury. “You’re a monster, Kaylee. A selfish, cold-blooded monster.”He took another step forward, too close now, his face inches from mine. “Maybe it’s time someone stopped you before you hurt anyone else.”The threat in his voice sent a chill through me. I backed away instinctively, but the uneven ground made me stumble. Lucas moved to grab my arm, his anger boiling over, but he miscalculated. His foot slipped on the loose gravel near the edge.For a moment, time froze.His eyes widened in shock as he flailed, trying to regain his balance. “Kaylee!” he shouted, his voice laced with panic.I lunged forward, reaching out to grab him, but it was too late. Lucas's hands scraped at the ground, finding nothing but air. He fell backward, his scream cutting through the night, and then—nothing.I stood there, frozen in place, staring at the spot where he had just been. My heart pounded so loudly I thought it might burst from my chest. Slowly, I edged toward the cliff and looked down. The waves churned violently below, but there was no sign of him. Just the endless, dark ocean swallowing everything whole.I stumbled back, my knees giving way beneath me. My breaths came in short, shallow gasps as the realization hit me: Lucas was gone.I sat there for what felt like hours, unable to move, unable to think. My mind raced with questions. Would anyone believe me? Would they think I pushed him? Was this karma for what I had done to Hannah and Layla? Eventually, I forced myself to my feet and stumbled back to my car. My hands shook as I gripped the steering wheel, driving home in a daze. When I reached my house, I parked and stared blankly ahead, unable to summon the courage to go inside.The next morning, the news broke. Lucas’s body had washed up on the shore miles away from the cliff. The official report ruled it an accident—a tragic fall caused by unstable ground.But people whispered. They always whispered.And now, even with Lucas gone, I can’t escape what happened. His face joins Hannah’s and Layla’s in my nightmares. His voice haunts me, asking the same question over and over: Why didn’t you stop?
