The World of Myth Magazine

Winona Hawkins will never know how she affected my life. I was the plain girl that no one noticed until she made me her best friend. I don't know why I was bestowed this honor, but I was grateful for the title.

She knew when we walked into a room, all eyes would be on her. I was okay with that. I've always been shy and loved standing outside Winona's limelight, unnoticed. That is until she was murdered.

Suddenly I found myself thrust into the bright lights. Where was I? Did we have a fight? Did she ever tell me someone scared her?

I was home, and no, we didn't fight. Yes, she mentioned Harvey Melcore. Winona dated him for several months until one day, she told him to leave. I didn't know the exact details, Winona never told me the whole story, only that she didn’t want to see him again.

I felt sorry for Harvey, one day on the inside and the next looking through the window. When I asked Winona why she broke up with him, she gave me this answer.

"Laney, some things are best kept quiet. Harvey is someone we should keep quiet about; he has evil running through his soul. I am afraid I will suffer from that mean streak if I make the wrong move. I don't want to risk it."

I was satisfied with her answer until Detective Bishop shook his finger in my face. What was he asking me to do? I had no proof that anyone wanted to hurt Winona. No proof at all. I did know she was three months pregnant and told Bishop that. He seemed a little shocked that I knew this detail.

"Best friends share everything," I told him. Bishop nodded his head like he understood girls and their best friends. He couldn't; he only pretended.

I don't know if Harvey deserved to be thrown under the bus, but he was the obvious suspect, and I was all too happy to deliver him to Bishop, guilty or not. Harvey needed checking out before he walked the streets a free man. Winona said he had a mean streak and that deserved a second look.

When the nightly news reported Harvey made bail, I had chills running down my spine. I thought Detective Bishop would give me a courtesy call to let me know I should lock my doors. Bishop sacrificed my safety to catch a murderer. Harvey had an alibi.

Well shit. I have gotten myself into some hot water now, haven't I? Walking to my classes, constantly looking behind me, afraid for I knew Harvey would eventually figure out who pointed the finger at him. It didn't take a rocket scientist to deduce Winona's best friend put the cops onto him, and Harvey was no rocket scientist.

Winona's ex-boyfriend had friends who could put me in a precarious situation. No, it was Bishop who put me into a dangerous situation. I wanted to call the detective on the special number he gave me on a business card to tell him off. I carried the card constantly, never putting the detective's number in my phone, knowing Harvey and his friends would come for me sooner or later.

Weeks passed, I hadn't heard or seen anything suspicious, and I started to relax. That is breaking my rule number one, never let your guard down.

Russell, a friend of both Winona and Harvey, had always treated me kindly. He told me how sorry he was about Winona, which made me cry. I had to leave before he saw my breakdown. I loved Winona. My bestie didn't deserve what happened to her. She never did anyone wrong. I continued to keep my eyes on Harvey, he still creeped me out.

Another month went by, Harvey had yet to approach me. I felt I was in the clear. Russell continued popping in and out of my life, checking in on me. We had become friends through our shared loss. He'd give me rides back to my dorm, and we'd sit in his car and talk in the parking lot. Russell could always make me feel better, but he remained aloof. I wasn't looking for anything more, nor was he.

I told Russell one night how I suspected Harvey of being the person who killed Winona. Russell was shocked. I'd forgotten how close he and Harvey once were. Russell put up a big defense for his friend, upset that I would point a finger, and left me wondering if we were still friends when he drove off. A few days later, he returned acting as if we'd never had a rift.

I was relieved Russell got over whatever it was that upset him. If the situation was reversed and Winona was accused of killing Harvey, I would do the same thing that Russell did, for his friend. We talked like we used to before the disagreement, but something changed.

He drove us out to River Park, a well-known make-out place. Was he hinting at more of a relationship? Did I want to move out of the friend zone with him? There was so much I didn't know about Russell.

We were walking along the river under the full moon when Russell brought it up again. I told him that I still thought Harvey was the person who killed Winona. I felt it in my gut.

"You got it wrong, Laney. Harvey loved Winona. He would have never killed her. It was someone who couldn't control themselves. Someone jealous of Harvey always getting the beautiful girl."

His voice held such a strange tone, and I saw the desperation in his eyes. Russell wanted me to believe him with all his heart. And then it occurred to me Harvey wasn't the murderer; Russell was. A look passed over his face, I felt the change. Russell knew he'd said too much and couldn't take it back.

"I didn't mean for it to happen, Laney. It just did. Winona told Harvey she was pregnant. He was thinking about quitting school. It was going to wreck his life. He left his phone in the living room, and I texted her on his phone. "Get rid of it, or I'll get rid of you." There is something wrong with me. I can't control myself. Like now. I can't stop myself from doing this." He put his hand to my face and pushed with all his might. I rolled down the riverbank into the swift current.

"Help, I can't swim!" I screamed, trying to keep my head above water, but the current was swift.

"Laney. I'm sorry." Russell called behind me.

I moved down the river grasping at anything I could. Rocks and branches slipped from my grasp as the current carried me along. By some miracle, my hoodie caught on a limb of a tree that had fallen into the river.

I tried to catch my breath and slow my thoughts, feeling secure for the moment. I needed to call for help, but my phone was gone. It would have been shorted out in the water anyway had it stayed in my pocket.

I grabbed another branch further down the tree and pulled myself out of the water. I was alive. Tears of fear and gratitude shook me uncontrollably. I had survived Russell's attempt to murder me. Winona hadn't been so lucky.

As I neared the spot where I went into the river, I caught a glint in the moonlight and picked up my cell phone. I hugged it while reaching inside my hoodie pocket, fishing for Detective Bishop's business card, wet but intact.

"Detective Bishop," he answered on the first ring.

"He tried to kill me!"

"Laney? Who, Harvey?"

It took him less than fifteen minutes to reach me. Bishop wrapped a blanket around my shoulders and had me sit inside his warm car, getting into the driver's seat.

"He's been picked up already. I will need you to fill out a statement." Bishop said, reassuring me.

"With pleasure." I tried to stop shivering and pulled the blanket tighter around me feeling the heat hitting my face but jumped when the car's back door opened.

"Hey, Laney, why so jumpy?" Russell climbed into the squad slamming the door.

"Took you long enough." Detective Bishop growled.

"I don't understand." I looked from Russell to Bishop wondering why I hadn’t seen it before.

"Laney, I believe you know my son, Russell Bishop." Russell's shoulders shook up and down in laughter after seeing the shocked look on my face. The father and his son had played me all along. I knew Detective Bishop would do whatever it took to protect his son.

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