RED: Welcome To Fayetteville | Complete ✔️

Chapter 40: The Cabin

"I understand you were scared, Natalie... but you shot her," Sheriff Mullins sat his hat on the interrogation room table once again.

"I know I shot her," she snapped at him.

"Your intention was to kill her, correct?" he asked knowing the answer, but not wanting to hear it. He knew her life was falling apart, and sadly, the shooting was from that.

"Technically... yes. I was trying to kill her."

Sheriff Mullins leaned up and grabbed his hat. He pointed it at her, "But, you were doing it for self-defense." He put his hat back on his head, "I understand, Natalie."

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"I'm sorry, brother," Derrick's bottom lip was quivering from trying to hold back his tears. But, it didn't matter... he thought he was alone in the cemetery.

"I love you, man. I'm sorry this happened to you," the floodgates opened. Tears. Snot.

The stress and grief hit Derrick faster than he could process. His stress was boiling over... but this time, it wasn't selfish anger. It was compassionate hurting. He knew he was at rock bottom, and he was losing everyone he ever cared for; he just didn't know how to show it.

"It's going to get better," someone said behind him.

He jolted around, not hiding his emotions. "I didn't see you there," he said.

"Rock bottom sucks... but it's where you learn how to keep going."

Derrick didn't know how to respond, so he leaned up and sat on the concrete bench at Jasper's grave.

"My son was murdered fifteen years ago..." he leaned over and grabbed Derrick's shoulder, "You have to keep going."

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Genni's dad ran through the cold, dead woods. The leaves crunched under every heavy step. He disregarded it all. His wife. His life... everything. The only thing that mattered was that his daughter was gone. He didn't care that he killed an innocent boy for simply wearing a red hoodie. It didn't matter... and he wasn't stopping until Genni's killer was gone.

He ran up to the one-room cabin in the deep woods of Fayetteville. The frigid breeze bit at his fingertips and made the pistol in the back of his pants hurt as it hit his bare skin. He stepped onto the wooden porch and stepped inside. A map of Genni's friends was nailed to the back wall.

He wanted revenge and was determined to get it... but the last thing Fayetteville needed was another killer.

***Author Questions: What's going to happen to Natalie? Is Derrick really changing? What's going on with Genni's dad?

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