Zenon's Game Chapter 126

*Zenon's POV*

I wanted to hold Candace's hand. I wanted her to know she wasn't alone, but I was stuck on the other side of a damn wall.

My hand rested on the windowsill, though she had backed away from the window.

We've never had good timing. We've had ridiculous accidents and moments I don't even understand happen.

It still surprises me that she's been living across the street this whole time. And I was too self-absorbed to notice.

Candace Turner drove into my life with a beat-up car and some story about a raccoon.

I've been making up for lost time since.

And that's how I found myself in her backyard with a dead cat.

Someone murdered a cat, dipped Art's basketball jersey in its blood and then hung it on her doorknob.

It's sick sh*t.

But this wasn't going to go down without someone getting their *ss handed to them.

Bryce and I had been searching for clues in her backyard before we stumbled across the cat. Bryce had shrieked like an ambulance until he ran out of voice.

Then Heidi supplied her off-pitch harmony and, together, they sounded like a bad audition for Choir Boy.

Now Axel was convincing Gloria not to approach the window. She'd run out of the kitchen with a frying pan after she heard everyone's screams.

Seriously, Gloria deserves a vacation.

"What do you think Candace's thinking?" Bryce asked. His voice was hoarse after so much yelling.

I looked down at my sneakers. New UA Curry 6's. I retired my Air Jordan's recently-

But to answer Bryce's question - if there's one thing I know, it's that I never know what Candace Turner is thinking.

*Candace's POV*

Curiosity killed the cat.

I damn well knew that.

But satisfaction brought it back... so I was going to find out who did this sick, misguided thing and I was going to do something about it.

I don't know what, how or when... but those are great questions so I'll get back to them later.

This was animal cruelty. Surely, I could prosecute.

My thoughts went to Zenon. He had been with Bryce when they found the cat and I felt guilty for dragging him and his friends into this. I didn't know it would escalate to murder.

Now we all had to deal with the trauma.

My mother yelled at me to help my sister. Heidi was passed out upstairs from shock. But I was barely able to keep my own nerves together. How was I going to keep calm for anyone else?

I forced the tears back as I passed by Axel and Gloria. I dodged the frying pan she was waving in the air, to avoid being knocked out.

KO'd by Gloria

That doesn't seem like a bad option right about now. I mean, there's a crime scene in my backyard.

When do CSI get here?

*Third person POV, twenty minutes later*

Candace's car was parked in the middle of the driveway, after Gloria dropped it off thirty minutes ago. Now Bryce was leaning against it, looking sick.

"Man, I tried," Bryce sighed, "But I can't do it. I can't move that cat."

He was talking to Zenon's back.

Zenon was hugging Candace, making sure she was ok. He was whispering something in her ear and brushing her hair. She nodded and buried her head into his chest.

"Is anyone listening to me?" Bryce asked louder, "Hello? It's me."

Bryce needed attention too.

"Sorry," Candace answered, wiping a hand over her eyes. She removed her arms from around Zenon and said, "I'll do it. Did you take pictures?"

"Of course," Bryce sighed, handing her his phone.

Candace scrolled through recent images, looking for the dead cat photos. She wanted them as evidence for the police.

"Um..." she scrolled, "These are shirtless selfies of you."

"My bad," Bryce pulled out another iPhone from his left pocket, "It must be on this phone then."

Candace stared at the two phones. She decided not to ask any questions, especially not about the zoolander look in picture #3. Blue Steel.

"Ugh," Bryce looked like he was about to throw up, "Whenever you say cat, it makes me want to-"

Zenon signaled him to follow, "Pull yourself together."

Bryce dramatically sighed and pushed himself off the car, "Thanks, man."

"Don't throw up on me," Zenon warned, taking him across the street.

For a few minutes, Dupont Avenue returned to its usual calm. The Ripleys were recovering in #4 Dupont Avenue and Zenon was treating Bryce like a baby in #9.

Zenon handed him a pill to calm his stomach.

"Can I borrow your laptop?" Bryce asked in a weak voice, overplaying his sickness to continue getting preferential treatment.

Zenon looked increasingly p*ssed off to be playing parent but handed it to him.

"What's your password?" Bryce asked.

He ignored him.

"Zenon?"

"Ssh."

Zenon was looking out of a window and saw Axel waving him over from the first floor of Candace's home.

Without addressing Bryce, he walked out of the living room and out of his house.

So Bryce was left alone in Zenon's living room. He was nosy and started to peer at the books on the Albert's bookshelf. He wandered over to the family photos on the mantelpiece.

There were a couple pictures of a younger Zenon at game days, holding large trophies with his family beaming beside him.

"Very photogenic family, huh?"

Caught.

In the reflection of a photo frame, Bryce saw someone standing behind him. He turned around and came face-to-face with Nicole.