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Phoebe had not been sure what to expect when she knocked on Regina Crane’s door, but the blood splattered across her face and shirt was far from what she had in mind. She had been hoping for a peaceful reconciliation, a new start to their friendship. What she got instead was a drunken, verbal assault, resulting in her severe lose of temper.
In hindsight, that night had probably not been the best time to talk with the girl. She had just dismissed the last guest of her impromptu party, and was both drunk and exhausted. This made her already loose tongue that much more relaxed with its cutting remarks.
“What are you doing here, Phoebe? I don’t feel like dealing with you tonight. I want the socio on my doorstep, not you!” Regina said, leaning heavily on the doorframe. Her hair was mussed and dress wrinkled as the stench of alcohol wafted from her body.
“What did you say to me?” After weeks of constant harassment and ridicule Phoebe was fed up. Regina had made her life at school a living hell by spreading vicious rumors and pulling ridiculous pranks. Phoebe’s retaliations had been ineffective in the face of Regina’s popularity and the backing it provided. A rage, the strength of which she had never felt before, burned in her body as her feelings of anguish and embarrassment cumulated in the pit of her stomach. She tensed, fists clenched, waiting for Regina’s response.
“You heard me. Go away!” Regina made a shooing motion with her hand, swaying on her feet as she lifted her weight from the doorway. “Shouldn’t you be off sucking old man dick anyway? You wouldn’t want daddy socio to get lonely.” She arched an eyebrow as she moved her hand to rest on her hips. A smirk formed on her lips, “I for one think the son is entirely more appealing, but maybe we can compare notes when I’m not so annoyed with you.” Regina turned to leave, clearly done with their conversation.
“What are you talking about?” Phoebe exclaimed, reaching toward the girl. She tightly gripped her shoulder to keep her from advancing into the house.
“Get off of me.” Regina turned quickly, dislodging Phoebe’s hand from her body. She wiped at the area as if touched by a diseased rodent. “Don’t even try to pretend, Phoebe. I know everything.” She looked at the girl. Her face turned from disgusted to malicious, her words slightly slurred in her drunken state. “I know all about you and Vikram. I saw you two in Connecticut, and, yes, I know that he’s not really dead.” She laughed at the look of shock on Phoebe’s face, losing her balance to again lean against the doorframe in her state of mirth.
“What?” Phoebe blinked rapidly as tears of outrage clouded her vision.
“Oh, don’t cry, Poebs,” Regina said in mock concern, moving forward to awkwardly pat her on the shoulder. “Vikram is paying me a lot of money to keep my mouth shut, so don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me… as long as he keeps the money coming.” She pushed at the girl’s shoulder. “Now leave. I have a booty call to make, and I don’t want you to scare him away with your face.” Regina again turned to enter her home, pulling her cell phone out as she closed the door behind her.
Unbeknownst to her, the door had not shut completely, allowing Phoebe easy entrance into the house. Madness flowing through her veins, she picked up the first blunt object she saw, holding it firmly in her hands as she trailed the girl further into the dwelling. She watched as Regina tapped out a message on her phone, cursing to herself at the response. Glaring, Phoebe took action, lifting the heavy, white object in both hands high over one shoulder.
“Regina,” she called, drawing her attention. She smirked at the shocked look on Regina’s face, glad to finally have the upper hand as she forced the weapon down, and struck her roughly against the temple. Pleasure filled her as she watched Regina fall to the ground. The girl’s blood splattered and flowed to stain the rug. Phoebe couldn’t stop herself from delivering another blow, joyed at the release she felt. Gone were the feelings of humiliation and frustration as she watched her adversary wither on the ground. She smiled as she observed the life drain out of Regina’s body.
The moment soon became somber as she was momentarily stunned by her own violent reaction. Recovering, she assumed herself that Regina had deserved what had befallen her. If the girl had not been so vindictive, this would have never happened.
Hastily wiping the blood from her face, Phoebe dropped her weapon to the floor in favor of Regina’s cell phone, which had fallen during the vicious attack. She read over the messages, relieved as a plan quickly formed in her mind. Regina had been texting Danny Desai.
“Who better than to frame from this,” Phoebe thought to herself as she set her plan into motion. She would lure Danny to the house and then call the police once he had arrived. They would find him with the body and immediately assume he had done the crime. It would get her off of the hook in addition to serving as the perfect revenge against Vikram.
Regina had been right; Phoebe and Vikram had been having an affair. It had began from a chance encounter and developed into something more, for which neither of them had been prepared. She had fallen madly in love, while Vikram had had the misfortune of taking on a clingy teenage lover. The relationship ended abruptly with Vikram’s death. Phoebe had helped him plot the scheme, having overheard a phone conversation pertaining to the subject and demanding to be let in on the plan. Once it had gone through, Vikram had cut off all communication with her, neglecting to contact her as he had promised. It had been months since she last spoke to him. Phoebe almost believed that he was really dead, that was until Regina provided that notion to be false.
Text message sent, Phoebe waited, eventually becoming bored. Staring over Regina’s dead body had lost its glamour, leaving her with not much else to do in her time of wait. She wandered through the house, stopping in Regina’s bedroom. The space was lovely, holding a queen-sized bed and wide vanity stocked with the latest cosmetics and accessories.
“Regina always did have the best of everything,” she thought bitterly as she looked through the contents of the tabletop. She came to stop at a picture frame perched in the corner and picked it up. It was a photo of Regina, Lacey and Sarita, all happy and smiling brilliantly for the camera. She glanced at it fondly as she stroked the glass cover.
“They’re going to be my friends now, Regina,” Phoebe spoke aloud, sure in her assessment.
She spent a time in Regina’s room, leafing through the girl’s belongings as she filled her curiosity about her life and activities. When it became clear that Danny wasn’t going to show up to the Crane residence, Phoebe returned to the living room, where she had left Regina’s body.
Staring down at the lifeless girl, her eyes came to rest on the red pendant necklace she was wearing. Crouching down Phoebe lifted it, allowing it to rest on her palm. She had recognized it the moment she had seen Regina wearing it. Phoebe knew it was a Desai family heirloom, having been worn by Tara Desai before her untimely death, though she had been unable to ask Regina where she had gotten it. Their friendship had been on the outs and Phoebe had been trying to maintain the secrecy of her affair with Vikram.
Clenching the necklace in her palm, Phoebe almost wished that she had allowed Regina to live long enough to tell her the circumstance under which she had gotten ownership of the pendant. Phoebe assumed it was part of the bribe the girl had mentioned, but there was no way of knowing for sure. It was also still a mystery how Regina had found out that Vikram was still alive. The girl clearly had been more connected than Phoebe thought her to be.
Shaking the thoughts from her mind, Phoebe removed the necklace from Regina’s body then straightened to stand. She continued to appreciate its beauty, slowly coming to realize its usefulness. Though Danny hadn’t shown up, ruining her plan, the necklace could still serve to frame him for Regina’s murder. If she could have the police catch him with it in his possession they would assume he was somehow involved.
Phoebe smiled at her genius as she readied herself to leave, pocketing the necklace and picking up her weapon to stow in her bag. She took a deep breath and stepped out of the house, looking around as she pulled the front door shut behind her. The coast was clear as she began her life anew, taking on the greatest role she had ever pursued, the character of innocent, grieving best friend to the dearly departed teen queen.