I closed my eyes as I screamed – internally of course. God fucking dammit! This could not be happening. Zeke could not be dead; this had to be some sick kind of joke. This was just another nightmare. But as I opened my eyes to see Tony staring at me, concern on every part of his features, I knew that this was in fact, not a nightmare. This was real. Another person in my life has been hurt because of me. I may as well have killed Zeke myself.

No!

No. I wouldn’t let myself think like that. I had made a promise to Tony that I wouldn’t do this. I was going to change and part of that change included me not automatically thinking that I was a curse to anyone I came in contact with. Someone else did this, someone killed Zeke and someone was out to make my life a living hell. And with that thought I pushed my screaming thoughts aside and composed myself. I would not let Zeke die in vain. I had to find out what he had discovered.

“I need to get to the closet bus station,” I said, my voice practically robotic as I buckled my seat beat.

Tony sighed. “No Effie, I know what you’re thinking but you don’t have to run away; I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

“No, no,” I said quickly, the emotion returning to my voice as I looked over at him. “It’s not that. I figured out the rest of Zeke’s riddle, at least I sure hope so. There should be something for me at the bus station.”

“Are you sure?” Tony questioned after a moment, raising his eyebrows.

I thought about it for a moment, repeating the riddle in my head as memories from my days with Zeke replayed in my head.

“Yes, I’m positive.” I answered fiercely and with that, Tony nodded his head and pulled away from the curb but not before he reached over and grabbed my hand in his, giving it a firm squeeze.

The ride to the bus station seemed to take hours though it was only about fifteen minutes. I was fidgeting the whole time and halfway there Tony had to take his hand out of mine so he could place it on my knee to stop it from bouncing up and down. I all but sighed in relief as Tony pulled into a parking spot in front of the entrance and he shut off the car as I immediately popped open the door and started getting out.

“Effie, wait!” Tony called to me as I started walking toward the entrance.

I sighed but waited for him to catch up to me.

“Are you sure this is a good idea Eff?” he questioned, his eyebrows furrowing with worry.
“What do you mean?” I asked with confusion.

“Effie, your friend was just found dead. Once the police connect you to him they are going to look for you and if they catch us here at the bus station, well, it’s going to look bad, babe.” Tony explained, a pleading look in his eyes and I noticed then that he was afraid, afraid to lose me.

I gave him comforting smile. “Tone, it’s okay. The police will never connect me with him. Zeke wouldn’t have left anything behind that would lead them to me and we were extremely careful the other night.”

“Yeah but Eff, what about this person, what if they –“ he started to say but I quickly cut him off with my lips.

“Tony, I promise you that I’m not going anywhere. Zeke was a pro; he wouldn’t bring me down with him, even if we didn’t exactly end on a good note all those years ago. If they find anything at all on Zeke that would involve me it would lead them to a girl known as Elizabeth Crane who died in a mugging nearly ten years ago.” I explained with a small, sheepish smile.

I may have explained a lot to Tony but there were still things that I hadn’t exactly brought to light. I was still a little afraid that once he found out all my secrets that he would run away, even if he promised to never leave. He gave me a confused look before what could only be described as a look of awe flashed across his face and he gave me an amused smirk.

“Just exactly how many people have you been Effie Harper?” he asked with a teasing tone and I couldn’t help the grin that over took my features.

Despite everything, I found myself laughing softly as I took his hand and began to lead us to the bus station entrance. “Way too many to keep track of,” I said with a small giggle.

Our lighthearted mood quickly died as we entered the bus station and I couldn’t help but tense up as we began to walk toward the rear end of the building. I had spent far too many lifetimes in bus stations and most of the time I was running from the authorities as I waited for an escape to my new “life;” being in this bus station brought back a million different memories, a million different nightmares. Tony must have felt my sudden mood change because he pulled me closer to him, swinging his arm up over my shoulder tucking me protectively into his side. I immediately relaxed and I once again focused on the task at hand. As we came to the stop in front of the restrooms I looked up at Tony with another sheepish smile.

“I kind of need your help for this one,” I said carefully.

Tony’s face fell. “Please tell me I don’t have to go fishing in toilet bowls or anything.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “No, no, you just have to look for a sun.”

He stared at me blankly. “Huh?”

“If I figured this out like I think I have, there will be a sun drawn on the bathroom stall wall, this kind of swirly, intricately designed sun and if there is, then I need you to check the air vent. As long as there is a sun, Zeke left something there for me.” I explained carefully.

Tony glared at me. “Are you serious right now?”

“You did say something about how I make you feel all dangerous.” I tried with a pitiful grin.

Tony gave me a flat look before he sighed and turned away, heading for the bathroom and a part of me was worried, at least until I saw the slight smile and roll of his eyes he gave me before he pushed the door open and went in the bathroom. I stood outside the door, standing guard and just hoping that I was right about all of this. A couple minutes later I felt the door open behind me and I turned around to see Tony standing there but my heart sank when I saw the look on his face.

“Nothing?” I asked, deflated.

“No, there was something but you’re not going to like it.” He said with a sigh and then held out a small piece of paper to me as he wrapped his other arm around my shoulders again and started to lead us to the exit.

I unfolded the piece of paper in my hands carefully as I let Tony steer me along. As I read the words on the paper I couldn’t help but groan because of course, knowing Zeke, I knew it wasn’t going to be that easy. I reread the words again and again, they were familiar but I was once again tasked with trying to figure out the riddle of his carefully chosen words.

I’m the killer who burned your home.

I was no closer to solving the mystery than I was before.

---

“Effie, you need to eat something,” Tony said, pushing the plate of food back in front of me again.

“I’m not hungry,” I muttered, continuing to stare down at the small piece of paper.
“Don’t make me airplane it for you,” he warned.

I sighed and picked up the cold slice of pizza and took a bite, making a face at Tony as I did so.
“So I’m guessing we’re going to ignore the obvious reference, right?” Tony questioned, taking another bite out of his slice.

“No offense but I’m pretty sure Vic isn’t a fortune teller. Just because it’s lyrics to one of your guys songs doesn’t mean it has anything to do with you.” I sighed again, leaning back into the couch. “Besides, Zeke wouldn’t take the obvious route, he was all about challenges and making sure no one figured it out unless they were supposed to.”

“What if he was counting on that though?” Tony suddenly said, furrowing his eyebrows at me.

“What?”

“What if he wanted you to think that it was more complex than it really is?” He offered with a shrug but he bit his lip, seeming to ponder his own words.

“Okay so maybe it is connected to the band somehow but I still don’t get it,” I sighed and leaned back into the couch, practically shoving the pizza slice in my mouth out of frustration.

Tony leaned back with me, running his hand along my thigh comfortingly as I stared up at the ceiling. I thought about the words and then I thought about the lyrics as a whole. Zeke had only written one line of the song but what if it was the whole song that was the clue. I closed my eyes as I sang the song in my head.

If you wanted to set me free
Why the fuck wouldn't you say something?
See, I was just over seventeen
May the poison set me free

Oh no, please, don't abandon me
Mother, father, I love you so
But this is just me disguised as me
I'm the killer who burned your home
This home
What the fuck is a home

This is the street youth rising up!

“Oh my god,” I muttered with a gasp.

Maybe Vic was a fortune teller. Jesus Christ, I swear Vic could have written that damn song about my life. I sat up with a sigh, shaking my head as I glanced around the house. This still made no damn sense. I focused on the whole song again though, trying to picture the lyrics in my head. The longer I thought about them though, the more scrambled my brain seemed to get. Was I even remembering the right words?

“Tone where’s your CD at?” I questioned, standing up from the couch.

“Over there, why?” he said, sitting up and pointing over to the stack of CDs over by the DVD rack.

“I don’t know, I just, I don’t know,” I sighed with defeat as I walked over and scanned the various CD’s, searching for the Collide With the Sky one.

I finally found it and slid it out from the stack and made my way over back to Tony as I twirled the CD case in my hands. I furrowed my eyebrows as I saw that the packet inside was upside down but I didn’t think much of it as I popped open the case and pulled it out. I flipped the pages in aggravation before I finally turned the book to the first page and that’s when I saw it.

“You son of a bitch,” I muttered with a small laugh as I stared down at the chicken scratch that was Zeke’s handwriting that was sprawled across the page where the lyrics for “May These Noises Startle You In Your Sleep Tonight” should be.

“What?” Tony asked, leaning over to see what I was grinning at. “What does it say?!” he asked quickly when he saw it.

“It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.” I muttered, reading off the words and I sighed again. “And once again, it makes no fucking sense.”

“That’s Star Wars,” Tony said suddenly, his voice coated with shock.

“What?” I said with an exhausted sounding chuckle; Tony was losing his damn mind.

“That’s a quote from Star Wars Eff; fuck, you know this is really starting to freak me out.”

“What does the quote mean?” I asked him, turning to look at him, ignoring his comment. “Come on babe, don’t let your nerdy ways fail me now.”

He scowled at me before he rolled his eyes. “It’s how Obi Wan describes The Force. The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.”

I stared at him wide eyed. “Did you just quote that word for word?” I asked carefully.

“Don’t patronize me,” he retorted. “So what does it mean? What is the thing that holds you together Effie? What is your force? Do you think Zeke knew enough about you to know?”
I whimpered and then groaned, shaking my head as I dropped it into my hands. “I have no fucking clue Tony. I don’t know.”

I felt Tony rub my back and I sighed, leaning over into his lap. He started to lay back into the couch, pulling me against him so that we were cuddled together as he held me. I tangled my legs with his and rested my head on his chest.

“Try not to think too much about it babe, get some sleep.” Tony said softly, reaching up to grab the small blanket on the top of the couch and laying it over us.

“You’re joking right?” I mumbled.

“Humor me?” he pleaded, pulling me even closer to him.

I sighed and closed my eyes, trying to focus on Tony’s heartbeats and shallow breathing and not on the thoughts swirling around in my head.

“You have a boyfriend?” He asked skeptically.

“Yeah.” I mumbled back.

“So this explains why you didn’t run off to another place.” Zeke commented.

I took some offense to his words—even if it was true.

“Explains what?” I countered.

“Don’t act like you haven’t noticed. Effie, you’re a rolling stone. You never stay in one place long enough to actually know people. How this guy did it is beyond me, but it explains why you’re actually putting up with the fuzz.” Zeke explained then pocketed my phone.

I woke up with a gasp, still wrapped up in Tony’s arms on the couch. Tony jumped at my sudden movement and his eyes flashed open.

“What’s wrong?” he mumbled groggily.

“I know what it means,” I said and pulled away from him, sitting up.

“What, the riddle?” Tony asked with a yawn, sitting up with me.

“Yeah, at least I think so. It wasn’t for me though.” I said and glanced over at him.

His hair was sticking up slightly and he still had sleep coated in his features but he furrowed his eyebrows. “What are you talking about Effie?”

“Back when Zeke and I met the other night, he looked through my phone and he saw our messages and he was surprised that I had a boyfriend. He reminded me of my past, about how I never stayed in one place long enough to know anyone and all that. He basically said that you were something special, because I chose to stay here and not run. You’re my force Tony, you’re what keeps me together but that’s not what Zeke meant. He was trying to hint at the fact that I was always moving, always running.”

I stood up, tugging on my shoes and after a moment of shock Tony started to do the same.

“Effie, what are you talking about?”

“There has to be something in my car. Zeke was actually the one who helped me buy it and I don’t know, I just have this feeling.” I explained as we headed out into the darkness of early morning. I headed for the back of my jeep and popped it open before I climbed in. “When I first got this car, Zeke taught me a few things like how to make secret compartments out of your speakers.”

With that I banged against the back stereo speaker as Tony watched curiously from the outside. It took a little effort but I finally managed to pop off the cover and I threw it to the side before I dug around, in search of something, anything. Finally my hand hits something and I pulled out the small manila envelope – addressed to Elizabeth Crane. I looked back at Tony to see him once again staring at me with awe. I scooted closer to him as I started to rip the envelope open. I peeked inside and frowned at what I saw. Tony held out his hand and I flipped the envelope over, watching as the green guitar pick with a turtle on it landed in his palm.

“This is my guitar pick,” Tony said slowly after we both stared at it silently.

“I know.” I said with a sigh.

“I keep these in my studio, with all my other stuff,” he said and this time he was the one to walk away while trying to explain what was going.

I quickly got out of my jeep, slamming the back closed as I followed Tony back into the house. He made his way into the room that he used as his studio, where all of his musical equipment was stored and he walked over to the small shelf where he kept his various picks. We were both silent as we tried to figure out what the next move in this game could be.

“Effie,” Tony said quietly and I looked up at him to see him staring down at me with worry. “Are you sure that you want to figure this out?”

“Of course I do Tony! I just want to try and live a normal life. Why?” I asked incredulously, unsure why he suddenly had a change of heart.

“Look Effie, it’s just, I knew Laurel. I mean, she was crazy yes but I don’t know, I just can’t picture her killing someone.” Tony said with an exhausted sigh.

“But it has to be her Tony, who else could it be?” I said quietly.

“I don’t know I mean, you said so yourself, you’ve been all over the states Effie. You’ve done a lot of things, are you sure you never made any enemies along the way?”

I was quiet for a moment, letting his words sink in. it was true, I had been so hell bent on catching Laurel that I didn’t even consider the possibility that maybe it wasn’t her doing all of this. Was a love-struck psycho really capable of committing a murder? I pushed those thoughts aside though, it had to be Laurel. It had to be. Sure I might have done some not so honest things in my past but there was nothing I could think of that would cause anyone to come looking for me.

“I don’t know.” I finally sighed, still unable to convince myself.

“Well, I guess were about to find out,” Tony said then, his tone holding a nervous yet relieved tone.

I looked up to see him staring down at his guitar case. I was confused at first until I saw the small, intricately designed sun on the cover of the case. This was it, I wasn’t sure how but I knew after this, there would be no more riddles. Whatever Zeke had found out was in that guitar case, waiting to be exposed. As Tony and I bent down on the floor and he reached over to open it, I suddenly began to rethink my answer. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to figure this out anymore, maybe it was best if I had never dug around in the first place. As Tony lifted up the cover though, I realized it was too late.

I had finally found out the truth and it terrified me.

Notes

oh my god this chapter sucks I'm sorry.....

@Lost in Neverland I suck as suspense and this was the best I got so hopefully you can save this for me friend :/

***Also, i would like to say a special THANK YOU to @Nothingliketoday for helping me with the whole Star Wars riddle because I unforunately know nothing about Star Wars so thanks a bunch!!