Damien was near the place where they found blood.
Sleep was long gone from my eyes and the possibilities of Damien being behind the murder started running in my head.
After what I heard in his house that day and the possible murder of an innocent, I was left with two choices. One, tell someone everything about him but no one would believe my word without proof.
Second, find proof against him and show everyone his real face but if he got suspicious he might add my name to the list of his victims.
With a sigh, I closed my eyes listening to the faint chorus of the insects outside.
.
.
.
An annoying blaring sound woke me up from my sleep the next morning.
I did not realize when I fell asleep thinking about everything but it was late. I was feeling sleep-deprived and annoyed the minute rays of the sun fell on my face.
Grumbling curses under my breath I made my way to take a shower. As soon as the cold water touched my body a hissing sound left my lips. I quickly replaced the harsh cold water with warm water.
I changed into the high-waisted straight-fit dark jeans and paired them with a v-neck white top. After putting on some makeup I checked the time on my phone. I only had thirty minutes left.
Leaving my wavy hair open I grabbed my bag and ran downstairs. Mom and dad were already sitting at the table silently eating their breakfast.
Mom gave a sharp look in my direction but thankfully didn't say anything.
"Good morning."
"Good morning," dad smiled putting the spoon back in the bowl.
"You are late," mom said in a stern voice.
She took a small sip of her orange juice and pointed her index finger at her watch.
"I am just leaving."
Dad took his phone from the table as he stood up ready to leave, "Eat something sweetheart, you know breakfast is an important part of the day."
I checked the look of disapproval on mom's face. The granola bar was my best option at the moment to get away from a lecture about tardiness.
Grabbing a granola bar I smiled at dad, "I will eat something later."
Before he could say anything else I left the room clutching my bag tightly as I ran.
I made it just on time and took a seat near the corner like I always did. My mind was everywhere else but in the class, so much was happening in the town and maybe Damien was behind it.
I scanned the area outside the window while feeling sleepy, the ground was empty. At this time of the day, almost everyone had classes, and if someone didn't who would go in the muddy ground after the rain?
My focus was on the large mango tree in the corner of the ground where birds were sitting on the branches and chirping loudly with joy.
My eyes shifted from the tree when there was a movement in the cypress bush near it.
I did not pay much attention to it thinking it was probably a squirrel.
But the leaves of the cypress next to it moved again and I got a glimpse of something brown and perhaps the same height as the bush. There was some movement again, this time I squinted my eyes to get a better look at it."Eleanor!!"
I jumped a little hearing my name and looked at the teacher staring at me from behind his glasses.
There was silence as the students and teachers waited for probably an answer.
"I asked you to read the second paragraph from page number 214," he said in a serious voice after he was sure I had no idea about the question he asked.
I checked the same place one more time, but nothing was there. "Right," I opened the page in a hurry as I listened to the whispering of the students.
The class was finally over. I picked up my stuff and was about to leave when the teacher called my name.
"I understand only two months of school are left and you have a good score and a good future ahead of you but it does not mean you do not have to pay attention in class. This is happening for the second time, you got a detention a few days ago as well."
I started looking at my shoes, it was the truth. I was no saint but I was a good student who respected her teachers. And more than anything, I could not afford to take any risk of ruining my plan of leaving.
"I am sorry, it won't happen again," I answered looking at him.
"I am not giving you any detention this time but if something like this happens again I will need to have a talk with your parents."
I gave him a nod and left the class.
I breathed a sigh of relief, there was no detention but most importantly my parents would not know about any of it. I could already imagine the lecture of my mother, how Faith was a perfect child who always maintained the name of the family while I was bringing shame to the family name.
Faith went to the same school as well and got selected to one of the best law schools. Of course, mom was overjoyed as her favorite daughter was following her footsteps.
Checking the time on my phone, I ran to my next class before the bell rang.
For the rest of the day, I made sure to stay focused on the subject but my eyes kept glancing at the ground.
And it was finally the time to go home.
But I could not stop thinking about what was on the ground or was it just my imagination?
In the end, I made a choice of checking the ground and put an end to my overthinking habit.I started walking carefully, making sure not to slip on the grass.
It was mostly empty, a few students were standing on the other end of the ground.
I moved towards the bush near the tree. There was nothing, no sign of any animal, not even a mouse.
Shaking my head, I was about to turn around when my eyes fell on something near the next bush. I slowly walked towards it and touched the print on the muddy ground. It was a paw print but it was not a normal print of an animal. It was large, larger than my hand.
Hello beautiful people!! I hope you are enjoying the chapters and thank you so much for reading. ❤❤
I stared at the bright moon hiding behind the curtains of cloud at night, illuminating every cloud around it and giving it a distinct shape. With a smile forming on my lips, I tried to connect the outline of clouds with my finger resembling a rabbit. I never felt alone surrounded by nature. I was too engrossed in my own world that the shuffling of leaves brought me back into the real world. Thinking it was only in my head after what happened in school earlier I ignored the sound. Not even a minute later there was another sound but it sounded like heavy footsteps. Carefully I stood up and tried to get a better look without getting any closer. If it was an animal I did not want to become its dinner. A gasp left my mouth as my eyes made contact with the shining blue eyes staring directly at me through the distance. There was something about those eyes that was making me want to stay. A low rumbling sound foll
"Who told you that?" I put the mug of steaming hot chocolate back on the table, ready to answer Adam's question, "Anna, we are in the same class." "There are four people actually and it is no longer a secret. People know about it." The soft sound of the raindrops falling on the ground echoed in the cafe. There weren't many people there and it was good for us, considering almost everyone knew each other in the town. "Who is the fourth person?" I asked curiously, it was not every day people went missing in our town. "A woman in her late thirties." Adam's eyes were glued to the screen of his phone probably waiting for any other update about the situation. While my brain was showing me the memory of those two men talking to each other in Damien's house. What if they were talking about one of the missing people? We sat in comfortable silence. Taking a small bite from the slice of chocolate cake I debated intern
My brain stopped functioning completely as the man said those words. I stood on my spot like a statue in the middle of taking a step forward. If that man caught us not only Damien would know everything but my parents would as well. Mom might ground me for the rest of my life. But if I ran the chances of outrunning the man were slim. I knew Adam was facing a similar dilemma as well. "Now, I want you both to turn around slowly and do not try to be smart with me," said the man. From his voice, I knew he was about ten steps away from us. "El," whispered Adam from my right side. I hummed to indicate I was listening. "Run!!" he yelled loudly. It was all I needed for the motivation and I ran. I ran as fast as I could without checking if the man was following me or not. The cold wind was slapping on my face but I moved my feet carefully so that I avoided the trees and everything on my way as best as I could.
The crescent moon shined alone in the lonely dark sky. Stars were hiding behind the clouds floating in the cool night.I was scared not because of what happened but because of what might happen after I reach home. The black screen of my dead phone stared at me as I tried to think about what I would say to my parents.It was late and no matter how much I tried to ask Damien to take me home it was useless. That's how I ended up sitting alone in the empty room that was next to the room in which I went the last time I was here.I was angry at Adam for getting me into this mess, I regretted the moment in which I told him about Damien but more than that I was thinking about Damien.I could see my future plans drifting away slowly just like the clouds in the sky.Blowing the air out of my mouth I stood up from the chair to get some water.I closed the bedroom room quietly and started walking down the stairs carefully. The dim lighting of the
The constant buzzing of the phone in my pocket was driving me insane. I was thankful for what Adam did yesterday but it did not mean I would forgive him for leaving me alone in the forest.The forest.... every time I closed my eyes the image of Damien's eyes was in front of me. I knew what I saw was real, just like that freakishly huge animal.Rubbing my head slightly, I looked at the time 30 minutes before I could leave. Not really paying any attention to the teacher I continued making shapes on my notebook earning some looks from Anna."Are you okay?"With a frown, I stared at Anna in confusion. She was not the one to care for anyone, well no one at the school at least."Yeah," I whispered back with a shrug, "why?"She glanced at the teacher quickly who was doing his work and we were supposed to read quietly."Your face looks dull and you are not paying any attention to the class.""No one is paying attentio
Ever since Faith and I used to play outside as kids I could always feel whenever someone was watching me.With time nothing changed, the small tingling feeling became more prominent whenever I felt someone's eyes on me.Faith always dismissed the feeling by calling me paranoid and I learned to ignore it as well.But at the moment I knew it was not paranoia, someone was watching me.The small distance from school to home became scary for me, it was like taking a walk in an alley from where anything could pop out anytime.The footsteps behind me became distant as I increased my speed clutching the pepper spray tightly inside the bag.I slowed my speed when I noticed a strange man dressed in an olive green jacket with a beanie over his head was standing on my way just a few steps away with his head tilted down.A knot formed in my stomach when I tried to pick if I should continue walking or go back.I ana
"Hey baby sis," came a sweet voice similar to my mom but more energetic from the other end. "Faith? Why are you calling me," I checked the time, "at 10 pm." Faith never called me at night, it was an unspoken rule made by her and mom. Utilize the silence that comes with the night. "I just wanted to check up on you." I did not understand the meaning behind her words. "I know mom and dad are not at home and with everything happening in town I thought I should talk to you." A frown made its way on my face, "Do you know where are mom and dad?" There was a momentary pause from her side, "They went for an important meeting." I closed the book in front of me and placed it neatly with the other books, "Why would they go to the same meeting?" I took a seat on the bed while waiting for her reply. "It is regarding everything happening in the town, El." A slight sadness passed thinking how I did n
"I thought out of all the people you would trust me," I crossed my arms over my chest and started looking outside through the glass window to avoid Adam."El, I am just stating the truth. There was not enough light and after what happened in the forest you might have just imagined it," he said the last words slowly.I stared at him with a disapproving look.I started looking around to avoid him once again. We were sitting at the end of a cafe. Every corner seemed completely different. A plain center and artsy designs on either side of two walls was the first thing to catch the attention of a visitor. While the third wall had glass windows all over it.The last corner had plants and a small bookshelf, the tables had a wooden wall separating them."El, not looking at me won't make me disappear.""No, but apparently I have a great imagination so I am just imagining you are not here," I smiled at him.After what I witnessed last night I n