Throwing an arm over the back of the chair, my legs drop open. "Told ya, first impressions are everything."
"As is human decency." She shakes her head in disappointment. "If you want me to stick with this and help you with math, I need you to make me a promise."
"Nope," I shake my head. "I don't make promises. They're bound to be broken."
"Ok, fine. Humor me and lie if you have to, but no more questions about what happened at my last school."
"Just one?"
"No!" she snaps. "Anything in my past is no one's business, especially yours. I know that Cutler Creek isn't exactly huge, but I prefer not to air my dirty laundry."
"Ah, so you do have dirty laundry?" I smirk, knowing damn well that she does.
"Don't we all?"
Touché. Everyone has a past, but her choices destroyed lives. I might have skeletons in my closet, but I didn’t put them there. She made a choice and didn’t give a damn about the consequences.
“Fine,” I tell her. Just to shut her up for the day. “I won’t pry. But, like you said, Cutler Creek is small, it’s only a matter of time before word gets around if you are, in fact, hiding something.”
“I’m not hiding anything. What happened has already become public knowledge. It’s not a secret, but it still doesn't make it anyone's business.”
“I said fine. Damn, girl.”
Squinting one eye, she thinks long and hard before going back over to the other side of the table. Her bag hits the floor and her books are back on the table.
She’s a tough one, but I’ll break her if it’s the last thing I do.
6
Nadia
After dinner, I made myself a smoothie then went straight to my room. Another day down. Another exhausting day. Mom and Dad are leaving in an hour to go to The Hamptons until Sunday and I'm looking forward to having the house to myself. It's been a couple days since I've received any threats or acts of vandalism and I'm starting to think this whole thing has begun to blow over. I'll take Zack and his mysterious ways any day over what I dealt with prior. I can handle him. He's just a nosey boy with a chip on his shoulder.
Lying down in bed, I close my eyes with no intention of falling asleep. Though, somehow, I must have, because the next thing I know, Mom is standing at the side of my bed. 'Hey, Sweetie. We're leaving. The alarms will be set. Call me if you need anything. I'll text when we arrive." Bending down, she presses a kiss to my forehead.
"I'll be fine. Love you, guys." I grumble through my drowsiness.
"Love you, too. And, Nadia, we're trusting you."
Shaking my head, I acknowledge her words. "I know, Mom. I promise, things have changed."
She responds with a smile then leaves the room. Curling into a ball, I close my eyes again, feeling like I could sleep the rest of the night, but I have homework to do and there is no way I can fall behind in my classes. I already have to make up for missed time.
Forcing myself out of bed, I make my way downstairs with my backpack in hand. Setting it on the center island in the kitchen, I grab a bottled iced coffee from the refrigerator. For the first time in a while, I'm all alone. Something I've missed. Mom and Dad haven't left me by myself since everything unfolded. I know that I lost their trust but knowing that I'm earning it back is a good feeling.
The sun is beginning to set and the orange glow of the sky illuminates through the bare windows. I pull out the stool on the backside of the island and sit down, facing the French doors that lead to the back yard. It's such a beautiful view of the creek. Our house sits on top of a large hill that runs down to Cutler Creek. I'm pretty sure we have the best view in town. Not to mention, twenty acres of solitude and at least a five minute drive to any other houses.
Sliding my books out of my bag, along with my Mac Air, I flip it open and bring up the doc of an essay I'm working on for English Lit.
Twenty minutes later, with an empty bottle of coffee, I finish. One assignment done, six more to go.
I begin working on the next one when I lift my head and notice that it's completely dark out now. An eerie feeling washes over me. One I haven't felt in a long time. There's a strong sense of being watched. Like eyes are burning into my flesh as heat radiates down my shirt. A loud noise on the deck startles me. Sweat pools in my palms and my heart pounds as I slide the stool back and get to my feet.
Creeping slowly over to the door, I attempt to steady my heart rate, while also being as quiet as I can. I'm not sure why, though, because if someone is out there, they can see me plain as day; I just can't see them.
Once I reach the doors, I look outside into the darkness of the night. There are some flashes of light coming from the lightning bugs. The croaking of the creek frogs can be heard from inside the house. Other than that, there's nothing.
With a firm but sweaty grip on the handle, I push it down to open the door just a tad. Just as a brush of wind hits my bare legs, the door slams shut. I jump back, my heart in my throat, because I didn't shut it. Someone else did. Taking steps backwards, my back hits the island. I gasp when I see a face.
Not just any face. And not just one. Another joins, and then another, until four masked people are staring at me through the glass pane. Light-up, neon masks cover their faces. With black hoods pulled over the back of their heads. Pink, blue, green, and purple. Like a rainbow that sprang up from the pits of hell.
Darting my eyes to the handle, I realize that door is unlocked. Completely frozen, I can't move. My mind says run, but my body doesn't listen. "Go away!" I shout. When they stand there staring at me, zombified, I scream louder. "I said, go!" Wearing all black with their hands draped at their sides, they stand there like statues in the night. Watching me, taunting me, scaring the fucking shit out of me. "I'm gonna call the cops!" I yell even louder. Slapping my hand behind me, I try to find my phone without taking my eyes off them. When I can't find it, I turn quickly to pick it up so that I can call 911. But, by time I turn around, they're not there. As quick as they came, they're gone.
With my phone still in my hand, I swipe it open and my finger hovers over 'Mom.' I hesitate to tap it. I should call her—but I don't. They just left. They deserve this vacation after everything we've been through. If I call the cops, they'll call my parents.
Hurrying over to the door, I click the lock then back away. My eyes never leave the door. For minutes, I just stand there, waiting for them to return, but they never do.
Once I'm almost positive that they've left the property, I take baby steps back over to the door and peer outside. Nothing.
Just as I'm about to go back over to the island, something grabs my attention. The shimmer of something silver and glittery that catches the light casting from the kitchen. I've made some pretty dumb choices, but I'm no fool. There is no way in hell I'm going out there tonight. Whatever it is, it can wait until morning.
This is nothing new. I've never had masked people show up, it's usually girls playing pranks and trying to make a mockery of me. But they've left me notes and cryptic messages on the windows before. It's just another prank. I won't let it scare me. I won't let them break me.