by Ivy Rose
This time I wasn’t so lucky; the door was locked. I rang the doorbell again and waited, my patience slowly slipping away. After a few minutes I picked up my phone and tried Lexi one more time, while ringing the doorbell again. I could hear Lexi’s ringtone from somewhere inside the house. I started knocking on the door. What if something had happened to her? What if she needed help?
“Lexi, it’s Aurora. Are you in there? Open up.”
I don’t know why I felt I needed to be so persistent. Lexi could have gone out with her parents. But part of me was really concerned so I kept trying. I was just about to give up, when I heard footsteps inside.
“Hold on, I’m coming.” Lexi!
A second later the door opened, and Lexi stood in front of me.
“Lexi! God, I’ve been trying to get hold of you all day.”
She grinned. “Sorry, I’ve been kind of busy. Come in.”
I stepped inside.
“What’s up?” she asked as I followed her upstairs.
I wasn’t sure what was up exactly, I was just glad to see her in one piece.
“Well, I didn’t have a chance to talk to you before you took off last night, so I wanted to make sure you were all right.”
She stopped and gestured towards an open door.
“Welcome to my world. Excuse the mess.” She laughed.
I stepped inside and found myself in a much smaller, but way cosier room than mine. “What happened last night?”
“What do you mean?” she asked and threw herself on the bed.
I sat down on the other end. “Well, you took off without me…”
“Took off? No, I didn’t. I spoke to you. I told you I was leaving, and you said you wanted to stay. I would never just take off – you know that.”
I stared at her. I did know that, and that had been my first reaction last night as well. Something was seriously wrong with this whole picture. “When did I do that?”
“Well, you came back after leaving us in the kitchen, you know after you told Adrian off…”
“No, I never came back inside. Adrian offered to take me home, and I couldn’t find your car, so I took him up on his offer.”
Lexi looked at me and shook her head. “But that doesn’t make any sense. I saw you. I talked to you…”
We sat there in silence, deep in thought. It was Lexi who broke the silence first. “Can I tell you something? Don’t laugh, but I feel like something happened last night. I just don’t know what. I wasn’t drunk, it’s… I don’t know how to explain it.”
I looked at her. “Lexi, you don’t have to explain anything. I feel the same. I had the worst night.”
“You did?” she whispered.
I nodded. “I have no idea what’s going on, but…”
I was just about to tell her about my night, when a voice interrupted us from downstairs.
“Lexi, are you here?”
I didn’t recognise who the voice belonged to. It didn’t sound like her dad. Lexi’s eyes lit up, and I knew who it was. She put her hand on mine and bounced off the bed.
“We’ll talk about this later, okay? Come on, let me introduce you to someone.”
“What happened to just being friends?” I whispered as we reached the first floor.
She shrugged her shoulders. “I changed my mind. You’ll see why.”
And I did. A gorgeous guy was standing in the middle of the kitchen. He pushed his blond hair away from his emerald green eyes, which were shining like gemstones. He was tall, with a flawless body to accompany his good looks. I could see why Lexi was so enchanted with him. He was pure perfection, just like the others.
“Hi there, I didn’t realise you had company. I would have grabbed us another pizza.” He smiled and looked at me with gleaming eyes. “I’m Luca.”
“Aurora.”
He took a step forward. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Aurora. It’s nice to finally meet you.” He extended his hand.
When I placed my hand in his, a sharp pain hit my stomach. It was so hard that I had to catch my breath and I tugged my hand away quickly. I caught Luca’s eye, but he just kept smiling at me. What was that? I stared at him, but he seemed to be oblivious to what had just happened. Once again, I started to question my own sanity. I mean, what did I believe? That Lexi’s boyfriend was using some kind of supernatural powers to hurt me or something? That was absurd. I needed to stop being so suspicious about everyone; I was taking things too far.
Lexi didn’t seem to notice anything weird either. She was too caught up in his emerald eyes. I saw Luca frame her face with his hands, lean over and kiss her softly before whispering something in her ear. She giggled and put her arms around his neck and kissed him back. It was so intimate, I had to look away. I hardly registered Lexi’s voice.
“You want to share?”
I snapped my head back to the beautiful couple in front of me.
“What?” I asked in horror.
“The pizza?”
I wanted to be swallowed by the ground. Where was my imagination taking me?
I heard Luca chuckle. “Aurora, is everything all right?”
My cheeks started to burn. “Um, yes…absolutely.”
“Do you want to stay for pizza then?”
“Sure,” I replied even though I wasn’t hungry at all. I still wanted to make sure Lexi was all right with Luca, just to be safe.
I studied him across the table, sitting next to Lexi as we ate our pizza. She seemed so enchanted by him. But maybe that was what love was all about? Getting so wrapped up in each other that you can’t see or hear anything else. Come to think of it, that was probably how they saw me whenever I was around Adrian.
I felt Luca watching me, and I looked up and met his gaze. He gave me a sly smile, as if he knew what I was thinking. I turned my gaze back to Lexi, who was happily munching on her pizza. Maybe I was being too protective? She seemed fine, and I was quite sure she wanted to have some time alone with Luca before her parents came home.
“When are your parents due back?” I asked.
“I’m not too sure. They’re away, but they’ll be back later tonight, I think.”
I stayed for another hour, watching Luca’s every move. Now and then he grinned back at me, but I didn’t get any more bad vibes from him. I decided to give him a chance. Maybe I was just bitter because of what happened, or didn’t happen, with Adrian.
“Well,” I said, sometime later when we were all sitting on the couch in the living room, watching TV. I couldn’t wait to get home and try to wrap my head around everything that had happened over this bizarre weekend. “I should probably get going, but I’ll see you at school tomorrow, Lex?”
“Absolutely.”
“Nice to meet you Luca.” Maybe.
“Same, Aurora. Be safe.” He smiled as I got up from the couch.
I left Lexi’s house, reassured that she was okay. I thought about what she’d said about last night. It was too much of a coincidence that she felt something was off with the evening as well, and I couldn’t wait to talk to her more about it. I called Mum, but she still needed a few more hours at the office, so I headed back to the house by myself.
Back home, I did my best to put all the pieces together, but as always, nothing made sense. I felt like I’d just added more pieces to an unsolved puzzle I was desperate to solve. I climbed onto my bed and started to check my emails to distract myself but, exhausted from last night and today, I fell asleep way before Mum returned home for our girls’ night.
Chapter 11
After a restless night, I decided to catch the bus to school for the first time. It was a twenty-minute walk out to the main road, but the sun was shining, and it was an unusually warm morning for September. Mum offered to drive me to the bus stop, but I needed some fresh air and some quiet time to myself, so I politely turned down her offer.
I had so many things happening right now that I felt the need to be alone, just until I had a chance to wrap my head around everything. I
was actually relieved that she was spending so much time at the office. I mean, how could I explain what was going on, when I had absolutely no idea myself?
I’d spent all night going through every single event that had happened to me since I’d arrived in Angel Falls. I’d almost forgotten about the mysterious book that kept reappearing in front of me, Fallen Angels and Demons, so this morning I’d decided to finally have a proper look at it before I went to school. Except, the book wasn’t in my drawer anymore. It had disappeared. Add that to the list of unexplainable events in my exciting life lately. I knew Mum would never go through my drawer, and I was sure I’d put it in there. Still, the book was now missing. I couldn’t even find it in my grandmother’s library.
I arrived at school only a few minutes before the bell rang, and I had to run to get to my first lesson on time. Lexi was already there; this was one of the few lessons we actually had together. I couldn’t wait to talk to her properly about the weekend. Unfortunately, I had to wait until after class as we weren’t seated next to each other. The lesson dragged on for what felt like forever. I must have looked at the clock at least ten times before it finally ended. “Lexi!” I called as I gathered my books. “Do you have a minute?”
She put her books in her bag and walked up to me with a big smile. “Of course; I have about fifteen minutes before my next lesson.”
“Me too, let’s go outside.”
I put my arm in hers and moved towards the door. I really needed to finish our conversation from yesterday. I needed it for my own peace of mind more than anything.
We made our way quickly through the corridor, avoiding any possible distractions along the way. I felt like I was dragging her with me, but I was so desperate to talk to her without anyone interrupting us. Just when we reached the exit, I heard Luca’s voice.
“And where are you two going?”
Lexi immediately reacted to the sound of his voice and stopped us abruptly. She let go of my arm and turned to look for him.
“Hi, Luca. We were just going outside for some girl talk.”
I cursed under my breath. Why did he have to be here right now? I turned around and was greeted with a smirk. I cleared my throat. “Hi, Luca.”
“Aurora.” He nodded, then shifted his attention back to Lexi.
“I missed you.” He smiled at her.
I could see Lexi melt right in front of me, and who could blame her? He was gorgeous, and he had obviously developed a crush on my friend – just like she had for him. I sighed. There was no way I could get these two lovebirds to separate right now. “I’ll leave you to it. Let’s catch up later, Lex.”
Frustrated, I left them and walked up to my visual arts class. Luca seemed to be glued to Lexi, or maybe it was the other way around. Either way, I couldn’t steal a minute with her alone. It was like every time I found her, he was there. If I didn’t know any better, I would think that he had some kind of radar, detecting me coming her way.
I unintentionally scanned the corridors as I made my way to the classroom, looking out for Adrian or Julian, but I couldn’t spot either of them. I hadn’t seen Adrian’s car this morning, and I wasn’t sure if I felt relieved or disappointed. I think it was disappointment more than anything that frustrated me. He was who he was, and if I wanted to guard my heart, his absence was just what I needed. At least that was what I tried to tell myself.
I didn’t get another chance to catch up with Lexi, so when school finally finished for the day, I texted her to meet me outside in the parking lot before she left. It didn’t take long before I spotted her walking across the lawn, and I waved to her excitedly.
“Lexi.” I gave her a hug as she came to meet me. “How was your day?”
“Good, very good. Now, tell me what you wanted to talk about. It sounded urgent.”
“Yes…” I looked around the lot and there was no Luca around for a change. “I just wanted to finish our conversation about Julian’s party. You know, how you told me that it felt like something happened that night?”
She nodded, with a serious expression on her face. “It’s so weird, but—”
“Hi, girls, what are you two whispering about?”
Luca. Impeccable timing as always. I glared at him, starting to feel really annoyed about his constant appearances. He gave me a sly grin.
“Lexi, I’m sorry, but we have to leave. I have soccer practice.” His eyes were still on me when he spoke, like he was gauging my reaction.
“He’s driving me home,” Lexi explained.
In that second, I had made up my mind; I did not like Luca. There was something unsettling about the way he looked at Lexi and me, and it was almost creepy the way he kept showing up everywhere. Like he was deliberately trying to keep us apart so we couldn’t talk to each other. But why? Unless he had something to do with what happened to me at Julian’s party. Was that crazy?
My eyes shot up as the thought entered my mind, and I found Luca once again staring at me. Refusing to back down I held his gaze, and that’s when something weird happened. For the slightest second it looked like his eyes changed colour. I blinked a couple of times, then looked again. No, it must have been the sun playing tricks; his eyes looked normal. What was I trying to prove here anyway? That Luca was some kind of alien or supernatural weirdo?
“Are you all right, Aurora?” he asked, faking concern for my wellbeing, but I could see in his eyes that he was laughing at me.
Ignoring him I turned my gaze to Lexi. “Don’t worry, I can drive you home. We just need to walk to Mum’s office first and get the car.”
“Sorry, but I wanted to show Lexi something before soccer practice.”
That was it. There was now officially a silent war brewing between Luca and me, which Lexi was completely oblivious too. Probably for her own good. I would do anything to look out for her. Even if it meant separating the two of them. I would stop at nothing to keep her heart safe. I wasn’t sure exactly how I was going to do that, but he was not good for her. I didn’t trust him, and I didn’t want to see her get hurt.
“I’ll call you later, okay? Do you want us to drive you?” Lexi asked and gave me a quick hug.
“No, I might head down to the library for a while. You two go.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“Okay.”
She jumped in the car with Luca and there was nothing I could do but watch them drive away. It’s not like I could tell her not to jump in the car with her new boyfriend. What proof did I have that he couldn’t be trusted? Nada, nothing. It was just a hunch, but I knew I was right; I could feel it.
Frustrated and confused, I made my way to the library. I needed to go somewhere I could distract myself, and I also wanted to look for the book that was now missing from my room. If Luca trained in the same soccer team as Elijah, their soccer training would start about seven thirty, and that’s when I was going to pay Lexi a visit. There was only so much he could do to keep me away from her. I texted Mum and asked her about taking the car as I opened the main door to the library.
I gratefully found my escape in one of the little study nooks on the second floor. I threw my jacket over the chair and went back to the aisle where I met Adrian for the first time, and where I had first found the mysterious book. I skimmed my fingers over the book covers on the shelf. Just the smell of this place made me feel better. I scanned every book in the aisle, but Fallen Angels and Demons was nowhere to be found. After the third round of scanning, I decided to go downstairs and ask the librarian.
After looking at her computer, she told me they didn’t have a book with that title. Why wasn’t I surprised? Of course, the book wasn’t here. This was just another mystery to add to a growing list of unexplainable events in this little town. “But I’ve seen the book,” I tried. “It was here recently. Can you please check again?”
She nodded and turned back to her screen, but somehow, I knew the answer before she gave it to me. “No,
I’m sorry. Maybe you got the title wrong?”
I sighed. “Yeah, maybe I did. Thanks anyway.”
I went back upstairs and checked my phone before digging into my homework. Mum had finally texted me, telling me she could drop off the car here when I was ready. Perfect! I put my phone aside and concentrated on my schoolwork. There had been way too many distractions lately, and I needed to put my head down and make an effort if I wanted to do well.
After a few hours of studying, I met Mum outside the library.
“Should I pick you up before I go home?” I asked as I dropped her back at the office. She still had work to do and couldn’t go home quite yet.
“Mr and Mrs Peters are coming in at eight, so I’ll go home with them.”
“Okay. I’ll see you at home then. I’m going to see Lexi for a while.”
I threw a quick look at my phone to check the time before continuing to Lexi’s house, just to be sure that Luca would still be at soccer practice. I could still make it.
The Dawson house was all lit up and I could see Lexi’s car in the driveway as I pulled up. At least Luca wasn’t here then. I parked and hurried up the front steps. It only took a few rings on the doorbell before Lexi appeared in the doorway.
“Aurora! Hi, come in.” I followed her through the house. “I’m making myself something to eat. Are you hungry?”
“Yeah, sure…”
“It’s just some pasta; my cooking skills aren’t too great.”
“That’s okay. Do you need a hand?”
“No, it’s all done. Have a seat.” She gestured towards the dining table, before serving up some bowls of pasta for us both.
“Where are your parents?” I asked and took a bite of the pasta. It wasn’t bad at all. “This is good, Lex.”
“Thanks. Well, I actually don’t know where they are, if I’m perfectly honest.”
I looked at her. “What do you mean you don’t know?”
“I mean I know they’re away, and I think they’ll be back soon…”