Untrustworthy - Chapter 4/I Meet Arden
I meet the mastermind.
It was two weeks later and I couldn't get that sound out of my head, the horribly soft whisper that followed me down the stairs that night. Sara Christopher. I wouldn't have thought it was real except it was my whole name. There was no way I could have imagined that. I'd declined spending the night at Elysa's a couple times since then. Mom didn't like me sleeping over weeknights anyway. But, it was Friday again and I said no when Elysa asked.
"What's wrong?" She asked, her green-gold eye winking at me anxiously. "Sara, what's wrong? You come over all the time lately you’ve been avoiding me."
No use hiding it, I told her what I’d heard. "You definitely got ghosts in your house."
"Huh. That's your favorite room?" She asked. "Well that's the one Jacob chose too. You guys must have similar taste."
"No way!"
"Maybe he said your name, to creep you out."
"Probably." This theory made sense to me, and I mentally relaxed. I could totally see the little punk calling down the stairs to freak me out, probably hiding in the room opposite his. Creep. "Ugh. He's living there now? Boo."
"Yup. So you coming over or not?"
"Sure thing." I shouldered my backpack. "But I have like five assignments to work on so I'm not going to be much fun."
"Problem, there's going to be a party going on downstairs and Mayor is for some reason insisting that I come. You have to watch a movie or something with me to keep me out of it. Its weird, he always used to go out or something with his college buddies, now he has all these twelfth graders hanging out and drinking at our house too."
I groaned, knowing how much my mom would hate that if she knew about it. But I was fifteen now, I could make decisions for myself now. Including spending a night at a house where Seniors partied downstairs.
"K. Does um, does Royal and Gage still come over all the time?" I ask.
"Yeah. Actually they’re the ones who throw the parties. They get all their friends to come and ask Jacob to bring all his. There’s usually a lot of cute guys." She grins despite herself and winks at me. Elysa has no problem getting guys to ask her out. I’d be lying to say I wasn’t a little jealous. Not that it mattered; my mom wouldn't let me date until I was 16 anyway. She had my dad's full support on this, even though he was living in a different state. She was so strict, she didn't even want me to have a Myspace page and threw a fit when she found out I'd made one.
"Do you know about all the weird people that look at those things? You meet bad people online Sara!" She practically yelled at me. "That's just how Aurelia got in so much trouble! It’s so untrustworthy." Aurelia is my rebel older sister, who definitely dated before she was sixteen. "Partying, drinking, ruining her life! Is that what you want?!" No mom, that’s not what I want. When will you see that I am not my sister? I love my sister, but I'm just not the same kind of person. However, I did keep the Myspace, I just check it at school or at Elysa's house.
Mom said yes to staying at Elysa's house, and I dumped my homework on her bed. Elysa used her restroom to brush her teeth like she always does after school and on impulse I ran upstairs again to relieve my bladder, hoping Jacob wasn’t there. He's not. I use the restroom and came out again into the room. Hard to be afraid of ghosts when the sun was streaming in the windows, lighting everything up with its cold winter rays. Before leaving the room I am drawn to the window. I love the view from up here. The shades are drawn and dusty but I open them to look out onto the fire escape.
"What are you doing in my brother's room?" I start and look up, my heart beating fast from the scare. A guy stands behind me. He is tall and I recognized the black hair, he's the one who was at the door. His curly black hair hangs into his eyes and over his ears, and he has some scruff along his jawline but otherwise looks clean cut. His clothes are tasteful, expensive and suit his long, lean body. I can hear a little of New York’s abrupt tones in his voice, and wonder if that’s where he was originally from. But it’s his eyes that hold my attention. They're hooded, dangerous, and familiar. Jacob's eyes.
"Are you looking for something?" He doesn't sound angry, but I feel threatened nonetheless. I can hear the threat in his voice, and feel it in the sharpness of his familiar blue eyes.
"I was using the bathroom." I tell him, my voice sounding tenser than I would like. "What, what are you doing in your brother's room?"
"I live across the hall and saw you come in. He's been robbed before, because the little bastard leaves cash out in the open." The man, probably about Mayor's age, stands between the open door and I and still looks at me menacingly. I relax my shoulders and smile because I want him to see I have nothing to hide.
"I'm Sara." His gaze slid from my face down to my extended hand, and he gripped it lazily. We shake hands.
"Arden. And yeah I know who you are."
My hand drops. "What?"
"Don't look so surprised. You're Elysa’s special friend so you’re here a lot, and I know everyone in this house." He said everyone with quiet emphasis.
"I would never steal from Jacob." I assured him. "Never." His red mouth curved in a smile as I walked around him and I thought he said something, but by that time I was out the door and didn’t catch the words.
"What's wrong?" She asked, her green-gold eye winking at me anxiously. "Sara, what's wrong? You come over all the time lately you’ve been avoiding me."
No use hiding it, I told her what I’d heard. "You definitely got ghosts in your house."
"Huh. That's your favorite room?" She asked. "Well that's the one Jacob chose too. You guys must have similar taste."
"No way!"
"Maybe he said your name, to creep you out."
"Probably." This theory made sense to me, and I mentally relaxed. I could totally see the little punk calling down the stairs to freak me out, probably hiding in the room opposite his. Creep. "Ugh. He's living there now? Boo."
"Yup. So you coming over or not?"
"Sure thing." I shouldered my backpack. "But I have like five assignments to work on so I'm not going to be much fun."
"Problem, there's going to be a party going on downstairs and Mayor is for some reason insisting that I come. You have to watch a movie or something with me to keep me out of it. Its weird, he always used to go out or something with his college buddies, now he has all these twelfth graders hanging out and drinking at our house too."
I groaned, knowing how much my mom would hate that if she knew about it. But I was fifteen now, I could make decisions for myself now. Including spending a night at a house where Seniors partied downstairs.
"K. Does um, does Royal and Gage still come over all the time?" I ask.
"Yeah. Actually they’re the ones who throw the parties. They get all their friends to come and ask Jacob to bring all his. There’s usually a lot of cute guys." She grins despite herself and winks at me. Elysa has no problem getting guys to ask her out. I’d be lying to say I wasn’t a little jealous. Not that it mattered; my mom wouldn't let me date until I was 16 anyway. She had my dad's full support on this, even though he was living in a different state. She was so strict, she didn't even want me to have a Myspace page and threw a fit when she found out I'd made one.
"Do you know about all the weird people that look at those things? You meet bad people online Sara!" She practically yelled at me. "That's just how Aurelia got in so much trouble! It’s so untrustworthy." Aurelia is my rebel older sister, who definitely dated before she was sixteen. "Partying, drinking, ruining her life! Is that what you want?!" No mom, that’s not what I want. When will you see that I am not my sister? I love my sister, but I'm just not the same kind of person. However, I did keep the Myspace, I just check it at school or at Elysa's house.
Mom said yes to staying at Elysa's house, and I dumped my homework on her bed. Elysa used her restroom to brush her teeth like she always does after school and on impulse I ran upstairs again to relieve my bladder, hoping Jacob wasn’t there. He's not. I use the restroom and came out again into the room. Hard to be afraid of ghosts when the sun was streaming in the windows, lighting everything up with its cold winter rays. Before leaving the room I am drawn to the window. I love the view from up here. The shades are drawn and dusty but I open them to look out onto the fire escape.
"What are you doing in my brother's room?" I start and look up, my heart beating fast from the scare. A guy stands behind me. He is tall and I recognized the black hair, he's the one who was at the door. His curly black hair hangs into his eyes and over his ears, and he has some scruff along his jawline but otherwise looks clean cut. His clothes are tasteful, expensive and suit his long, lean body. I can hear a little of New York’s abrupt tones in his voice, and wonder if that’s where he was originally from. But it’s his eyes that hold my attention. They're hooded, dangerous, and familiar. Jacob's eyes.
"Are you looking for something?" He doesn't sound angry, but I feel threatened nonetheless. I can hear the threat in his voice, and feel it in the sharpness of his familiar blue eyes.
"I was using the bathroom." I tell him, my voice sounding tenser than I would like. "What, what are you doing in your brother's room?"
"I live across the hall and saw you come in. He's been robbed before, because the little bastard leaves cash out in the open." The man, probably about Mayor's age, stands between the open door and I and still looks at me menacingly. I relax my shoulders and smile because I want him to see I have nothing to hide.
"I'm Sara." His gaze slid from my face down to my extended hand, and he gripped it lazily. We shake hands.
"Arden. And yeah I know who you are."
My hand drops. "What?"
"Don't look so surprised. You're Elysa’s special friend so you’re here a lot, and I know everyone in this house." He said everyone with quiet emphasis.
"I would never steal from Jacob." I assured him. "Never." His red mouth curved in a smile as I walked around him and I thought he said something, but by that time I was out the door and didn’t catch the words.
Post Comment
