by Ivy Rose
And then there was Lexi. She had left me there at the party, and I knew she would never do that. What made her leave? She’d been so excited for the party; there was no way she would bail early and go home.
I closed my eyes and tried to remember what had happened when I went upstairs, even though Adrian told me I’d never gone there. I had walked through a hallway and it had been cold and dark. Something had distracted me in the hallway; I just couldn’t remember what. I was missing something, but no matter how hard I tried to remember, it wasn’t coming back to me. It was definitely a two-storey house, so it wasn’t impossible that I’d been upstairs. But then, why would Adrian lie to me? I couldn’t come up with any reasons why he would lie about something like that.
Then there was the mysterious Evangeline. Who the hell was she? He had flat-out denied having a relationship with her, despite the fact I had seen them kissing. He had told me that everything was not as it seemed. What was he talking about?
My only real conclusion about this evening was that I couldn’t trust Adrian. He was clearly a manipulative and arrogant liar, who was simply bored and wanted someone to play with, and that person seemed to be me. The new girl. He was probably not an evil, crazy person trying to run people over; that was maybe going a bit too far. It could have been an animal or a shadow for all I knew. Still, he was definitely a liar.
I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. There was no way I was going to spend any more time thinking about someone who had done nothing but play games with me since the moment we met. I was done, and as far as this evening was concerned, I was done with that too. From now on, Adrian Hunter would be no more than a distant memory.
Chapter 9
The following day Mum needed to go back into the office again, despite it being a Sunday. She was kind enough to arrange someone from the office to pick her up, so that I could have the car if I needed to go somewhere. There weren’t many buses that ran on a Sunday around here. I knew she felt guilty because of her busy work schedule, but I’d assured her so many times that I was perfectly fine on my own.
“I promised we’d try to find you a car this weekend.” She sighed and looked at me with guilty eyes.
“It’s fine – we’ll do it another day. Seriously, don’t worry about it. I’m quite tired from last night anyway.” Actually, I was exhausted.
“I’m a terrible mum. I haven’t even had a chance to ask if you had a good time last night.”
“I did, so now you’ve asked. We’ll talk later tonight,” I reassured her. “Now please, go to work.”
She gave me a hug. “I love you.” She smiled. “Okay, I’ll be home with pizza later and we’ll have a girls’ night.”
“Sounds good.” I looked at the time. “You need to go; I know you’re busy. See you tonight, Mum.”
I tried to call Lexi throughout the morning, but I only got her voicemail. By lunchtime, I really started to worry about her. Even if she had slept in, this was too long without a reply. I needed to find her, or at least speak to her, because I didn’t like the way we had parted last night. Truth be told, I hadn’t liked anything that happened last night. If I could talk to her, I was sure she could help me fill in some of the missing pieces.
I picked up my phone and called her again but reached her voicemail for the millionth time this morning. I decided to call Jasmine instead, but she didn’t pick up either. I continued to scroll down my list and pushed the call button to Mia without any expectations, but she was the first to pick up.
“Aurora?”
“Hi, Mia, how are you? Did you have a good time last night?”
“I had a great time. What about you? Did you enjoy the party?”
“Yeah, it was great.” I felt a bit awkward with my answer. I wasn’t sure if I would define last night as great. It was more accurately horrible, to be perfectly honest.
“And what happened with Adrian? He went after you pretty quickly.” Mia giggled. “I have no idea who this Evangeline is, but I honestly think he’s got it bad for you, Aurora.”
“I don’t think so. Anyway, I have no intention of anything more than a friendship with Adrian, if that.” The words tasted bitter on my tongue, like something foreign that I was forced to swallow, but didn’t like the taste of.
“Oh, trouble in paradise already? So, what are you going to do? Have you decided to go with Julian instead?”
“No, it’s not like that. I’m not really interested in anyone, to be honest.” Liar.
God, I was messed up. Was this how people saw me? Some kind of lovesick, hormonal girl? I didn’t want them to think of me like that. It was so far from the person that I truly was.
“Okay, if that’s what you’re feeling,” Mia continued.
“It is, it really is. Anyway, have you spoken to Lexi today?” I needed to get off this topic fast.
“No, not since yesterday. I guess she’s busy. She didn’t realise he was back…”
“Wait. What? Who’s back?”
“Luca. He came to the party last night.”
“Luca?”
“Yeah, remember we told you about the famous four? Julian, Adrian, Elijah, and Luca…”
“I remember. I didn’t meet him last night though.”
“Jeez, where were you all night?” Mia laughed.
I swallowed the lump that was growing in my throat. I had to try and supress the panic that threatened to consume me. Where had I been all night? That was the question I was so desperate to find an answer to.
“I don’t know – dancing I guess,” I lied. “Did you actually see Lexi leave with Luca?”
“I didn’t see her leave, you know, jump in a car and all that. But she came up to me and told me she was leaving with Luca.”
“Okay. Thanks, Mia. Well, I better go. Mum is calling me,” I said, feeling guilty as I delivered another lie to my new friend. I wasn’t normally a liar, but somehow it was starting to become a nasty, but familiar habit.
As soon as we hung up, I grabbed my jacket and the car keys and drove towards Angel Falls. I wasn’t sure what my plan was exactly, but I needed to try and find some answers somewhere. This whole thing was driving me crazy.
I didn’t meet a single car on my way in, and the town looked deserted. I drove through the centre of town and kept travelling south.
After another ten minutes, I turned off the main road and continued through the beautiful forestry. I wanted to go back to Julian’s house and see if my memory would come back to me. Then, I needed to find Lexi. If Julian was home, he could give me Luca’s address, just in case Lexi wasn’t at home or continued to not answer her phone.
The afternoon sun was highlighting the beautiful landscape that makes me love this part of the world. It was so peaceful here that it almost made me forget about my mission. A few minutes later I spotted the big house in front of me, and felt my stomach turn inside out. It looked different in the daylight – empty, like no one lived there.
I parked my car outside the entrance and jumped out. I stood there for a while and looked up at the house, while I tried to settle my nerves. There was a reason I felt this way and I needed to understand why. Determined, I walked up the stairs and rang the doorbell.
I waited patiently, but I couldn’t hear anyone approaching the door, so I tried the doorbell one more time. After waiting another few minutes, I put my hand on the doorhandle and gently pushed. To my surprise, the door was unlocked. I hesitated for a second, then my overwhelming need for answers took over, so I opened the door and stepped inside.
“Hello?”
Nothing but silence greeted me. I hesitated for a moment, then took another step and closed the door carefully behind me. I tried to listen for any clues that would tell me that I wasn’t alone in this big house, but it seemed completely deserted. I took off to the left and entered the old ballroom that we had danced in last night. It looked even bigger in daylight. My eyes darted to the opposite end, where I thought I’d sneaked through the mystery door last nig
ht, but there was still no door there. There were chairs piled up on top of each other and a few tables in the other corner, but definitely no door.
I realised then, that there was no way you could reach the second floor from here, because the ballroom was a single-level extension of the house. I hadn’t noticed that last night. I let my eyes sweep across the massive room one more time, before I turned and left. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all? It just made me feel more confused.
Back in the hallway I stopped and listened again for any signs of life, but I seemed to be the only one here. The other stairwell, to the right, tempted me to keep searching for answers. What did I care about trespassing at this stage? I needed to know what had happened to me and I had a feeling that those answers were upstairs.
“Hello, anyone home?” I tried again, just to be sure I was alone. I grabbed the railing and started climbing the stairs. This was certainly not the same staircase I’d gone up the night before. This one was straight and wide, covered with a soft, white carpet. Something had definitely happened to me in this house though, and I felt more and more determined to find out the truth with every step I took.
When I finally reached the second floor, I stopped for a minute to catch my breath. My heart was hammering against my ribcage. I’d never done anything like this before, and I was equally excited and terrified. I wondered where Julian was, and what he would say if he found me up here. What would be my excuse? Or worse, what if his parents came home? Well, it was too late now. I was already here, and I refused to leave until I’d seen every inch of this floor. I decided to head to the right first, and I found myself in the long hallway I’d been walking through last night.
Without hesitation I knew this was it. I felt a rise of panic in my chest. What had happened to me up here last night? The long hallway was bathed in a soft light, just like it had been the night before. I had to force myself to calm down, and not turn around and run as far as possible from this creepy place. I had to do this.
I glanced at my surroundings, and a memory came back to me. The portraits. There were so many portraits on the walls, but there was one in particular that had stood out to me last night. My eyes desperately searched the wall next to me, even though I knew I had to walk further down to find it.
I forced myself to move my feet from their frozen spot on the soft carpet. I studied every portrait that I walked past carefully, but none of them looked familiar. Halfway down the hall, I stopped. There was an empty space between two of the portraits, with only a hook in the wall. Was that the one I was looking for? But why would someone take it down? Because they didn’t want me to see it? No. That made no sense at all. I had no connection to these people on the wall, or to this house for that matter. But then I remembered my grandmother’s words in my dream: Beware of the signs, Aurora.
I looked at the empty space on the wall. Someone would have gone to quite an effort to make sure I wouldn’t find it. If that was the case, I couldn’t figure out why. There were still too many missing pieces to make sense out of anything at this point.
Another chill travelled down my spine and sent my heart racing again, and I knew it was time to leave. I turned around and ran back down the stairs. When I reached for the doorhandle, I thought that I had made it out unnoticed. I was safe. However, I suddenly found myself staring into the dark eyes of the party host from last night.
“Julian…” I said with a shaky voice and took a step back. I found myself inside the house again.
“Aurora, what are you doing here?” he asked in a smooth tone and followed me through the door, closing it behind him. I swallowed nervously and tried to come up with something to say. What was my excuse for letting myself into his home?
“I-I was looking for my handbag, and the door was open. I was waiting for someone to come…”
He tilted his head to the side, his black eyes boring into me. We stood there in complete silence for what felt like eternity. Could he tell that I was lying? I started chewing on my bottom lip, as a slow grin appeared across his face.
“Aurora, don’t worry. You’re most welcome to visit me any time. You took me by surprise, that’s all. A good surprise though.” He smiled. “Come on, I’ll help you look for your handbag.” He walked past me, and I turned and followed him towards the kitchen.
“Are you thirsty?” he asked over his shoulder.
“Uh, sure…”
He threw his keys on the dining table. “Have a seat.”
I sat down and watched him search the fridge for something to drink, just like he’d done the night before. I clearly remembered how close we’d come to kissing each other in here. I wondered if Julian had been drunk last night and didn’t remember any of it? Wouldn’t he have said something by now? It felt a little bit weird. I mean, were we supposed to pretend it never happened?
“Well, there’s not much to choose from, unless you want something stronger to drink, but I remember you told me you’re not a keen drinker.”
“That’s okay. Really, don’t worry about it—”
“Ahh, wait! Here we go,” Julian interrupted and smiled. “Lemonade?”
“Sure.”
“To be honest, I don’t remember you having a bag last night,” he said and put the drink in front of me. “What colour was it?”
I opened the can and took a sip to buy me a few seconds. What was the most common colour for a handbag? “Uh, black…?”
“Well, why don’t we have a look around while you finish your drink?”
“I’ve already—” I stopped mid-sentence. “I mean, sure, let’s do that,” I said instead.
I followed Julian around downstairs, looking for my non-existent handbag. It was almost comical, except that someone was deliberately trying to hide information about what had happened to me in this house last night. That was anything but funny. I shivered again and rubbed my arms to gain some warmth. Then something hit me. Was Julian involved somehow? I looked at him. I didn’t feel like he was. He had always been so kind to me.
“Well, it looks like we have to go upstairs,” Julian said after a while.
“I-I was never upstairs…last night,” I stuttered. I wasn’t prepared for his inquiring gaze, but at least I wasn’t lying…sort of.
“I had cleaners in this morning. I told them to put any forgotten belongings in my room.”
“Oh, okay…”
Julian ticked his head towards the stairs. “This way – my room is up there.”
I followed Julian to the second floor, but instead of going right, down the dark hallway, he went the other way.
“What’s in that part of the house?” I asked and pointed towards the other end where I was snooping earlier.
Julian stopped and turned towards me. “That’s the old part. We don’t really use it. It needs to be renovated. Why?” he asked and studied me.
I shook my head. “Nothing, I was just wondering.”
The opposite end of the second floor was brighter and very modern, I noticed, as I followed Julian in silence. He stopped abruptly to open a door.
“After you,” he said with a hint of a smile.
I hesitated. “Well, why don’t you have a look? I’ll wait here. It’s your room, right?” I tried.
“Yep, this is my room.” He grinned. “I don’t know what your handbag looks like, so I think it’s better if you have a look for yourself. Don’t worry, Aurora, I won’t lock the door and leave you in there.”
I smiled awkwardly as I walked past him into his room. A few mobile phones, handbags and jackets were neatly stacked on a desk. There was a big bed in the other end of the room, as well as another desk with a computer. I walked over to the desk and pretended to look under the jackets for my handbag. I shook my head and turned to Julian.
“No, it’s not here. I might give Lexi a call; maybe she’s got it.”
Julian followed me with his gaze as I walked back towards him. “Have you spoken to Lexi today?”
“No, not yet,” I
admitted. “She won’t answer.”
“I’m not surprised.” Julian grinned. “Luca came back last night.”
Luca again. I’d heard his name so many times now, but I still had no idea who he was. He must be special, if he could get Lexi to change her mind about boyfriends. She seemed so determined when it came to that subject. It was just another thing that didn’t add up for me. A moment of silence passed between us.
“Anyway, I should probably get—” I started, but Julian interrupted me.
“Why don’t you stay? We could watch a movie or something?”
I swallowed. “A movie?”
“Yes, Aurora, a movie. Have you never watched a movie with a guy before?”
“Of course, I have.” I actually hadn’t, but I didn’t need to tell him that. He didn’t need to know how inexperienced I was when it came to boys.
“So, what do you say?” he asked with a smile. “I have popcorn…” he teased.
I couldn’t help but smile back. “Sorry, but I can’t. I have some things to do. Maybe another time?” I offered.
“Sure. Well, it was worth a shot. I’ll walk you out.”
We walked side by side to my car, and when I hopped in the front seat, Julian grabbed the door and leaned in. “I’ll let you know if I find your handbag.”
“Uh, okay, thanks.” I had almost forgotten about my little lie.
“One more thing, Aurora: don’t think I’ll give up that easily.” He smirked.
I blushed and closed the car door. I picked up my phone straight away and called Lexi, but there was still no answer. I was seriously getting worried about her. Even though I hadn’t spent any time at her place, I knew where the Dawsons lived. So instead of driving straight home, I headed towards Lexi’s house.
Chapter 10
Lexi lived in the centre of town, not too far from our school. There was a light on in one of the rooms on the second floor, but other than that, the house was dark. It looked like no one was home. But Lexi’s car was parked in the driveway. I got out of the car, walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell anyway. When there was no sound or movement from inside, I carefully tried the doorhandle.
