The Thirteenth

~Chapter Six~

The Thirteenth

Chapter Six

 

After helping Jason with his singing and simply talking about movies and music, he dropped me home. I was too tired to function but one question racked my brain. What on earth did Velius mean? It sounded like a place because the guy said ‘at Velius’. And what was Celatum? It sounded like some ancient language. Or more like a spell, I could easily picture witches using to curse someone.

Curiosity is a nagging bitch. 

I locked the door and switched on the lights. It looked like my dad hadn’t come home yet or he was in his lab downstairs. I took off my shoes and plopped down on the couch. I switched on the TV and kept changing the channels until I landed on Vh1. I turned up the volume and dragged myself to the fridge to grab a bottle of water. After downing the entire bottle, I looked inside to find a Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie. Ah, my favorite! The fridge looked empty and was in need of groceries. I made a mental note to go shopping tomorrow.

I went back to the living room and positioned myself comfortably on the couch. I feasted on Ben & Jerry’s and my thoughts drifted back to Mr. Wilson. He had to go to that Velius place at four tomorrow. Who on earth holds meetings at four in the morning? Something was fishy. My mind wanted to find out more. Ugh, I was too accustomed to mysteries and thrillers in movies that I wanted one in real life. What if it was just some normal thing? What if I was just over-thinking? I tend to do that often.

But this time… it just felt different.

I had just eaten a couple spoonfuls of the ice-cream. I couldn’t eat more. Jason’s mom Laura cooked an amazing chicken roast. Tonight was no different. It was mouth-watering and I had all the more reason to eat since I was too hungry after running.

I switched off the TV, put the lid back on and got up to keep it back. I trudged my way back to the kitchen when I heard a noise downstairs. Like something crashing. I rushed to the kitchen, placed the ice-cream back in the fridge and ran downstairs, taking two steps at a time.

When I reached the last step, I stopped and looked around. I found no one. The lights were on but I couldn’t find dad. There was a shattered conical flask spread across the floor near the counter. So that answered the crashing sound. Now my mind wandered to the cause. I felt a slight draft from my left. I turned to see that the window was open. My dad hardly opened those windows. So if there was a thief that was his in, I thought to myself. From the looks of it, it didn’t look like he left the lab yet. I crept up to his desk at the far corner of the lab and found an empty chair. Where was my dad? Wasn’t he at home? Shit! There could be a dangerous man right here, right now. I walked back to the stairwell and climbed the stairs trying my best not to make a sound. Once I reached the top, I closed the door and called out for my dad.

“Dad? Where are you?”

No answer.

“Dad!” I shouted again this time gripping the rails of the stairs tightly. The light turned on and my dad came dressed in a robe with a coffee mug in hand.

“Amelia? What happened?” His eyebrows frowned.

“Aren’t you supposed to be downstairs?” I questioned him and his face featured a confused look.

“Um, yeah but I needed a file which I left in my room last night. So I came to collect it. What…Why are you asking?” He asked sounding confused.

 I just shrugged and gave him a tight smile. “Nothing. I thought I heard a noise downstairs…that’s all.” I felt awkward. This was by far one of the longest conversations I had with my dad without arguing or yelling. But then to think about it, this too did start with me shouting for him instead of at him.