They Came With Secrets

5|Sectret Santa

I wake up to a notification tone on my phone. There's a Secret Santa event at school. I groan and turn it off. Where am I?

I quickly recall I didn't sleep at home last night. I find myself on a worn-out couch, remembering everything that happened. Oh right, I was almost raped.

I stand up and stretch my arms out, feeling the satisfying release of tension as my muscles unwind. Where could that ghost be? I feel like thanking him for letting me stay here but I doubt it'll mean much to him. So I open the door and step out.

The breeze hits me like a refreshing wave, cooling my skin and invigorating my senses. I start to walk home, recalling everything that happened last night. I would have died if Ace hadn't stepped in. That's one of the reasons I'll put a good amount of effort into finding this killer. Or maybe because I want to live to see another Christmas.

It took me thirty minutes to get home. I open the front door and meet Margo watching TV, her feet comfortably resting on the coffee table. As usual, there's a cigar between her fingers. Honestly, she doesn't look like a nanny who has no idea where the kid she's looking after slept last night. "Hey Cas," she smiles. "What happened to your glasses? And how did you get all those-"

"I tripped. You didn't even bother calling me to know where I slept," I hiss. "I'm sorry... last night was just so hectic for me."

"Of course it was hectic... it's always hectic when you're drunk."

"Hey, I wasn't drunk... I was just tipsy... and I'm sorry, okay? How was last night?" Like hell I'm going to tell you what happened last night.

"It was alright I guess."

"Where'd you sleep?" she asks, taking a puff from the cigar.

"At a friend's."

"I thought you said you didn't have friends," she chuckles. "Whatever," I sigh. "I'm just thankful you didn't go to that motel around the corner... I heard you never come back alive," she laughs like it's a myth.

"Yeah, no kidding," I mutter.

"Go take a bath and get dressed so I can drive you to school," she says. "School for what?"

"C'mon, that Secret Santa event that's going on."

"How did you even know about that?"

"I signed up to get newsletters from your school's website... just looking for opportunities where you can get social Cas," she shrugs and turns back to the TV. "I'm not doing that stupid secret Santa shit... I've got better things to do," I snap.

"Things like what? Solve math problems? Read the encyclopedia? I'm not hearing that Cas. Go get dressed and meet me down here."

"Ugh," I mount the stairs and stomp into my room. She has no idea how hard it is to be social in the toxic environment I'm living in. I take off my clothes and enter the bathroom. Then I turn on the faucet and let the hot water run out, making steam rise in the bathtub. A hot bath is all I need right now after everything I went through last night.

I quickly brush my teeth and get into the tub, letting the water soothe my skin. Man, I could spend all day in here. "Thirty minutes Cas!" Margo hollers from downstairs. She is so annoying.

I have to cut my bath time down to 15 minutes. Afterward, I get out and apply all the necessary skin products before putting on a flannel shirt and a pair of shorts. Then I lace up my sneakers and step out of the room to meet Margo coming upstairs. "I was just about to come get you... c'mon, let's go."

Reluctantly, I follow her outside and into the car. She inserts the keys and the engine roars to life then she tosses her cigar bud out the window and carefully moves out of the driveway. "Don't worry... I promise you won't regret this," she reassures me. Easy for you to say.