My life

Chapter 5

Laila was restless, she kept an eye out for Chloe in school but didn't see her and by lunch time, she was worried. It was all over the news that a student of Sunny High school was found dead in the park this morning. The same park she had asked Chloe to meet her. She didn't have her number so she couldn't call.
She felt guilty for not showing up last night.

She met up with her friends for lunch and tried to act like everything was fine. Everything seemed normal with her friends except "Bill's" mood. He was usually moody but today seemed off, he seemed distracted.

"You alright El?" Laila asked? El stood for Elliot (Bill's actual name). He hated being called El, he believes it's too feminine but for the first time, he didn't notice, he was too busy thinking about the previous night. He wondered what sort of trouble Chloe was in and what it had to do with the dead kid. She was out last night, being chased by people close to the park were a kid was found dead this morning. It couldn't be a coincidence.

"Yeah, all good"

All three of his companions stared at him in surprise. They knew instantly that something was up.

"What's got you distracted?" Kelvin asked

"Nothing"

"Does it have anything to do with the absence of the weird girl?" Elliot ignored him and carried on with his food.

It didn't take a genius to notice that Elliot had a soft spot for Chloe. They had all noticed the way her stole glances at her.

"I'm worried about her" Laila admitted.

"Why? You barely even know the girl" Melvin asked

"We were supposed to meet yesterday at the park but I stood her up and now it's all over the news that a student was killed there. What if something happened to her?"

"You're the reason she was out last night?" Elliot asked sharply.

"You saw her? What happened?"

"I don't know, why don't you ask her yourself?"

"I would if I could"
It was silent

"Come on" Elliot ordered as he stood up.

•••

The doorbell went off. Chloe couldn't guess who'd be at the door by this time of the day. It was school hour and her little brother would be at school, her older brother would go wherever he went to to get drugs and her mother would just use her key. She didn't have any friends so she couldn't guess who was at the door. She ignored it, choosing instead to lay on her back and stare at the white ceiling above her. The scene from yesterday kept playing in her head, every muffled scream of their victim. It brought back memories, memories she tried to suppress. She glanced at her bedside table, staring at the bottle of sleeping pills she kept there. She didn't want to go back to it, but at this point it was her only salvation, anything to silence the voices, the screams, the blood, the darkness. The doorbell went off again, the person was persistent. She reluctantly resigned to opening the door.

If she was in her right mind, she'd consider the fact that she was alone and it could be anyone at the door, it could be the people from the previous night but she wasn't in her right mind so she unlocked the door and came face-to-face with Laila, the least person she expected to see.

Chloe stared at her blankly, with her bright orange her. She looked worried, but other than that, she seemed fine. The boys stood behind her.

"Hi" Laila greeted. Chloe ignored her, just turned around and walked in. The group took it as an invitation and walked in after her, shutting the door behind them.

"Are you okay?" Laila asked

"Yes"

"You weren't in school"

"I know"

"Why?"

"I don't owe you an explanation"

"Listen Chloe, about yester..."

"You stood me up" Chloe interrupted her.

"I'm sorry, I get caught up in some business and I forgot" 

Chloe thought the explanation was simple. She simply forgot about her, forgot about how she wanted to be her friend, forgot how she made plans with her.

She was put in harms away and could have died simply because Laila forgot.

"Okay" it was all she could say. Melvin and kelvin pretended not to listen while Elliot stared to Chloe, trying to figure her out, trying to make sense of what was going on.

"Okay?"

"Yeah. It's fine"

"Okay. I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah"

•••

Elliot didn't know what he was doing there, he shouldn't care, he didn't want to care but his curiosity got the best of him. He rang the doorbell. He waited a minute then rang it again. The door opened to reveal Chloe. The girl who's been on his mind all day. She looked surprised to see him and he couldn't blame her.

"Can I come in?" He asked

"Sure"

He noticed for the first time how tidy the living room was. The last time he had been there which was earlier that day, he had been too distracted to notice his surroundings.

"We need to talk" he went straight to the point.

"About?"

"Last night"
She stilled

"What about last night"

"Why were you being chased? And by whom? What does it have to do with the dead kid and why were you out late?"

"I was being chased by robbers and I was out late because your friend stood me up. And I have no idea about the dead kid"

That was a reasonable excuse, it explained a lot. The dead kid could be a coincidence but he couldn't let it go. He could tell she was lying.

He remembered the look of terror on her face that night, the way her body shook with fear, her low sobs as he drove her to the lake. There was more to the story. He was sure of it, but it was clear he wasn't going to get the truth out of her.

He asked for her phone and imputed his number. He knew none of this was his business but he couldn't help it, something about her drew him. He wanted to protect her. So he promised himself he would.