The Beast Across The Lake

Chapter 4

                                    

ead the entire book now on
Patreon.com/Bynadine
Or buy on Amazon

https://www.amazon.ca/Beast-Across-Lake-Nadine-Alliye-ebook/dp/B0CNPMPBZD/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?qid=1700779153&refinements=p_27%3ANadine++Alliye&s=digital-text&sr=1-6&text=Nadine++Alliye

Don't forget to comment and vote if you enjoyed :) Updates twice a week, enjoy!

*****

Holden had dropped me off at home a little later that night. The light on the porch was on and Mom was outside smoking a cigarette. Holden drove off without saying anything to her, they did not get along very much.

"Hey," I mumbled. She was still dressed in the same bra and shorts from this morning.

"Where's your car?" she slurred her words and now that I was closer, I was able to make out the cans of beers behind her.

"We ditched it at school, it wouldn't start."

"Told you so."

I rolled my eyes," did you go to work today?"

She shrugged.

"Mom, we need the money. You can't keep missing all of your shifts, they're gonna fire you again."

"You know what, Izzy? How about you stop trying to lecture me, I'm the adult here-"

"So act like it. I don't work full time anymore, I've got school. I can't handle all of the bills on my own and dads not coming back-"

"Shut your mouth!" She suddenly shrieked and amongst the silence of the moonlit night, it was practically piercing.

I decided to end the conversation there, I ran up the steps and past her through the doors to the living room.

"Don't stay up too late," I said and marched inside, through the messy kitchen and up the stairs. Inside of my room was a metal-frame queen bed dressed in black and purple sheets. I kept my room as simple as possible with a wooden dresser, a table that laid out all of my cheap drugstore makeup and skincare and a large square mirror I had gotten from a listing online for five bucks. I ran inside of my washroom and stripped to nothing. I could still smell Holden on me.
I sighed and took a shower before changing into some cotton underwear and a bralette. I turned on my laptop and sprawled the art project atop of my sheets. The project was set to take the entirety of the semester and to be handed in two weeks before the end of art class. That would mean it would take almost four months.

Four months of being Caleb's partner, I could not help but think.
It was supposed to be an art display that we would build onto a piece of thick cardboard, a visual display of everything we learned over the course of the semester.
In the project booklet was a paragraph that made my heart skip beats.

Make sure that once you begin to build your art project, to keep it secured to the same location until the very end to avoid damage!
Students will be required to build their display after class, on their own time. They will be given twenty minutes of each class to discuss with their partners.

I thought about having to meet at Caleb's home and shivers ran up my arm.
Where does he even live? I thought about Holden and Kyla meeting up after class to work on the project alone. I wondered how Matt felt about it. They were the two closest people in our lives, I trusted them with everything but still, I could help the whip of envy and doubt.