⁴ FLEETING DECISIONS ─ the adelaide woods

29 | gwyneth - choices, again

track #05 in gwyneth thalia anderson

itzy // snowy

I REGAIN my balance as we watch the black-clad man – Anson and Ava's killer – disappear into the distance along with his minions. All the while, one sentence keeps ringing in my brain as Tristan and Aiden support me back into the house, limping.

Careful for what's to come.

I push the thought off of my mind – they must be talking about opening actual fire. Tristan helps me onto the couch while Aiden goes for the first-aid kit, and I flinch as he applies alcohol onto my cut and bandages it. Meanwhile, Zoey still stares at the door, tramautised.

"How could they do that?"(" she mutters, and I shrug from my position. "They didn't deserve it. I should have stopped it before anything happened. It's my fault, it's my fault-"

Aiden sighs. "We should have expected it. He's a clever man. The killer, I mean – not James. I see through the facade he's playing, though."

"James didn't order him to do it," I say in understanding. "That man's smart, but he's too prideful for his own good. He knows we can't surrender to them. Remember what he said?"

Tristan gives an exclamation. "Like when he said, they have information that would potentially hurt us? But what information would that be? As far as I know, we haven't done anything wrong..."

"That's where you're wrong, Tris," "Zoey says, putting her head in her hands. "We used their house. They have all the records. Of every single party, every single guest. All the online records. For example, they would know Kun cheated on a exam in high school. The answers are on his computer drive – that'd get him kicked out of veterinary school which he worked so hard to get into. They're practically untouchable."

Aiden furrows his eyebrows, "I never thought he'd do that. The Kun I knew wouldn't cheat on a test. But come to think of it, if they know everything we've been doing in this house, they're probably monitoring every conversation, too. That means they know what we're doing? But that's impossible. They would have come here ages ago."

This is the time when I decide to burst. "Stop talking about that. It's probably just a

vain statement – Aiden's right. Why are they waiting for this moment? I'm more worried about the 'careful' thing. Like, something more serious. It could be my dad. Or even worse, war."

"He killed Ava," Tristan blurts out of the blue, and I raise an eyebrow. "I thought she died to protect me. But they killed her. He killed her, and Anson," he says, side-eyeing Aiden, "-and still shows up at our house. How'd they know about where we live anyways? We relocated and connected to the world database. They couldn't possibly know."

"I agree with Gwyn," Zoey answers, ignoring Tristan's statement. He scoffs in return. "It's just a matter of time now. Do we want to wait it out, or face it straight-up?"

The doorbell rings, and we immediately exchange glances, frowning at the unfamiliar scenario. It's unlike any of our friends to ring the bell – they have keys, and even if they lost them, they'd probably call first. And so, when this happens, we all get really confused.

Aiden's the first to get up from the table, "I guess that's a conversation for another time," he says, sighing and moving to the door, us following behind him single-file. "Who could it be?"

"I'll open," Tristan volunteers, and stretches his hand towards the handle when none of us object. We watch as it settles and makes a small click before pulling open; and Zoey screams when she sees.