Love

Part 2

That night, Naila snuck out, her heart pounding. Laiden sat sprawled on the couch, snoring. Naila

grimaced as she stepped on a loose floorboard. Laiden mumbled, turning around and Naila

sighed. Closing the door behind her, she sprinted to Hailey's car. As she pulled out of the

driveway, a huge smile appeared on her face. She was glad her plan worked.

Her meeting had gone well. She had smiled the whole time. Her boss was pleased and shook her

hand, telling her to return tomorrow with her work. She had beamed and shook his hand back.

She was still in a good mood when she pulled into the driveway. But her heart jumped when she

opened the door.

"Where have you been?" Laiden snapped, his arms folded.

"Oh, um, getting groceries." Thank God, I got them before I came here, Naila thought.

Laiden gave her a suspicious look, but didn't say anything and walked away. Naila let out a deep

breath. One down, two more to go.

—-------

Naila sat nervously at her office chewing her nails when a text from Hailey popped up - "We

need to talk. Can you meet for coffee?"

Naila's heart jumped and a huge smile spread across her face, all worries gone. It had been a

long time since she and Hailey actually sat down to chat. So, Naila was really excited to meet

Hailey for more than a few minutes of quick greeting.

Her hands trembling in excitement, Naila quickly replied: "sure see u soon 😚"

 However, as Naila arrived to the cafe, her excitement turned to worry. Instead of Hailey's

mischievous brown eyes, her eyes were dull and somber. After the two had ordered, Hailey

cleared her throat. "It's Laiden. He was near my apartment last night."

Naila's stomach dropped. She tried not to show her disappointment. "What do you mean?" she

asked.

"Kept asking weirdly specific questions about where you were the other night. I played dumb but

he wasn't buying it. Something's up with that guy."

Naila froze, mind racing. If Laiden suspected she'd snuck out...she tried to steady her voice. "I'm

sure it was nothing. You know how paranoid he gets."

Hailey shook her head. "No, this was next level." She smirked. "And why are you still with that

guy anyways? You could do so much better."

Warmth spread through Naila. It was nice that Hailey cared about her. Deep down, Naila didn't

know why she still stuck with Laiden. He could be a little mean, sure. But he needed her help. It

wasn't like Naila was scared of him or anything.

Right?

So, Naila only shrugged. "He needs me."

Hailey sighed in frustartion. "Look, why don't you just be honest with him? You can't keep it a

secret forever."

But Naila didn't want to think too much. She forced a smile. "Don't worry about it. I'll be fine."

—---

It was a dark and foggy night. Naila goes around the whole house - everything is locked. The

basement door is slightly ajar with a key in. She thinks nothing of it as she closes the door behind

her. Naila feels worried, but thrilled as she goes down the stairs. She sees no other escape other

than a tiny high window. She groans and tries to go back up. The door's locked. She tries to open

it up but fails. Groaning, she decides to go through the tiny high window.

She dragged over an old steamer trunk and climbed up, shoulders wedging in the narrow space.

Naila pulled out her phone with shaking hands and called Haley, praying she would answer.

"Thank god!" Haley exclaimed when she picked up. "Where are you?"

"Trapped in the basement," Naila whispered. "Can you come get me through the small window

on the east side?"

"That jerk." Haley muttered to herself. "All right, I'll help you."

Minutes later, Haley's pale freckled face appeared at the opening. "Hurry, push from your side!"

They heaved with all their might until with a pop, Naila finally came through, wisps of hair

escaping from her bun.

Heartbeats pounding, they crept around the house. Haley's car sat idling at the curb. The girls

collapsed into the seats, catching their breath. Naila looked at Haley and Haley looked at Naila.

Suddenly, both of them burst into relieved laughter..

As Haley pulled away, Naila gazed back at the shrinking house. She swore she saw the

headlights of a car start up. She shook her head, looking ahead. Maybe she was just imagining

things.