Ivy's Second Shadow

CHAPTER 3: WHY ARE THINGS SO COMPLICATED?

Kash entered the house but even though I believed him that he was not the creep sending me these messages, a part of me told me that behind the handsome face was the face of a villain. It could be him, I mean, what if he was pretending to have a crush on me? What if he was bluffing and was trying to get closer to me to stalk me? Or what if Kash and Dave both are in this together? I felt like I was being trapped in a school quiz where there were two options A and B and both could have been the answer. Like, I reminisce that not long ago, there was this test where the question stated: "Which of the following is false?" And guess what, everyhting kind of made sense. I mean I don't know...I think I'm losing my mind!!! All these wild, crazy thoughts ran through my head and the worst part was that I allowed Kash to enter the house when nobody was there...Neither my parents nor my brother. 

Uh oh...

I was just so swayed by him when he told me that he liked me that I was like "Oh, I like you too" in my head and I just let him come inside and now he was sitting on the sofa in my living room. I was just so happy that someone cared that a stalker was behind me and actually understood what I was feeling that I might have accidentally called the stalker to my house(if Kash was the "someone" after me). I went to the living room breathing so intensely that I might have been looking like an apocalyptic pandemonium internally. However, on the exterior, I plastered a fake smile and I had decided to test Kash if he was the stalker or not. 

"Hey Kash! Just sit here, I'll be coming in a minute...I need to use the restroom," I said.

"Okay," he replied.

I pretended to leave the living room and then I took a glimpse at him hiding behind a little pillar beside. Kash was sitting on the sofa looking around like a clueless sparrow until he abruptly shuddered his head when he got a phone call. His ringtone was a really poignant, sharp tune that pierced my ears. But, ooh, that phone. That phone looked like a million dollars and it smelled expensive. His phone had this lovely glaze and oh, that phone. It was the latest model- iPhone 15.5 double pro max. I was in love with that phone and oh, his hands looked so pretty like he could have easily been a model. Anyway, he picked up the call and said, "Hi, she seems convinced." He cackled a bit with his eyes looking like those flashy anime characters possessing that deviously winsome smile. His dimples looked lovely but no...snap out of it, Ivy!

"Yeah! I'll call you back," he said. 

I felt puzzled. What did he mean by saying that "She is convinced"? Is he talking about me to Dave? Oh my God! This was getting really complicated! Was he trying to say that I was convinced that he was not the stalker to Dave or some other reckless old fool who was his accomplice? Because his excuse kind of didn't sound really reasonable.

 I didn't think that Kash was telling me the truth. So I meticulously started to look at him. Was I just stalking my own stalker? Okay, now this was the most peculiar thing I'd ever done. Kash kept his phone in the pocket of his jeans and then he got up from the sofa and it seemed like he was coming out of the living room because I noticed that twenty minutes had passed away staring at him. 

I tiptoed away from the pillar upstairs and entered the bathroom. He came knocking at the door and said, "Are you okay in there?" 

I replied, "Yeah, I'm so fit and fine!" 

After a minute, I came out of the restroom and said, "Kash, you know what I'll talk to you tomorrow because my parents are coming...They might get angry to see a boy in the house when I'm alone at home. So, off, ciao! Bye! Go, go, go!" 

Kash seemed really confused by my mood swing.

"Okay, just wait...Let me just take my phone...It's in the living room. Then, I'll leave," he said as his eyes looked away towards the living room. 

I smiled at him saying okay but then I realized that he had his phone in his pocket. Then why did he go back to the living room? By the time, I'd reached the living room, he said that he got his phone and told me that he would see me soon at school. I gave him a fake, polite bye-bye and then once I closed the door, I was vibrating like a cell phone. Why did he go to the living room when he already had his phone? Did he put a hidden camera to look at every freaking step I took in my living room? What was his obsession with me? I mean if he put a camera in the living room, it was kind of useless to put a camera there because of the following reasons:

1. I don't really use the living room. I literally live in my bedroom. 

2. Usually, my older brother Harry would be snoring, lolling and lazing around with some boring show blaring on the TV. And trust me, when I say snoring, I mean he was literally snoozing like a trumpet that if Kash was watching, he would close his ears. But now, I'm pretty experienced in doing my work while Harry was snoring.

3. The show on the TV that was usually played in the living room was some dry-humored show that would make you yawn. So, I personally think that if Kash was the stalker, he would get bored.

4. My dad would crack dad jokes which would bore anybody and you won't even able to pretend to laugh on it. Mundane life, to be honest.

5. The living room was this plain room where a hazy gray sofa was placed in front of the TV which was a plasma screen. There were a few chandeliers with gems, stones and diamonds that looked heavy enough to fall down like an apple falling down from a tree. There were a few chairs painted with shades of brown and there were a few paintings hung up by Harry because he loved to paint. But, the paintings were awful and my parents still encouraged him to go on with it. 

Anyway, enough about the living room. So, I began to look around checking for anything suspicious as I warily checked every single dust particle everywhere. I couldn't see anything around... I peeked behind the curtains, smelled the sofa, sniffed the coffee table dubiously. I checked the carpet crawling all over it like an infant suffering to move until I banged my head on the wall. "Ouch!" I shouted unless I turned my head and saw Harry come into the living room.