Chapter Twelve

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Azania

I wake up in Sarah's bed. I don't know how I got here but for once I didn't have a nightmare or a weird dream. Sarah and Natalia are sleeping next to me. And I'm still can't wrap my head around the fact that Nate is related to Nick. According to X which can't be true, right? I mean, why would he lie? Maybe it's to try and separate all of us? Make us not trust one another anymore.

But he needs us to work together to solve whatever the hell he wants us to solve. Either way, he's the potential kidnapper of Emily. I can't trust him right? I'll just ask Nate about it. I head downstairs and smell delicious food. "Ah, good morning. I'm surprised you were the first one to be awake. You never are."

"Yeah well, desperate times call for desperate measures." "Well, I hope you got enough sleep." "I did. Thank you for having us all last night. I know it was a bit of a surprise. But we just really wanted to be here." I just really wanted to be here. I wanted to see you. That's something I can't bring myself to say. But from the look on Molly's face. It seemed like she already knew. "You know I was like you once upon a time." She says, looking down at the pancake in the pan.

"What do you mean like me?" I ask while taking a seat on a chair, the kitchen island between us. "I used to hold everything inside and lash out at everybody around me. I used to take out all the emotion on them, people that didn't deserve it. Nobody wanted to be around me. That's why I was surprised when Sarah's father did. For some reason I never was able to chase him away. No matter how hard I tried, he always came back. He stayed. He was different from everybody else even if I hurt him. Even if I hurt everybody else around me. He stayed. And if he ever left, he would come back. Nothing could stop him. That's why I couldn't have possibly said no. When he asked to marry me because before I had ever known it, I'd fallen in love with him."

"That's a beautiful story I'm glad that you got the happy ending that you deserve." "Yes, well. Everybody deserves a happy ending. No matter how cruel or sad they seem. We all deserve a happy ending at the end of the day. Because the truth of the matter is, nobody's heartless. They're just broken and hurt." She said it so sweetly. It made me want to cry, I felt a sense of acceptance.

"I feel like Emily disappearing was my fault." I say. I don't know where it came from, but for some reason I felt safe with her. Suddenly I wanted to tell her all of my problems. Problems I know that she couldn't possibly solve. "Why would you ever think that it's your fault?" Molly asks me. she takes a seat across from me. She switches off the stove and is now fully paying attention to me.

"Because I hurt her. Like I do everybody else. And for before she left, she told me that she never wanted to see my face again and now she's gone. And I don't know if she'll be coming back. I know that she didn't run away, I've been trying to solve it, I've been trying to tell myself that it's going to be ok, that she's going to be ok but I don't know. I don't know if she's going to be ok and it's killing me inside." Tears are streaming down my face, I'm crying for the first time in a long time.

"Nothing in life is completely certain. We can never be totally sure of what's going to happen in the future because it's unknown. But that's what makes it special. You don't know what's going to happen, you never know what's going to happen. What matters is what you do now in the present. I believe in you and I believe that you can solve whatever you want to solve. Because you are capable and you are strong enough. I know that you are strong enough by the look in your eyes, you'll be ok." She said in such a strong voice. For second, I almost believed her.

She's holding my hand. It feels so warm. "Thank you." I say. Molly stands up and brings a plate full of pancakes covered in maple syrup for me. "I know how much you love maple syrup. "Who doesn't?" I say, and we both laugh. I wipe my tears away. "Molly?" "Yes?" "I know this is random, but what was Mike like when he was a kid?" I ask.

I'm not sure why I'm asking, but I'm asking anyway. "He was. So shy." "I'm sorry. What did you say?" I say in absolute and utter disbelief. Michael Howard. Shy. Never in a million years would I ever put Michael Howard and Shy in the same sentence.

"You heard me correctly. He was shy, I mean, he had so much to hide. He kept it all in. Of course, eventually he started to rebel. The only one and when I say the only one, I mean the only one who could calm him down and keep him out of trouble was Sarah. But one night. They stopped talking to each other. He stopped coming over. She stopped going to his house. They just broke apart. She never told me why. And that's how I know it must be pretty serious. But I think thanks to you. They might, actually connect again. It was so obvious that they were in love. I hope that they can find that love again within them." I smile at that. "I have a feeling that they will." I say.

"They were always together you know. You'll rarely find one without the other. They were so happy with each other we could barely even separate them, when it was time to go home. They were each other's light." Her saying that makes me really wonder what happened between them that night. What could have happened to possibly separate them for so long? Either way, that's not the mystery that we need to solve. At least not for now.

"You know what I think I have a gift for all of you." "A gift for all of us?" I say, completely confused. "Yes, a gift for all of you. I got an invitation to a ball. And I'm pretty sure that your parents did as well. How would you like to go with all of your friends? It looks like you guys really need a night out." I was about to decline, but then I remembered something.

"Who exactly is hosting this ball?" I ask. "Well, none other than Steyn of course. You can all go in place of me." Bingo, I knew it. If we're really going to figure out what the hell is going on. We'll figure it out there. I've never actually been to a ball especially at Steyn's house.

I've never even stepped foot in the yard of that place it's covered with security. Tonight's gonna be fun. "I'll have to accept your offer; it sounds way too fun to decline." I say. Let's get this show on the road.

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