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Chapter 4

"Now over to Kirsten Grass for the weather." Said the semi - famous news anchor, Daniel Adams. People always told me I had his eyes. They didn't know that I had those same eyes due to genetics. They were a lurid green, almost too bright to be anything but contact lenses.

"I don't know why you watch him on the news everyday, mom." I told my mom, who sat next to me, with her eyes transfixed on the man she involuntarily loved with all of her aging heart.

"I don't know either, baby girl. There's something nearly cruel about the way love makes you reduce your self worth for the one person who keeps reminding you how stupid you are for loving them in the first place." Her eyes were planted on the screen as she talked, not really grasping my presence.

I awoke the next morning with a raging headache. It felt like my brain was knocking against my skull, looking for an escape. It was Saturday, which meant I could just hide under my covers and avoid having any contact with Aunt Sarah. Having contact with her would mean talking about issues. Issues were best left swept under the carpet, where they escalated. But the human, in all its noticeable imperfections, best deals with conflict when it's at its peak. So that's what's I was going to do.

The tentative knock on my door proved that I wasn't going to spend the whole day in bed.

"Aura, can we talk?" Aunt Sarah said, melodically. She was dressed in a suit which meant she was ready for work.

"Aren't you going to work?" I asked. I sat up in my bed and threw the covers of my body.

"It can wait," was her reply as she took a seat on the edge of my bed. "This is more important." She took my hands in hers and stared at me intently. She had always been more affectionate than me. Well, everyone was more affectionate than me. But she was acting very strange.

"I'm sorry I gave your dad your number."

"Daniel," I corrected.

"Daniel," She repeated, slowly. More for my benefit than hers.

"It's okay. I'm over it." I told her honestly.

"No, it's not okay. I didn't ask. I discarded your right to privacy. I'm so sorry, Aura." Her voice wobbled, and without any warning, she began to cry. I sat there motionless, not knowing what to do. My awkward pats would just aggravate the situation. So I waited until her soft cries turned into sniffles before I spoke.

"Seriously, Aunt Sarah. I'm over it. I'm sorry I shouted at you. I don't know what came over me."

"No, I caused you to be angry," She was barely audible over the wobbling of her voice. "I can't believe I caused my baby girl to be angry." She started crying again, much to my reluctance to deal with the waterworks. It was awkward pat time.

"It's okay," I mumbled, simultaneously rubbing her back. "I'm not angry anymore." After a few endless minutes, her sniffling finally stopped.

"We'll talk more when I get back from work." Her watery smile prevented me from sighing.

"Okay," I agreed.

She gave me one last smile before she got up from the bed, gave me a kiss on the head and left. My head landed the the pillow with a thunk. It was going to be a long day.

I was busy washing the few dishes in the sink when the doorbell rang.

"Hi," Said Adam sheepishly when I opened the door.

"Hello," I replied. I waited for him to ask me to invite him in.

"Get ready. We're going somewhere." He said instead.

What?

"What?" I voiced my thoughts out loud.

"You heard me. Now go make yourself pretty. We're going to be late." He shooed me with his hands. I didn't budge.

He sighed. "Look, I want to explain what's going on. I can only do that if you come with me." He clasped his hands together. "Please."

"Okay," I nodded. "Give me 10 minutes."

The walk to Adam's mystery place was short. We stopped in front of an old building which looked like it had seen better days. The brown paint which had once been white was chipping. The windows were decorated with dust and I was pretty sure I saw a rat crawl by.

"So," I began. "What exactly are we doing here?"

"Just trust me, okay." He smiled. "Follow me."

Walking through the dark hallway of the place I've never seen before was a great reminder as to why I have such a bad sense of judgement. There I was, following a boy who has proven to me on multiple occasions that he couldn't be trusted. I was adventurous like that.

We stopped in front of a door with the letter 'Q' carved in carelessly. I waited for him to open it then drag me inside and murder me.

"Oh God. Get that look off your face. I just want you to meet someone then the three of us can go to the real place I wanted to take you to."

Before I could argue, he opened the door and stepped inside. My eyes were greeted with the sight of red.

Every. Single. Thing. Was. Red. The furniture was . The walls were red. The carpet was red. Even the mirror on the wall had a red tint to it.

Adam saw my face and I could tell he was fighting the urge to laugh. Smart boy.

"Qaahir!" He called out to the empty room. "Qaahir! He shouted again, to no one in particular.

Okay, my mind was made up. Adam was insane.

"Sheesh. I'm coming. I'm coming. Do you have to shout so loud," A voice called from nowhere. A boy walked out of an adjacent room which I hadn't noticed before and scowled at Adam. "It's like three in the morning.

"It's 3 in the afternoon." Adam clarified.

"Same difference." He rubbed his sleep-filled eyes underneath his spectacles and stared at me.

"Who's the hot girl?" He said, while staring at me. His glasses were too big for his face and made his brown eyes seem larger than they were.

"This is Aura," Adam said, quickly. "And she'd never fall for your lame ass."

"I believe that's up to her to decide." He wiggled his eyebrows. I was positive he had never looked at himself in the mirror while doing it. "I'm Qaahir Arnold. It's nice to meet you, Aura." He did a ridiculous bow, which strangely suited him.

I waved stiffly in response to his greeting. He didn't seem satisfied with it, so he took it upon himself to grab my hand in his and kissed it rather sloppily.

I wiped it, not very discreetly and said: "So, you're friends with Adam?"

He snorted. "He wishes he had friends. Adam and I are," He swallowed. "Are more like family."

Nodding my head, I turned to Adam."Wherever we're going, we have to make it quick. I have to be home by five."

"That's cool. It won't take long. Qaahir, get ready. We gonna show Aura that thing."

Qaahir's eyes widened. "For real?"

"Yes. Trust me. And don't ever say 'for real' ever again."

"Who made you the boss of me?"

"Just shut up and go get your keys."