The Life of a Princess

Chapter 29 - Secrets Lead to Lies

"Riley!" I screamed and bursted out of my room, marching down the hallway. My cheeks were flushed and my breathing ragged. Oh my God, my mind kept repeating. All my secrets were in there. All of them. His door opened hastily and Riley came out with bewildered eyes and sky-high brows.

"Is something wrong?" he gushed, inspecting my face with his hands. I pushed him off me sharply and glared at him.

"Did you take my diary?" I accused, pointing my finger at his chest harshly. He backed away from me as his face relaxed then hardened again.

"No? I didn't even know you had one," he said and I blew out my cheeks, running a hand through my hair. I couldn't have more people finding out about my true identity. One person was already too many and if this person spread it... I couldn't even begin to think how much trouble it would lead to.

But who would take my diary, and go to the extent of breaking in to get it?

"Brianna, what's the truth?" Hunter's voice rang through my head. When did he ask me that?

"Which one?" My own voice screamed. "Yours or mine? Because guess what, you chose your own. You will never know mine, but I will sure as hell know yours. I have it perfectly written down in your dead ex's diary!"

Hunter. Hunter stole my diary.

"Riley, I need your car-keys. Now!" I stared at him urgently, begging him to act fast. I didn't even know how long ago Hunter got my diary, but time was ticking. 

Secrets were slipping.

**

"Hunter, open up!" My fists banged on the door of his house rapidly but nothing happened inside. My palms hurt yet I kept pounding. I needed that diary. Hunter, especially, couldn't read what I wrote in there. It was personal, but worst of all, almost all of them were about him. If he knew how much I actually knew about things... Being underestimated was really my best weapon.

"I know you're there!" I shouted even though I had no clue. I knew it was hopeless to be standing at his door like this – the only thing I'd get out of it was probably just a restriction order and some angry neighbours of Hunter's. But what should I have done? Let him read every thing that my whole life revolved around right at that moment? Every tiny, little detail that no one but me should've known?

"Sophia," Riley called from the car. I turned around slowly and walked back.

"He's not there," I concluded monotonously, my head hanging low. Riley started the car without a word – only nodded – but I wasn't up for speaking anyway. Not only did I spill my biggest secret while drunk, I also managed to tell Hunter – out of all people – that I was going to read his biggest secret later in a diary that belonged to his deceased ex.

Oh Candice, how could you make so much trouble without even being alive?

But for some strange reason, I thanked her. Without her, maybe Hunter wouldn't have moved onto me but someone else or no one. Maybe I wouldn't have understood myself as well as I do now. Maybe I wouldn't have seen the most incredible view from a certain cliff that she found.

The valley...

And then a light bulb turned on over my head.

"Riley, turn left here!" I all but screamed. My arms flung themselves over the mid-console and onto the steering wheel, turning a sharp left at the cross road. Some God must've heard my prayers, because the streets were as empty as Jenna's head and no harm was made – luckily.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Riley yelled and pushed my arms away, grabbing the wheel tightly. "You could've killed us!"

"I know where Hunter is," I breathed out, the words feeling so bad but good out loud.

"Doesn't give you a reason to scare me like that."

I waved him off and picked up my purse from the floor, opening Candice's diary inside. Riley couldn't see I was reading it, he'd never let me go anywhere.

20 Jun 2013

God, I need a break!

Everybody is pushing me around all the time! "Candice, do your homework." "Have you studied enough for that test?" "Are you sure that's healthy?" "When was the last time you visited the fitness center?"

Mom, dad, my teachers, my friends, Hunter. Just stop it okay?! I can't do everything!

"Brianna, where are we going?"

I quickly pushed the book down in my purse again. Riley stared at me in the corner of his eye and I shook my head to clear my thoughts.

"Follow this road but take a right by Walmart," I said, waving him off and looking down again.

23 Jun 2013

I couldn't sleep tonight. Or the night before.

It's currently 2 am and I am lying in my bed writing this. I'm just not tired.

10 Jul 2013

I haven't slept a good night in weeks. I barely even see my parents and my friends are as good as strangers.

And today, I didn't go to school.

They think I did at home, but really I sat by the cliff and stared out onto the valley – high as ever.

And Hunter...I just declined his call.

A lump formed in my throat. Poor Candice, what was happening?

20 Jul 2013

Nobody understands!

Everyone is reaching out to me, but when I push them away, they get hurt! I don't want to harm anyone but it seems to be the only thing I do. Why do I even bother keeping everyone hanging when they don't even do me any good? And neither do I them.

The car suddenly took a turn and I looked up, the grocery store passing me by at my left side. We were already here and not far away.

"What are you reading?" Riley asked, trying to take a peek in my bag. I hid it from his sight and looked at him with innocent eyes.

"Oh, nothing really. A boring book."

"A book, now?" He stared at me sceptically.

"Yeah," I clipped and turned in my seat so he couldn't see anything in my purse.

1 Aug 2013

It feels so good.

Giving away stuff feels so good. Either for charity or directly to other people, it's so nice. And you feel so kind.

I gave away my bike, my watch, and basically my whole closet. Finally, I can breathe.

10 Aug 2013

I've reached a dead end. What used to be a crossroad is now just a brick wall blocking my way.

11 Aug 2013

I've been thinking about it for a while now, death.

What am I even living for anyway? I'm not doing any good. I'm just paining myself by staying...

A tear pressed itself to the brink of my waterline. Oh god.

She didn't die of cancer, did she? Everything Hunter and Riley told me...were lies. But they were right, it wasn't a story to be told and I get why they didn't want to spread the word. All the signs in this diary, they all pointed to one horrifying thing.

Candice, the dead girl of mysteries, committed suicide.

OMG! SO THAT HAPPENED! Did you expect it?