The Mystery Next Door

The Mystery Next Door- Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The rest of the day passes in a blur; I remember talking to Kyle in class and getting some forms to fill out, but the rest of the day is clouded with thoughts of Felix and his display in our English class. How could he do that? Why would he do that? What in the world was he thinking?

At the end of my eighth period class, gym, Chloe snaps her fingers in front of my face and says, “Earth to Alicia, the bell just rang. Let’s go.”

I stand up and reach to grab my backpack, but then I feel a hand on my shoulder and Dave says, “Hey, I found this in seventh period. It’s yours I assume?”

I take my bag and reply, “Umm, yeah. Thanks Dave. I need to get home, so bye.”

He looks at his feet and I can feel him watching me as I leave. I turn walk into the parking garage and sit in the car, clenching the steering wheel for a few minutes. Then it dawns on me, Where’s Chloe? As if on cue, she knocks on my door and tells me, “I stopped by a vending machine to get some snacks for our sleepover.” I raise an eyebrow at her and she replies, “Oh, I figured it’d be okay with you if I slept over… I can just go home…”

I shake my head, “No, you can sleep over, its fine. But what about the permission slips and stuff that we got? You need to return them tomorrow.”

Chloe replies, “Fine, mom, we’ll swing by my house first. I’ll get some actual food, too.”

I roll my eyes and respond, “No, don’t steal food. Your parents already treat me like a charity case. We can swing by the store. Then we can have an array of options instead of just four different things.”

Chloe laughs, “You only eat four different things. They’re just not the four things at my house.”

I chuckle and drive off. When we get to her house, she knocks and hands the papers to her sister. Chloe’s sister says something to her, and Chloe says something back and hugs her sister who appears to be crying. When she comes back, I ask, “What was that about?”

She sighs, “Oh, nothing. It’s just... I’ll tell you later… I don’t want to have a breakdown in the car.”

I nod and drive us to the store. Chloe and I walk up and down the aisles searching for something to eat on which we both agree. I hate basically everything that she likes, and she will eat basically everything except for the foods that I like. After arguing for a few minutes, we decide to have two meals instead of one, and go our separate ways to find what we’ll eat.

I grab a pack of ground turkey and some taco shells. I turn down the Mexican spice aisles to get some taco flavoring, and I see Felix, arguing with his parents. I quickly turn around and run down the other aisle to listen.

I hear Felix’s mom say, “You can’t do this. You’re endangering all of us, and it’s not safe.”

Felix replies, “You’re just my foster parents. You can pawn me off anytime you like. Why not now, when you’re in the most danger?”

His father says sternly, “Because this is when you need us most. Do you remember why we had to move? Because…”

Felix interrupts, “Because I almost got killed. Yes, I know. But still. I learned how to protect myself; I’m not the little defenseless boy I was last year. I took tae kwon do. I’m not gonna get jumped and killed. I’m going to at least give them a fight.”

“You are not going to do this under our roof.” His mother tells him.

Felix tips over a box and it falls onto the floor. He yells, “I don’t need you, Kim, or you, John. I’m out.”

He walks past my aisle and then I walk back onto the Mexican spice aisle and get the taco seasoning. I catch up with Chloe and we pay for our food. I don’t bother to mention the Felix-episode.

*          *          *

“Truth or dare?” I ask Chloe as we settle down in my room.

She taps her chin and replies, “Dare.”

I shake my head; I had hoped she would pick truth. I walked into my kitchen, pulled out my Tobasco Hot Sauce and take up a shot glass as well. I pass Chloe both and say, “Take a shot of hot sauce.”

Chloe gulps and says, “I said truth… It’s a common confusion.”

I laugh and ask, “What’d your sister tell you before you came back to my car today?”

Chloe takes in a deep breath, “You remember my older brother, Chris? The one my dad had when he was like twenty?” I nod, knowing this story won’t go well. “Well he’s calling again… And now he’s saying that he has one of his gang members after someone who matters a lot to us. And he said that killing us would be just that easy…”

Not only was Chloe crying, she was also shaking from being terrified. I hug her and coo, “He’s just being an ass. You know you can’t take him seriously. Just call the cops, they’ll have him prosecuted. Don’t be scared.”

Chloe says softly, “It’s you. A gang member is apparently monitoring you.”

I nearly pass out. Me? I’m a seventeen year old girl who has only known there family for 6 years. What importance could I have? “Why me?” is all I can say.

Chloe lets out a shaggy breath, “Because you’re my best friend aka sister. Of course there’s always Jasmine, she is my other best friend, but you’re just an easier target…”

I sit on my bed, “Did he say who was after me? Like a name?” My mind immediately flashes to the scene in the grocery store. Was Felix endangering himself by being in a gang?

Chloe shakes her head, “No name, just the fact that he’s in the gang. I’m so sorry I got you involved in this. It’s my fault that you have to fear for your life. If there’s anything I can do for you…”

“No… Let’s just go to bed…”

I tuck myself and my thoughts engulf me and quickly force me to go to sleep.