Hunted

Chapter Four: The Vandal

I woke up to the smell of breakfast cooking, and sat up on the couch, stretching my arms. I was still wearing my clothes from the day before.

I walked into the kitchen to find my dad sitting at the table drinking his coffee, and my mom standing at the stove cooking pancakes and bacon, her long hair pulled up in a pony tail. She saw me and smiled.

"I was impressed with Ben last night. We got home from the party late, and there he was, watching TV with you fast asleep on his shoulder. The darling stayed with you even after you fell asleep." She said. "He really does like you."

I smiled, blushing. He really had stayed with me. "Yeah, I like him too." I replied.

My dad nodded. "He's a good kid." He huffed, taking another sip of coffee.

"I'm going to go shower and get dressed. I'll be back down soon for breakfast." I stated, and walked to my room.

I checked the time. It was seven in the morning, so I still had time to get get ready before I had to drive to school.

I walked into the bathroom, and stripped down. I stepped into the shower, letting the hot water wash over me. Suddenly, I felt a flashback coming on.

I blinked, and I was standing in the pouring rain. It was dark out, and Sam stood in front of me, and he looked angry.

"I told you, Olivia, it's nothing. I got in a fight after school." He said, his voice sounding irritated.

"No, Sam, that bruise is a lot worse than the usual outcome of an after school fight. Whoever did that was really trying to hurt you." I argued, gesturing to the dark bruise across Sam's collarbone.

"Just drop it, Olivia." He grumbled.

"Sam, I'm worried about you. Is something going on that I should know about?" I asked.

"I said just drop it!" he snapped, his voice harsh.

I took a step back, shocked at his sudden change of attitude. He glanced down at the ground, turned around, and walked the other way.

"Sam, wait!" I called, but he rounded the corner and disappeared.

I opened my eyes and I was in the shower again, leaning on the wall with both hands.

I had nearly forgotten about that night. Sam had come over and I had noticed a large bruise on his collarbone, clearly made by a how with a lot of force behind it.

I finished my shower, dried my hair, got dressed, and put on my makeup, before going down for breakfast. Mom had set out a pancake an four slices of bacon for me, and I ate them slowly, unable to get the image of Sam's bruise out of my mind.

Maybe the bruise was connected to the person who tried to kill him. What if he had known that somebody was coming for him all along?

"Your father just left, and I'm headed to the store to pick up some groceries. Do you need anything?" she asked.

"No, I'm fine." I replied, clearing my plate from the table. "I think I might stay out for a while after school, okay?"

My mom nodded. "Fine by me." She replied.

"Thanks." I said, and went to brush my teeth.

When I came back into the kitchen, mom was gone. I grabbed my schoolbag and picked my phone up off of the table.

Suddenly a chill ran down my spine. I had left my phone on the counter, not the table.

I quickly skimmed through my messages. The three texts from the anonymous number were gone. Someone had been in my kitchen while I was brushing my teeth.

My phone beeped, and a new text appeared on the screen.

'The police would need evidence to believe you. Do you really think we're that stupid?'

I closed the message, and put my phone in my jacket pocket. I was going to have to seek out information for myself if I couldn't make the police do it for me.

I went outside and got in my car. I drove to school, but when I pulled into the parking lot, something didn't feel right.

Slowly, I opened my car door. Jessamine appeared out of nowhere and grabbed my arm.

"Olivia, someone broke into the school last night." She said.

"What? Was anything stolen?" I asked.

"No, just vandalism, but Olivia..." She started.

I cut her off. "If it was just vandalism, what's the big deal?" I asked.

"Whoever it was doesn't like you at all, Olivia. The only part of the school that got touched was your locker." she finished.

I looked at her for a second, then started running into the school. When I got to my locker, there was a crowd of students standing around my locker. I pushed through them, and stopped short, trying to catch me breath.

The locker door was ripped off of it's hinges, and full of dents. The contents of my locker were spread out all over the floor, and the pages ripped out of my school books and notepads.

Written across to the lockers next to mine, was a message in bright red marker.

'8:23am. We're everywhere.'

"Olivia..." Ben said, appearing behind me and resting a hand on my shoulder. "What is this?"

I shook my head, unable to take me eyes off of the writing next to the locker. "I have no idea." I lied.

Suddenly, the principal walked up to me, looking upset and confused. "Olivia, may I talk to you for a minute in my office?" he asked.

I nodded, turning away from my locker.

The message was clearly from whoever was texting me about Sam, and 8:23 was when my phone was cleared while I was brushing my teeth.

Whoever had sent those texts, it wasn't Sam, and they weren't alone.