DARK PARADISE. [ Currently Under Editing.]

Chapter 9 [ Edited]

The morning came rather early and it was out to interrupt Max's sleep, with the alarm clock ringing. Today was one of the few days he had to drag himself out of bed.

Opening the curtains and window, he was surprised to see the same van  from last night, still parked at the same place . He wondered whether there was something wrong with the driver or the van itself.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sight of Kate coming out of her home. It was clear that she was going for a morning jog and he wishes he could join her, but opted for simply watching her.

He watched as she stretches, preparing herself for the run. As if she could sense him watching her, she glanced in his direction. It became clear that she noticed him too when she waved at him. He made sure to wave back, feeling good that she noticed him, even though he didn't mind not being seen.

As he was about to turn around and leave his room, something caught his eye that made him frown a little. Not long after Kate had ran off, the van drove off.

' That was a little weird.' He thought to himself.

Deciding to not swell too much on it, he moved away from the window and went ok about his business.

One thing he could not deny was the weird feeling he felt about the whole situation, even when he excused it for a drunken driver that stopped for the night at a random place.

Later in the day, Kate had been preoccupied with checking her phone every now and then, for any missed calls or messages from Nick. Unfortunately each time she did check, there was nothing.

She couldn't hide her disappointment each time she saw nothing. She worried more when she thought  about the last conversation they had, his energy was quite off and she couldn't help but believe that she had truly disappointed him after she turned down his invitation, to go with him to the Mad X party.

She was free and not working tonight and it would have been the perfect time, to join him but she didn't. For a moment, she questioned herself on the real reason she bailed out on her friends despite how she's been feeling lately.

What was truly holding her back?

Was she being paranoid once again for an unknown reason or being delusional?

What was wrong with her really?

" Kate!" She almost jumped out of her skin when she heard her name being called.

" Yes?" She glanced towards her Aunt, who pretended to not have noticed her reaction and scare her.

"How was your morning jog?" Charice asked.

"Uh, it was okay,'' she answerd, looking at her for a moment before glancing at her phone again.

"Boy trouble?"

"No, yes... maybe. I think I'm selfish for not going to Mad X's party tonight with Nick. He sounded so excited on the phone until I..." She trailed off.

" Do you think that this might be the result of his distance? Or might be thinking of --------" Charice was simply putting her thoughts out there, wanting to see where Kate's mind was at.

"I-no....You know what Aunt, forget what I said. I'll be downstairs if you need me." Kate dashed out of there, leaving Charice frowning in confusion.

When Anna paid a visit to Kate's house, she found her best friend chilling on the couch or what seemed like she was chilling. The vibe she received from her friend was not good. She could tell that her friend was not okay, especially when Kate tried to hide her sadness.

Anna tried to lighten the mood by mentioning the party but was met with an unenthusiastic response.

"I think this event will be so much fun, I know the night would be even more awesome for Nick if his girl were there." Anna nudged Kate's shoulder.