Hunters And Foxes

Chapter 21: Little white lies.

Waking up, I feel groggy and emotionally drained. Going to the fight club last night brought back the nightmares I thought were gone forever. Zac left for work a couple of hours ago but I notice he  has left a brown paper bag on the bedside table with a pink post it note. 

The note reads: "Good morning Pippy, sorry I had to leave early. That boy I told you about is in trouble. The situation is worse than I assumed, his cousin is the head of the gang."  A knot forms in the back of my throat as I read the note. Thinking that we had finally escaped the world of gangs was just another little white lie my mind was telling me.

 Inside the paper bag is a little raspberry and white chocolate muffin. I take small nibbles of the muffin as hold in the tears that threaten to stream down my face. The good thing is that the muffin is utterly delicious. I am definitely not going to school today, I am not emotionally stable enough to see people. Grabbing my phone off of the night stand I text Storm telling her not to pick me up this morning. Right when I tap the send button, the phone begins to vibrate. Luke is calling me.

"Hey, what's up?" I ask putting on the calmest voice I can even though inside my head I am completely freaking out. 

"Nothing, it's just you weren't at school yesterday. and we didn't talk last night. I was wondering if you were okay and if you were coming today," He says and I realise just how much Luke actually cares for me.  

"Oh I was just spending the day with Zac and I went and saw Conroy."

"What's wrong with Conroy?"

Oh he mustn't know and I'm not sure whether Conroy wants him to know. "Oh he was just staying with my brother." Another little white lie.

"Oh okay. So anyway are you coming to school today?"

"No I'm not, I'm not feeling too well." Which is technically true.

"Oh well I hope you feel better soon. Can I stop by later tonight? "

"Yeah sure, I will text you when I get home."

"Okay sounds good. Bye Penelope I love you, have a great day."

"Love you too and you too." 

I hang up and fall back against the pillows like a pile of bricks. How did we get involved in this gang drama? This isn't meant to happen to good kids like us. I feel like we can't escape this life. We are foxes caught in the wrath of a hunter. I feel so disgusting. Maybe if I shower I will feel a little better. Having clean skin and hair always helps with my mental health. I turn the shower pressure on hard and sit at the bottom of the shower. The feeling of the water beating against my sore back muscles is so so very good, its like a massage. Wrapping a big towel around my body I step out of the shower feeling so much better. My mind might be a mess but that problem can be solved temporarily with a little Riverdale. I collapse on the couch and turn on TV. Five minutes into my new favourite programme my phone begins to ring again. This time I forget to check the caller ID.

"Hello, Penelope speaking."

"Hey Poodle, it's Tommy. I'm worried about you. Luke said you seem really down. Storm is out of school cause her Grandma is sick, is that what is getting down also or is it something completely different." Storm must be telling her own white lies as well.

"Tommy, Storm's grandmother isn't sick. Conroy is in hospital..."

"Why didn't she just tell me?"

"I'm not sure Tommy. But I am telling you because you are my best friend, I'm not betraying her trust because I know the full story of Conroy's situation. He doesn't want his family to know. But I just want to tell you, I need to process out loud. Zac has his own drama to try figure out right now, so yeah. Please don't tell her I told you."