Chick, Chick, Chick

Chapter 5

5

It was about midnight when I received the call. I can remember that I was groggy, since I'd gone to sleep at ten. I picked up my phone, bringing it to my ear. “Hello?”

The voice on the end was female. “Hey, Valorie, I left you a little present outside.”

I didn't realize the tone of voice being used.

“What?” I mumbled before hearing complete silence. They must've hung up.

I sat up, rubbing my eyes. I groaned gently, not really wanting to be awake right now. I ran my fingers through my hair as a makeshift combing technique. It was not the time for presents.

Getting up out of bed, I quietly made my way over to my bedroom light and flipped it on. The light burned my eyes a bit, but it woke me up. Once I was oriented again, I started to make my way down the hall, making sure I didn't trip over anything. I made it to the front door and carefully opened it, trying not to make a lot of noise. I didn't want to be waking Mom up at this hour.

I stepped outside, shutting the door very quietly. There was a note on the front porch, so I bent down to pick it up.

“My brother says hi.”Huh?

Confused, I stood up, looking away from the note. Maybe less than a second later, I was ambushed by a group of girls. One of them I immediately recognized as Ray's older sister, who was supposed to be at college. One of them hit me hard in the chin and knocked me to the grass. The other girls started kicking me. I helplessly curled up into a ball, hoping it'd stop soon.

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I don't remember anything else except for waking up in the morning in my bed. I guess I had to have staggered in at some point. I moved my arms, feeling pain surge all over. I was bruised.

I hurt all over.

I was barely able to get myself out of bed and over to my dresser. I tried to remember what day it was, and it finally came to me that it was Sunday. Glancing over at the time displayed on my computer's screen saver, I realized it was about 10:30. Most people would be in church right now, and that included Naomi.