Hail's Storm

Chapter 9: Curiosity Killed The Cat

My birthday tradition was always the same. I would wake up early in the morning to Hail seated on the edge of my bed holding a cupcake ready to sing her heart out to me. My mother would join her in the singing right before she left for work.

This year was no different. My mother took it upon herself to carry on with the tradition which was the sweetest thing on earth. Regardless, I could not ignore that empty feeling I had deep down. I could not recall the last time I had a birthday without Hail.

Later that evening, my mother and I went out. Much to my surprise, she suggested that I should invite Parker for dinner at the restaurant because he "looked" like a good boy.

Parker and I had grown closer. He wasn't the narcissist, spoilt, rude boy I had pegged him out to be. In my defense though, he did act like a prick, but I came to realize that he was just misunderstood. He did in fact care more than I thought her would as I remembered how miserable he was when he told me about Hail's stalker and her subsequent death.

I took my phone out and dialed his number. It rang once then twice and finally, he picked it up. I told him that my mum asked for him to join us for dinner but he simply declined and hang up leaving me astonished. I thought it was odd but I just ignored the twisting knot in my stomach. I took a deep breath to ease my mind, before telling my mother that he couldn't make it.

"He's not going to come," I informed her.

"Oh. Why?" She asked calmly as she started her car.

"Poor boy has a cold and wouldn't want to infect us."

"That's fine. I wouldn't want to catch a cold right now. I told you he is a good boy."

I knew she sensed the disappointment in my voice because she looked over at me, her face full of concern. I gave a smile to reassure her before we drove to what used to be our favorite restaurant in Gammery, We Cook You Eat. It had its initials, WCYE, written in bright lights at the door and a bell rang whenever a customer entered.

The last time I was at that restaurant was six months before, with my dad on his birthday. It was the last time I saw him. I had avoided going to the restaurant for too long which was why I picked it for my birthday. It was time to move on from him and the pain he caused the family. My very intuitive mother encapsulated my hand in hers as we walked in to show me that she was right there by my side.

Unfortunately, the minute I stepped into the restaurant, all my hopes for having a good evening were thrown out of the window. A bad feeling settled at the pit of my stomach and I swallowed hard but my mouth was dry.

Nostalgia clouded my mind as I looked over at the family that was seated at the exact place my father and I sat that day. We walked over to the back and got a comfortable place to sit and order food. I looked over at my mother as she searched the menu for something suitable to eat. She always unknowingly pouted and scrunched her nose whenever she could not make a decision. We eventually both ordered something.

She was on her phone for a while before she opened her mouth to talk.

"Mariya, I dont know why you think Hail was killed when they ruled it a suicide but I think you should stop trying to look for this supposed killer. I'm sure the person who killed her, whoever they are, had a motive and you might end up like her. I don't want to lose you." She said.

"Now you sound like the selfish one mum. Hail was like a sister to me. The killer is out there and might be after more people. Besides, if it was me who ended up dead instead, she would have done everything to catch the murderer."

"Curiosity killed the cat, Mariya. You know that."

"A cat has nine lives, mum," I joked to defuse the tension.

She was about to talk back but the waiter brought our food to the table and that seemed to keep her quiet.

"So mum, I've been meaning to ask you this question..."

"Go ahead, darling. Anything."

"When is dad coming back?"

She choked. My mother choked on her food. Everybody present in the restaurant turned to look at us. I patted her back for some time before she recovered and then spoke.

"Sorry about that. Your question came out of the blue," she chuckled wiping her mouth with a napkin, "We agreed we won't talk about him and if he ever returns, we will have nothing at all to do with him. You got it?" she snapped

For the second time in a row, that night, my mother and I had a minor disagreement. I couldn't object to what she had just said because I knew she had a reason behind her snapping like that. We stopped talking completely for the rest of the night until we got home and went separate ways to our rooms.

Once I entered my room, I shivered from the cold inside which was peculiar.

"I thought I had closed this window," I whispered to myself.

Switching on the lights, I walked over to my window, closed it, and drew the curtains. My instincts told me something was amiss so I walked over to my desk and switched on the study lamp.

I checked for anything suspicious at all because something deep inside me told me that somebody had been inside there and I was right. Hail's journal was missing and I immediately started panicking. That journal was a very integral part of my investigation as it was how I could get into the mind of Hail. To make matters worse, I hadn't read everything like Tyler told me to.

I knew I needed to talk to Tyler and Parker. I needed to talk to them straightaway to get information on what I didn't read and to look for the journal.

I hopped into bed and that bad feeling made its way into my body once more and settled in my stomach. My hands were trembling and I was well aware that sleep was the last thing I would be getting that night. The rapid beating of my heart did not help in my struggle to sleep. I felt that somehow someone was watching me. I couldn't shake that feeling off but I waited for sunrise. I needed to stay sane. I had no other option.

I had to stay sane.