Double Crossed

Chapter 12~Aria

Paranoid barely even begins to describe how I've felt over the past two days. I didn't leave my house the entire weekend and at school I was so distracted, constantly looking over my shoulder. It didn't help that I had a crazy imagination. I kept thinking I saw shadows lurking behind every corner. Plus I hadn't heard from Drake yet so naturally I thought he was dead.

Elena snaps her fingers in front of my face. I blink a couple of times and look at her questioningly. "Aria what's up with you?" Elena asks.

I shake my head and brush my hair from my face. "Nothing I'm just not feeling too well. I think I'm going to skip out going with you guys to the bakery."

Elena looks at me with concern etched on her face. "Yeah that's fine. Do you want me to drive you home?" Elena offers.

I smile gratefully at her. She always has my back. "No it's fine I can do it myself. I'll call you later okay?"

Elena nods. "Sure, feel better."

I wave and get in my car. I can't take this stress. It's going to kill me eventually. I'm not even sure if I did see someone at the mall. I haven't seen anyone over the past few days but then again I hardly left.

When I arrive home I quickly do a scan of my street which has become routine since Saturday. But like every time I searched for anything suspicious, there isn't anything out of the ordinary. My old neighbor across the street looks like she's bringing a raccoon into her house but she always has weird animals. She's like an elderly Dr. Doolittle.

I rush inside and double check to make sure the door is locked. Then I close all of the curtains after turning on every light on the way to the kitchen. My phone rings loudly from my pocket almost making me scream.

I look at the caller ID. Drake.

I pick up immediately and don't bother saying hello. "What the hell?" I shout. "Why didn't you pick up? I thought you were dead again! You need to start checking your phone more often."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry," Drake says. He sounds tense. At least I'm not the only one. "Where are you?"

"At home," I answer. "We really need to talk."

"That's why I'm calling you. Don't move from there. We'll be there in ten minutes," he says.

We? I hear someone talk in the background. It sounds like he has a British accent.

"Never mind," Drake says. It sounds like he's rolling his eyes. "We'll be there in six minutes. You better not get caught by the police."

I feel like he's talking to someone else now. I hear a muffled response before Drake answers back. "Yeah yeah I know I said that. Sorry Aria we'll be there soon."

Before I can respond, the line goes dead. I stare at my phone before putting it back in my pocket. Drake is incredibly unpredictable, but I'm instantly a lot calmer knowing he's okay and that he's coming.

Drake's prediction is spot on. Five minutes after he hung up I hear my doorbell ring. I jump up from my spot by the stairs and open the door. Drake sighs in relief. He doesn't say anything. He just grabs my hand and leads me to a bright red sports car. I don't know much about cars but I can tell that it's definitely not cheap and probably insanely fast.

Drake opens the door for me before sliding in next to me. I look around in interest. The interior is just as classy as the outside. The seats are reclined perfectly and made of the softest leather. Up front there's a high tech looking screen.

"Martin go to Golden Gate Park," Drake instructs as soon as he closes the door.

"What am I? Your chauffeur?" the person I assume is Martin asks.