Venomous

ch.2-pb&j

At 6 o'clock am sharp, Adalynn's phone alarm rang. It was the same every morning. She would shut off her alarm and and pick up her phone, checking her texts and other daily social apps. After about 15 minutes of this, she would then finally sit up and depending on the day, and she'd take a shower.

Today, she began prepping for her morning shower, only because she went to sleep right away last night, otherwise she would've done it last night.

After her 15 minute shower, she picked out her outfit. She decided on her new black leggings with the simple crisscross see-through sides. She then chose a simple maroon crop sweater with the jaw strings. The outfit was simple, but it was one of her favorites because it was comfortable and stylish.

After brushing out her semi-wet hair, she put the long strawberry locks in a quick messy bun as she started her makeup.

She never wore a full face of makeup for something as casual as school. She simply only fixed up her eyebrows and threw on her different brands of mascara. The different brands added to a different thick and dark look for her lashes and she liked it. Adalynn applied her chapstick and then added a simple lip gloss over the first layer.

As she was about to begin her hair, she heard the familiar ring of the facetime tune on her phone. It was still on her bed. She sighed as she stood up and walked over to her bed to see it was KJ. She picked up her phone and accepted the call.

"Wow, KJ! You know it's only almost 6:40, right? That's pretty early for you." Adalynn joked with her best friend.

"Haha, very funny. You're working with me tonight right? The 4:30 shift?" KJ asked as he shut the door to his bathroom and picked up his tooth brush.

Adalynn propped her phone up against her mirror on her desk, so she could continue doing her hair.

"Yeah, I am. Why didn't you just check the schedule?" Adalynn asked and she brushed out her damp hair.

"I did, I just wasn't sure if you switched shifts with someone or something. Anyways, do you want me to pick you in like 30 minutes and then we can just drive there together after school? I'll drive you home after work too."

"Yeah, sure. Sounds good," Adalynn replied. "Text me when you get here."

He showed her a quick thumbs up before ending the call.

Adalynn picked up her backpack, previously slouching against the wall, and placed it on her bed. Beside that, she placed her lifeguard swim suit in her work bag, along with her black sunglasses, t-shirt, black spandex, and lifeguard cap.

After double checking that she had everything, including her old, small bear in her backpack, she zipped up both bags and headed downstairs.

It was now 6:55 am.

She was surprised as she set both her bags on one of the kitchen chairs, her father walked in holding a cup of coffee. "Hey sweetie, do you want me to drive you today?" He asked.

"Oh, no, I'm good. KJ is picking me up since we both have work after school, so I won't be home till late." Adalynn simply replied. Her voice was full and collected and her father nodded to her response.

Adalynn's mother had already left for work and her father usually wasn't here at this time either. She would wake up and they'd both be gone.

Being home alone with her father made Adalynn somewhat uneasy and nervous. Like said before, she'd never thought he would hurt her physically, but the emotional and verbal abuse was already enough to damage her. The worst part was that he didn't remember any of it, he was always crazy drunk and would wake up with a killer hangover, completely unaware of his past actions.

Adalynn tried to avoid eye contact with her father by keeping her eyes glued to her phone when luckily, KJ texted her saying he was at her house. She silently thanked the universe for their gift to her.

"KJ is out front, I better go." Adalynn said, grabbing her bags and stuffing her phone in her pocket.

"Uh, have a good day!" He yelled as she shut the door.

Marcus Chambers knew his family was different, but he wasn't sure why his wife and daughter sometimes flinched when he was around. After all, he never remembered what he does.

Adalynn tried, she really did. But she just couldn't get herself to look at her father the same.

After she was out of the house, she let herself breathe and felt herself relax. She smiled at the sight of KJ's 2012 royal blue mustang and walked over to his car. Opening the door, someone called her name. She recognized the voice, but it was one she hadn't heard in a long time. She turned and looked. His voice was deeper and he had grown taller, but he still acted like the same goofball that had been to her house so often he felt like a brother even though he lived across the street.

"Hey Adalynn!" He yelled sweetly and waved, raising his hand tall and proud.

Adalynn smiled and shouted, "Hey Max!"

He threw a garbage bag in the trash can and walked back inside his house. Adalynn climbed into her best friend's mustang and buckled her seatbelt.

"I didn't know he was back in town." KJ said, staring at the house across the street.

"Neither did I." Her response was quick and honest.

KJ stared at his best friend and studied her face.

"Uh, can I help you?" Adalynn asked, suddenly feeling like she was being interagated.

"Are you okay? You seem... off today."

"KJ, I've been in your car for a full 30 seconds." Adalynn laughed off her best friend's curiosity and urged him to start driving.

As KJ drove to school, Adalynn watched him and smiled to herself. She was so grateful to have him in her life. They'd known each other since fifth grade. KJ had just moved to the town and therefore, he was the lonely new kid in the school. They became friends on his very first day at school.

He was sitting by himself at lunch, shy and didn't want to bother any of the other kids. Adalynn noticed this quickly, it wasn't hard to spot the new kid.

She walked over to him and sat down across from him without saying a word. The pretty girl with the long strawberry blonde hair took out her sandwich and juice box. The lonely boy looked up and examined this new unlikely event unfolding before him. He wanted to say something, but it was as if his lips had be sewn shut. He couldn't find the right words.

"Did you forget your lunch?" The girl wondered.

"Yeah, must've left it at home." The blonde boy suddenly spoke.

"You can have the other half of my sandwich. It's PB&J, the best." She said as she slid the other half across the table to the new kid.

"Wow, thanks! Um... I'm KJ." He smiled, suddenly feeling more comfortable as it seemed he had finally made his first friend.

The girl's freckles rose as she smiled, "Adalynn." She took a bite of her PB&J. Some might call it, "love at first sight", but KJ couldn't help but smile at the sparkle in his new friend's eyes as he took a bite of his half of her sandwich.

As if he were thinking of the same memory, KJ took a quick glance at Adalynn and smiled. He thought she was quite gorgeous and fell in love with her the moment she sat across from him at the lunch table in fifth grade. There was just something about her and he knew. He has never said anything to Adalynn about his feelings, in fear of rejection and ruining a perfectly good friendship.

He was there for her through it all. He was the only one who knew exactly what Adalynn knew about her brother's disappearance. The rumours and theories were absolutely insane. This wasn't some drama filled, suspenseful tv show. This was her life and she hated how people tried to use it for their own entertainment. There were dozens of different theories of what happened to Malachai Chambers on the early morning of April 16th, 2014, just a few hours after his seventeenth birthday. Adalynn refused to let herself believe any of the theories because there hadn't been any proof. Not to mention, none of them made sense.