The Devil In Disguise

CHAPTER 40: A Plan

Simon texted Xander, then threw his phone on his sofa in frustration.

Running his hands through his hair, he let out a groan. How could this have happened?! he thought. He was in that house just thirty minutes previously — what if he'd still been there? He could have prevented this!

But by the way Xander had described the man, Simon had got the impression that they wouldn't have been able to stop him. He was strong, effortlessly strong — and cruel to the point of no return. If Simon had stayed, he'd probably have died.

Simon shuddered at the thought.

The police were all over this case. They knew what was happening and they knew that Karissa's four friends knew; the authorities warned them not to let it get out. Then the four teenagers gave their statements; of course, Xander was in the room for a much longer time than they were — he'd witnessed nearly the entire thing.

Picking up his phone again, Simon absentmindedly went back into the group chat with the five of them. Reading through the funny messages, he started grinning subconsciously; then he felt a stab of worry for Karissa. And then more stabs, just thinking about what could happen to her, what if he never saw her again —

No. Shut up, Simon, he growled at himself mentally. The police would figure out a way to get her out alive. And if the authorities couldn't, what with all their private investigators and detectives and whatnot, then her four best friends would do it themselves. They were incomplete without their fifth.

"Simon! Come down for lunch, honey! We ordered food from Pizza Hut!" Simon's mother's voice warbled upstairs as she pounced for the pizza downstairs. A commotion could be heard; Simon's little brother, Simon's dad and Simon's mum all laughed and joked and competed for the pizza like there was nothing wrong in the world.

Simon's chocolate eyes hardened. They didn't care that his best friend had been stabbed or that another of his best friends had been kidnapped. Sure, they acted sympathetic for the first two days but then they couldn't be bothered.

Simon exhaled forcefully. He was tired of them walking on eggshells around him — but it was better than what they were doing now: walking through him. As if his feelings were invisible, as if his life was fine and everyone and everything was fine.

"Coming," Simon called out in a much more positive tone than he felt. Then, trudging downstairs, he sat at the dining table with his happy family who were devouring pizza, though he was anything but happy.

***

"Honey are you okay?" Grace's dad asked in a soft tone.

Grace smiled up at him, but her eyes were red, as if she'd been crying.

"Yeah. I'm fine," she answered.

Her dad walked into her room, his handlebar moustache drooping sadly, looking at his only daughter's devastation. Sitting on the edge of her bed, he said,

"I know you're upset. I would be too, but I hate to see you cry like this," he smiled sadly, the tips of his brown hair almost sagging. A few strands fell from his unevenly parted side and he brushed it away carelessly, his attention undivided from the sad girl in front of him.

"Is there anything I can do?" he offered desperately, wanting to see her smile again. Her sadness reminded him of her mother, just after she gave birth to Grace's twin — a stillborn. She'd cried so hard that it seemed like the entire hospital floor could hear.

"I just want Karissa back. I want Xander to get better. I want that — vile — man to be gone," Grace broke into sobs again, bringing her knees up to her chest and resting her head on them, her body shaking.

Her father reached out and gently took her hand in his.

"I know, honeybee," he said quietly, unable to lie to her and say that everything was okay.

He stroked Grace's hand, and the fact that she was trembling didn't escape his notice.

"I have an idea!" he suddenly burst out after a few moments. Grace looked up at him through her tears and laughed tearily.

"Your ideas aren't good, Dad, no offence," she tried to laugh, but a sore sound came from her throat instead. Wiping her tears away, disliking the fact that she felt so down, she decided to listen to her father's idea. Maybe it could help her see the light in the situation — if there was any.

"Meet up with your friends, uh — Corina, Simon, Xander and Kar — I mean, er —" he coughed nervously, cutting himself off from saying Karissa's name.

"It's okay, Dad, I won't burst into tears if you say her name," Grace smiled lightly — but she wasn't so sure.

"Okay, honeybee. I was just saying that you should meet up with your friends. I know they'll feel lonely too; meet up at Xander's house because he can't get up himself. You can all talk about this, because as much as I want to, I can't give you the perfect advice for what you're going through," he admitted, shrugging, looking down. "But they can," he said, looking back up, his baby blue eyes soft. "This is my foolproof advice: talk things out with your friends, because they know exactly what you're going through and you'll feel magnitudes better."

While Grace pondered his words, he patted her hand with a small smile and got up, leaving her room.

For a few minutes, Grace contemplated. Then she made her decision.

Getting the group chat up on her phone, she texted them all (minus Karissa, she thought with a painful jolt).

1:56, Grace: In one hour, let's meet at Xander's. We need to talk things through; we'll all feel better that way. Xander, are you okay with that?

1:57, Xander: All I've been doing is laying in bed. I think I've lost my voice. Fuck yeah I'm good with that.

1:58, Simon: Me too.

1:58, Corina: Me three.

It's a plan, Grace thought with satisfaction, finally having a purpose. Biding her time, she stayed in her room for fifty minutes — then, chucking some jeans and a baggy top on, she left her home, catching a bus to Xander's, thinking about all the thoughts she would finally voice.

A/N

What do you think they'll do now? Lorelei's all alone... will they make it in time?

You're welcome for the double update, hope you enjoyed! Remember to VOTE! :)

—deainlustris