Graffiti Boy

Chapter 5 - The Rumor Incident

Dad rushed into the house and frantically checked to see if all the doors were locked and all the blinds were shut.

He engulfed me into a warm embrace, "Val, my baby. Are you all right?"

I hugged him back, "I don't know if I am."

He took a seat on our couch and sighed.

I wasted no time, firing questions, "Who's behind the graffiti? What is that crown symbol? Should I be worried? Why would someone want to threaten me?"

"Valerie..."

"Dad, please. I'm curious. I haven't spoken to you in days."

Dad looked at me and sighed again, "All right. Have a seat."

I sat down in front of him and waited for him to tell me.

"The person who's behind all the tagging has done this before. He paints symbols that represent different things -different clues. If you can decipher what they each mean, you know what or who he is targeting next."

I thought of the paintings and notes I had seen in the file, "His name is Xavier, right?"

"Yes. He's a horrible, horrible man," Dad shook his head looking down, "A woman died five years ago, after a series of symbols appeared. I cared for her so much."

"Dad."

He looked up.

"Was that woman, Mom?"

All he did was nod and his eyes began to water. I had never seen Dad cry.

"I tried to warn your mother, telling her we needed to leave town, but she told me it was just a stupid prank."

"Why would someone want to kill Mom?"

"I don't know, Val. People do crazy things for no reason."

"Well, am I in danger?"

"I don't know sweetheart. It could just be an empty threat, Xavier hasn't painted full words before. But I think it's best if you remain cautious."

I nodded my head absentmindedly. My mind was swirling with so many thoughts. I didn't want to admit it aloud, but I was terrified. If this guy, Xavier, had managed to kill Mom, and the reason was that she didn't believe in the signs, I thought I should take them seriously.

"No more parties until this thing clears up. It could just be a stupid prank. But if you see anything else, out of ordinary, I need you to call me, I don't care if it's the middle of the night."

"I understand."

Dad grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze, "How did you get home?"

"A friend dropped me."

"Which friend."

"This guy named Elijah."

"I've never heard of him," Dad said, raising his eyebrows.

"He's new."

"Well, I'd like to meet him."

I internally groaned. Dad meeting Eli? No way.

Dad kissed my forehead telling me to try to get some sleep.

"Dad?"

"Yes, darling?"

"Don't blame yourself for Mom's death."

Dad gave me a weak smile, "I just wish I could have convinced her to listen."

I was going to find the bastard behind all this and kill him.

➸

The weekend flew by pretty quickly. Riley had texted me a couple of times making sure I was all right.