They Belonged to the Wicked (The Teenage Rebellion Series #1)

s c a r e d

It was 5:00PM. The sound of my alarm was annoyingly ringing in my room. I didn't bother snoozing it and frustratingly shut it off. My curtains were pulled to the sides, letting the orange sunlight gracefully shine in through the window. I let out a long yawn, stretched and walked directly to my bathroom. The bathroom tiles were cold, and slightly wet.
    Jocelyn was definitely in here not too long ago. She must have stopped by to freshen herself up before stepping out for the evening. The mirror was also slightly fogged, but an easy wipe with a towelette took care of the issue. While looking at myself in the mirror, I saw that the face mask I fell asleep with was completely dried up and more than ready to be washed off.
I washed the face mask off and was ready to set in my moisturizer. It was time to get myself casually, but not too casual, ready for John. My makeup bag wasn't under the sink, where I usually left it, and so I figured that I probably used it last in my room. It's been awhile since I actually spent any time at home and I couldn't remember where I left everything.
Restlessly, I walked back to my room and found it completely dark. I turned the light switch on, but my lamp wasn't working. The light bulb must have went out, I concluded. I headed downstairs to the garage and found a spare light bulb to replace the old one with.
    As I was walking back up the staircase and through the hallway, I felt a light breeze, causing me to grow goosebumps. I felt them forming right above my ankles running all the way up to my shoulders. It caused me to be more aware of my surroundings as I slowly approached my dark room again. There was a dramatic change in temperature and I had a difficult time focusing on finding the lamp. I didn't like being in a dark room. The hall light barely helped. Seeking for the last of my courageous qualities, I walked over to where I knew my window was and pulled the curtains to the side hooks, again? Weren't they already pulled aside, this morning?
The sunlight burst into my room. I found that the lamp was knocked over and that the light bulb was shattered. I had water running in the bathroom and that's probably why I didn't hear it fall over. While cleaning up the shattered bulb, and replacing it, I began to wonder how it even fell over to begin with. Did I subconsciously walk through and pull the lamp's cord on my way out of the room? I was half-awake. What about the curtains? I was positive that they were pulled to the sides this morning. I remembered my peaceful and brightening awakening, clearly. I don't know why, but I felt as if I were being watched and continued to act as normal as I could cleaning the mess up.
It was now 5:30PM, and I didn't want to waste anymore time. I stood the lamp up, going my makeup bag and then rushed to begin my hair and makeup. This time, I looked at my curtains twice on the way out. It gave me a piece of mind. I tried my best to ignore the unusual vibes and finished getting ready in a little over an hour. I felt refreshed and confident.

Now that my hair and makeup was finished, it was time to put an outfit together. I wanted something that would compliment my figure without trying too hard. This was always a difficult task for me and it generally took longer than necessary. I tried on a few different outfits before I landed on what I thought was the best option. It was a regular pair of distressed blue shorts and a long-sleeved grey cropped shirt. Who was I kidding? I was trying way too hard. I didn't care, I wanted all of John's attention and eyes on me. I grabbed a sweater, in case it got cold, and pulled my cellphone off of the charger.
It was finally time to head out and meet with him. I stopped to look at myself in the mirror, that was hanging behind my bedroom door, when I noticed the curtains falling off of their side hooks behind me, in the reflection. The light from the sun setting disappeared, and I couldn't move. My room was heavy and it felt as if my ear drums were going to explode.
    A few seconds uneasily passed and I managed to pull myself out of shock mode. I slowly walked over to where my window was. I wasn't going to let this control or scare me. I pulled the curtains to their sides and violently tied them to their hooks this time. They didn't have to look elegant anymore, as long as they didn't fall again. I finished tying them when suddenly there was a loud thud against my bedroom wall. It sounded as if somebody punched it, hard.

"What the fuck do you want?! You're not real! Leave me the fuck alone! I don't believe in you," I panicked and screamed.

There was silence. I stood still, unable to move. I lost control of my breathing and felt as if I were going to pass out any moment now. I ran to my vanity set and grabbed my purse, unlocked my cellphone and called Rebecca to ask her to meet me at the drug store outside of my neighborhood. Her voice comforted me on my way out of the house. I wasn't going to stay there and wait for more nonsense to occur anymore.
    I lost my cool and slammed the front door shut. I didn't bother locking it. Jocelyn was going to be upset with me, but I wanted to get as far away as possible, as fast as I was able to. I jumped into my roadster and sped off.
I don't know how I made it there in one piece, but I arrived at the drug store pharmacy. Rebecca was waiting for me, parked behind the building. This was probably the only reason why I loved living in a small town— we all lived close to one another.

"You look hot! Where are you going? I have to snap a picture of you," Rebecca passed me a joint that she was smoking.

"If you take a picture of me, you absolutely cannot post it on social media. The girls don't know that I'm heading out to see John," I inhaled the smoke and relieved my stress.

"I feel so special. I won't say a word, promise, but is everything okay? You rushed me over here," Rebecca probably felt that I was on edge.

"I'm just nervous about seeing him, that's all. I wanted to smoke before leaving town," I lied.

"You're lucky that I had that ready for us then. Now, you need to pose for me. I'll send these to you later," she started to take pictures of me.

"I feel like a hoe," I loved how quickly the weed was affecting me.

"You're not a hoe. You're just hot, single and the way you dress doesn't define you. John is going to drop dead when he sees you," Rebecca was always sweet.

"You need to stop being so nice, you know? We love that you are, but we also need to know that you can stand up for yourself," if I didn't tell her this then Sara and Eva would continue pushing her over.

"Ouch. I just wanted to make sure that you knew that you weren't a hoe. That was pretty direct. Vicky, you guys are my best friends and I am perfectly fine with the fact that we're all unique," she thought Sara and Eva would eventually stop.

"Then don't let Sara or Eva talk shit to you. The day you stand up for yourself is the day they'll actually accept you, if that's what you're looking for," I tossed the unfinished joint and walked over to her to kiss her cheek before leaving.

"Thank you, Victoria. I know that I have a lot to work on. Your honesty is appreciated," she really didn't have to change anything but the group of friends she didn't belong with.

"You're a nice girl. Don't get yourself caught up in places that you certainly don't belong in," I shut my door and turned my roadster on.

I lowered my window and reminded her not to say anything to the girls. She reassured me that she wouldn't and then walked over to her car. It was time for me to go. I felt better about myself now that I told Rebecca to stand up for herself. She was an easy and weak target for the girls to take advantage of. It didn't feel right. I never approve of anything that isn't genuine. I'm sure the girls love her, but they love picking on her, too, which isn't healthy— a lot of the activities that we involved ourselves in weren't.
The moon finally took the sky over. I tried to keep my mind off of everything that happened back at home.  The last thing I needed was a bad high. As I was driving, I sent John a text message and told him that I was on my way. He sent me back an address and told me to let him know when I was outside. I was automatically filled with unwanted excitement as I entered the address into my GPS. Was it even possible for me to fight my feelings anymore?