The Skylar Experiment : The "X" in Apex

Chapter Seventeen - Agreement

I'd left the kitchen grumpily after breakfast. I knew it was for the best, but how could I possibly appreciate the perspective of being watched all the time?

He'd knocked on the guest door and dropped some clothes, urging me to hurry up. It was time to drive me home. I also looked forward to leaving.

The jeans were way too long for my legs. I had to roll them a million times. When I was ready, Luc waited in the driveway next to his Range Rover, browsing through his phone. I closed the front door and hopped down the steps.

Just as I was about to grab the handle on my side, the door clicked open.

"Show-off," I muttered.

"Let me live. I never got to see a stranger's first reaction before."

We settled, and he revved the engine and backtracked, engaging into the narrow off road that trickled down the hilltop. We didn't talk for the longest part of the trip, but he was more than relieved when I let him know I'd leave town today.

"How did you find me yesterday? You knew something could happen if you were at the party."

Why would Luc have minded otherwise? In hindsight, he'd been suspicious the whole time.

"Wanderers are mostly active at night, and I had no choice," he said. "You left the party before I could stop you, so I headed to the one place you shouldn't be to check."

"The woods," I completed, shameful. "And there I was."

His silent, yet severe judgment skimmed over me. It screamed You moron.

Gosh, I really messed up. People weren't joking when they said you could do really bad stuff while intoxicated. I never partied before, and it couldn't have been good to drink so much right away...

"The moment I came close, I heard the screams."

I wanted to facepalm so hard... or fuse into the car seat to never be seen again. What the hell was I thinking? I swore to never escalate to that level of drunk ever again.

When the mass of trees gave way to reveal my house and an ounce of glee arose in me at the proximity of home, Luc parked his car.

"One last thing," he said as I prepared to leave.

"What?"

He smiled tightly, gazing into the rear-view mirror. "Until further notice, I'll be driving you home from school every day."

Like I needed help with being frustrated. But a deal was a deal, and we would each stick to each other's end.

And asses.

Dad hadn't sniffed anything compromising on me and had been curious to know how the sleepover went. Seeing him not yet out of his sleepwear, unaware of what we avoided, it made it easier to put up a front for the new day. I'd kept quiet, because I didn't want him to hit the ceiling.

Back in school on Monday, I sat on the gym floor next to Emma. A long-sleeved shirt covered the bite mark.

At first glance, it was glaring she'd been aware of what happened with me over the weekend. The air around us thickened with unspoken words. I processed once more all I'd discovered. How I'd brushed a certain death.

I finally looked at Emma, whose stare hadn't wavered for the last minute.

"How are you holding up?" she questioned calmly, but her eyes were filled with concern.

"You knew about all this." It was a fact. "You knew all along that something was going on and that some people in this town are... different."

"I..."