Behind the books

5.

Ciara pushed her feet into the size 10.5 boots she had bought a few weeks ago. She had stuffed the front and back of the shoe with some toilet paper, to make sure she distributed her weight equally. She stared at the clock. It was 11PM. Her mother was already asleep, and her dad was still downstairs. She'd have to wait until her slept too, and she was praying it wouldn't take too long. Her blood was pumping, she was excited. It was weird, that such a cold act could make her so warm inside. 

The door downstairs closed with a slam. Ciara jerked up, and pushed the box back under the bed. She crept under her sheets, and listened carefully. Dan came up the stairs. It was weird that she could define who was coming upstairs by hearing the footsteps. Her dad pushed his feet down with more force than her mother did. He usually never came to check on her, but Ciara didn't want to take any risks. Dan turned the light on in the bathroom, and she could hear the shower being turned on. Ciara let out a deep breath, and she waited. Waiting was necessary, but so annoying.

Finally, she heard her dad enter the bedroom, and she saw the light go out. She waited a few more minutes, to make sure he was in a sleepy mood. She stumbled out of bed, not making any noise. She folded the printed email and put it in her bag. She checked if she had everything, and once she was sure she zipped her bag up. 

She swung it over her shoulder, and climbed on the window frame. She stared into the darkness, but she couldn't see anyone outside. Ciara jumped from the window to the roof of the shed they had in their back garden. From there, she climbed down on a tree next to it. She was quite lucky that there was a way out of her room. She had discovered it when she was about 10 years old. Ciara always remembered small things like these.

It was just a short walk to Emily's house. Within 5 minutes, Ciara stood in front of her house. Ciara could see her through the window, she was watching some sort of stupid reality show on TV. She was probably texting her friends too, because she was too focused on her phone to see Ciara outside of the window. Ciara checked the garden; there were no cars, so her parents were probably gone. 

When Ciara rang the doorbell, she did her best to create some fake tears. Just before Emily opened the door, a tear was streaming down her face. 

"Ciara? What the fuck are you doing here?" Emily asked, slightly confused. The door was ajar, and Emily was wearing her pyjama. 

"I-I was walking around here and I think I saw h-him." Ciara made her voice tremble.

"You saw who?"

"Him, the-" Ciara paused, "The serial killer."

Emily looked shocked, but she quickly regained her emotionless face. "So? What do you want?"

"Could I come in? Just for a few hours. I'm so scared, Emily. Please." 

Emily sighed, but then she opened the door completely. "Just for 2 hours. You need to be gone before my parents and brother come home, and you won't tell anyone you were here. Okay?"

Ciara shook her head. "Don't worry, I won't."