Hate

Chapter 8

She was breathless when she closed the door behind her. The young girl had practically fled the mall without daring to look over her shoulder. Was he still following her? She didn’t know and would rather not know. She took several breaths to calm down. The panic was useless. The frantic beats of her heart eventually decreased. She cast a quick glance through the living room window. There was nobody. He didn’t follow her here. The thought eased her a bit. She leaned against the door and sighed deeply. Then she noticed that the house was silent. Where was everyone? She saw a shadow passed in front of the glass door to the backyard. Wanting to leave her purchases in her room, she walked to the back of the house. Lisa was out with her children. Martin was playing with his best friend near a tree while Jenny grumbled that she felt alone. They looked up at the girl when the latter went to join them. Lisa frowned.

“Anika? Is everything all right?”

“It’s like you’ve seen a ghost…” Jenny mumbled. “Is it the case? Did you see a ghost in the house?”

“Jenny, please.”

Anika shook her head before explaining that she practically ran to go back. Her aunt frowned again.

“You were not already at home?”

“No. I went out.”

“Go where?” Jenny asked with a mean tone. “Join your boyfriend in the forest?”

“I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Don’t worry,” her cousin replied while relaxing on the chair. “It’ll come. He’ll surely formalize everything during this “party” you’re talking about. As if that was really going to happen…”

Lisa ordered her to shut up before asking her niece where she had gone with no warning. And especially why she hadn’t mentioned her leaving to someone. The young girl shrugged, explaining that she wasn’t used to prevent anybody. She apologized for not having done so before leaving home. But what difference does it made since you thought I was in my room? She didn’t want to talk about it to her aunt. She retired to her room, still wondering why anyone would follow her. Jenny kept on saying she had just arrived. She knew no one. She met Kevin and his friends before she met her cousin’s followers and Martin’s best friend. That was pretty much it. She sank down heavily on her bed.

Maybe she had caught the guy in a way, like “in the wrong place at the wrong time”… And now he thought she had seen something. It was the only logical explanation that came to her mind. She searched her memory, looking for anything. She hadn’t seen anything. She was very angry at Mario, that morning. When she came to the clearing, she believed to be alone. So she couldn’t see anything. No reason to follow her.

She sat up slowly, leaning on her elbows. It didn’t matter to remain locked in the house until her majority! The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to go to the party. I will not be alone. Kevin will be there with me… She gave a little smile. She shook her head back to reality. She chose two frames she wanted to leave on her bedside table and put away the others in a drawer. Then she inserted the photos behind the protective glass before contemplate them. She was overwhelmed by a wave of sadness she hastened to repel. Crying wasn’t going to get them back. She arranged her new frameworks satisfactorily and shook her head again. Desiring to move on, she left her room. She heard her cousin moaning, calling her mother. She noticed that Lisa was on the phone and she seemed to have difficulty to hear. She placed her hand against the phone.

“Anika? Can you go and see what she wants, please?”

The young girl nodded and walked to the backyard to hear better what her cousin was saying.