The heir's predator

VII: The girl with the red eyes

It's been five days since the incident with my father, almost three weeks since I last seen Elijah and everything played in my mind like a never-ending movie. How could Elijah just disappear out of the blue? I've tried to contact him but no response, no sign. Kinda sucks.

My father, on the other hand, had just begun to act weird around me and something tells me he did not buy my excuses, but what could he be hiding? What was his true job?  Did mum know what he truly worked for or as? 

So many questions clogged my mind, I had completely forgotten Jay was talking, " What was that, sorry I just zoned out," I gave a small smile. "What are you thinking about? Are you OK?" Jay's face etched with concern. I simply nodded before the teacher assigned our homework before leaving the class. "Do you want to go and grab lunch off of school grounds?" He spoke once again as I headed to my locker, "Thanks for the offer but I just have a lot going on and I need a bit of alone time, maybe some other time," I forced a smile and he simply nodded before walking away. Once I was out and off school grounds, I skated around towards the local high street where there were a couple of restaurants and cafes.

Today was pretty empty and quieter than usual. There were a couple of people in certain shops and one or two cars would drive by every ten minutes. I began to walk along the deserted pavements into a couple of shops to see what they had to offer. I occasionally noticed particular black Peugeot would always circulate the area near the shops I was in before driving off. 

I walked to the counter to pay for a sandwich and looked out the door, the car drove away again. I instantly knew I was being followed. I quickly grabbed my skateboard and skated in the opposite direction of the car, down the street with shops passing in a blur. Through the reflections of the shops' glasses, I could see the car swerving before it drove to my direction. Panic stroke as I glided my foot at full force, speeding through the streets. Every time I went faster, the car would speed up. I made a sharp left turn down a narrow alleyway and came out the other end onto the main road. I watched as the car drove away searching for an easier route onto the main road. I went around the block and thanked God that I lost the car. 

Well, I thought I did until a flash of slick black came into view. I jerked back as it ran over my skateboard shattering it into pieces. The vehicle finally came to a stop and the doors began to open, "Are you fucking sick in the head? You could have killed me!" My chest heaved as I looked at the remains in devastation.

"But I didn't", a voice spoke. That was enough for me to lose my shits. I felt a sharp sting in my palm and warm skin before I realised what I had done. His head snapped to the side before he looked back in shock. I looked up and sucked in my breath. The pain in my palm began to spread to my whole hand, it began to hurt like hell.

"Wow, Eli wasn't joking around when he said to be careful", he rubbed his red cheek and that's when I noticed he looked so familiar but I couldn't figure out where I possibly knew him from. He stood about 6ft tall but was a little shorter than Eli. His dark blonde hair was swept back with loose strands between his brown brows giving young Leonardo DiCaprio vibes, " You good there?" my eyes came in contact with his hazel ones. He motioned to my tightly clutched hand that was now throbbing. I simply screwed him as he continued, there's no way I'm apologising.

"You must be Taitu, I'm Zachary Black-"

"How do you know my name? Are you stalking me?" I cut in as he began to panic.

"Oh no, Elijah and I are very close, he sent me to check up on you", my heart involuntary fluttered at the mention of his name and I hated it. He grabbed my other hand and shook it as I continued to stare at him. 

Zachary....

He was the one Brook was talking about. The one who's girlfriend went missing, "Is everything ok?" His voice brought me to my attention once again.

"Of course not, you broke my skateboard and I'm expecting you to pay for that," I motioned to the remains before he laughed, "Noted," he simply stated. "And another thing, What's up with you friend?"

"Eli is dealing with some...family commitments. He told me to come and check up on you to make sure that you're safe. Guess you will have to put up with me for a while," He smiled as I eyed him suspiciously. That hesitation screamed uncertainty.

"Ok, why would he think i am not safe and why did you follow me around in the car. You know that's creepy." 

"Sorry about that, I wanted to talk but you went with your skateboard and Eli told me about the attack in some corner shop."

"Oh he did? Yeah it was pretty unexpected. I guess you'll be my ride home then," I stated before heading to his car. He unlocked the doors and opened the passenger seat for me. I thanked him and he went to the other side and entered the car. I got to know more about him on the journey home. He was a year older than Eli and I. He and Eli have been best friends since babies and how their families are pretty close, second cousins to be exact. He graduated last year from high school and is now taking a gap year before going off to college. 

The car finally came to a stop, my house was just across the street. "Tell Elijah I said hi," I stepped out the car. "Will do, see you soon," Zac called out before driving off.

As I crossed the street, the hairs of my neck shot up as an eery feeling crept upon me. It felt like I was being watched. I stopped dead in my tracks and looked around my surroundings, nothing was out of the ordinary. Every where i turned everything seemed normal but the feeling was off. I looked the houses along the streets again and instantly froze. I was too shook to move and too scared to speak. There at the distance, a worn-out girl stood about my height around the same age stared back. Her olive skin tone was dull and her raven waves were matted but that was not the thing that shook my core. What really got me was her eyes. Blood crimson red. Something straight out of a horror movie. Possibly a deadly disease. 

I quickly rushed inside and shut the door locked. I peeked through the window and the girl was gone.