Surface

Chapter 24 - Skewed Intentions and Hidden Agendas

I had made it a point to remain uninvested in Hannah's business unless it was for investigation purposes. However, this week there was so much going on I couldn't help but give her the attention she greedily desired. 

Shelby had come to school the next morning with a sly smile on her face and a pep in her platform sneaker steps. She skipped right up to my locker as I waited for the news. "I don't want to seem too happy about this but . . ." 

I gave her a drumroll against the lockers. "What?" 

"Hannah is officially moved out of my house!"

 It turned out that the investigation on Hannah's mother had concluded that there was no real threat in her household. She was being taken out of Shelby's house and sent back to live with her mother immediately. Case closed. Problem solved. 

Or so it was said. 

I wanted to trust that the investigators did their job correctly and that there wasn't any real threat at home but part of me - an annoying part of me - still feared for Hannah. Maybe her mother was just mean. Either way, it unsettled me that I still cared about a person who threatened and manipulated me so wickedly. 

"Wow! I'm happy for you," I said following Shelby down the hall. She was so giddy she high fived about four different people on our way to class. "Are you going to celebrate or something?" 

"Of course! I was thinking about going to a party this kid from law class is throwing. You in?" 

From the time I spent with Shelby, she seemed kind of disinterested in parties. At least, as much as I was. She went when her friends asked her to but preferred a small hang out session with a few close people. She explained her boyfriend was going and there were some people she wanted me to meet. However, I had to decline her offer. 

That afternoon I had plans to go visit Eline at the clinic again. The girls came along and were hopeful in discovering what she knew about the whole Victoria ordeal. She seemed to know more than any of us since she was smart enough to fake trauma to remain safe. The only problem was she hadn't let us in on the information. 

To our disappointment, there were no visitors allowed to see Eline. Through some friendly hospitality though, we were able to learn from a nurse that the doctors think Eline's trauma was closely linked to the ocean. Not only that but Eline had saved some drawings for me.

Most of them were shaded sketches of the ocean. Not very detailed or out of the ordinary. The only thing they proved was Eline had great artistic abilities. The last picture implied a lot more. 

A girl was kneeling behind a large rock, the wind blowing a nearby tree's branches in the perfect position to conceal her. Someone's back was to her.  She was watching another girl in a lace gown stand at the edge of a cliff, arms outstretched like she was embracing the wind around her. Except it wasn't wind. 

A dark mist loomed over the ocean and cliff. It didn't look like fog . . . For some odd reason it looked more alive. It had character and its darkness came from more than just it's shade. Tendrils like octopus arms outstretched from its core reaching for the girl on the cliff. 

We quickly identified her as Victoria meaning that the other was Eline. 

She was there the night of Victoria's death. Perhaps she even witnessed it. She wanted us to know this yet provided us with no direct explanation of what happened? 

No, she couldn't have known what exactly went down or else she would have told the police and this whole mystery would be over. She must have only had pieces like the rest of us. The picture was her attempt at handing us another puzzle piece.