Bad Boy by Night

♱ Chapter 31 ♱

𝓐𝓭𝓮𝓵𝓪𝓲𝓭𝓮
𝟹𝟷: 𝙰𝚍𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚍𝚎'𝚜 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝙼𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗

Bridget was officially MIA somewhere.
Cory was out on his first day of his new job.

And I was avoiding my parents as much as unsuspiciously possible.

I'd finished from college just before lunch and though I'd texted Bridget asking if she wanted to meet somewhere, I was greeted with no response. I asked the same of Porter but he confessed he was out with his friends. He'd offered to ditch his friends and come meet me, but I refused, not wanting to come between him and his friends. Instead I drove home and basked in the privacy and quietness that the house was currently boasting.

Frankly, I'd barely made it through the threshold when I received a message. The recipient was from the last guess I had: my mom. It was just another reminder to search for an elaborately plush gown from the mall for the upcoming gala. I was less than thrilled to be attending, especially knowing Porter wouldn't be in attendance since he had been exiled from his parents. Rolling my eyes, I tucked my phone back into my pocket and ascended the staircases to my bedroom on the third floor.

It was only as I was halfway up the final staircase when I heard what I suspected to be something smashing against the floor.

I stopped.

Utterly paralysed, I craned my neck, waiting for any further sounds. There seemed to be nothing else so I wondered if I had just conjured up the sound in my head or someone had fallen off a shelf. And just when I was about to move again, finding the fear seeping out of my body, I was injected with a further dose again as the sound of a door shutting emanated from the third floor.

Was someone in my bedroom?

Initially I presumed it to be Porter surprising me so I cautiously tiptoed upstairs, careful to keep any sounds to a minimum and especially to not call out. Maybe it was Cory and he'd come home for lunch... or my parents... though it was bizarre for them to be venturing up to the third floor.

As I approached the landing, I glanced left and right. The coast was clear... for now. I could confirm, from this vantage point, that my bedroom door was shut. Cory's was only pushed ajar in comparison which was another oddity: his door was almost permanently shut, especially when he vacated the house. He detested people going through his shit. And I had a feeling it wasn't him scouring through my possessions in my bedroom either. Seldom does he ever cross the boundary through my door unless an argument ensues.

My bedroom door abruptly opened and I catapulted my body into the bathroom opposite, pushing the door ajar and concealing my body behind it. My heart began to hammer in my chest so violently I was astounded that whoever was traversing the landing couldn't discern it. As my blood trembled in my ears, I willed myself to focus on the footsteps, hoping they would imminently recede. I held my breath, my hands clammy at my sides.

I don't know how long I waited after the footsteps were no longer audible, but it must have been minutes. With a surge of brazenness, I stepped out of the doorway and glanced across the landing. I reprimanded myself at my paranoia. I heard the footsteps recede so I knew that whoever it was had gone. No matter my mantra, the cautiousness failed to elude me as I silently made my way to my bedroom, even more staggered that my bedroom door was propped open still.

As I lightly pushed the door wider, my phone vibrated in my pocket, causing me to positively jolt out of my skin. Closing my eyes briefly, I willed myself to get it together and I hastily plucked it from my pocket. My brows furrowed at the words.