Chapter 4
The drive home was a blur as the events of the day replayed through my mind like a movie. Parking my car in our new driveway, I sat and took a breath. To be honest I was probably just putting off the fact that I had a gut feeling that Hayden was the guy I had been drawing. I just was hoping that I was wrong.
I guess I better had gotten this over and done with. Cassie would be expecting me soon. Pushing the car door open wide and climbing out, I grabbed my things and locked my car. Walking up the new driveway towards the new house was daunting.
To be honest I think I liked this house and school. All the other places had been just that; places. This felt like it could be home. My mom and dad were not supposed to be back until this evening, but I would be out with Cassie by the time they got back.
Our new home was bigger than our previous houses. There was a large modern kitchen to the left as you walked in as well as a large, open-plan lounge and dining room filled with all my family’s mementos as well as my dad’s comfy brown leather couches that gave it an altogether rustic feel. There was also a fireplace made from marble with odd swirling symbols engraved into the surface of the stone.
Locking the front door behind me, I placed my bag and coat on the dining room table. Heading to the kitchen, I let the phone messages play as I opened the fridge to grab an iced tea. I could not drink any fizzy soft drinks because for some reason, whenever I did, I got extremely ill. My parents and doctors said it was a rare autoimmune disease, some ingredient that was used in soda would make me extremely ill. Lucky me, right; so, I had to make up my iced tea from scratch.
The message held the voice of my mother. “Hi Aria, your dad and I must work late tonight. The firm has called an emergency meeting and we must be there. We are so sorry that we will not be home. I wanted to hear all about your first day at school. I hope it went well. I also know you were late, and we are going to talk about the fact that you are staying up until some ungodly hour every night just so that you can draw.” I could not help but roll my eyes.
“I know drawing is your passion sweetie but there has got to be a limit. Anyway, dad transferred some money to your account for dinner. Be safe and make sure you lock up everything while you are at home. Love you! Bye!”
Sighing, I pressed the delete button. My parents worked for the same company, so when one was working late, both were. Grabbing the notepad and pen that were stuck to the fridge, I wrote a note to my parents telling them where I was going to be tonight. If I did not, they would freak out and call out a fucking search party.
Seriously. they had done it before, and I never heard the end of it. Setting the note down where they would be sure to see it, I headed upstairs to my room.
Walking over to my desk immediately, I dug out my sketches. They were in a folder with a zip lock on. Unlocking the folder and pulling out the drawings, I started to feel faint. The color drained from my face and a chill went up to my spine. It was not just my imagination. The face on the paper was that of Hayden Levi.
Dropping to the bed in an almost catatonic state, I looked at the rest of the drawings.
“It’s fucking impossible…” I whispered to myself with a scowl on my face.
Just then my phone beeped with a message. Forcing myself out of the shock, I picked up my phone. It was a message from Cassie. She was wondering where I was and reminding me about my boots. I sent her a text back that I was on my way. I needed to get out of here right now anyway. Leaving the drawings strewn across my bed, I grabbed my boots from my closet and ran down the stairs. Locking the house behind me as I left and jumping in the car, I had such an adrenalin rush that was insane but was equally filled with dread.