Page 16 of Vexed
CHAPTER TEN
Lily
“Yes, Hannah. I’m packing the last of my stuff as we speak,” She has been calling me nonstop the entire morning. I’m not complaining, I miss that little shit. I enjoyed my visit and seeing my mom, but two weeks is more than enough. It’s time to get back to my own life.
“The longer you stay on the phone, the longer it’s going to take me to get out of here,” I say with a chuckle, clutching the phone between my ear and shoulder as I try to fit the last of my clothes in my bag.
“Yeah, yeah alright. I’ll see you in a bit and please, drive safe.”
After finally saying our goodbyes, I toss my phone onto my bed and make my way to the kitchen to grab a quick glass of water before hitting the road.
“I can’t believe you already have to head back.” My mom says from behind me, wrapping her fragile arms around my shoulders. She has accomplished a lot this past two weeks. Finally letting go of Dad’s stuff, made friends, and going out again. I can finally leave here and not be worried about her. I haven’t been able to do that in years.
“Well, you know what they say—time flies when you’re having fun.” She chuckles before leaving the kitchen only to return with almost all my bags in her hands. Shaking my head, I walk over to her and wrap my arms around her, hugging her tightly. “Love you, Mom.”
“Love you too, honey. Be safe.” Smiling at her, I pick up my bags and head out the door to my car, but as I set them in the trunk, this odd feeling has my stomach turning.
My head automatically snaps in the direction of the playground and my eyes widen as I see him standing there, larger than life, staring at me. I gulp hard, trying to tear my gaze away, but I can’t. I keep my eyes locked on him.
I wonder if I should wave at him. Would that be weird? After that strange night when he practically broke into my house, I hadn’t seen him at all. That was almost a week ago. Maybe he got the message that I wanted nothing to do with him. But why is he here again? And why is he just staring at me?
Just as I go to lift my hand and wave anyway, he turns and disappears from my view, behind a tree. I frown as I stare a few seconds longer, but he doesn’t show himself again.
“Well, goodbye… I guess.” I murmured to myself, opening the car door.
Just as I settle into my car, Mom comes rushing out with what looks like books in her hand.
“Lily, wait. Here, I found these while cleaning out Dad’s stuff and I thought you might want to keep them,” she says, handing me my childhood diaries. I haven’t seen these in years. A smile creeps onto my face as I take them from her and rub my fingers over the covers.
“Thanks, Mom, I almost forgot about these.” She gives me a smile and a last peck on the cheek before I back the car out of the driveway and start my few hours drive home.
The drive back is calm. No insane traffic on the roads, just a smooth ride so if I’m lucky and the rest of the drive is this quiet, I might be there before it gets dark. Well, I hope so.
It starts to get dark earlier in the evenings now that we’re entering fall. The October air is slowly turning colder and the trees’ once vibrant green leaves are shades of brown and orange now, covering most of the ground along the roads.
When fall comes, there’s only one thing everyone is looking forward to—Halloween. Hannah has been yapping about Halloween and costumes for weeks now. I’m still not sure what we’re going as since she keeps changing her mind every two seconds.
We’ll probably discuss it and finally decide on something once I’m back. There is a Halloween carnival that the local university near us is hosting in a couple of days and I’m pretty excited to go. I love Halloween and everything spooky and terrifying. Most things that scare people, usually just excite me more than anything else.
As I drive on the quiet road, something on the side of the road catches my attention. Someone standing next to the road. Dressed in all black. I strain my eyes trying to get a clearer look.
Vex.
What the hell? Why is he standing next to the road? Better yet, how did he get here?
I slow down a little as I get closer to where he’s standing. Yep. It’s him alright. I pass him, but I pull over to the side and stop completely.
Shutting off the engine, I swing my door open and slide out of the car. The cool air makes me shiver and I hug myself.
“What the hell are you doing out here?” I slightly yell at him. Slowly, he starts walking towards me. It feels like I’m shrinking—or he’s getting bigger, I can’t tell. His presence is intimidating with each step he takes until he comes to a halt before me.
“You don’t think I’ll let you leave without saying goodbye, do you?” He says, flashing a smile. My eyes are immediately drawn to the sharp canines in his mouth.
“Really? Like the dayyouleft me without saying goodbye?“ His smile fades as he lowers his head, staring at the ground.
Yeah, that’s what I thought. He can’t expect me to just forget about it. At that point in my life, he was one of the most important people in my life. He was my only friend. And when he left, it felt like my heart was being ripped out.
“You were my only friend too, Lily.” He suddenly says and my heart stops. Did I say that out loud?
