He’s leaning against the doorframe of my bedroom with his arms crossed, his gaze meticulously dissecting me. “What do you write about?”
“Lots of stuff. School. People I hate. Teachers I hate. My sister sometimes.” I close my diary and push to my feet. “Did my mom let you in?” I make my way over to the dresser and set the diary inside. It’s not typically where I keep it, but I don’t want him to know about the real spot because what is written on those pages will surely get me killed.
“No, your mom’s gone. I knocked, but you didn’t answer.” He’s watching me in a way that makes that claw stab into my spine deeper.
“I probably couldn’t hear you over the music.” I turn off the music and face him. “Why are you here? Not that I mind.” I plaster on my sugary sweet smile as I step toward him and place my hand on his chest. “It’s just that usually you call or text first.”
His expression is unreadable, and I have an unsettling feeling he’s thinking about my diary. But maybe I’m being paranoid, though. Why would he think anything of it? Girls have diaries. It’s a common thing.
Still, I question if once he’s gone, maybe I should burn it. But it’d be like burning my memories and all traces of me.
“I was actually over at your neighbor’s house,” he explains. “So I decided to stop by and see if you wanted to go to another party?”
My brows furrow. “You were at Jerry’s? Why?”
“He needed a favor,” he says with a shrug. “So, do you want to go to the party or not?”
It’s not really a question, though.
I can’t say no, because once I do, he’ll have no reason to keep me around. And the only way out is death.
14
AVA
Ellis and I stare out at the house in the distance. At first, he doesn’t say anything. And I wonder what he’s thinking. But then he finally breaks the silence.
“Do you know who owns it?” he asks as he shields his eyes with his hand.
My thoughts wander back to that moment when I was up here with my parents, as well as my aunt and uncle.
They were talking about the house, but did they own it? It kind of sounded like it, but I’m not sure.
“Maybe my family, but I don’t know for sure.” I brush strands of my hair out of my face.
As vertigo sets in again, I inch away from the cliff’s ledge.
“We can look it up online,” Ellis tells me as he starts to scope out the area, inspecting the ground as if the answers are hidden in the grass with his fingers wrapped around the handle of his backpack. “I don’t want to push you, so you don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to, but why do you think something awful happened at that house?”
“It’s a gut feeling.” I turn away from the ledge. “But honestly, most of my gut feelings stem from suppressed memories, so…”
“It’s okay that you don’t have all the answers, Aves,” Ellis reassures me as he faces me. “We’ll figure this out. We can finish looking around here and then go back and look up the records of the deed owner online. That’s not a complicated task.”
Nodding, I lift my gaze to him. “What about that person who wants to meet me tomorrow at the bar? What is the plan for that?”
A hesitant look crosses his face. “We need to be careful if you decide to go. I want to be there with you, but I’ll need to be discreet about it. But, you don’t have to go either. I need you to know that. If you’re hesitant at all, you shouldn’t.”
“I want to.” Well, want is a stretch. It’s more like I feel like I have to.
“What’re we looking for exactly?” I ask as Ellis circles the flat spot of grass in front of us.
The forest line is a ways behind it, and I fully plan on keeping my distance from it.
Tree branches scratch my flesh…
Clawing at me…
Trying to peel me away until nothing is left…
