Dark Side

Chapter 9

     I ended up spending the school day counting down the hours until I could leave. My teachers were nice, for the most part, but I couldn't stand the whispers and stares. I knew they couldn't help it, but it still made me feel uncomfortable; it was like I was a caged animal in a zoo. Luckily, none of my teachers assigned group work; it was all lecture. So I didn't have to make casual conversation with anyone. I even had lunch with Joe, so that was nice. Finally, after what seemed like days, the dismissal bell rung. A small grin formed on my face as I packed up my books and walked out of the classroom, towards Joe's locker.

"Hey, beautiful," he says, pulling me into a hug and kissing my forehead,"how was your first day back?"

"Fine, now that I'm here with you," I grin.

     He then slings his backpack over one shoulder and closes his locker in one swift motion.

"Shall we go? I can walk you home," Joe says, takin my hand.

"I would love that." When we walk outside, a warm breeze blows over us, calming my tense body.

"So I have soccer practice in about an hour, which means I can't stay today," he says, pushing out his lower lip into a frown.

"Aww, well what about tomorrow?" I ask.

"I'm not sure yet; I'll have to see. But I'm so jealous of my brother for once; he's coming to your house today to check up on things, I think."

     We then approach the crosswalk and jog across the street.

"How long has he been a cop for?" I say curiously.

"Just this year, actually. It was kind of strange, like he did it off impulse or something. He was planning on majoring in film, and then he spontaneously quit that and started the program to become a cop just a few months ago. He already had some training so he got through the course pretty quick. It was pretty bizarre though," Joe explains, scrunching his eyebrows in a confused manner.

     I feel myself doing the same, wandering why you would switch careers so fast. I guess he realized film really wasn't his thing. We then turn the corner into my neighborhood, and Joe walks me to my house. As we get closer, we realize Wilmer is already there.

"Well, I guess I won't be giving you a romantic kiss on your doorstep," Joe says with a smile, stopping in his tracks.

"Then I guess we can have a romantic sidewalk kiss," I laugh, and I pull his head into mine, kissing him softly.

"Love you. Call me tonight," he says turning to jog away.

"Love you, too!" I then walk up my driveway and to the porch.

"Hey, Demi. May I come inside," Wilmer smiles. I pull the key out of my bag and open the door.

"Yeah, come right in." 

"Alright, so I just have a few questions for you," Wilmer says, sitting down at our dining room table.

"And they are?" I ask, taking a seat in front of him.

"One: when does your sister get home?"

"Uhh, it depends. She has two shifts so she comes home around 6 but is gone again by 7."

"So you guys are home alone? No one else is here?" he confirms.

"Yes."

"Next question: do you have alarms? For intruders?"

"Not anymore." "And one last one: do you trust me?"

"What do you mean?" I ask, confused as to why he would be asking that.

"I just want to make sure you are comfortable with me since I am assigned to your case and you should trust me if anything traumatic happens," he says, pulling at his sleeve by his wrist," protocol."

"Well, I guess so," I say, unsure of how to answer his question.

"Okay, that's great. I think we are safe for today. I'll be back later this week, unless I notify you otherwise," Wilmer says with a smile, taking his clipboard and heading for the door.

"Thanks, see you then," I say, following him to the door.

"Don't be afraid to call me if you need me. You still have my card, right?" Wilmer asks.

"Yeah, it's on the fridge. Thanks again," I say, putting my hand on the door.

"Bye," he replies, and he jogs to his car. I shut the door behind him and close the lock.

"What was that all about?" Maddie asks.

"I have no clue," I reply, still bewildered by our weird conversation.