20. The Race

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"Thank you for the ride, Jin

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"Thank you for the ride, Jin." Seren thanked him through the lowered window. "Get home safe, guys." She tapped his car, proceeding to the long walkway of her home.

"Thanks for sticking through, Seren." Rina smiled, waving at their departing friend. "We'll wait here til' you're inside." She advised, not wanting to leave Seren alone at such a gloaming late hour.

The yellow street lamps would rapidly flicker, giving her useful lighting, but parts of her lawn were still basking in the pitch twilight, the quarter moon providing almost no light for her to use.

She never failed to leave the porch light on, aiding her as she stuck the key in the lock jamming it left and right until the pesky lock spat up the key, opening the front door with a loud squeak to accompany her.

During the day, she never gave the squeaking door another thought, not particularly disturbed by the sound. But, when it was a late night, and all that was heard were the loud crickets hidden in the bushes and crevices of the pavement, her fearless qualities would dissipate into a void. She was left with nothing but trepidation and paranoia, checking behind her shoulders to make sure nobody was there.

Or that the shadow didn't decide to show up, watching her walk into her home.

When she checked this time, she encountered Rina – waving goodbye with a harmless grin secured to her blush pink lips.

That gave her more confidence than she would have expected, waving back at Rina. Jin poked his head further out toward his wheel, moving away from Rina's head to properly wave goodbye to Seren.

Seren chuckled, mouthing the word bye before she stepped into her home, switching the light on and shutting her door.

She heard the faint sound of Jin's tires grinding against the loose gravel of the asphalt, driving down the street, leaving Seren completely alone.

She sighed, looking over at the window near the sofa to make sure it was closed, and the curtain was drawn, how she had it before she left that evening. Her frantic heart settled when she saw everything was exactly how she had it, removing her heels and leaving them by the door. She shivered, the cold wood floor sending goosebumps down her body when she carefully walked up the stairs.

Seren shut her bedroom window, locking it and throwing the curtains over the fiberglass, not wanting another incident to occur when the silhouette had been standing outside her window, watching her undress.

She remained in a bra and her underwear grabbing the towel above her closed hamper and opened the bedroom door to head to the bathroom, wishing to wash off all the sweat and grime before laying in her clean, untouched bed.

It was a brief shower, desiring to be in bed before the clock moved past midnight. Seren kept an ear out, blocking out the pelting water against the porcelain tub, keeping her attention concentrated on any noise that would come from the open window placed far above her shower.

silhouette | jhs ✓Where stories live. Discover now